WiiM Amp Pro - user evaluation
- Thread starter adias
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I have no experience with that amp. You may have better feedback if you ask that in a thread containing posts of the first amp.
Was there a problem with some non-linear speaker loads?
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cooky560
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I don't know, I haven't had any problems with it myself, but the amp pro has the dac from the ultra, so that itself might make an improvement, I am considering upgrading the spare room system from the wiim amp to the amp pro, if there's any benefit to doing so
Sure the Amp Pro built-in DAC should justify the upgrade. The unit works well - I did not find any issue, it just works.
slartibartfast
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Really? Even though you haven't any experience of the original amp.
That "should" should be read as "should", shouldn't it?
I still have to experience the Amp Pro in the flesh, but it's pretty safe to say that it's technically superior to the original WiiM Amp. Is the better DAC chip alone audible? I don't know (of course). But at least if the impedance of your speakers changes quite strongly with the frequency (and rises to higher frequencies) we simply know that the Amp Pro will perform better without even listening.
Let's see who will be coming up with a direct comparison. And let's keep our fingers crossed it's not Robinson ...
Fernandodelae
Active member
I was about to ask the same... as a WiiM Amp owner I would also be interested in your feedback on the new DAC and also the sound from TV/Hdmi with the Dolby digital support, how it compares to the PCM stereo only for TV content. Thks!
I am not putting down the original amp. The question referred to the Pro having a better DAC… so on that basis it should be worth a consideration, don’t you think?
slartibartfast
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Definitely but I wouldn't automatically replace an original amp. If I needed a second one I would go for the Pro
The Neumi BS5 speaker has been measured by several. Using a FR plot we can see a minor deep in the mid bass and a couple of narrow dips in the mid range (these due to speaker box internal reflections). See those marked below:
I used the Amp Pro parametric EQ to mitigate those. See below:
And with RC EQ:
B&K Filter:
And the in-room spectrum:
Edit: added RC results.
I used the Amp Pro parametric EQ to mitigate those. See below:
And with RC EQ:
B&K Filter:
And the in-room spectrum:
Edit: added RC results.
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phunny12000
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I'm a complete novice trying to learn but with it being arc and not earc is it limited to the 1000 bits bandwidth,i only found out about this after wondering if my firestick could send Amazon music uhd through my TV arc, not earc to my receiver,it can't because of the bandwidth limit in arc
I'm not an expert, so excuse me if I'm wrong, but I believe the maximum bandwidth for ARC is 1 Mbps.
phunny12000
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That's what I'm trying to say, so nothing connected to your TV Will be hi Res into the wiim
This exactly what I want to know. Was the upgrade noticeable aside from technical stand point?
Sorry, I don't think I understand your question very well.
My understanding of Amazon music UHD on FireTV stick is that it is limited to 24bit/48kHz via ARC. (At least that is the case with my TV to WiiM amp.)
Which is (or at least should be) considered Hi-Res, since the data rate is clearly above CD.
HDMI ARC bandwidth cannot be directly compared to the sources data rate, though. It's based on AES3 serial transmission and frankly, every time AI start looking into this standard and give up and I have better things to do. It's complicated.
But we know that ARc can transmit uncompressed 24 bit/48 kHz LPCM at ~2.3 mbps. I don't need to dive into the details.
phunny12000
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And the bandwidth limit says that's not possible
The firestick reports the capability of the Dac in your avr etc ignoring the limits of bandwidth in arc, hdmi is very capable but arc is limited through hdmi bandwidth for arc
If it had earc everything should play native and definitely make it more useful
The WiiM Ultra reports the data format (LPCM) and the samplin frequency (48 kHz) and the bit depth (24 bit) and the resulting data rate (2.3 mbps) it receives.
The quoted 1 mbps bandwidth limit is a misunderstanding of how ARC/AES3 works.
The same sources refering to 1 mbps as the limit for ARC also mention TOSLINK to be limited to 384 kbps, wichbis obviously not the case.
phunny12000
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The toslink cable can handle ridiculous data but the implementation was the restriction
My firestick reports my avr capable of 24/192 but the avr says 48
Im open to any information as I went down the rabbit hole wondering why arc wasn't passing hi Res and then wondered why the wiims weren't earc as arc is last Gen technology
Then again firesticks give false information even plugged directly into an avr according to multiple posts I've read
Also wiim reviews say the arc sound isn't very good from any devices through the TV arc
But I'm interested in learning from any advice you can give
Currently trying to get hi Res tidal out of my shield pro but loving the fact it's one of the few to do Tidal Atmos fully
Mr Ee
Major Contributor
OK, a quick update...
I had the amp pro driving my Krix floorstanders for a week or so.
Plenty loud enough, and not missing the Marantz pm6006 that was driving them one bit, from a purely sound perspective.
Fantastic.
I've also used it this week to drive my SD bookshelf speakers, replacing a Marantz pm8005.
That was a bit of a trickier hill to climb; the wiim put up a good show, and with a little Room Correction applied I find it to be more than adequare for music while I work. This setup is in no way used for "listening sessions", but I do sometimes stop working just to listen for a while.
No doubt in my mind that the marantz is better (maybe as hoped/expected/biased considering the price difference), but the wiim truely is remarkable here, so much so that I expect I'll leave it in this setup permanently to free up the desk space.
So far the wiim amp pro is 'The Liitle Engine That Could'!
However, when I attached the amp pro to my Paradigm floorstanders my wife's instant comment was 'What have you just done? There's no punch to the music."
I have to admit, it wasn't great.
Perhaps unfair to pair it with such speakers and pit it against the Hegel dac/amp, but maybe I'll try again later with some Room Correction too just to give it another shot. Not because I have any intention of using the wiim amp in this setup, but just for a bit of fun / experimentation.
It is meant to be a hobby after all...
I had the amp pro driving my Krix floorstanders for a week or so.
Plenty loud enough, and not missing the Marantz pm6006 that was driving them one bit, from a purely sound perspective.
Fantastic.
I've also used it this week to drive my SD bookshelf speakers, replacing a Marantz pm8005.
That was a bit of a trickier hill to climb; the wiim put up a good show, and with a little Room Correction applied I find it to be more than adequare for music while I work. This setup is in no way used for "listening sessions", but I do sometimes stop working just to listen for a while.
No doubt in my mind that the marantz is better (maybe as hoped/expected/biased
considering the price difference), but the wiim truely is remarkable here, so much so that I expect I'll leave it in this setup permanently to free up the desk space.So far the wiim amp pro is 'The Liitle Engine That Could'!
However, when I attached the amp pro to my Paradigm floorstanders my wife's instant comment was 'What have you just done? There's no punch to the music."
I have to admit, it wasn't great.
Perhaps unfair to pair it with such speakers and pit it against the Hegel dac/amp, but maybe I'll try again later with some Room Correction too just to give it another shot. Not because I have any intention of using the wiim amp in this setup, but just for a bit of fun / experimentation.
It is meant to be a hobby after all...
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