Meet WiiM Ultra - The Digital Hub for Your Music

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And these potential "reviewers" buy not before the professional "reviewers" have convinced them to buy. Kind of a circulus vitiosus.
But a bunch of users here own an Ultra already. So hey, do not bring your experience only to this crowd here. Be brave. Become a YouTuber. Earn a fortune. (If you have an FM suitable face only, ask a more attractive one. 😂)
 
Achim1811 said:
And these potential "reviewers" buy not before the professional "reviewers" have convinced them to buy. Kind of a circulus vitiosus.
But a bunch of users here own an Ultra already. So hey, do not bring your experience only to this crowd here. Be brave. Become a YouTuber. Earn a fortune. (If you have an FM suitable face only, ask a more attractive one. 😂)
Click to expand...
What's an FM face? 🤔
 
 
alpha_zulu said:
Perhaps the embargo was only imposed on those testers who received a free device for this purpose. Others cannot be banned from posting their reviews. :cool:
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Yes , I see that the release of the Ultra world wide is 12 August .

Steve Huff probably pre ordered a WiiM Ultra for his own money .
 
Achim1811 said:
And these potential "reviewers" buy not before the professional "reviewers" have convinced them to buy. Kind of a circulus vitiosus.
But a bunch of users here own an Ultra already. So hey, do not bring your experience only to this crowd here. Be brave. Become a YouTuber. Earn a fortune. (If you have an FM suitable face only, ask a more attractive one. 😂)
Click to expand...

No matter, many of these video reviews are not ‘to camera’.

;)
 
Brantome said:
Well that was the most voted for GBP price in the WiiM poll ;)
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I wouldnt be surprised if its gonna be 400 dollars after 12 August . Especially if they fix the power supply power to reach the eversolo dmp a8 level in performance ?
 
satx said:
I received my Ultra on Saturday. This is my first post here and I don’t do reviews typically, but I see you guys are jonesing for some fresh news, as was I, so here goes.

First off, I placed an order with Crutchfield around June 10 and near the due date (7/5), I got an email pushing it back until 8/12. Then I saw it available from WiiM on Amazon for an August 23-25 delivery, ordered it, and it actually arrived a few days early.

First impressions were that it looked good, but the build quality was a bit less than I was (unreasonably?) expecting. It’s pretty light weight for the size and the aluminum seems quite thin, neither of which is that big of a deal. My only real issue is that the volume knob feels quite cheap; there’s minimal resistance, it’s not deep enough and it makes an unpleasant plastic on plastic sound when turned. Also, some kind of adapter is needed for the rca plugs with anything but basic cables. It would have been nice if some had been supplied like the phono ground adapter that’s in the box.

That’s about it for any negatives! I’m really enjoying it, minor issues notwithstanding!

My system is WiiM Ultra/ Tecnics 1500C TT/ Pro-Ject Tube Box S2/ RME ADI2 Dac/Hattor Audio NC500 mono amps and various diy speakers and subwoofers. The Ultra is replacing a Node 2i.

I made all comparisons by first level matching using an spl meter app on my phone. That being said, all these comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt because they are quick comparisons, but the WiiM sounds better than the Node with both as digital out into the RME being used as DAC and PRE. This is strictly down to the room correction. With it turned off, they sound the same to me. The room correction is quick and effective. It makes a subtle, but also hugely noticeable and worthwhile difference in my room. Much, much richer sound, and better than I was able to achieve with calibrated measurements and peq on the RME! I also have DIRAC in another room and it has a similar effect, but is much more time consuming to set up.

Comparing the sound through the RME DAC or run directly to the amps from the WiiM, the RME sounded quite a bit fuller and richer, but also more sparkly. I really didn’t expect too big of a difference, but it was easily noticeable. The only variable, besides auditory memory, is that the the RME is connected to the amps with XLR whereas the WIIM was using rca, for what that’s worth. Without a $1k+ DAC to compare to, I doubt I would be disappointed with the Ultra as an all in one device and any differences could potentially be made up with a bit of eq, but I didn’t try it.

When using the WIIM as a PRE, but RME as the DAC, I can discern no noticeable difference between that and the RME’s PRE section. Both are providing me with transparent, enjoyable, rich and detailed sound. That’s pretty big props in my book, because I’ve always considered the RME’s preamp section to be very clean and transparent. It also means the ability to use the Ultra’s subwoofer management and better remote for volume and whatnot. I just lose the RME’s loudness function.

I didn’t try the phono section, but did connect my phono pre to the Ultra’s line in and it works perfectly and as expected.

Overall, this device is fantastic! Functionality, value, sound quality and looks are all top notch as far as I can tell. I have a few issues still, but they all seem to be the usual suspects and I’m sure they’ll get sorted shortly. AirPlay, Apple Music integration and a decent potentiometer and knob would make this nearly perfect especially at the price or anywhere even close to it. And a few RCA adapters would be nice too. Thanks WiiM!

Hope that helps y’all get your fix until you get yours!
Click to expand...

Gentlemen, good morning.
I ask for a round of applause for this new member of the forum. He has taken great job to do these tests, and showing education, humility and good manners, he shared his experiences in just a few days of participation.
Thank you SatX, it is really a pleasure to read your posts.
Saludos, desde el sur del mundo!
 
satx said:
What DAC are you using? It sounds like your findings are the opposite of mine- DAC differences, but little to none with the preamps. It sounds like you’ve invested more time into this than me though, so don’t read too much into my opinions at this point.

Using the preamp on the Ultra and my DAC fixed with balanced out, I’m finding that I have a bit too much gain and don’t get the Ultra’s volume much past 50%
Click to expand...

Your RME does have balanced outs so that's double the voltage output of my Lyr 3 which is only RCA out. One is also at the mercy of your power amp's input sensitivity. I have an Aegir which does not have an input volume knob of its own. I might have a different experience with a another power amp or using an integrated amp. As a preamp, the sound quality of the Ultra is very good and I could easily live with it, but the Lyr 3, with its 6SN7 tube stage and no-IC class A design, is just a bit smoother. That's just a matter of taste. I've also been comparing the Ultra's DS DAC against the multibit DAC card in the Lyr. The Ultra's sound is closer to the multibit that any other DS DAC I've tried to date but still haven't reached a decision on which will be in regular use going forward. However, I'm in no hurry. Who knows, may even continue to routinely switch back and forth.
 
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Ok an update on my initial impressions…. The differences between the Ultra’s DAC and that of the RME are actually fairly minor.

I had accidentally turned off my subwoofer for the Ultra’s test, so this severely skewed my impressions! This time I turned off the subwoofer for both and also all eq including room correction. I used four songs and spent quite a bit more time listening this time.

I believe the RME was very slightly clearer and had a slightly taller soundstage. The largest difference I noticed was with piano (Benny Andersson- Aldrig), key strokes were more natural and bell like through the RME and a touch piercing through the Ultra.

So, after further listening, all differences between the two, besides functionality are fairly minor, as I would expect.
 
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