Ultra's Clock vs External DAC's Clock??

[Nedmundo]

Swapping from coax to usb to my Denafrips Ares ii made a very noticeable difference to me. I'd argue the USB out alone makes the upgrade to the Ultra worthwhile

 

[Witterings]

Just thought I'd update for anyone that may be interested ..... I moved everything around last night so I could reach the Qutest and easily toggle between inputs and the difference in sound was quite significant, everything is "fuller / richer" and overall it has more "command" .... that almost sounds like it could be too rich / erring on muddy but it's just not.
As a matter of interest I also tried coax out from the Nano into the Chord and there was a similar step back in quality, in fact it almost sounded unpleasant in comparison.

Ultra's on sale today so have ordered one, will get here on Friday when the testing will continue

 

[Valimir]

Swapping from coax to usb to my Denafrips Ares ii made a very noticeable difference to me. I'd argue the USB out alone makes the upgrade to the Ultra worthwhile

For me too! I have a decent T+A dac and using USB out brings quite an improvement (to be honest I was quite surprised by how much!)

 

[dtc]

USB is asynchronous data package transfer, while SPDIF Toslink and Coax is a PCM synchronous bit stream.

USB can be either synchronous or asynchronous and Wiim supports both modes. Async is most common.

 

[Vignus]

Even though I usually don't like to, I will join the chorus and declare that even in my case USB out (to my Gustard) sounds way better, richer, fuller, then coax or optical out into the same DAC

 

[Giacomino Taliano]

The Ultras are on sale today, so ordered one, it will arrive Friday when testing continues

Updates? Thank you

 

[Witterings]

Updates? Thank you

In my opinion the Nano was better .... I've been and still am a huge WiiM fan (3 mini's, 3 Pros and a Pro Plus) and will continue to use them in all non critical listening and multiroom situations but the Nano just sounds better which means I've also had to switch from Amazon Music which is a pain to Tidal.

I think my summary is WiiM is way better for usability and integration with Alexa etc. but for pure sound the Nano has the edge but would encourage anyone to do their own trials as everyone's ear / preference is different.

 

[Burnside]

In my opinion the Nano was better .... I've been and still am a huge WiiM fan (3 mini's, 3 Pros and a Pro Plus) and will continue to use them in all non critical listening and multiroom situations but the Nano just sounds better which means I've also had to switch from Amazon Music which is a pain to Tidal.

I think my summary is WiiM is way better for usability and integration with Alexa etc. but for pure sound the Nano has the edge but would encourage anyone to do their own trials as everyone's ear / preference is different.

Can’t you continue to use Amazon Music on even a Mini and use its digital output into the Nano, or wouldn’t you rate it as a transport in such a setup?

 

[Griff]

Can’t you continue to use Amazon Music on even a Mini and use its digital output into the Nano, or wouldn’t you rate it as a transport in such a setup?

I think the Nano's toslink is an output only.

 

[Witterings]

Can’t you continue to use Amazon Music on even a Mini and use its digital output into the Nano, or wouldn’t you rate it as a transport in such a setup?

I still have a Pro plugged into the same amp via coax so whenever I want to switch over to that I can, I can still use speaker groups for voice commands for radio etc. which I use quite a lot for multiroom.
I didn't want to pay 2 subscriptions and can't cast from the Amazon App on phone / tablet to Bluesound so have lost Amazon Music Unlimited so the number of tracks available is limited and lower quality.

Tidal I can cast from a phone / tablet to the Nano and if I want to use that for multiroom music can set up chromecast groups on the WiiMs so can do most of what I want to do and Tidal I can cast from my laptop which is virtually always on so is a bonus over something you can't do with the Amaon App.

Bit of swings and roundabouts but if Amazon cast to the Nano would have preferred to stay with it for all round compatibility.

 

[Machiavelli]

beforehand: please, no discussion about sense or nonsense or the 'why?' question!! it is only for helping me to understand the way! just bought a gustard u18 'digital interface' and the idea is to set it between the ultra via usb-out and the vibelink optical in. should work? thank you.

 

[EddNog]

beforehand: please, no discussion about sense or nonsense or the 'why?' question!! it is only for helping me to understand the way! just bought a gustard u18 'digital interface' and the idea is to set it between the ultra via usb-out and the vibelink optical in. should work? thank you.

That will work. I don’t know how much of a difference it will make, but it will work.

Before I got my WiiM, I was using a HiBy R6 Pro II DAP as my streamer and I fed the signal out via USB to a Gustard U18 DDC and then from the Gustard to a Musician Draco R-2R DAC. After a while, I tried going straight to the Draco via USB and skipped the U18, and I found that it was not as good. However, after I got the WiiM Ultra, I tried with and without the U18 and I did not find any difference, so it depends on the quality of the output from the streamer, and I’d say the WiiM’s outputs are fine.

-Ed

 

[hgo58]

beforehand: please, no discussion about sense or nonsense or the 'why?' question!! it is only for helping me to understand the way! just bought a gustard u18 'digital interface' and the idea is to set it between the ultra via usb-out and the vibelink optical in. should work? thank you.

If by working you mean that the signal will go through it, then yes. It will transform the USB audio packages to an optical signal.

If it will do anything then no. The ESS ES9039Q2M SABRE DAC used by the Vibelink features ESS's HyperStream IV architecture, which handles jitter by pushing it out of the audio band, ensuring high-quality audio performance without needing external reclocking for timing.

 

[Machiavelli]

That will work. I don’t know how much of a difference it will make, but it will work.

Before I got my WiiM, I was using a HiBy R6 Pro II DAP as my streamer and I fed the signal out via USB to a Gustard U18 DDC and then from the Gustard to a Musician Draco R-2R DAC. After a while, I tried going straight to the Draco via USB and skipped the U18, and I found that it was not as good. However, after I got the WiiM Ultra, I tried with and without the U18 and I did not find any difference, so it depends on the quality of the output from the streamer, and I’d say the WiiM’s outputs are fine.

-Ed

thank you. this is everything i wanted to know.

 

[Machiavelli]

If by working you mean that the signal will go through it, then yes. It will transform the USB audio packages to an optical signal.

If it will do anything then no. The ESS ES9039Q2M SABRE DAC used by the Vibelink features ESS's HyperStream IV architecture, which handles jitter by pushing it out of the audio band, ensuring high-quality audio performance without needing external reclocking for timing.

this was the reason for my preamble. it works technically. all fine.

 

[Horsey]

There are many threads in this forum discussing this.

Some claim that they can hear a difference, most cannot. It probably depends on what DAC is used and the rest of the setup. And most importantly on what you are listening to.

It does depend on the DAC and you will hear, in general, reviews of DACs and how some inputs are better than others. Depends on the engineering.

With the RME ADI-2 FS, each input is designed to produce the same quality output whether USB, coax, or optical.

Have been an early adopter of the WiiM Pro to the RME and it's outstanding. (I've improved the WiiM with an external 5v power supply, Cisco Merakis from the router and fiber to the WiiM and it's super.)

 

[EddNog]

It does depend on the DAC and you will hear, in general, reviews of DACs and how some inputs are better than others. Depends on the engineering.

With the RME ADI-2 FS, each input is designed to produce the same quality output whether USB, coax, or optical.

Have been an early adopter of the WiiM Pro to the RME and it's outstanding. (I've improved the WiiM with an external 5v power supply, Cisco Merakis from the router and fiber to the WiiM and it's super.)

I have an ADI-2 DAC FS coming in, arriving tomorrow. The stepped-voltage volume control looks great. Managed to find a used V2 (AKM chip instead of ESS)! Very excited for this.

-Ed

 

[Machiavelli]

i declare absence from now. my question was answered. should have known that it could start finished discussions again. sorry.

 

[mlsstl]

Whilst I appreciate the sound can be coloured to preference with EQ/PEQ, it won't change things like soundstage or detail / seperation of instruments...

I'd argue that room correction can affect the items you mention. The brain hears a stereo image by comparing the signal the left ear receives to the right. Besides arrival time, frequency response, phase and amplitude are used by the brain. Having a corrected in-room response can improve the stereo image and improve its stability. I've been through a lot of electronics and the single biggest improvement has been with WiiM's room correction system.

 

[Horsey]

I have an ADI-2 DAC FS coming in, arriving tomorrow. The stepped-voltage volume control looks great. Managed to find a used V2 (AKM chip instead of ESS)! Very excited for this.

-Ed

That's awesome, Ed. What I can share is that every aspect of your system will be reflected through the RME ADI-2. Any change you make improving any aspect will flow right through with a pleasant output. That's from each of the outputs.

For me, that's been pretty great as I've had mine now for four years. You're going to love it.

In addition, it can handle 256K DSD files and also run upsampled DSD with its DSD Direct feature when connected to a preamp.
(Recommend a preamp as it added a lot of soundstage and depth in my system. A simple Schiit Saga 1.0 with upgraded capacitors had great positive effect.)