Help me decide: Wiim Ultra or Wiim Amp Ultra?

[mrehorst]

I have two stereo systems, one in the bedroom and one in the living room.

The bedroom system is a Wiim Amp Pro driving a pair of Canton Ergo 22DC bookshelf speakers.

The living room system consists of an Advance Paris A12 integrated amp with a Wiim Pro Plus streamer and a CD player, connected to B&W 703 S3 speakers and Quad ESL-63 speakers. I also have an SVS 3000 Micro sub that I mostly use with the Quads (they need it!).

I recently tried the Wiim Amp Pro with the Quads and the sub, with bass management set up as a crossover, and really liked it. One of the things I really liked about it was the simplicity of the UI when streaming music from my LMS server or Tidal. Just select the music and the amp and sub wake up and play, and when the music ends, they go back to sleep. To my ears, sound quality was great. I also used and liked RoomFit.

I can add a Wiim Ultra streamer to the main system and use its DAC for CD playback (I have a very old TEAC VRDS-20 CDP), and use bass management as a crossover, and connect it to the sub. I'm already able to play the Wiim Pro Plus in the main system (on either the Quads or B&Ws). The main drawback here is the UI. I have to switch on the amp, wait 30 seconds for its tubes to warm up, then select the input on the amp (and on the Wiim Ultra if I want to play a CD). The main advantage would be using the higher powered A12 amp to drive the Quads.

The alternative is to get a Wiim Amp Ultra and separate the Quads and sub from the rest of the system entirely. This gives me a bit more power than the Wiim Amp Pro and all the bass management and RoomFit, with the super easy UI. I can still use the Wiim Pro Plus in the main system in case I want to play streamed music on the B&Ws.

Hmmm. Maybe I'll get the Wiim Ultra Streamer and live with it for a while. If I miss the super easy UI, I can pull the Wiim Ultra streamer out of the main system (and put the WPP back) and get an amp to drive the Quads. Maybe a couple Topping B200s... unless Wiim comes out with a higher power amp...

 

[Aquaman]

I have two stereo systems, one in the bedroom and one in the living room.

The bedroom system is a Wiim Amp Pro driving a pair of Canton Ergo 22DC bookshelf speakers.

The living room system consists of an Advance Paris A12 integrated amp with a Wiim Pro Plus streamer and a CD player, connected to B&W 703 S3 speakers and Quad ESL-63 speakers. I also have an SVS 3000 Micro sub that I mostly use with the Quads (they need it!).

I recently tried the Wiim Amp Pro with the Quads and the sub, with bass management set up as a crossover, and really liked it. One of the things I really liked about it was the simplicity of the UI when streaming music from my LMS server or Tidal. Just select the music and the amp and sub wake up and play, and when the music ends, they go back to sleep. To my ears, sound quality was great. I also used and liked RoomFit.

I can add a Wiim Ultra streamer to the main system and use its DAC for CD playback (I have a very old TEAC VRDS-20 CDP), and use bass management as a crossover, and connect it to the sub. I'm already able to play the Wiim Pro Plus in the main system (on either the Quads or B&Ws). The main drawback here is the UI. I have to switch on the amp, wait 30 seconds for its tubes to warm up, then select the input on the amp (and on the Wiim Ultra if I want to play a CD). The main advantage would be using the higher powered A12 amp to drive the Quads.

The alternative is to get a Wiim Amp Ultra and separate the Quads and sub from the rest of the system entirely. This gives me a bit more power than the Wiim Amp Pro and all the bass management and RoomFit, with the super easy UI. I can still use the Wiim Pro Plus in the main system in case I want to play streamed music on the B&Ws.

Hmmm. Maybe I get the Wiim Ultra Streamer and live with it for a while. If I miss the super easy UI, I can pull the Wiim Ultra streamer out of the main system (and put the WPP back) and get an amp to drive the Quads. Maybe a couple Topping B200s... unless Wiim comes out with a higher power amp...

Ugh, you‘ve got a load of options here.
Though one thing that jumps to mind, can you not use your amp as a power amp with a trigger from the Ultra? And maybe a pass-through to the sub? Use the Ultra as a pre-amp. This way you would maintain your legacy system and enhance it by auto sensing inputs and on and off.

 

[hoohoohoo]

Get the WiiM Amp Ultra. It does everything that the WiiM Ultra does plus it has an amp. Then you can experiment and find your natural use case. If your usage changes, then you have the flexibility to change as needed. It's $160 difference which isn't crazy.

 

[mrehorst]

Unfortunately, the A12 amp has two trigger outputs but no trigger inputs. I do have a SofaBaton universal remote control that I use with the system, though it isn't ideal. It can theoretically work with IR, bluetooth, and wifi remote capable devices, but the bluetooth functionality seems limited.

 

[mrehorst]

Get the WiiM Amp Ultra. It does everything that the WiiM Ultra does plus it has an amp. Then you can experiment and find your natural use case. If your usage changes, then you have the flexibility to change as needed. It's $160 difference which isn't crazy.

True dat!