Upgrade to Wiim amp ultra or to get a subwoofer

[gl1tch]

I recently purchased a WiiM amp from a friend and I've plugged Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 for my living room setup. I've had this whole setup just for few weeks now and I love it so far though I feel for my room, the bass is a little bit underwhelming. Maybe I need to tweak the settings, not sure. I will be getting a subwoofer very soon - probably ELAC SUB1010 (10") but before that I need some clarification.

My question - Would the listening experience be improved if I had gone for Wiim amp ultra? or do you think getting a subwoofer will enhance it overall. I'm just not sure if I should go for wiim amp ultra first or a subwoofer first

Thanks in advance
Cheers

 

[Mr Ee]

If more bass is required then i think I'd choose subwoofer first.
These are smallish bookshelf speakers which don't plumb the depths of bass after all.
Not trying to say they aren't decent speakers, but likely they simply can't produce the bass you're after.
Of course, another option is different speakers. Followed by the amp ultra.

 

[gl1tch]

If more bass is required then i think I'd choose subwoofer first.
These are smallish bookshelf speakers which don't plumb the depths of bass after all.
Not trying to say they aren't decent speakers, but likely they simply can't produce the bass you're after.
Of course, another option is different speakers. Followed by the amp ultra.

Thanks @Mr Ee swapping out the speakers is not an option for me at the moment, they are indeed very good speakers but I think I should go for a subwoofer first before deciding to jump to wiim amp ultra. If only I had a subwoofer to test it out before making this decision sigh

 

[Wiimer]

I recently purchased a WiiM amp from a friend and I've plugged Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 for my living room setup. I've had this whole setup just for few weeks now and I love it so far though I feel for my room, the bass is a little bit underwhelming. Maybe I need to tweak the settings, not sure. I will be getting a subwoofer very soon - probably ELAC SUB1010 (10") but before that I need some clarification.

My question - Would the listening experience be improved if I had gone for Wiim amp ultra? or do you think getting a subwoofer will enhance it overall. I'm just not sure if I should go for wiim amp ultra first or a subwoofer first

Thanks in advance
Cheers

I also shall consider purchasing a subwoofer first.

Have you already seen this video comparing the ELAC SUB1010 with several other subs?

Regarding subwoofer selection, this post by @dominikz may also be of interest.

Post in thread 'What Sub’s are you using / recommend'

Oct 15, 2025

Any sub recommendations for a sub to pair with my Elac DB63s and WiiM Amp Ultra in a 15m^2 room, readily available in Belgium/EU?
Should I just go for the WiiM Sub Pro for ease of use with the Amp Ultra?

IMHO this is the resource to look at when choosing a sub: Subwoofer Comparison spreadsheet

You can filter and sort based on a large number of attributes, including price, size and CTA-2010 performance (where available).

In EU I'd personally have a look at the following (relatively) affordable subs:

• SVS SB 1000 Classic (I own this one and am happy with it. It is...

• dominikz

• 

 

[dominikz]

My question - Would the listening experience be improved if I had gone for Wiim amp ultra? or do you think getting a subwoofer will enhance it overall. I'm just not sure if I should go for wiim amp ultra first or a subwoofer first

For sure adding a subwoofer would be a much more drastic difference than upgrading the amp.

A properly placed and integrated subwoofer allows you to:

• Avoid or at least decrease SBIR-induced nulls in the bass response (i.e. "bass suckout")
• Actually hear the bottom octave in content where it exists
• Decrease excursion demands from your main speakers, allowing them to play cleaner and louder

Conversely, upgrading from Amp to Amp Ultra would give you about +2-3dB louder playback (which is not a lot), and about 0,5-1dB less high frequencies (also not a lot). You'd also lose Airplay, but gain a touchscreen and the ability to drive loudspeakers with low nominal impedance.

EDIT: For reference, here you can find simple go-to starting points for speaker and subwoofer placement to avoid SBIR nulls and maximize headroom (prior to using RoomFit). Here you can find a more detailed explanation of the reasoning behind these recommendations.

 

[gl1tch]

I also shall consider purchasing a subwoofer first.

Have you already seen this video comparing the ELAC SUB1010 with several other subs?

Regarding subwoofer selection, this post by @dominikz may also be of interest.

Post in thread 'What Sub’s are you using / recommend'

Oct 15, 2025

Any sub recommendations for a sub to pair with my Elac DB63s and WiiM Amp Ultra in a 15m^2 room, readily available in Belgium/EU?
Should I just go for the WiiM Sub Pro for ease of use with the Amp Ultra?

IMHO this is the resource to look at when choosing a sub: Subwoofer Comparison spreadsheet

You can filter and sort based on a large number of attributes, including price, size and CTA-2010 performance (where available).

In EU I'd personally have a look at the following (relatively) affordable subs:

• SVS SB 1000 Classic (I own this one and am happy with it. It is...

• dominikz

• 

Thank you and yes that's the exact video I saw before coming to this forum to ask for as suggestions. I love Eric's technical videos and I initially wanted to go with Elac 3.0 debut 6.3 but then got this Wharfedale speakers at a really good deal and didnt want to miss on it.

But yeah, for subwoofers, I'm kind of fixated on that elac model, I'm not sure why Polk PSW10 is on that list because apparently it sucks from what I've heard

 

[gl1tch]

And that subwoofer comparison sheet is too big for my head to comprehend lol. Besides, I'm sure only 20% of the items from that list I can get it in my country

 

[gl1tch]

For sure adding a subwoofer would be a much more drastic difference than upgrading the amp.

A properly placed and integrated subwoofer allows you to:

• Avoid or at least decrease SBIR-induced nulls in the bass response (i.e. "bass suckout")
• Actually hear the bottom octave in content where it exists
• Decrease excursion demands from your main speakers, allowing them to play cleaner and louder

Conversely, upgrading from Amp to Amp Ultra would give you about +2-3dB louder playback (which is not a lot), and about 0,5-1dB less high frequencies (also not a lot). You'd also lose Airplay, but gain a touchscreen and the ability to drive loudspeakers with low nominal impedance.

EDIT: For reference, here you can find simple go-to starting points for speaker and subwoofer placement to avoid SBIR nulls and maximize headroom (prior to using RoomFit). Here you can find a more detailed explanation of the reasoning behind these recommendations.

Thank you for that post, ton of information

 

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I’ll throw in my vote for a sub first. But I’d follow the advice of others to look for something with a little more grunt than the Elac. 60w RMS is going to have a hard time carrying over those Wharfdales. I had an older 100w JBL sub that did a decent job with the Amp Pro and Paradigm towers. But the best addition to the setup was the SVS SB1000 Pro - it made music listening a whole different experience.

There’s definitely a lot to look at and consider with subs. You don’t need to go nuts with a high end unit, but you will probably be disappointed if you go too cheap, too.

 

[dominikz]

Thank you for that post, ton of information

No problem, glad you found it useful!

Thank you and yes that's the exact video I saw before coming to this forum to ask for as suggestions. I love Eric's technical videos and I initially wanted to go with Elac 3.0 debut 6.3 but then got this Wharfedale speakers at a really good deal and didnt want to miss on it.

But yeah, for subwoofers, I'm kind of fixated on that elac model, I'm not sure why Polk PSW10 is on that list because apparently it sucks from what I've heard

Note that from the CEA-2010 measurements we can see that ELAC SUB1010 isn't really the best performer (i.e. it doesn't have much output at low frequencies).
Here's a comparison of a few similarly priced models from the spreadsheet (with those having the most output at the top):

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

The simple answer to your question is that a sub will almost certainly be the better purchase for you, and by a country mile. It's not even close; I'm presuming here that your only issue is general sound quality, not the extra connections and features, or the amount of power available.

Any difference in raw sound quality between the WiiM Amp and Amp Ultra are theoretical and small, as long as you don't need the extra power of the Amp Ultra, . Whilst you might spot a slight difference in some A/B comparisons, there would be only a tiny bit in it.

But a sub, as long as you get a good 'un, will produce easily, and immediately audible sound in the 80Hz-c.35Hz region on much of your music which you'll spot immediately.

It will have an added bonus. Set the crossover to 80Hz, and send everything below that frequency to the sub. This will reduce distortion in your speakers - just that difference on its own is likely to be more audible than the difference between Amp and Amp Ultra.

BTW, I have Diamond 12.1s and a BK XLS200, and it's a dream system (Wiim Ultra as source - not the Amp Ultra, just the Ultra streaming pre amp). BK have replaced the XLS2000 with the XLS300 which costs £380-ish. The Amp Ultra costs c.£500, so again you're quids in going the sub route.

 

[gl1tch]

The simple answer to your question is that a sub will almost certainly be the better purchase for you, and by a country mile. It's not even close; I'm presuming here that your only issue is general sound quality, not the extra connections and features, or the amount of power available.

Any difference in raw sound quality between the WiiM Amp and Amp Ultra are theoretical and small, as long as you don't need the extra power of the Amp Ultra, . Whilst you might spot a slight difference in some A/B comparisons, there would be only a tiny bit in it.

But a sub, as long as you get a good 'un, will produce easily, and immediately audible sound in the 80Hz-c.35Hz region on much of your music which you'll spot immediately.

It will have an added bonus. Set the crossover to 80Hz, and send everything below that frequency to the sub. This will reduce distortion in your speakers - just that difference on its own is likely to be more audible than the difference between Amp and Amp Ultra.

BTW, I have Diamond 12.1s and a BK XLS200, and it's a dream system (Wiim Ultra as source - not the Amp Ultra, just the Ultra streaming pre amp). BK have replaced the XLS2000 with the XLS300 which costs £380-ish. The Amp Ultra costs c.£500, so again you're quids in going the sub route.

You're right, I've almost finalised BIC America F12 as the sub, we have very limited budget options here in my country.

My other options in the same price range (± $50) were
- Polk PSW10 (10")
- Mission MS200 (10")
- Elac sub 1015/1025 (10")
- Monoprice 9723 (10")
- Taga Harmony (12")
- Klipsch R100W (10") (highest in the category)


I looked up BK XLS200 and it looks amazing. Do you think BIC America F12 is a decent enough pick given these options?

 

[gl1tch]

Also tagging @dominikz @Wiimer for more visibility

 

[dominikz]

You're right, I've almost finalised BIC America F12 as the sub, we have very limited budget options here in my country.

My other options in the same price range (± $50) were
- Polk PSW10 (10")
- Mission MS200 (10")
- Elac sub 1015/1025 (10")
- Monoprice 9723 (10")
- Taga Harmony (12")
- Klipsch R100W (10") (highest in the category)


I looked up BK XLS200 and it looks amazing. Do you think BIC America F12 is a decent enough pick given these options?

Unfortunately there's no CEA-2010 measurement data for most of these subs so there's no way to compare them objectively.
Out of these I only found data for BIC America F-12, Polk PSW10 and Monoprice 9723 (which seems to be 12", not 10").

BIC America F-12 seems to be the best out of these three.
Personally I'd try to avoid a sub for which CEA-2010 measurement data isn't available.

EDIT: I found data for BIC America F-12 so post edited accordingly.

 

[Eddie Spaghetti]

The specs for the BIC America F12 certainly look good on paper. I think you’ll see some very pleasing results. Like Steve said above, set the crossover to 80, which will take that bottom end workload off your mains, and they’ll thank you for it. 475w peak is probably somewhere around 200w continuous, which should be plenty of oomph for your setup. I know it’s a bit above what you were looking to spend, but it will absolutely be worth it. And if you do upgrade your amp down the road, you should be able to keep this sub in the rig.

 

[Treaty]

At the risk of piling on, I can say first hand that the addition of a subwoofer will definitely have the biggest impact on your listening experience. No one has mentioned the RSL Speedwoofer 10E in this thread yet as a budget option, so I'll throw that into the ring.

 

[gl1tch]

At the risk of piling on, I can say first hand that the addition of a subwoofer will definitely have the biggest impact on your listening experience. No one has mentioned the RSL Speedwoofer 10E in this thread yet as a budget option, so I'll throw that into the ring.

Ah how I wish I could get RSL Speedwoofer 10e here, this was my first option when I went on a rabbit hole search for a budget sub under $450, unfortunately we do not get that model here. Even the local dealers have not heard about it (they import most of these products from UK and US market).

 

[gl1tch]

The specs for the BIC America F12 certainly look good on paper. I think you’ll see some very pleasing results. Like Steve said above, set the crossover to 80, which will take that bottom end workload off your mains, and they’ll thank you for it. 475w peak is probably somewhere around 200w continuous, which should be plenty of oomph for your setup. I know it’s a bit above what you were looking to spend, but it will absolutely be worth it. And if you do upgrade your amp down the road, you should be able to keep this sub in the rig.

Thank you, yeah I need to look up on configuring the settings properly for the sub as I have never owned a powered sub before. Growing up, we had this shitty jbl soundbar + soundbar combo

 

[gl1tch]

Unfortunately there's no CEA-2010 measurement data for most of these subs so there's no way to compare them objectively.
Out of these I only found data for BIC America F-12, Polk PSW10 and Monoprice 9723 (which seems to be 12", not 10").
View attachment 29298
BIC America F-12 seems to be the best out of these three.
Personally I'd try to avoid a sub for which CEA-2010 measurement data isn't available.

EDIT: I found data for BIC America F-12 so post edited accordingly.

Thanks again @dominikz, this table stats is now really helpful and I'm glad I'm going with F12. I will be receiving it today. Now I need to look for a good cable before the sub arrives.

 

[dominikz]

Thank you, yeah I need to look up on configuring the settings properly for the sub as I have never owned a powered sub before. Growing up, we had this shitty jbl soundbar + soundbar combo

Perhaps this guide I prepared for another member might help you.
Just note in the section on subwoofer and speaker sync that The BIC America F-12 sub probably doesn't add any processing delay (I suspect it doesn't have built-in DSP that the SVS sub has) - this will impact the delay values to choose.

Enjoy and good luck!