Scraping volume control

B

beadlesabout

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2024
Messages
21
My volume control makes a horrible scraping sound. It’s rubbing somewhere and quite unpleasant to use. A reviewer also mentioned this (Forbes).

I’d like to understand how common this flaw is from the community here to decide if it’s worth trying for a replacement unit.

If it is common, it’s a very disappointing oversight. There’s only one tactile element on the Ultra they needed to get right! It’s always a bit rubbish when no thought goes into the action on the volume knob.
 
If I was you I would rather send feedback to WiiM directly through the WiiM Home App (Settings >> Send us feedback) than start collecting statistical data. ;) You can also talk to your reseller.
 
I just don’t want to waste my time if it’s normal and I’m looking for an unbiased view. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood the culture of this forum?
 
I tried mine after reading your post and it's not great. I got mine today and to be honest I haven't used the volume control on the unit. Just been using the remote or the volume on my phone. I would suggest that if it is really bad then get the unit changed. I don't think too many people have theirs yet although I hope they can help you. Mine just feels dry and a bit cheap
Hope this helps
Ronnie D
 
beadlesabout said:
I just don’t want to waste my time if it’s normal and I’m looking for an unbiased view. Perhaps I’ve misunderstood the culture of this forum?
Click to expand...
Probably not, you are free to ask, of course. It's a little unlikely that owners' view on the topic will be really unbiased, but you are probably prepared to take that with a grain of salt. ;)

The volume knob with all the mechanics behind it is made from plastic, so don't expect the haptic quality of high end gear with knobs machined from aerospace grade aluminium. Having said that, the production units are not expected to emitt a scraping noise when turning the knob. From my own experience this will improve over time but might not vanish completely.

If it bothers you too much, a replacement unit should most likely do better.
 
harkpabst said:
Probably not, you are free to ask, of course. It's a little unlikely that owners' view on the topic will be really unbiased, but you are probably prepared to take that with a grain of salt. ;)

The volume knob with all the mechanics behind it is made from plastic, so don't expect the haptic quality of high end gear with knobs machined from aerospace grade aluminium. Having said that, the production units are not expected to emitt a scraping noise when turning the knob. From my own experience this will improve over time but might not vanish completely.

If it bothers you too much, a replacement unit should most likely do better.
Click to expand...
The volume knob on the amp feels fine and even has notches.
 
slartibartfast said:
The volume knob on the amp feels fine and even has notches.
Click to expand...
Yep, but it's a very different design. The fact that the play icon rotates with the knob obviously drove some wannabe OCD patients crazy, so WiiM came up with a ... errr ... better solution for the Ultra. Only the outer rim rotates, the centre remains fixed.
 
The problem I'm experiencing isn't that the volume knob scrapes consistently, ie there's friction all the way around the turn, it's that it scrapes significantly at certain points only in the turn, as if it's fouling the front panel in some way. It's not great.

I'm going to try another unit.
 
The other unit scrapes in the exact same way, so I’m going to assume it’s “normal” and live with it.
 
I have at least worked out what's happening. The outer ring / knob wobbles a bit as it turns (as most digital volume knobs do these days) but the concentric play button in the centre stays put, so the outer ring is scraping against the button. Hope that makes sense!

It does actually get better over time - The scraping starts to wear down the button or the ring, not sure which and produces some dust that causes a grinding feeling (not good). However, the grinding is temporary until the next time enough dust is produced by the surfaces scraping against one another.

I think over time, it will scrape enough away that it stops.

Good times.
 
When turning the volume knob on my ultra there is a distinct grating / rubbing sound. The knob seems to not be far enough away from the body of the device. I've read this elsewhere. Anyone got a fix for this? It makes my spine shiver every time. Thanks.
 
Longfellow78 said:
I just made a new thread about this. Mine does it as well. It feels gross.
Click to expand...
Can’t find your thread now…

I went through two units with this issue and it’s mentioned in multiple reviews, so I think it’s extremely common. It might even be it affects every unit and people who don’t notice are just more relaxed about things.

I thought it would improve with use, so I turned it about 100 revolutions.

It did improve in terms of scraping, but it was replaced by a gritty grinding so I think some material was removed and caught in the mechanism.

Shoddy at any price.
 
I'm actually using it as a fixed output to my DAC, so it's not that annoying. But I don't like it even on a "budget" hifi piece.
 
Same here, also fixed and also just hate that they let it out like this. Tactility can still be good at this low price.
 
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