Can the VibeLink Amp Drive the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers?

[TonyAV]

Hi folks,
New to this forum. Looking for some advice. I’m helping a friend of mine put together an audio system which consist of the Wiim Ultra and Vibelink amp to drive a pair of Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers and a Caldera 12 subwoofer. He connected the TV using HDMI Arc to the Ultra, and connected the Ultra to the Vibelink using the RCA. He played music through Youtube and Spotify. The sound was very disappointing and weak not loud enough, we ussually listen at around 80-85 db (loudest) It felt that the Vibelink at 100W was not powerful enough to drive the Elac speakers. Wanted to ask if someone else has run into this problem.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Tony

Edit:
Note: should have mentioned previously that I'm helping my friend remotely which makes the troubleshooting more difficult. I helped him picking the components and setting it up by phone (FaceTime).

 

[mlsstl]

From your description of the setup, my initial thought is that the HDMI Arc isn't putting out enough voltage to the Ultra. For your next step, I'd suggest to log into Spotify directly from the Ultra (not though the TV.) Spotify is one of the streaming services directly supported by WiiM devices.

 

[Wiimer]

Hi folks,
New to this forum. Looking for some advice. I’m helping a friend of mine put together an audio system which consist of the Wiim Ultra and Vibelink amp to drive a pair of Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers and a Caldera 12 subwoofer. He connected the TV using HDMI Arc to the Ultra, and connected the Ultra to the Vibelink using the RCA. He played music through Youtube and Spotify. The sound was very disappointing and weak not loud enough, we ussually listen at around 80-85 db (loudest) It felt that the Vibelink at 100W was not powerful enough to drive the Elac speakers. Wanted to ask if someone else has run into this problem.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Tony

Hi
Have you tried using Spotify Connect to cast playback to Ultra?

 

[TonyAV]

From your description of the setup, my initial thought is that the HDMI Arc isn't putting out enough voltage to the Ultra. For your next step, I'd suggest to log into Spotify directly from the Ultra (not though the TV.) Spotify is one of the streaming services directly supported by WiiM devices.

Thanks for the response and suggestion. Will look into the HDMI Arc connection and will use Spotify through the Wiim apps.

 

[TonyAV]

Hi
Have you tried using Spotify Connect to cast playback to Ultra?

Will have to check with my friend. I'm helping him remotely (not the best scenario) he lives outside the US.
Thanks

 

[Wiimer]

Will have to check with my friend. I'm helping him remotely (not the best scenario) he lives outside the US.
Thanks

The WiiM home app does not support direct playback of Spotify; please open the Spotify app and connect to Ultra under "Connect devices".

 

[HansD-NL]

Hi folks,
New to this forum. Looking for some advice. I’m helping a friend of mine put together an audio system which consist of the Wiim Ultra and Vibelink amp to drive a pair of Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers and a Caldera 12 subwoofer. He connected the TV using HDMI Arc to the Ultra, and connected the Ultra to the Vibelink using the RCA. He played music through Youtube and Spotify. The sound was very disappointing and weak not loud enough, we ussually listen at around 80-85 db (loudest) It felt that the Vibelink at 100W was not powerful enough to drive the Elac speakers. Wanted to ask if someone else has run into this problem.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Tony

Edit:
Note: should have mentioned previously that I'm helping my friend remotely which makes the troubleshooting more difficult. I helped him picking the components and setting it up by phone (FaceTime).

"It felt that the Vibelink at 100W was not powerful enough to drive the Elac speakers." --> That should not be a problem if the Vibelink is in correct working order. 100watt is 100watt and having that kind of power on hand in a normal domestic setting is more than enough to play ridiculously loud connected to even low sensitivity speakers. It has to be that the input level to the Vibelink via in this case HDMI is very low and the Vibelink at 100% volume (knob) level is giving you only around 10watt RMS (wild guess)
Test with some other sources like the others suggest.

 

[HansD-NL]

Just to illustrate the other side of the "spectrum". I have my Wiim Pro set at fixed output (100%) connected to a DAC (optical input) which is then going to a NAD C326BEE amp. The DAC has it's output turned down -6dB and there is still more than enough gain available in the NAD amp to rattle the windows. (standard/low sensitivity speakers)

 

[Ivan]

Also try to use the digital exit from Ultra into the Vibelink.

 

[harkpabst]

Also try to use the digital exit from Ultra into the Vibelink.

Yes, definitely.

My personal recommendation is to use the optical connection. WiiM include an optical cable, no need to source anything.

 

[Burnside]

I’d also use the pre-gain on the hdmi input on the Ultra as TV output can often be lower than streaming services.

 

[dominikz]

Hi folks,
New to this forum. Looking for some advice. I’m helping a friend of mine put together an audio system which consist of the Wiim Ultra and Vibelink amp to drive a pair of Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers and a Caldera 12 subwoofer. He connected the TV using HDMI Arc to the Ultra, and connected the Ultra to the Vibelink using the RCA. He played music through Youtube and Spotify. The sound was very disappointing and weak not loud enough, we ussually listen at around 80-85 db (loudest) It felt that the Vibelink at 100W was not powerful enough to drive the Elac speakers. Wanted to ask if someone else has run into this problem.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Tony

Edit:
Note: should have mentioned previously that I'm helping my friend remotely which makes the troubleshooting more difficult. I helped him picking the components and setting it up by phone (FaceTime).

Vibelink Amp with two Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Speakers should be capable of reaching about 105dB SPL peak at 2m distance.
Assuming you are listening to the typical streaming content (mastered so that the RMS average is around -14dBFS), you should be getting average levels up to 91dB SPL at 2m listening distance.

For a bit more details, please have a look at this post.

If you are getting significantly less than this it is likely an issue in gain staging - e.g. either the TV HDMI Arc out level is too low, or the WiiM Ultra configuration is sub-optimal (e.g. check pre-gain, volume limit...), the level at the WiiM Ultra to Vibelink Amp connection is not optimal, or the relative volume levels of the Ultra and Vibelink are not well adjusted.

Hope this helps!