WiiM Amp Ultra Users Experience

[slartibartfast]

The WiiM Amp Ultra shouldn’t need a fan, as it only gets lukewarm.

Exactly. Who wants fan noise anyway?
The fan probably consumes more power than the Amp

 

[EddNog]

Active cooling in a hobby where the entire point is to enjoy the purity of music and sound is just completely antithetical!

Imagine spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on equipment only to have a noise floor of 60dB because you decide to use fans to cool your gear.

-Ed

 

[Goodnews]

The WiiM Amp Ultra shouldn’t need a fan, as it only gets lukewarm.

It may be that they shouldn't, but when it comes to waste heat, the WAU isn't the coolest.

Why?

Well, I am fortunate enough to own several D-class amps, all of which can be heard on these speakers.

The Fosi V3 Mono, as mentioned above, had a real thermal problem. ALL D-amps react differently when it comes to waste heat.

The D-Class Mono, which has to drive my 18" dipole basses, doesn't get any warmer than the WAU on the main speakers.

Again, I connect the D-Amps that drive my basses to the main speakers... maximum room temperature.
To put it bluntly, they handle the load with ease...

However, we agree that we do NOT have the same thermal situation as with the Fosi.

I can only attest to significant differences in heat generation with the D-Amps.

 

[Goodnews]

TMP102 is for the power supply.

The Power supply section have heat sink and thermal pads that touches the upper aluminium shelf.

We can put a usb fan to further cool it as so.

Is the circuit board remaining in the housing the Streaming /DAC/ Pre - section?

 

[QuarryHunslet]

It may be that they shouldn't, but when it comes to waste heat, the WAU isn't the coolest.

It runs very cool, and there are certainly much warmer running ones.

 

[Goodnews]

Exactly. Who wants fan noise anyway?
The fan probably consumes more power than the Amp

No one can hear the fan; not a single person who visited me noticed the fans or heard them at all, even when no music was playing. Their RPM is variable.


So, don't just post based on theory. In standby mode, the WAU isn't the best either.

 

[Deleted member 29741]

Those who never owned and touched an old Musical Fidelity A1 do not really know what they write about

 

[Goodnews]

It runs very cool, and there are certainly much warmer running ones.

There are certainly warmer devices, e.g. Fosi.

There are certainly also devices that are cooler than the WAU. Technically speaking, this is not the end of the world.

A congenial combination in terms of sound is

Heco Direkt Zweiklang & Wiim Amp Ultra.

Neither of these are miracles of resolution, but they do some things right, though not in the crucial areas.

 

[slartibartfast]

There are certainly warmer devices, e.g. Fosi.

There are certainly also devices that are cooler than the WAU. Technically speaking, this is not the end of the world.

A congenial combination in terms of sound is

Heco Direkt Zweiklang & Wiim Amp Ultra.

Neither of these are miracles of resolution, but they do some things right, though not in the crucial areas.

What determines the resolution of an amplifier?

 

[Goodnews]

It could be possible that it is not - solely - dependent on this.

 

[harkpabst]

.

 

[FuckaZip]

Those who never owned and touched an old Musical Fidelity A1 do not really know what they write about

...unfortunately, it's been stored in the attic for years because it's broken



Kenwood KA-7020

 

[slartibartfast]

...unfortunately, it's been stored in the attic for years because it's broken

View attachment 31133

Kenwood KA-7020

It isn't Class A though

 

[harkpabst]

Those who never owned and touched an old Musical Fidelity A1 do not really know what they write about

For those who missed it back then there's a new chance since the end of 2023:

https://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/a1/a1-2

Good luck.

 

[FuckaZip]

It isn't Class A though

It's a classical A/B. I mistakenly assumed that the Musical Fidelity A1 was an amplifier from the 80s/90s. I probably confused it with Grundig from that period (off to bed now ).

 

[slartibartfast]

It's a classical A/B. I mistakenly assumed that the Musical Fidelity A1 was an amplifier from the 80s/90s. I probably confused it with Grundig from that period (off to bed now ).

It is 80s I think but 25W per channel Class A.

 

[harkpabst]

I mistakenly assumed that the Musical Fidelity A1 was an amplifier from the 80s/90s

The A1 originally was an amplifier from the 1980s (offering around 15 W into 8Ω). Then they made a low interest class AB model in the early 2000s and finally revived the original class A modell (with some enhancements due to better modern parts) after being taken over by Pro-Ject's Heinz Lichtenegger ...

 

[claudia.bailey]

The WiiM Amp Ultra shouldn’t need a fan, as it only gets lukewarm.

Agree

 

[Goodnews]

Agree

1.
I find it astonishing how absolutism can apply to devices from a distance, without knowing the situation or my standards for heat generation. When I write that I find the WAU "too" warm compared to other D amplifiers, then that's how it is.
2.
I assume that heat is always dissipated upwards and that increasing the surface area promotes this (it's a physical principle).
3.
The WAU currently powers two main speakers (see appendix).
What surprised me was that it does not generate less waste heat with the large speakers. I can understand this with the "small" ones!

The large ones require hardly any power to generate a maximum of 65dB.

I'll go up to 80-85 dB at the listening position... significantly warmer than the other D-amps below it for the bass.

 

[Groove Catcher]

1.
I find it astonishing how absolutism can apply to devices from a distance, without knowing the situation or my standards for heat generation. When I write that I find the WAU "too" warm compared to other D amplifiers, then that's how it is.
2.
I assume that heat is always dissipated upwards and that increasing the surface area promotes this (it's a physical principle).
3.
The WAU currently powers two main speakers (see appendix).
What surprised me was that it does not generate less waste heat with the large speakers. I can understand this with the "small" ones!

The large ones require hardly any power to generate a maximum of 65dB.

I'll go up to 80-85 dB at the listening position... significantly warmer than the other D-amps below it for the bass.

Don’t be mad Blaine…