Upgrade PS or battery users?

[Bikesnbeats]

Hi! I’m a new WiiM Pro user and I love it s far! It’s almost as good as my disc player and I think it could be better! Anyone using an upgraded power supply or a back up battery to run their WiiM. I tested it today and it only requires a couple watts to operate so maybe some kind of noise redirection would help? Just wondering…

 

[Mr Ee]

I'm not advocating one direction or another, just noting that within the post in this link

https://wiim.community.forum/threads/wiim-pro-objective-measurements.498/

it says

Note: In addition to the supplied USB adapter, I also tested the WiiM Pro with two different USB chargers, from either Google Pixel or Xiaomi, then with a 5V/2.4A battery/power bank. So far, I measured absolutely no difference to speak about (at least not in the 20Hz-20kHz range).

 

[onlyoneme]

I'm not advocating one direction or another, just noting that within the post in this link

https://wiim.community.forum/threads/wiim-pro-objective-measurements.498/

it says

Note: In addition to the supplied USB adapter, I also tested the WiiM Pro with two different USB chargers, from either Google Pixel or Xiaomi, then with a 5V/2.4A battery/power bank. So far, I measured absolutely no difference to speak about (at least not in the 20Hz-20kHz range).

Bear in mind that such tests are not performed in the live environment with the full audio chain. While the power choice can be irrelevant for Pro, it can still affect other chain elements and thus can have an influence on the audio.

 

[Mr Ee]

Bear in mind that such tests are not performed in the live environment with the full audio chain. While the power choice can be irrelevant for Pro, it can still affect other chain elements and thus can have an influence on the audio.

Agreed. I don't care what gizmos you (as in, anyone, not specifically you!) does or doesn't use to make whatever improvements they see fit, whether backed by science or voodoo or snake oil.
Whatever sounds good is good - it should be all about enjoying the music.

 

[onlyoneme]

Agreed. I don't care what gizmos you (as in, anyone, not specifically you!) does or doesn't use to make whatever improvements they see fit, whether backed by science or voodoo or snake oil.
Whatever sounds good is good - it should be all about enjoying the music.

You can find out here, for example,

https://hifisonix.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Ground-Loops.pdf

how many power related factors can affect an audio chain.

 

[ProJules]

You need to do careful a/b testing to make sure it's not snake oil

 

[Mr Ee]

You need to do careful a/b testing to make sure it's not snake oil

And if it needs to be that careful then one is likely to be listening to the system, not the music!

I went hifi shopping yesterday, looking at a new dac/headphone amp/headphone setup.
Took my existing setup with me (line 2 in signature below).
Tried a few headphone amps, and didn't find anything that sounded "better".
Most sounded no different, in the relatively short time I had with each.

Found one dac/amp combo that sounded worse, and (un?) fortunately it was the one I thought I'd be most interested in trying, from reading/watching lots of reviews.

Result - itch scratched, money saved

Then moved on to trying headphones, and the difference between them was instantly obvious, but it seems most other people must have big heads as even on the smallest headband setting some of them were just falling down past my ears!
I did end up buying a pair, but once again, not the ones I went there to try from reading reviews as they just sounded lifeless to me.
Glad I didn't buy them from stereonet without trying them!

 

[ProJules]

Go to a trade show and ask any designer of pro audio gear what they think of power supply upgrades and expensive cables

You will see their eyes roll skywards!

 

[Maurizio]

I use a linear power supply, but to fed my DAC. For Pro or Mini i think that is unuseful

 

[Bigriffi]

I'm not advocating one direction or another, just noting that within the post in this link

https://wiim.community.forum/threads/wiim-pro-objective-measurements.498/

it says

Note: In addition to the supplied USB adapter, I also tested the WiiM Pro with two different USB chargers, from either Google Pixel or Xiaomi, then with a 5V/2.4A battery/power bank. So far, I measured absolutely no difference to speak about (at least not in the 20Hz-20kHz range).

You can hear at 20khz?! Not trying to poke you in the eye, but I'm long past that at 58 yrs old, I went to a website that outputs sound at any frequency you want, hooked to my Audio Engine USB DAC and my really good desktop speakers AND headphones. Sadly, I could not hear past 15khz or so.... YMMV! https://www.rapidtables.com/tools/tone-generator.html?f=440

 

[OldNick]

I substituted an Allo Nirvana PS for the stock one. It's still a switch mode supply but a very good one. I felt it removed a slight harshness from the audio. I didn't try to measure the difference. I save measurements for when I'm building a component, not for small mods like this. Anyway, I found it to be worthwhile.

 

[Mickh1]

I'm not advocating one direction or another, just noting that within the post in this link

https://wiim.community.forum/threads/wiim-pro-objective-measurements.498/

it says

Note: In addition to the supplied USB adapter, I also tested the WiiM Pro with two different USB chargers, from either Google Pixel or Xiaomi, then with a 5V/2.4A battery/power bank. So far, I measured absolutely no difference to speak about (at least not in the 20Hz-20kHz range).

Hi so my WiiM mini will work off a 5v 2.4a power bank? That’s good if it does

 

[WiiMer SJ]

Hi so my WiiM mini will work off a 5v 2.4a power bank? That’s good if it does

I attached mine (3M hook and loop tape) to a JBL Charge 3 bluetooth speaker which has a USB power output. Portable! At least around the house and for a limited amount of time.

 

[virnuls]

I substituted an Allo Nirvana PS for the stock one. It's still a switch mode supply but a very good one. I felt it removed a slight harshness from the audio. I didn't try to measure the difference. I save measurements for when I'm building a component, not for small mods like this. Anyway, I found it to be worthwhile.

I appreciate that this is an old thread, but I'm fascinated by this obsession with measurements - what measurement would indicate a "slight harshness"?
I bought a Pro Plus from from Amazon three days ago to replace a Primare NP5 that suddenly died. I plugged it in and changed the settings to ensure a bit-perfect output via coaxial SPDIF, and after a couple of songs I decided that I was going to return it as the sound was so much worse than the NP5 and my CD transport (using rips of the same CD). Then I read discussions about whether the power supply made any difference.
I tried my wife's phone power bank and the difference wasn't subtle - the whole family agreed that it sounded worse with the supplied power supply. It still wasn't as good as the NP5 or my Audiolab CD transport, but it changed the Pro Plus from something I was going to send back to something I can live with.
I'm now looking for a proper power supply and was thinking of the Allo Nirvana - in my set-up it wins over the iFi iPower because space is limited around the sockets and the Nirvana has an ordinary mains plug.

 

[hgo58]

I appreciate that this is an old thread, but I'm fascinated by this obsession with measurements - what measurement would indicate a "slight harshness"?
I bought a Pro Plus from from Amazon three days ago to replace a Primare NP5 that suddenly died. I plugged it in and changed the settings to ensure a bit-perfect output via coaxial SPDIF, and after a couple of songs I decided that I was going to return it as the sound was so much worse than the NP5 and my CD transport (using rips of the same CD). Then I read discussions about whether the power supply made any difference.
I tried my wife's phone power bank and the difference wasn't subtle - the whole family agreed that it sounded worse with the supplied power supply. It still wasn't as good as the NP5 or my Audiolab CD transport, but it changed the Pro Plus from something I was going to send back to something I can live with.
I'm now looking for a proper power supply and was thinking of the Allo Nirvana - in my set-up it wins over the iFi iPower because space is limited around the sockets and the Nirvana has an ordinary mains plug.

A bit perfect output is bit perfect no matter what power supply you use, as long as it provides enough power.

 

[Deleted member 29741]

A bit perfect output is bit perfect no matter what power supply you use, as long as it provides enough power.

 

[hgo58]

View attachment 31775

So the perfect bits are changing?

 

[Deleted member 29741]

So the perfect bits are changing?

A person wants to share his impression. Who are you to call him silly? Bit perfect or not. You should know how this discussions end. Is it boredom? Grow up.

 

[virnuls]

A bit perfect output is bit perfect no matter what power supply you use, as long as it provides enough power.

It depends on what you consider to be a "bit". The digital output isn't "just 0s and 1s" - even computers don't deal with 0s and 1s - it's transitions in voltages. I take "bit perfect" to mean the correct number of transitions, but there are other factors to consider, such as thresholds of what's considered high and low, and the nature and timing of those transitions, which could potentially be affected by electrical noise or other power-related issues. Or maybe the included power supply doesn't provide enough power?
My point about the measurement was that how do people who like measuring things know that they're measuring the things that affect perceived sound quality? Twenty-odd years ago we were all persuaded to switch to diesel cars because they were better for the environment and our health due to lower carbon dioxide and monoxide emissions, but it turned out that we were measuring the wrong thing - it was the nitrous oxide and particulates that we needed to worry about.

 

[taube Taube]

thinking of the Allo Nirvana

Why buy a switching power supply? Find the LHY-038 on AliExpress—it's a great option for testing. I tried it and still use it.