What's your setup/configuration look like?

[F1 Fan]

Wouldn't a WiiM Mini suffice to add AirPlay 2 support to the Ultra?

Don't take me seriously, I just making a little fun of you. Having Apple Music supported directly on a device is still different from having AirPlay support and streaming through your phone, of course.

You've got two toys where others only have one. Nothing wrong with that. I just had to ask.

Yeah I know but I like the Eversolo range previously having a A6 / A8.. The Play is really nice but I couldn’t still part with the Ultra ~ it’s also fantastic.

Couldn’t decided which one to keep so thought sod it, I’ll keep both ..

I told the wife both are essential

 

[F1 Fan]

Was also think of getting the Vibelink swapping out my Monoblocks but I think I’ll miss them to much ..

 

[mkp1969]

Couldn’t decided which one to keep so thought sod it, I’ll keep both ..

This is my kind of answer. When I encountered unreasonable levels of mains hum with my Ultra plugged into my Naim NAIT 50 I bought a Pro Plus to resolve the situation (it did) but I've kept the Ultra as a dedicated headphones system (I still think it's an awesome poor man's Uniti Atom HE).

 

[riggers]

Have my WiiM Ultra on a side shelf with my records.

 

[Kblade97]

Just got a WiiM Vibelink on Amazon sale using Ultra as a streamer. Had my Tannoy’s DC8’s sitting around in the box not being used. Well at 91db at 1watt with an impedance of 8 ohms and minimum impedance of 5.5 ohms the Vibelink rocks the hell out of them. What a great little amp for 260.00 dollars. Wife got a little upset since this is the guest room

 

[WhiteRoseAl]

Wiim Ultra, Denon M41 Receiver, Audio-Technica Record Deck, Ruark RS1 Sub, Q Accoustic 5020s, QED XT25 speaker cables, Cambridge Audio RCA.

 

[TonyE]

Aren't you worried that the speakers are going to transmit a lot of energy back to the turntable?

I got my Linn on a Target TT5T stand that is spiked into the floor (wood over slab). The speakers are on their own stands - well, the Maggies don't need stands but the AN are on Skylan 20" stands. No vibrations are transmitted from speakers to turntable.

Heck, even my solid and vacuum electronics are on Sorbothane feet or pucks.

Also, please get a real phono preamp.... seriously. I don't understand the point of putting a cheap MM preamp in the Ultra. IMHO, it's a waste of money...

At the very least get some isolating speaker stands... I got them for my wife, for the Unifi 2 Elacs on her desk and they truly work.

 

[harkpabst]

I got my Linn on a Target TT5T stand that is spiked into the floor (wood over slab). The speakers are on their own stands - well, the Maggies don't need stands but the AN are on Skylan 20" stands. No vibrations are transmitted from speakers to turntable.

How do stands remove airborne transmission of sound from speakers to the turntable?

While I don't disagree in general us audiophiles tend to go over the top on such topics. Others ... don't.

Needless to say that my equipment sits on two separate racks, 50 kg each, equipped with Super Spikes and separately decoupled shelves. Not talking about the Clarity Stands with their 22 kg base plates. Looks like I'm an audiophile ...

Also, please get a real phono preamp.... seriously. I don't understand the point of putting a cheap MM preamp in the Ultra. IMHO, it's a waste of money...

It's more than appropriate in many cases. I wouldn't use it in MC mode, sure. But in my experience it's perfectly fine in such an environment.

 

[WhiteRoseAl]

This is what I love about audio, its so subjective.

Like many, I struggle for space. Thankfully with heavy speakers I dont struggle with vibration or have any impact on the record deck.

The WiiM ultra is fantastic, my only slight criticism is the phono stage, but placing the record in line out and using RCA, it sounds great.

 

[anonyless]

This is what I love about audio, its so subjective.

Like many, I struggle for space. Thankfully with heavy speakers I dont struggle with vibration or have any impact on the record deck.

The WiiM ultra is fantastic, my only slight criticism is the phono stage, but placing the record in line out and using RCA, it sounds great.

where is your sub hiding in the picture ?
i run 5010's myself, and QB12 sub (also from Q acoustics) with the Ultra as well. my friend recently got 5020 that were on sale here locally and he loves their sound

 

[WhiteRoseAl]

where is your sub hiding in the picture ?
i run 5010's myself, and QB12 sub (also from Q acoustics) with the Ultra as well. my friend recently got 5020 that were on sale here locally and he loves their sound

Its just out of shot, the Ruark RS1 is a great compact sub, the Ultra does a great job of setting the crossover aswell.

I may have to remove the RS1 due to house config charges, so opted for the QA 5020 with larger bass driver.

Personally, for the price bracket, the QA 5000 series to me, are a great buy. Yes, spend more get more, but I think you would need to spend a lot more to get a tiny bit more.

Also like the Wharfedale diamond, MA 50 and Dali O1/O3, all sound good IMHO on my small footprint setup, similar priced speakers

 

[Otacon89]

Well here is my current setup. I had the near impossible task to combine my music setup with my hometheater setup and find also an easy solution for my fiance to switch between the different Setups without many clicks or manual.

Music Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Wiim Amp Ultra

Hometheater Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Marantz Cinema 70s (+ Polk Es30 Center, 2x Polk Es10 and a Polk Hts10 Subwoofer)

The Neohipo got a very good review on ASR and I can't hear any Sound issues.
I tried also to use the Wiim Amp Ultra as a Power amp via line in to the pre out to the marantz but I got latency issues and the wiim would get very hot (volume 100%).
So this is currently the best solution for me. Upgrade options in the future are maybe another polk hts 10 sub for the wiim or a 5 channel power amp for the marantz, but could also be a little Overkill.

 

[hoohoohoo]

Well here is my current setup. I had the near impossible task to combine my music setup with my hometheater setup and find also an easy solution for my fiance to switch between the different Setups without many clicks or manual.

Music Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Wiim Amp Ultra

Hometheater Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Marantz Cinema 70s (+ Polk Es30 Center, 2x Polk Es10 and a Polk Hts10 Subwoofer)

The Neohipo got a very good review on ASR and I can't hear any Sound issues.
I tried also to use the Wiim Amp Ultra as a Power amp via line in to the pre out to the marantz but I got latency issues and the wiim would get very hot (volume 100%).
So this is currently the best solution for me. Upgrade options in the future are maybe another polk hts 10 sub for the wiim or a 5 channel power amp for the marantz, but could also be a little Overkill.
View attachment 24227View attachment 24228

The setup is very clean and spare -- love it!

I'm curious about the Polk speakers (32 Hz low end) and the Polk sub (30 Hz low end). Does this sub make a difference? I know that sometimes we buy systems in pieces and phases as cashflow permits, so the final system may have arrived over time.

I've found having a FireStick to use voice commands to turn TV and audio gear on/off is a good thing for the family and guests -- no screwing around with remotes and getting gear into strange states.

 

[EddNog]

The setup is very clean and spare -- love it!

I'm curious about the Polk speakers (32 Hz low end) and the Polk sub (30 Hz low end). Does this sub make a difference? I know that sometimes we buy systems in pieces and phases as cashflow permits, so the final system may have arrived over time.

I've found having a FireStick to use voice commands to turn TV and audio gear on/off is a good thing for the family and guests -- no screwing around with remotes and getting gear into strange states.

Most of the time the rated frequency response/range doesn't tell the whole story. While the sub is only F3 rated 2Hz lower than the loudspeakers, that sub has significantly more dynamic headroom at those low frequencies, plus the roll-off is likely much less steep, so you do end up with a significantly greater amount of weight below the rated F3. They don't state in-room-response in their specs, but this is the key figure when looking at low-end extension, although they do state for the sub as going down to 25Hz. I can basically guarantee you the speakers don't go anywhere near that low in-room.

Finally, bass response is almost entirely predicated on room interaction; you must place the speakers a certain way due to imaging concerns, but a separate sub has the freedom to be placed for optimal bass response, and this is probably the real key advantage of using a sub compared to just full-range speakers.

-Ed

 

[TonyE]

How do stands remove airborne transmission of sound from speakers to the turntable?

While I don't disagree in general us audiophiles tend to go over the top on such topics. Others ... don't.
...

Needless to say that my equipment sits on two separate racks, 50 kg each, equipped with Super Spikes and separately decoupled shelves. Not talking about the Clarity Stands with their 22 kg base plates. Looks like I'm an audiophile ...


It's more than appropriate in many cases. I wouldn't use it in MC mode, sure. But in my experience it's perfectly fine in such an environment.

Sure... get the cheapest possible used turntable from Goodwill, use a pair of PA speakers, make sure your 5 dollar Ronco cartridge is playing with a tracking force of 4gm on that plastic tonearm... Get a sound meter and do not do ANY listening at all and then pass judgement on YuTube.

It's not being an audiophile... it's just plain listening to the music. Heck, everyone that is posting here have at least a reasonable entry level turntable and speakers

Imagine if you will, having an entry level Rega with no suspension. They are good sounding turntables, not High End but not bad for an entry... put them on the same shelf with reasonable good sounding speakers and see what happens. OK, now, either move the speakers out away or put some isolation between the speakers and the shelf and try the same experiment.

My Target stand is filled with lead shot and it has levelled and spiked shelves. It has spiked feet into the hard footers than sit directly on the wood floor which sit on the slab. The turntable has the Trampolin 2 and Keel subframe... so you got a set up that "sinks" vibration away from the record.

The issue in having the speakers and turntable directly on the shelf is the direct transmission of the low end vibrations which carry the most energy.

And, as you point out with your own racks, you can actually hear it. Those speaker footers I recommended do some very good things... for one thing, they allow you to tilt the speakers so they point directly to your ears, for another they really isolate the vibration. Lastly, they are nice looking. I mean, you can get them from Amazon, give them a try and if you don't like them, return them. For my wife's case, she doesn't have a turntable but the speakers sat by her wide monitor. Getting the stands allowed us to tilt them nicely and she doesn't "Feel" the music on her keyboard.

Bottom line... IMHO, decoupling the speakers from the turntable will yield and improvement in the sound... it will make the bass better sounding.. tighter, cleaner.

Phono preamp... for a couple of hundred dollars or so you can likely get a better sounding MM phono stage. Use the line in inputs of the Ultra. I don't understand why WiiM put that in there.

 

[TonyE]

Well here is my current setup. I had the near impossible task to combine my music setup with my hometheater setup and find also an easy solution for my fiance to switch between the different Setups without many clicks or manual.

Music Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Wiim Amp Ultra

Hometheater Setup:
Polk Es60 Speaker > Neohipo ET30 Switcher > Marantz Cinema 70s (+ Polk Es30 Center, 2x Polk Es10 and a Polk Hts10 Subwoofer)

The Neohipo got a very good review on ASR and I can't hear any Sound issues.
I tried also to use the Wiim Amp Ultra as a Power amp via line in to the pre out to the marantz but I got latency issues and the wiim would get very hot (volume 100%).
So this is currently the best solution for me. Upgrade options in the future are maybe another polk hts 10 sub for the wiim or a 5 channel power amp for the marantz, but could also be a little Overkill.
View attachment 24227View attachment 24228

Are you streaming Tidal to Tidal Connect? I stream Tidal HiFi and then use external USB DACs. I get bit perfect playback using Android/Chromebook as sources... Two WiiMs are wired directly to the LAN, the other two are on WiFi. The Android and Chromebooks are wireless. I can also use Windows machines to source the music. The DACs show the same bit rates as Tidal is playing... As it turns out, with Android and Chromebook running directly into the DAC over a USB/OTG connection, the bit rates get reclocked... 24/48 for Chromebook and 24/192 for Android tablets.

Now I need a DAC with dual USB inputs.... so I can use PCs to play the music that I've ripped in the network. I can't figure out how to use the WiiM as a "sound card".

 

[harkpabst]

Imagine if you will, having an entry level Rega with no suspension. They are good sounding turntables, not High End but not bad for an entry... put them on the same shelf with reasonable good sounding speakers and see what happens. OK, now, either move the speakers out away or put some isolation between the speakers and the shelf and try the same experiment.

Have you done it? Just asking.

The issue in having the speakers and turntable directly on the shelf is the direct transmission of the low end vibrations which carry the most energy.

And which are high pass filtered in the case of a typical WiiM Ultra setup including a subwoofer.

Bottom line... IMHO, decoupling the speakers from the turntable will yield and improvement in the sound... it will make the bass better sounding.. tighter, cleaner.

Bottom line, this is the one and only truth? Always, irrespective of boundary conditions? Sorry, I don't buy into that.

Phono preamp... for a couple of hundred dollars or so you can likely get a better sounding MM phono stage. Use the line in inputs of the Ultra. I don't understand why WiiM put that in there.

The whole WiiM Ultra is only a couple of hundred dollars, right. No question, any dedicated phono pre-amp costing a couple of hundreds on its own better should beat what the free giveaway phono stage in the Ultra does. In fact, a much cheaper phono pre should be able to do that.

Btw, this thread is called "What's your setup/configuration look like?", not "Pick on my setup". We should discuss these things elsewhere.

 

[TonyE]

(1) I've been doing Audio since the 70s. My first set ups, up until the mid 80s, included the turntable and speakers on the same shelf. I could hear the difference so I started moving the speakers and turntable to separate shelves. By the time we bought a house, I had larger speakers on their own stands and that solved the problem. Have YOU tried this?

(2) "typical"? What is "typical"... there is nothing typical. And the issue is low bass vibrations getting through to the stylus/record interface.

(3) The thing about the Ultra is that it is better than its price point. So it is a simple way to upgrade. Right now I just figured out how to mount the NAS servers and I'm playing music through it ( using a separate DAC ). The whole setup in that "small system" is close to two orders of magnitude more expensive than the Ultra and yet it sounds really good. It does indeed work splendid as a bit perfect streamer... it's one of those few devices that will stick around as the rest around it gets updated.

(4) I'm not "picking".. don't be defensive. Quite the opposite. I'm just making some notes-advice for people that have started on a good system set up. For a little bit more money, as they go progress the audio path they can significantly update their sound for not a lot of money.

The speaker stands run about 110 bucks. A phono preamp will run 200 bucks. Those two additions will truly make a big difference in sound.

(5) BTW, I posted two of my systems... both have Ultras. ( I bought four Ultras ). One of them shows the turntable on its own stand to the left. The other one shows the Ultra in a digital only system. That's the Ultra I just got running reading files from the NAS... that's in another thread.

BTW- The Ultras were on sale last week again.

 

[castalla]

The single factor to improve would be a bigger higher quality screen (eg. Eversolo or nad x10)

 

[EddNog]

...Bottom line, this is the one and only truth? Always, irrespective of boundary conditions? Sorry, I don't buy into that. ...

Good sir, I actually saw a test where they set up mics to record sweeps from a pair of studio monitors sitting right on the desk and then again after placing them on a pair of the IsoAcoustics ISO-155 stands/mounts and the response actually shows cleaner in the upper bass and mids.

I suppose it's not an absolute controlled comparison because they didn't find a way to lower the desk so the speakers are at the same height or to raise the desk before installing the mounts so that the monitors would wind up in the exact same position (within the room/space) before and then after, so some of it might be due to different room interaction (and also reduced reflections/interaction with the desktop), but either way, they're not mere snake oil.

Well, for all we know, just lifting your speakers up on a couple of thick books that do not protrude past the front edge of the enclosures might make all the difference (definitely cut down on reflections from those mid/bass drivers off the counter top).

There's no replacement for...good placement (heh)...cheers!

-Ed