Ever had your Wiim turn on & then off with a huge BANG?

[guy48065]

I read this with interest as I suspect something like that described here may have happened ito me.

I've got:
2 x NAD 218 THX amps running in mono mode capable of delivering 700w RMS per channel @ 8 ohms;
Schiit Kara preamp with volume always at 100%:
Schiit Bifrost 2/64 NOS DAC connected via USB to:
Wiim Ultra (set to 2 vrms line out level) with sub-out crossover @ 90hz and connected to;
2 x Speed woofer 12S.

Except for the RCA connection from Wiim Ultra to subs and the USB connection to DAC all connectors are XLR (balanced).

The Wiim Ultra 12v trigger turns all components other than the subs on and off.

This system only has sufficient gain to deliver 684w RMS per channel @ 8 ohms at Wiim max volume and at Wiim max volume I've never seen its VU meter screen exceed -3db as all Pre-gain settings are set to -10db, so no digital clipping there either.

I turned on the system using the Wiim app to find I had lost my right channel: the right channel NAD had blown its final slow burn fuse and the right Yamaha NS-1000m woofer was blown: Queensland Speaker Repairs (QSR) found that "voice coil in the woofer is severely burnt" on inspection.

Now I didn't hear anything unusual:
- the system was working well one day when I paused the Wiim Ultra and it would have turned everything off 5 minutes later. I do recall I left home immediately, so I wasn't at home when it switched off; and
- the next time I switched on I had lost my right channel.

But reading this, whatever happened may have happened when I wasn't at home at the time.

It hasn't escaped me that the Schiit Kara preamp has its power button at the rear - it is recommended that it stay on 24/7 - maybe I should disconnect that from being controlled by the Wiim's 12v trigger.

Fortunately replacing the fuse on the NAD amp has fixed that.

I've also got a spare new woofer I bought over 25 years ago from Yamaha when they still stocked spares for the NS-1000m. I don't quite trust using that new woofer yet, all things considered, so I'm getting the damaged woofer repaired by QSR.

I feel your pain and caution.
I'm not real comfortable having a DAC always on, an amp capable of destroying thousands of dollars worth of special drivers no longer made, all under the digital control of a $300 streamer. I miss the safety net of an analog volume control.

Wiim customer service has been of little help. They've looked at the logs and have only reported seeing my deliberate inputs. Their suggestions have all been to disconnect devices, activate noise control, switch to optical output...just to see if it makes a difference. These ALL have negative effect on the SQ and don't address the phantom source switching or the frequent wakeups.

So far they've ignored my requests for a warranty exchange.