My WiiM Pro Plus (+) tests

[Mr Ee]

Might have to try a pro plus one day, but I've only got one hifi system left without a streamer, so they'd better get down under soon!

 

[onlyoneme]

@onlyoneme do you hear exaggerated or fat/tubby uncontrollable bass ? How could this translate to measurements if it is a correct impression ? Low distortion in some low frequencies maybe?

Try the bunker analog bass tests. ( whole album can be found at tidal/Apple music/YouTube music and other streaming services

I didn't even try any listening tests yet. First things first

 

[canard]

Hi Adias,

I appreciate your perspective and mean no disrespect. However, we've had beta users test the exact setup you're mentioning above, and their findings were quite different. That being said, personal preferences can vary, and we respect your right to conduct your own listening tests. Cheers!

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all of your efforts concerning the analog part clearly seem to bear fruit.. but do your teams or akm support understand the reason for this somewhat regrettable behavior at low frequency in smpte etc on the onlyoneme pre-series?
;-))

 

[Brantome]

all of your efforts concerning the analog part clearly seem to bear fruit.. but do your teams or akm support understand the reason for this somewhat regrettable behavior at low frequency in smpte etc on the onlyoneme pre-series?
;-))

I’m sure WiiM will take on board any comments made by @onlyoneme and other beta testers and make changes where required if they impact the device’s audible response.

 

[canard]

certainly...
but the notion of audibility is really not the "right lever", it seems to me... so much in the end many people do not seem to hear much... hihi

 

[Smartplug]

Yes. Easy bet.

There’s more to D-to-A than using a given dac chip, notwithstanding how it measures.

Agree, now a days users are so focus on what chipset was used wether ess or akm but what really change the sound signature is the analog stage. An example on this was Yamaha Rxv 6a which use the same chipset as the wiim pro but it’s sound quality surpass than those with latest external dac that uses latest chipset from akm/ess. Yamaha paid so much attention on analog stage instead of just focusing on chipset which is half the story.

 

[WiiM Support]

all of your efforts concerning the analog part clearly seem to bear fruit.. but do your teams or akm support understand the reason for this somewhat regrettable behavior at low frequency in smpte etc on the onlyoneme pre-series?
;-))

Hi Canard,

Sure thing. Our team is actively investigating the SMPTE test at low-frequency and will keep the community posted. Please stay tuned! Thank you all for your continued support.

 

[adias]

Agree, now a days users are so focus on what chipset was used wether ess or akm but what really change the sound signature is the analog stage. An example on this was Yamaha Rxv 6a which use the same chipset as the wiim pro but it’s sound quality surpass than those with latest external dac that uses latest chipset from akm/ess. Yamaha paid so much attention on analog stage instead of just focusing on chipset which is half the story.

It goes well beyond the analog stage, important as that is. The chipset needs software and that’s where the magic is. Others spent decades honing that and they are not giving it away. Thus my comments before.

WiiM has done a great job where it matters - the stream part and integration of stream services. An all-in-one solution may be needed by some but it will always be a compromise.

What I, and others, want is the current Pro with a clean USB-c bit-perfect output port. And that has been promised and we are waiting.

 

[steadyshot]

By looking the thd graph of sweep signal both low and high over 10k, what I see is a thd which peaks at around 0.001. There is no way that so low thd even in the worst case scenario poses any issues..

 

[merifon]

What I, and others, want is the current Pro with a clean USB-c bit-perfect output port.

Maybe I have a limited perspective but since the performances of nowadays DAC, with toslink or spdif, i really don't see how an usb output could do some difference. Maybe old urban legends about coax and optic are still on the pitch?
Anyway, any added option is better than no options...

 

[onlyoneme]

clean USB-c bit-perfect output port

What is this?

 

[onlyoneme]

By looking the thd graph of sweep signal both low and high over 10k, what I see is a thd which peaks at around 0.001. There is no way that so low thd even in the worst case scenario poses any issues..

Many times I've seen claims of hearing things that weren't even measurable. This one can at least be measured.

 

[adias]

What is this?

Very low noise/jitter USB transceiver.

 

[canard]

Hi Canard,

Sure thing. Our team is actively investigating the SMPTE test at low-frequency and will keep the community posted. Please stay tuned! Thank you all for your continued support.

onlyoneme continues to enrich the 1st message of this thread.. there has slipped a sweep distortion-frequency measurement which should interest your team... ;-)
(of course at all frequencies the distortion is much lower than the pro .. but there is something to clearly investigate and it's the right time ;-) )

 

[onlyoneme]

Very low noise/jitter USB transceiver.

To connect it to the HQ DAC with very low noise usb port and very low jitter clock, right? Have you ever seen/heard the difference when the output usb port of the streamer was not so very low noise/jitter?

 

[sevencom]

What I, and others, want is the current Pro with a clean USB-c bit-perfect output port. And that has been promised and we are waiting.

Where did you read this? I haven't seen this in the pro specs.

 

[Brantome]

Where did you read this? I haven't seen this in the pro specs.

It hasn’t been promised for the Pro, but it has been suggested that a future WiiM device will include a usb out. Perhaps the statement above is just poorly phrased.

 

[steadyshot]

Many times I've seen claims of hearing things that weren't even measurable. This one can at least be measured.

Yes you are right . Can you share if you heard any artifacts in sound ? I know you want to follow an order but let’s say I am eager to hear something preliminary!

 

[Maurizio]

Would be great! My DAC option is able up to 384 via USB.
So when in 2075 the streaming services will deliver this resolution: I am ready

Edit: My only fear is my ears then are not longer good enough.

I looked at SMSL500MKIII Specs. Could you believe? Through USB it can reach 768 kHZ - 32 bit. Well, great, but... I wonder. Does it make practical sense?

 

[Brantome]

Yes you are right . Can you share if you heard any artifacts in sound ? I know you want to follow an order but let’s say I am eager to hear something preliminary!

I haven’t heard any “artifacts” in my daily listening with the Pro Plus. YMMV…