Listening impressions with the WiiM Ultra compared to the WiiM pro+ and compared to other streamers

pieterv1 said:
"neutral effects" is a bit self-contradictory ;)

Anyways, It's just a bit naive to base yourself on one YouTuber's subjective findings, without any measurements. More often than not, things perceived like "air", "openness", "texture" are distortions in the high frequency domain.
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By saying neutral effect I mean that whatever the change during the reclocking the output was audibly imperceptible from the previous state, not that no measured changed was introduced.

What I understand from the word clean(low noise and distortion) is a sound not exaggerated in high frequencies. It is a sound that is calm, dark in-between music/notes, details are easily perceptible without being bright or harsh.
 
harkpabst said:
The reviewer in this video isn't taken seriously for good reason. :)
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Well there is experience also. There is no substitute for experience. And he has vastly bigger experience in hearing various equipment than many... So yeah I am not completely dismissive. Therefore I think there is a chance that the clock inside the 60usd smsl is better.
 
NGL, I generally like his video's and he reviews some awesome budget gear. It's great to get an idea of the basic functionality of the devices (although that's where he gets it wrong sometimes as well).

There seems to be a pattern though where every so often he stumbles upon a "killer device" which totally obliterates the thing he reviewed just a few weeks earlier. Again, without any measurements. He then seems to want to create a lot fuss while actually the difference is probably negligible.
 
Burnside said:
It’s nitpicking, but in the context of the video and the entire post, the insinuation is that it isn’t on par. But I’m sure he’ll elucidate…
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This made me go back and re-read it and taking his 2 lines into account .. yes maybe I've misunderstood what he was saying, I'd focused on the 2nd line which can be taken 2 ways .... depending what else has gone before it.
 
Interesting, I get curious of course but no proof unless one tries for themselves I guess....
 
steadyshot said:
Well there is experience also. There is no substitute for experience. And he has vastly bigger experience in hearing various equipment than many... So yeah I am not completely dismissive. Therefore I think there is a chance that the clock inside the 60usd smsl is better.
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That reviewer is a joke....just another audiophool with a LOT of imagination and making up flowery prose to describe things he imagined he heard.
 
nightrhyme said:
I’m looking for subjective sound Impressions purely as streamer. More specifically digital coax output. Wiim pro vs ultra.

Anyone ?
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I have both and there is no difference in sound between the two, neither on coax nor on optical.

Why should there be? It's the same software handling a digital stream.

The clock pression may be different between the two but both have jitter noise below what you can hear.
 
nightrhyme said:
I’m looking for subjective sound Impressions purely as streamer. More specifically digital coax output. Wiim pro vs ultra.

Anyone ?
Click to expand...

The Ultra via USB out to a DAC with galvanic USB input and better reconstruction clock is the better one.
 
nightrhyme said:
I’m looking for subjective sound Impressions purely as streamer. More specifically digital coax output. Wiim pro vs ultra.

Anyone ?
Click to expand...
I have both (and also a Pro+ and Mini) and don't hear any audible difference between them, though the Ultra has a technically better DAC. I'd say which you choose depends more on what features you want. The Ultra costs more but has a screen, phono input, sub out and other things the Pro doesn't. If you don't want the extra features but would like to match the specifications advantage of the Ultra, get the Pro+.
 
Thanx for input

I already have the pro but would upgrade if the sound quality would justify it.

Was thinking about the Cambridge cnx100 which I’m confident would be a noticeable upgrade but i really like the wiim software.
 
nightrhyme said:
Thanx for input

I already have the pro but would upgrade if the sound quality would justify it.

Was thinking about the Cambridge cnx100 which I’m confident would be a noticeable upgrade but i really like the wiim software.
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The Cambridge doesn’t offer USB out, does it? Which DAC do you have?
 
nightrhyme said:
Thanx for input

I already have the pro but would upgrade if the sound quality would justify it.

Was thinking about the Cambridge cnx100 which I’m confident would be a noticeable upgrade but i really like the wiim software.
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The only limitation of the Pro is it has a run-of-the-mill DAC. If you like the WiiM software, perhaps the easiest fix for you is a better DAC. Plenty of DACs available for a reasonable price which you can run from the coax or optical out of the Pro. Just order one from Amazon, try it out, and if you don't like it, or can't hear a difference, send it back. Other than your time & effort, that's a no-cost experiment.

It is perhaps because I'm getting old and my high frequency hearing is nowhere near where it used to be, but I had a Schiit Bifrost 2 -- a not inexpensive R2R DAC for several years. I ended up selling it after doing a back-to-back comparison with my WiiM players and couldn't tell any meaningful difference, especially so when I wasn't looking at the gear! I'm very happy with the sound quality of my WiiM units with no external DACs. (Well, not 100% true -- I do use one with a Fiio K11 headphone amp, but the K11 does not accept line input so I have to use a digital connection.)
 
nightrhyme said:
Thanx for input

I already have the pro but would upgrade if the sound quality would justify it.

Was thinking about the Cambridge cnx100 which I’m confident would be a noticeable upgrade but i really like the wiim software.
Click to expand...
I own a Ultra and 2 Cambridge (CXN v2 and MXN10) and yes, Cambridge audio quality is superior but... if you're used to Wiim software it's hard to move to StreamMagic software: compared to Wiim's one, it looks like a joke in many aspects.
However, TBH I must mention two things that make Cambridge software better then the Wiim: 1) When you select a song it starts playing immediately (with Wiim there are always a couple of seconds before anything starts playing, even with a good solid cable network connection. 2) When you select a song, it just plays (the option "play from here" is fantastic).
 
Vignus said:
I own a Ultra and 2 Cambridge (CXN v2 and MXN10) and yes, Cambridge audio quality is superior but... if you're used to Wiim software it's hard to move to StreamMagic software: compared to Wiim's one, it looks like a joke in many aspects.
However, TBH I must mention two things that make Cambridge software better then the Wiim: 1) When you select a song it starts playing immediately (with Wiim there are always a couple of seconds before anything starts playing, even with a good solid cable network connection. 2) When you select a song, it just plays (the option "play from here" is fantastic).
Click to expand...
Thank you for reply

Just wanted to make sure we are talking about the quality of digital coax out?

I’m finding myself tempted to upgrade to a Cambridge streamer.
 
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