Hey! Is it possible to connect an external DAC with WiiM Amp Ultra. Does it make any sense? I'm asking because I'm tempted to try DAC R2R from FiiO - K11 or K13. I wonder if there is any option to combine this? Or is it necessary to switch to WiiM Ultra and a separate amp, e.g. Vibelink?
WiiM Amp Ultra with external DAC?
- Thread starter d00
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EddNog
Major Contributor
This is not possible with any integrated streaming amplifier that I have ever seen. Your only option is use USB out from the Amp Ultra to the FiiO DAC and then attach the DAC's output to another amplifier, or, as you suggested, switch to a different streamer that has no amplifier built in.
-Ed
dangermouse
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It absolutely is possible but only for external sources. I have a FiiO k11 R2R fed by my cd player by coax and into WiiM amp ultra by usb. There is a very noticeable difference in sound when using the FiiO dac compared to the WiiM. Personally I prefer it for listening to cds. Of course you can only use the WiiM's internal dac when listening via streaming, usb etc.
slartibartfast
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If you feed the FiiO USB out into the WiiM you are using the WiiM DAC not the FiiO DAC. But having said that there is no USB input on the WiiM so how are you connecting to the WiiM?
Thanks for the correction, I should have said the FiiO is connected to WiiM by RCA for cd playback. It's connected by usb out from Wiim for headphone out.
slartibartfast
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In that case you are using the ADC and the DAC in the WiiM as well as the FiiO DAC.
Oh ok, thanks. I didn't realise that rca was still processed through the wiim dac. Perhaps I was mixing that up with the ultra, which I had until recently. Or was that the same deal?
I do still prefer the sound with the FiiO in the chain though!
Only the vibelink doesn't convert the analog input.
Yes and that defeats the original purpose.
Fair enough, I'm happy to admit to being wrong about this. But I guess it also depends what the OP's original purpose was. Because adding the FiiO dac into the chain does result in a different sound. And for me it's a sound I prefer. Perhaps it would be for the OP too? Plus for me it provides a headphone out, which was my primary use case (and the only option for this with the amp ultra given it doesn't have it's own headphone out). The different dac sound with cd playback is just a nice bonus - even if it's not the purest/simplest source chain.
hgo58
Major Contributor
The resampling of the CD analog signal is unrelated to the original CD sampling, so better set it to 24/96.
There are a number of posts / measurements etc. (somewhere!) whose conclusion was (as I understood it) that 24 bit / 96khz is a sort of sweet spot in the adc setup.
24 bit instead of 16 bit was the primary reason.
If no one else posts a link to those posts I might have a hunt for them.
Or just trust us
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