Features wanted in a Wiim Ultra 2

[TonyE]

Why? There are so many fine phono preamps in the market... with the ability to do MC and MM and adjust the load.

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And then you have this... mine is much nicer... with the nice case and the op amps rolling, etc...

Listening to Brubeck over Tidal Hifi on my Nuforce DDA100 and AE1s... best near field system... well, I'm thinking of putting the D90LE with a Nuforce STA200 in there.. The Pearl 3 is an awesome phono preamp.

( Mind you, he has a P5 with a mid tier cartridge... not exactly a top tier front end... yet is starts to give you a glimpse of what LPs can sound like ).

IMHO, many people are getting into LPs not realizing that it is a very expensive proposition to do it right. A cheap turntable, cheap MM cartridge and cheap phono preamp will sound... cheap. Unless you are truly serious, get some experience and are willing to spend significant money, you're better off spending 600 to 1000 bucks on a DAC/preamp and streaming Hi Rez files.

Example, I just got the 45RPM version of Thelonious Monk Straight No Chaser ( I have three or four copies already )... That blows DACs away... but, but, I already have spent the money, time and 52 years of experience owing a turntable...

 

[Roedelheim]

My Lorna Peebles loves her Mr. Lehmann, but that is a totally different case.
I do not have an Ultra - but the Amp Ultra - and see it as a very good entry level pre-amplifier and of course there are users who love to make first steps in vinyl.

 

[TonyE]

BTW, every stereo system should have a couple of DMMs hooked up to it. ;-)

Yes, first steps in vinyl... I would not recommend that. Honestly. Digital has gotten so good that, except for the nostalgia, you can get FAR better sound... unless you are truly willing to spend serious bucks and are sitting on thousands of LPs. By serious... the Lingo 4 upgrade is costing 3000+ bucks alone. It's the sign of absolute lunacy ( well, I work from home, go nowhere, so... ). If I were smart, I'd sell the LPs, the turntable, the phono preamps ( got a bunch ), the vintage units, etc.. and just build systems around an Ultra, DAC and nice monoblocks.

My wife would love the uncluttering.

The only reason why I do LPs is because I'm sitting on 4000... so, it makes "some" sense to me. But 95% of my listening nowadays is from Tidal HiFi. The systems in my home office are strictly digital and they sound fantastic.

... but yet... the analog rig conveys the emotion better. I don't know why this is the case.

 

[Roedelheim]

15 years ago I was infected by vinyl although I grew up of course with cds. Chasing and collecting special pressings gives me one of the most fun aspects in the hobby. When I leave this earth I don't give a shit what happens to it. That's not an investment, it's fun.

 

[TonyE]

CDs.... well, of course you found LPs. I listen mostly to Hi Rez down streams. Although modern DACs do a reasonable job with Redbook.

Collecting special pressings... I got the complete reissues of Decca, Chesky, Columbia, etc... and now the pendejos are reissuing them in 45rpm.. Just started with Bruno Walter's Beethoven Symphonies...

Never ending. When I die I told my kids to build me a mausoleum, embalm me and bury me with my turntable and LPs. My son noted it might be more convenient if they bury me with a picture of the stereo. Figures.

Anyhow, I see little value for a phono preamp in the Ultra 2. It will likely be an afterthough as the current one. Just add a second AUX input and let the users go buy their own phono preamp. Lehman makes some very nice units indeed.

 

[harkpabst]

Sure there are lots and lots of fine phono pre-amps. But WiiM have a strong standing in the lifestyle oriented Hi-Fi market (even if those fooling around in Internet forums seem to think of them as high value mid- to high-end products). Having a single box and active speakers (or a power amp hidden away) is totally a common use case.

The current phono input is "good enough" for highish output MM cartridges. It is just borderline usable with high-output MCs like e.g. the legendary Denon DL-110. And for this exact case I'd like to have a better quality, lower noise phono input. If this could be made switchable between phono and line level, all the better.