slartibartfast
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What makes the sound quality better?
Features wanted in a Wiim Ultra 2
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But it would also bring in more customers.
Heck, as far as I'm concerned, they can drop the whole DAC/equalizer/volume, etc... put a larger OLED touchscreen and sell it as a very good IP Audio to ( USB/Coax/optical ) bridge. For inputs use ethernet, WiFi 7, USB-C.
Then perhaps make the DAC and output section (with balanced and single ended outputs) as an option on a plug in card.
Sell it for 600 bucks with no DAC/analog output, 1000 with DAC/analog output.
It would compete with the Topping D90 and others at that price except it would add the Audio over IP which would be awesome.
Keep the current one for the entry level crowd.
steadyshot
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Not my job to explain how and why . Whatever people into the hobby myself included perceive as better in comparison
slartibartfast
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Well you've listened and determined it to be better. What was better about it?
So you just dismissed an entire industry? I mean, per your assertion, we might as well buy the cheapest stuff around.
Here's a "developer in his right mind" talking about such things... notice how he ties listening with hardware design and measurements. I mean, this guy listens and designs and measures, rinse and repeat.
Audio distortion and feedback - Pass Labs
Audiophiles seem to revel in minor controversies – vinyl vs CD’s, tubes versus solid state, capacitor, wires, magic dots… and negative feedback. At one extreme, the position is that “feedback makes amplifiers perfect”. At the other extreme, “feedback is a … Continue reading →
www.passlabs.com
And this discussion is going away from "features wanted".
The man wrote down what he wants... don't just dismiss it. Tell us instead what YOU want.
Honestly, the ASR - Julian Hirsch - mentality gets old fast. Trying to ridicule others... why don't you just open up your mind to the fact that there may be more to life than what you believe?
What I want in the Ultra..
(1) An IP bridge with digital inputs/outputs version. Without DAC, equalizer, volume or analog section.
(2) An optional board with DAC and analog output, socketed opamps and SE and balanced outputs. An Alps pot for volume.
(3) A larger touchscreen OLED
(4) A homogenized WiiM Home that works and looks the same in PC, Android and Chromebook.
BTW, have noticed how Tidal Connect will disconnect from the Tidal playing in your PC/Android/Chromebook?
(5) How about a web interface to control the Ultra? I'm not too keen on forcing an application on the user's machine.
@slartibartfast
BTW, right now this Ultra is making some truly awesome music, playing Hot Rize and Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. I run it using Tidal Connect... outputs to the Nitsch DAC which also serves as preamp.
How does it sound? Well, it's the system... but I removed the preamp ( a CJ ET3SE ) out of the loop and..
- Soundstage is deep. I can hear the difference of how instruments were recorded, front to back, side to side.
- Voices and instruments are separate. I can hear them in their place in the soundstage as separate entities, when one comes in and out, louder of softer, it doesn't affect the others.
- When the volume gets loud, the instruments don't get harsh or hard. This is important for stuff like massed choral music.
- The soundstage is constant, it doesn't shrink or expend, whether the music gets loud or soft.
- The timbre of the instruments is true, they sound like real instruments with proper body, tone and attack
- It sounds like a very good facsimile of live music
When I play the WiiM's own DAC, the soundstage shrinks and I don't get the feel that the players are in front of me.
Notice the write up about that DAC/preamp... of particular importance is the design of the analog output section ( sure the DAC I got in it is very good too..)..
Magni Piety
Schiit Collab Happens While traveling around SoCal, Christian met up with Schiit co-founder Jason Stoddard at Schiit's Valencia location. He got the chance to listen to an odd and interesting little amp. The Magni Piety ("Apostolic Edition" at the time) had the look of a Magni amp, but its...
nitschsound.com
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EddNog
Senior Contributor
Might as well go straight to https://www.machinadynamica.com/machina31.htm
Audio Acccessories - Teleportation Tweak, Long Distance Telephone
Teleportation tweak, long distance tweak, Audio Tweak, telephone
www.machinadynamica.com
Just call the guy, while he's relaxing in Monaco, send him your credit card number info and he'll fix your stereo...
Superb! Why didn't I think of that?
Zappa was so far ahead with all of this...
The mystery man came over
And he said, "I'm out of sight"
He said, "For a nominal service charge
I could reach Nirvana tonight"
If I was ready, willing and able
To pay him his regular fee
He would drop all the rest of his pressing affairs
And devote his attention to me
..
Look here, brother
Who you jivin' with that cosmic debris?
Now is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
Don't you know, you could make more money as a butcher
So don't you waste your time on me
...
I think it's time for the Ultra to do some Cosmik Debris
...
BTW, my great-great-great-great-great..-grand father started the family business when he decided he could make more money as a butcher than as a sheepherder.... So, yes, butchers can make good money..
EddNog
Senior Contributor
One of the best-paid people in all of the food industry are the guys who make the first cut straight down the middle of beef cattle to render the cow in exactly two halves. This is the only thing they do all day long and they make six figures a year doing it.
-Ed
HansD-NL
Valued Contributor
I disagree on removing anything. It is the Ultra after all, give me all the bells and whistles please.
Keep the Phono in but I will propose a switcheable phono input. I like the current implementation but I wouldn't mind being able to use an external phono amp later. I like playing back my vinyl with room correction.
A larger, wider screen would be nice. I also really like the round screen on the Sound. A spinning round album is really nice. Maybe a wider screen + round screen on the button?
Balanced out XLR/TRS jacks in addition to the RCA would be nice but not a requirement IMHO.
Native DSD support.
A tape loop (fixed volume In + fixed volume Out) would be really nice for us Cassette/MiniDisc/Reel-to-Reel nerds.
Coax-In addition to TosLink. Maybe even a Coax-Out.
I personally don't use the HDMI due to other issues but are we all happy with the current HDMI implementation?
I really don't like making assertions... but one thing is certain: for anyone with a bit of perspective on this subject, the idea of an MC stage here is a bit ridiculous...
if we really want to keep a phono stage... we might as well keep an MM stage but with real quality improvements, just like for a line stage input too , or headphone output...
And if there's a way to switch it between line and phono... even better.
if we really want to keep a phono stage... we might as well keep an MM stage but with real quality improvements, just like for a line stage input too , or headphone output...
And if there's a way to switch it between line and phono... even better.
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Yeah phono stage on a streamer is a pretty stupid addition
Those in high end vinyl dislike audio streamers and the wiim digitises inputs so that's a double nope
They will also have dedicated phones stages
Those in budget market will have record decks with built in phono stage
I'd rather have an additional line level input. Or at least the phono stage input can be bypassed so it's used as a regular line level input
I'd have liked slightly bigger screen, IR receiver
Many (?) see this machine not just as a streamer but as an "all-in-one" preamp...
""""I'd have liked slightly bigger screen, IR receiver"""
That doesn't seem very useful to me either.
;-)
No, I certainly didn't. Neither explicitly nor implicitly.
Nelson Pass surely is a developer in his right mind and a legend (even though a bit stubborn when it comes to negative feedback). Thanks for the link.
For those who didn't read the entire article (minority or majority): It discusses the implications of non-linear gain devices regarding different aspects of harmonic and intermodulation distortion. It just slightly touches on the very basics of how harmonic distortion is perceived, clearly stating that popular concepts like the 2nd harmonic sounding musically and 3rd harmonic sounding harsh are not backed by empirical research. He goes on to argue that IMD is usually more of an issue than HD, anyway.
Pass makes no statement implying that listening alone could be useful in developing an amplifier (or any other piece of kit). Instead, the article mostly explains in terms of simulations and measurements the effects of non-linearities concerning the input signal (explicitly leaving othe non-linearities aside).
All the graphs show data for zero feedback scenarios, only. To learn more about why negative feedback is so helpful (and so misunderstood), here is a slightly more recent article by the best known developer of the most accurate class-D amplifiers in the world, Bruno Putzeys (Phillips, Hypex, Purifi, Kii Audio, ...):
Audiophile Myths About Amplifier Negative Feedback Debunked
What is feedback and how does it affect audio? Here we present a pseudo-interview to help answer questions about feedback; a fascinating and complex topic that lies at the core of successful design.
www.audioholics.com
True.
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Dude
Active Member
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Airplay is still needed and useful. Especially to play a library of rips or downloaded lossless files from a Mac to a WiiM. It actually sounds really great direct from the the Mac Control Center Output option (or via Airfoil) and plays lossless files 16/44.1 on a Pro Plus. Unless you only have a bunch of files that are 24/48 or higher, for CD rips, Airplay is the simple solution from Mac (at least).
Why would I be interested in Bluetooth like audio transmission when i have ethernet or WiFi? No loss there.
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