The su-1 will give you the better sound over the ultra..trust me
SMSL SU-1 DAC with Ultra?
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Agree, connected the SU-1 to the Ultra this week, started with the USB out from ultra, sometimes the sound was very low and I needed to restart the ultra. I got tired of this intermittent behavior. Changed to coax out to coax in on SU-1 vow! the sound compared to the ultra was really better. Tried optical out and in, better than USB ( thinner base) but the coax was definitely the best interconnect of the three choices in my system.
hgo58
Senior Member
Volume is defined by the data, not the interface. So low volume on USB is probably an error on the SU-1.
There is no difference In the data between the optical and coax, so unless you have a faulty cable resulting in data corruption or a bad DAC interface, there can be no difference in the sound.
There is no difference In the data between the optical and coax, so unless you have a faulty cable resulting in data corruption or a bad DAC interface, there can be no difference in the sound.
Thanks for your comment. I’m not the only one mentioning this, there is another thread about this, the lower volume issue happens via USB ( when it happens) it is resolved when you reboot the ultra without touching anything else. I know how volume works in digital or analogue domain, so what I saying is two things here. First it is probably a interoperability SW bug between Ultra and SU-1. The other thing is more unexplainable. In theory Toslink is immune to electrical interference compared to Coaxial. When Toshiba developed the Toslink it supported max 48khz sampling rate, it was later upgraded in optical converters to 96 kHz and later to 192 kHz.
Very seldom it is demanded to go over 96 kHz but I have seen it on DACs showing the sampling rate.
In regards of sound difference on SMSL SU-1 on optical vs Coaxial coming from the WiiM ultra, there shouldn’t be any audiable difference. For some reason it is, try it yourself if you have access to this combo.
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Mr Ee
Major Contributor
Not at all.
The chip itself is just a small part in how a dac sounds; the implementation and analog circuitry is far more relevant.
Do they sound different though? No idea as I have neither!
hgo58
Senior Member
The most important part of the sound signature is how the DSP is implemented. Not only for EQ but for the full signal path.
I had the WiiM pro plus ( sold it to a friend a couple of weeks ago) and the SMSL SU-1. Now I have WiiM Ultra and SMSL SU-1.
I also have a SMSL C100 which is basically a SU-1 with a remote, display and BT connection.
Stand alone and sound wise, my experience is that the WiiM pro plus sounds better than WiiM Ultra.
In combination with an SU-1, the WiiM pro plus + SU-1 + 5v linear power supply to both units sounded absolutely best.
Second best was the ultra + SU-1 with the SU-1 on LPS and the ultra with built in switch mode PS.
The difference with WiiM pro plus with or without SU-1 is very small as long as you use a LPS.
I wanted the the bells and whistles WiiM ultra have but was disappointed with the sound compared to pro plus, that’s why my present combo is to pair it with a SU-1.
But it should also be said that biggest sound improvement is changing loadspeakers and convince your wife that a big thick new carpet in the living room in front of the loudspeaker is beautiful
You didn't qualify/quantify what is "sounds better" or "sounds best" in your opinion. It sounds like you simply prefer the AKM "Velvet Sound" vs the Sound Profile of the ESS.I had the WiiM pro plus ( sold it to a friend a couple of weeks ago) and the SMSL SU-1. Now I have WiiM Ultra and SMSL SU-1.
I also have a SMSL C100 which is basically a SU-1 with a remote, display and BT connection.
Stand alone and sound wise, my experience is that the WiiM pro plus sounds better than WiiM Ultra.
In combination with an SU-1, the WiiM pro plus + SU-1 + 5v linear power supply to both units sounded absolutely best.
Second best was the ultra + SU-1 with the SU-1 on LPS and the ultra with built in switch mode PS.
The difference with WiiM pro plus with or without SU-1 is very small as long as you use a LPS.
I wanted the the bells and whistles WiiM ultra have but was disappointed with the sound compared to pro plus, that’s why my present combo is to pair it with a SU-1.
But it should also be said that biggest sound improvement is changing loadspeakers and convince your wife that a big thick new carpet in the living room in front of the loudspeaker is beautiful
What sounded best was WiiM pro plus with SU1-1, both feeded with 5V linear power supply. You are correct that I prefer AKM DAC, but that doesn’t mean that ESS saber chip is bad. I would say that this probably can be different if you have ”warm” sounding speakers. ESS is more ”clinical” in sound but lack some base punch in my stereo set up.
ESS has its well known Midrange Hump - which if one is Volume Matching would result in slightly less Bass Emphasis.
slartibartfast
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The ESS midrange hump is an increase in THD not a change in frequency response.
David Sydney
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I bit the bullet, I bought the Topping E70Velet with the AK4499 on board, connected via USB (so that it uses e70 clock circuit) from the Ultra. With the Ultra still connected with RCA line out I can do side by side comparisons b/w Ess & akm! Holly crap, yet another level above!
betisbalompie
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What a coincidence! I've done exactly the same thing as you these days. I bought the DAC Topping E70 Velvet and connected it to the Wiim Ultra via USB, and as you say, it's truly another level! By the way, which output voltage have you selected on the Topping, 4V or 5V? Thanks
David Sydney
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Awesome betisbalompie... great minds! I haven't played with that yet as so still on default setting I think 4v.
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