USB out - extremely low volume

[hash70]

I posted this today as I'm also having low volume and distortion issue on a new wiim ultra,
I'm having the same distortion iisue with my new wiim ultra, that I got 3 days ago,that why I'm here after doing a Google search about the issue,my setup consists of zen stream -usb to gustard x16 dac then rca to topping headphone amp/hifiman sundara,so to compare the ultra to the zen stream I connected the wiim ultra with spidf to my gustard x16 dac,I then played the same track on the wiim ultra and zen stream and switched between inputs on the gustard x16 dac to compare the sound quality,I heard a difference right away,the zen stream was alot cleaner sounding,and the zen stream is about 3-4 dB louder for some reason when I switch between the zen and ultra,and ive jst read 2 other posts on here today from other users that' the volume output is low on the ultra,
compared to the wiim ultra,I hear better bass and detail with the zen stream,I thought I was hearing some kind of distortion so I switched from spidf to usb on the ultra and usb to spidf on the zen stream,checked all my cables,made sure eq was off and wiim ultra was at 100% volume,but its still the same,it's dosent sound very good at all,running the latest fw

 

[AssafAviv]

I just did that. Cheers.

please update the WiiM solution or answer for your issue very interesting

 

[bherren]

The volume of the USB output is implemented by the DAC but controlled by the Ultra via the USB protocol.

View attachment 16102

Is the above picture from WiiM ? Last I knew they had not confirmed that they supported the volume control via the USB protocol.

It would be nice if they did but I somewhat doubt it...

 

[hgo58]

Is the above picture from WiiM ?

No, it's a generic USB audio class 2 picture.

 

[MattWnAZ]

Just chiming in on this old post. I tried using the USB out (Fixed Volume 100%) to my Emotiva PT1 (DAC) and while the volume wasn't super low it was quit a bit lower than when I just the Ultra with variable volume straight to my power amp. Also, when using the USB out it just didn't sound good. No fretting though, I was just doing it as a test to see if the DAC in the PT1 sounded better, and so I could use the PT1 for volume control. Decided to abort mission and remove the PT1. BTW, the PT1 sounds amazing when I'm using it by itself.

 

[harkpabst]

... and while the volume wasn't super low it was quit a bit lower than when I just the Ultra with variable volume straight to my power amp.

How do you compare the loudness, when the PT1 is used as a pre-amplifier? The only meaningful difference would be if you cannot get to full power. In particular, ther would be no point in comparing e.g. the position of the volume knob (or volume level numbers displayed).

As long as the signal is still in the digital domain (before it reaches any DAC) the loudest possible value is 0 dBFS. Different DACs can have differen output voltages (though many are still around 2 V for 0 dBFS). There might or might not be additional amplification. The characteristic of the volume control can be different, from linear to different types of logarithmic.

Admittedly, that doesn't explain this:

Also, when using the USB out it just didn't sound good.

And I don't have a good explanation.

 

[MattWnAZ]

How do you compare the loudness, when the PT1 is used as a pre-amplifier? The only meaningful difference would be if you cannot get to full power. In particular, ther would be no point in comparing e.g. the position of the volume knob (or volume level numbers displayed).

As long as the signal is still in the digital domain (before it reaches any DAC) the loudest possible value is 0 dBFS. Different DACs can have differen output voltages (though many are still around 2 V for 0 dBFS). There might or might not be additional amplification. The characteristic of the volume control can be different, from linear to different types of logarithmic.

Admittedly, that doesn't explain this:

And I don't have a good explanation.

I was comparing volume as a percentage of max while going straight out to power amp vs USB to external DAC on the PT1. And also the percentage of max I needed to achieve the desired volume on the PT1 before I introduced the Ultra. But it's fine, was just new boot goofin' around to test the USB out to external DAC functionality. I love my Ultra!