Meet WiiM Ultra - The Digital Hub for Your Music

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I wonder why Cheapaudioman and Darko hasnt done any review yet . They are usually always the first . Is it because the ultra is not ROON ready yet and that the USB output is functioning with firmware just recently ?

Or they just might be on vacation ?

I guess the best review at this time is Steve Huffs on youtube and in text .

Edit : the asynkron usb output to a dac is interesting because its not vunerable for Jitter . I have a Rega dac R with lots of inputs ( even asyncron usb ) , I will report if the sound gets any better using that output when I get my Ultra .
 
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pieterv1 said:
I'll also be using it as a digital preamp. Surely they'll have implemented a few fail-safes to always keep the same volume setting.

Actually my WiiM Pro seemed to do a good job of keeping the volume setting as well. Even when using it for chromecast, where my phone's volume buttons were taking control of the volume, I never got sudden volume jumps or anything.
Click to expand...
Yes , the pro:s volume regulation is very stable. According to onlyoneme the digital preamp on the Ultra regarding the digital volumecontrol measures the same as the pro. Really good .
 
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Musician said:
I wonder why Cheapaudioman and Darko hasnt done any review yet . They are usually always the first . Is it because the ultra is not ROON ready yet and that the USB output is functioning with firmware just recently ?

Or they just might be on vacation ?

I guess the best review at this time is Steve Huffs on youtube and in text .
Click to expand...
Or wait till Andrew Robinson get his hands on it.
 
mlsstl said:
Setup was a breeze -- less than 10 minutes to get going and half of that time was a firmware update on initial boot after setting the wireless connection. Again, with the WiiM app on my phone, this is one of the easiest streaming systems to get going. Alexa setup was easy and the voice remote worked fine to select and play music from my Amazon Music subscription. The Ultra also had no problem connecting to my Qobuz account and playing music using the WiiM phone app. The player was also immediately listed as a Squeezelite player on my LMS server and played music from there. So, kudos for an easy-to-setup and use streamer.

Sound-wise, I've only listened to a smattering of music using some headphones (nothing fancy - Grado SR125e.) Sound was very good with plenty of clear volume at 50% the way up. Music so far has consisted of some classical, some classic rock and a bit of eclectic folk. Note these are not the headphones I commonly use (that's a pair of Hifiman Sundara's with a Schiit Midgard headphone amp) but I was pleased the sound quality I heard.

Next step is to move this into my living room system and see how it works in that setup. I'm particularly interested in how it will compare to my Schiit Lyr 3 preamp with a multibit DAC card and RPi 4 player. I'm curious if the Ultra will work as a preamp replacement for the Lyr itself as I'm quite fond of it's sound. However, I'm impressed enough at the moment, that short of uncovering some tragic flaw, the Ultra is a keeper even if it doesn't replace the Lyr. More to be revealed!
Click to expand...
Question : Is the volume control on the Ultra made of metal or plastic ?
 
Did anyone notice:

WiiM Ultra Firmware Update

5.2.622235 ​

Release date:
7 / 5 / 2024

What's New:
  1. DLNA Behaviors Enhancement: Added support for loop and shuffle modes in DLNA playback. Also, enables seamless DSD audio file playback via DLNA.
While the Pro / Plus / Amp also received the Loop / Shuffle DLNA Playback in the same wave of Firmware Updates, none of them have the DSD Playback announced starting at "Also, enables...".
 
Kman said:
Why not set up Ultra as a Chromecast endpoint for Roon? You just need to download the Google Home app and set up your Ultra.
Click to expand...

I'm using Tidal Connect until Roon is supported. Chromecast did not work properly for me (it stopped playing after a few seconds). Since Tidal Connect is good enough, I did not try to troubleshoot it.
 
Musician said:
I wonder why Cheapaudioman and Darko hasnt done any review yet . They are usually always the first . Is it because the ultra is not ROON ready yet and that the USB output is functioning with firmware just recently ?

Or they just might be on vacation ?

I guess the best review at this time is Steve Huffs on youtube and in text .

Edit : the asynkron usb output to a dac is interesting because its not vunerable for Jitter . I have a Rega dac R with lots of inputs ( even asyncron usb ) , I will report if the sound gets any better using that output when I get my Ultra .
Click to expand...
In a video in the middle of June I recall that Darko said the Ultra had an estimated arrival in the middle of July. So a review already now would be impossible.

It seems that WiiM have not had a huge number of Ultra’s for reviewers before the salesdate for regular customers.
 
I hope he is taking time to do a decent review including some of the newer features like room correction (compared to dirac, room perfect...). And on top the obvious comparisons against similar streamers/preamp options.
 
s3igell said:
Did anyone notice:

WiiM Ultra Firmware Update

5.2.622235 ​

Release date:
7 / 5 / 2024

What's New:
  1. DLNA Behaviors Enhancement: Added support for loop and shuffle modes in DLNA playback. Also, enables seamless DSD audio file playback via DLNA.
While the Pro / Plus / Amp also received the Loop / Shuffle DLNA Playback in the same wave of Firmware Updates, none of them have the DSD Playback announced starting at "Also, enables...".
Click to expand...
Good news on DSD, now I guess the remaining question is what does "enables seamless DSD audio file playback via DLNA" include?

Does it include input of DSD files from DLNA servers and output of DSD to DLNA renderers? Does it support both native and DoP output over both DLNA and usb? How about input of DSD files from usb attached disks? Is it both DSF and DFF formats? Does it do dsd to pcm conversions? What dsd sample rates are supported?

I guess we have to wait for app updates to know for sure.
 
What's the maximum supported capacity the Ultra has for USB HDD?

If a large 10TB USB HDD can be connected (NTFS?)

And will it scan and build up a local database for the HDD music?
 
So here’s a question maybe someone can answer.

Given that the phono stage is digital, was there any need for both phono and line inputs, apart for allowing both a record deck and one other analogue input? Could one input not simply have had auto detect for the signal coming in?

It’s just that I’d guess there are more people wanting to add two digital devices (or choose between optical and coax) than two analogue devices.
 
Steve Woodhouse said:
So here’s a question maybe someone can answer.

Given that the phono stage is digital, was there any need for both phono and line inputs, apart for allowing both a record deck and one other analogue input? Could one input not simply have had auto detect for the signal coming in?

It’s just that I’d guess there are more people wanting to add two digital devices (or choose between optical and coax) than two analogue devices.
Click to expand...
How much more digital devices would you need apart from a cd player, given that the WiiM itself has got pretty much all the streaming services covered? :)

For me the input set of the Ultra is *exactly* what I need actually 😉

Cd player via toslink
Turntable to phono
Cassette player to line in
Tv to HDMI ARC

I think it was the most sensible choice for them to offer one of each. Line signals or optical signals can still go through a signal selector of some kind. I currently use a toslink switcher taking care of multiple digital sources going to my current DAC without any quality loss. This one specifically is fully automated and doesn't require a remote or anything. It uses input sensing to prioritize one port over the other.

www.tindie.com

Automatic SPDIF (Optical/RCA) Audio Switch by Beni_Skate on Tindie

Automatic Optical/RCA SPDIF Audio Switch with Optical/RCA SPDIF Output and additional high quality Audio DAC
www.tindie.com www.tindie.com
 
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Musician said:
I wonder why Cheapaudioman and Darko hasnt done any review yet . They are usually always the first . Is it because the ultra is not ROON ready yet and that the USB output is functioning with firmware just recently ?

Or they just might be on vacation ?

I guess the best review at this time is Steve Huffs on youtube and in text .

Edit : the asynkron usb output to a dac is interesting because its not vunerable for Jitter . I have a Rega dac R with lots of inputs ( even asyncron usb ) , I will report if the sound gets any better using that output when I get my Ultra .
Click to expand...
I think there may be an embargo in place.
 
Steve Woodhouse said:
So here’s a question maybe someone can answer.

Given that the phono stage is digital, was there any need for both phono and line inputs, apart for allowing both a record deck and one other analogue input? Could one input not simply have had auto detect for the signal coming in?

It’s just that I’d guess there are more people wanting to add two digital devices (or choose between optical and coax) than two analogue devices.
Click to expand...
Very much different gain in the analogue circuitry, different input impedance, different input capacitance would be my answer.
 
dtc said:
Good news on DSD, now I guess the remaining question is what does "enables seamless DSD audio file playback via DLNA" include?

Does it include input of DSD files from DLNA servers and output of DSD to DLNA renderers? Does it support both native and DoP output over both DLNA and usb? How about input of DSD files from usb attached disks? Is it both DSF and DFF formats? Does it do dsd to pcm conversions? What dsd sample rates are supported?

I guess we have to wait for app updates to know for sure.
Click to expand...
That is good news. I plan to use JRiver to play DSD over DLNA.
 
I would love a phono input that was switchable to Line as well as between MM and MC.

I've shown how I intend to use the Ultra in my setup before, but I'll repeat it anyway.
The Ultra will replace both my Yamaha WXC-50 and Squeezebox Touch.
Squeezelite inboard to play from LMS.
Opt in: CD player
Line in: Phono amplifier (I am not impressed by the Ultra's published phono specs.).
Phono in: Not used. Refer to my first line. It would be nice to have the option to use this for something.
Opt out: MiniDSP Flex Eight (handles 4-way crossovers, individual and global EQ).
Coax out: Not used. Maybe for a future DAC Headphone amp.
Sub out: Not used.
Line out: Headphone amp (my cans are 250 Ohm). I will set some PEQs in the Ultra for my cans.

Silver for me please. The waiting is the hardest part.
 
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