Extensive review regarding comparisons between the Ultra and PRO - used as digital transports to external dac, results on page 3

[alpha_zulu]

Linear Power Supply ( no snake oil in this case)

Linear vs. Switching Power Supplies | tech | Matsusada Precision

Notice of Linear vs. Switching Power Supplies: Key Differences Explained Matsusada Precision, Power Supply Manufacturer

www.matsusada.com

 

[MrSoul4470]

A linear power supply doesn't necessarily sound better. I once thought I had to get a LPS for my Stax headphones amplifier to make it better. The difference was way bigger than I had expected, but: The cheap switching power supply coming with the amplifier sounded MUCH better.

 

[Musician]

A linear power supply doesn't necessarily sound better. I once thought I had to get a LPS for my Stax headphones amplifier to make it better. The difference was way bigger than I had expected, but: The cheap switching power supply coming with the amplifier sounded MUCH better.

This is true, you have to listen to judge in each case.
In a specific product you always have regulators and with SMPS those are specially made for suppressing noise higher in frequency. In a linear power supply you have regulators suppressing noise at lower frequencies, like lt1084 or lm317. This can explain the differences you heard - it was probably a bad idea to have a linear power supply If your stax amplifier had regulators inside made for SMPS.

 

[Musician]

Time for USB connection from the Ultra to my Rega dac R . Is it better sounding than using spdif with this dac, and will it sound better than the internal dac of the ultra ?

 

[Musician]

The music during comparisons:

 

[Musician]

A about using AirPlay - If You have an Apple TV 4k then you can cast music from iPhone to the Apple TV and the sound gonna go from Apple tv4k through hdmi to the Ultra. The sound is good enough this way, not as good as TIDAL connect but good enough for lossy 256 Kbit AirPlay 2 material. Its useful for background music.

Edit : the metallic Apple TV remote control works with the Ultra , even when playing TIDAL connect you can regulate the volume !

 

[Musician]

Comparisons between ultra and PRO finished .

1. The ultra is slightly better sounding as digital transport to my external dac , there is a more exact stereo image but the difference is small compared to the pro, maybe a 2% better sound.

2. Asynkron usb vs electrical spdif from the Ultra : the spdif sounds very magical with a good flow of the music.
The bass from the Rega dac R is very tight this way.

Using usb from ultra to Rega dac R : sounds a little different in the bass, but the difference is very, very small. I prefer the electrical spdif connection because the bass gets a tiny bit tighter. Maybe the Rega is optimised to sound the best through spdif ?

3. The ultras internal dac compared to Rega dac R :
The Rega wins with all connections. The difference is like this- If the ultra is 90 % sound quality then the Rega is 95%.
The Ultras midrange is slightly shut in and the difference between different cymbals is smaller with the ultras internal dac. The sound gets a little better using minimum phase, fast rolloff digital filter on the ultra. But not really as good as the Rega.

However … the ultras internal dac sounds way better than the Pro:s internal dac. With PRO rca out you get 80% soundquality.

4. Using Toslink from PRO to Rega and from ultra to Rega :
Sounds slightly worse than electrical spdif from both PRO and Ultra. I dont know the reason for that.

5. The ultra streamer alone with internal dac is not as good sounding as the WiiM PRO, lps, - electrical spdif - Rega dac R .
From memory , The Linn klimax renew DS sounds slightly better than the ultra without using external dac.

6. As digital transport to a good sounding dac the Ultra is slightly better than the pro with a linear power supply . Using the stock power supply on the pro makes the difference slightly bigger.

7. Both the Ultra and the Pro is better sounding as transports than my Apple m1 computer and my Yamaha wxc50.

There it is , good news is that used as a transport , the ultra is of highend quality.
As a complete streamer the ultra sounds very good, much better than Yamaha wxc50 and better than my laptop to external dac.

Now, Im sure many youtubers gonna continue to tell lies about the digital outputs of the WiiMs , but remember they make their living selling more expensive streamers than the Ultra.

Edit: every digital output from the Ultra did function very well, even the USB output could regulate the volume control .

 

[Mr Ee]

With PRO rca out you get 80% soundquality.

Generous!!

What RCA cables?

 

[Mr Ee]

the ultras internal dac sounds way better than the Pro:s internal dac

Absolutely agree.

 

[Musician]

Generous!!

What RCA cables?

Focal elite 1m with all listening, slightly better than the Linn black interconnect.

 

[canard]

Absolutely agree.

in the detail and on demanding music.. it is the comparison with the "plus" not "pro" that will be interesting (like "on" for more than 72 hours, one and the other, on analog output .... ) but remains a personal experience .. (quite far from what is done internet )
;-)

but it will be preferable if a revision of the ultra arrives one day...

 

[ArthurStereo]

I am also very curious about this comparison of Ultra with Pro Plus.

 

[SansuiSushi]

Re
Focal elite vs Linn black
Describe "better", do you have measurements? Which cable do you prefer the look of and/or build quality.

 

[onlyoneme]

Absolutely agree.

Well, no extensive review is needed for such conclusion

 

[onlyoneme]

@Musician
Did you perform blind tests, did you perform comparison blind tests, did you pay attention to eliminate the influence of any factors which could affect results, for example different output levels?

 

[cooky560]

I have about 10 apple chargers because I frequently upgrade my phone (usually yearly) is it worth trying my apple charger over the WiiM?

 

[Longfellow78]

Comparisons between ultra and PRO finished .

1. The ultra is slightly better sounding as digital transport to my external dac , there is a more exact stereo image but the difference is small compared to the pro, maybe a 2% better sound.

2. Asynkron usb vs electrical spdif from the Ultra : the spdif sounds very magical with a good flow of the music.
The bass from the Rega dac R is very tight this way.

Using usb from ultra to Rega dac R : sounds a little different in the bass, but the difference is very, very small. I prefer the electrical spdif connection because the bass gets a tiny bit tighter. Maybe the Rega is optimised to sound the best through spdif ?

3. The ultras internal dac compared to Rega dac R :
The Rega wins with all connections. The difference is like this- If the ultra is 90 % sound quality then the Rega is 95%.
The Ultras midrange is slightly shut in and the difference between different cymbals is smaller with the ultras internal dac. The sound gets a little better using minimum phase, fast rolloff digital filter on the ultra. But not really as good as the Rega.

However … the ultras internal dac sounds way better than the Pro:s internal dac. With PRO rca out you get 80% soundquality.

4. Using Toslink from PRO to Rega and from ultra to Rega :
Sounds slightly worse than electrical spdif from both PRO and Ultra. I dont know the reason for that.

5. The ultra streamer alone with internal dac is not as good sounding as the WiiM PRO, lps, - electrical spdif - Rega dac R .
The Linn klimax renew DS sounds slightly better than the ultra without using external dac.

6. As digital transport to a good sounding dac the Ultra is slightly better than the pro with a linear power supply . Using the stock power supply on the pro makes the difference slightly bigger.

7. Both the Ultra and the Pro is better sounding as transports than my Apple m1 computer and my Yamaha wxc50.

There it is , good news is that used as a transport , the ultra is of highend quality.
As a completely streamer the ultra sounds very good, much better than Yamaha wxc50 and better than a laptop to external dac.

Now, Im sure many youtubers gonna continue to tell lies about the digital outputs of the WiiMs , but remember they make their living selling more expensive streamers than the Ultra.

Edit: every digital output from the Ultra did function very well, even the USB output could regulate the volume control .

I run my ultra into an smsl do400 as the DAC which I assume will be much better than the internal DAC of the Ultra? Two questions tho, should I use coax or toslink from ultra to smsl, and just in case, if I want to burn in my ultra, is this pointless if I am using an external DAC - if indeed burn in is real with this device. Thanks.

 

[mallikreddyk]

A linear power supply doesn't necessarily sound better. I once thought I had to get a LPS for my Stax headphones amplifier to make it better. The difference was way bigger than I had expected, but: The cheap switching power supply coming with the amplifier sounded MUCH better.

Agreed, LPS does not always sound better, more importantly all LPS are not made equal.

In my experience LPSU also has a sound signature.... based on measurable parameters like PSRR, Output impedance, capacitance reserve. I have also noticed lower ESR vs higher ESR capacitors make a difference as well.

 

[jed1]

I tried a grounded GAN USB-C charger on WiiM Pro Plus. It is 60W Dell laptop charger - rated 3A at 5V. I don't know if this improves sound quality. Two reasons I tried this; a) GAN charger operates at higher frequency than conventional SMPS, further pushing out overlap frequencies between digital processing and power supply b) it is grounded unlike Apple iPad charger. I use an external DAC via Toslink.

 

[Musician]

I run my ultra into an smsl do400 as the DAC which I assume will be much better than the internal DAC of the Ultra? Two questions tho, should I use coax or toslink from ultra to smsl, and just in case, if I want to burn in my ultra, is this pointless if I am using an external DAC - if indeed burn in is real with this device. Thanks.

1. Coax
There is a chance though that my Rega dac sounds inferior using toslink but it might be different with other dacs.

2. Maybe pointless, probably. However, the coax output is an analog rca output carrying digital signals in analog shape. The powersupply:s capacitors might settle after 6-7 hours and that powersupply with regulators is powering the coax output chip.