WiiM Amp with external DAC and amplification

[joostdh]

When I first heard of the WiiM Amp I knew it would be the best solution for our living room, with “our” being me and my family. I was not particularly happy with the Denon (stereo) receiver I had (DRA-800H) and I sold that to largely pay for the WiiM Amp.

Functionally the Amp is perfect for me. Used sources in order from most to least used are Spotify, streaming Radio, HDMI (arc), phono and AirPlay. Phono is pre-amped with the Cambridge Audio Duo and the TV is always fed from an AppleTV 4K. The auto switching is great and works well between all the sources except for the analog input but as I have to get up to turn on the CA and physically put the record on, it’s not a hassle.

I’ve take multiple stabs at room correction. I find it works quite well but the correction I use now - and like the best - is one derived from a housecurve app measurement which I manually tweaked.

If there was anything about the WiiM Amp I was still apprehensive about, it would be the amplification. It seems slightly underpowered for the Dali Oberon 7 speakers, not necessarily in volume but more in punch / dynamics. That’s why my interest was piqued when I heard about the Fosi V3 mono amps and I ordered two via the Kickstarter. I thought I was going to use them with the announced WiiM Ultra (as many others). Unfortunately the whole lack of AirPlay threw me off that plan. The Amp Pro could also have been a solution except for … well you know.

Fortunately WiiM is great in adding so many useful functions to their products, such as the USB out function. I purchased the Topping D10 Balanced DAC and since last weekend this is my setup: AppleTV/Phono/Streaming > WiiM Amp > Topping D10b > Fosi V3 Mono > Dali Oberon 7.

And all is now well If you got this far, thank you for reading.

 

[canard]

When I first heard of the WiiM Amp I knew it would be the best solution for our living room, with “our” being me and my family. I was not particularly happy with the Denon (stereo) receiver I had (DRA-800H) and I sold that to largely pay for the WiiM Amp.

Functionally the Amp is perfect for me. Used sources in order from most to least used are Spotify, streaming Radio, HDMI (arc), phono and AirPlay. Phono is pre-amped with the Cambridge Audio Duo and the TV is always fed from an AppleTV 4K. The auto switching is great and works well between all the sources except for the analog input but as I have to get up to turn on the CA and physically put the record on, it’s not a hassle.

I’ve take multiple stabs at room correction. I find it works quite well but the correction I use now - and like the best - is one derived from a housecurve app measurement which I manually tweaked.

If there was anything about the WiiM Amp I was still apprehensive about, it would be the amplification. It seems slightly underpowered for the Dali Oberon 7 speakers, not necessarily in volume but more in punch / dynamics. That’s why my interest was piqued when I heard about the Fosi V3 mono amps and I ordered two via the Kickstarter. I thought I was going to use them with the announced WiiM Ultra (as many others). Unfortunately the whole lack of AirPlay threw me off that plan. The Amp Pro could also have been a solution except for … well you know.

Fortunately WiiM is great in adding so many useful functions to their products, such as the USB out function. I purchased the Topping D10 Balanced DAC and since last weekend this is my setup: AppleTV/Phono/Streaming > WiiM Amp > Topping D10b > Fosi V3 Mono > Dali Oberon 7.

And all is now well If you got this far, thank you for reading.

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too bad there wasn't just a classic "pre-out" release...
(phono mm, headphone, pre-out.. like many mini-systems denon yam teac onkyo etc etc the challenge being to achieve it in a qualitative manner too...)
can be their next....

 

[harkpabst]

too bad there wasn't just a classic "pre-out" release...
(phono mm, headphone, pre-out.. like many mini-systems denon yam teac onkyo etc etc)
can be their next....

Wouldn't that be an Ultra (sans the screen)?

Every new device based on Linkplay's new A98D Wireless Smart Audio Module will probably be lacking an AirPlay licence, at least for the foreseeable future.

 

[Burnside]

Wouldn't that be an Ultra (sans the screen)?

Every new device based on Linkplay's new A98D Wireless Smart Audio Module will probably be lacking an AirPlay licence, at least for the foreseeable future.

Yeah, I was coming to the same conclusion that that module was the fly in the ointment…

While you can find a summary of the features of the A98 which includes airplay, I can’t find a similar description of the A98D on Linkplay’s website.

 

[joostdh]

Well at least this solution is working well for me. Maybe a component or two more in the chain than I would’ve liked but it’s fine.

Specswise it’s on par with (maybe slightly above) a solution with either the Ultra or the Amp Pro. And having two mono amps does instil a sense of superiority

 

[canard]

Wouldn't that be an Ultra (sans the screen)?

Every new device based on Linkplay's new A98D Wireless Smart Audio Module will probably be lacking an AirPlay licence, at least for the foreseeable future.

yes and no.. the amplification will be there.. and will offer the possibility if the need arises of external amplification "if necessary"..
(already that it is in mini system which lost the cd player and the fm radio... so it remains to take care of the rest ;-) )

 

[lluther]

This looks great, other than having more amp power for higher levels of sound, have you noticed much/any sound quality improvements at lower-mid levels?

 

[crash843]

Thank you for your report, I had exactly the same issue as I recently got a separate amp. I was initially concerned if Topping would work with Wiim, but today I got it and everything works fine. The only issue is that DAC is not getting off when Wiim is in standby mode, probably due to power by USB.
It's a shame that Wiim ultra doesn't have airplay2, it would be the ultimate setup for me.

@lluther I got 30 years old harman kardon for 50$ and damn there is a difference in sound quality. I'm new to this kind of stuff but I can tell that with my Focal aria 906 Wiim sound is much more flat, honestly I can't listen to Wiim tried this after this.

 

[Anarchaotic]

I'm doing something very similar - I have a Fiio K7 plugged into the Wiim. The signal chain from my turntable is working well.

Fluance -> Phono Preamp -> Wiim Amp -> Fiio K7 -> HD650s. I got the Fiio so I could plug the preamp straight in and bypass the Wiim, but after some testing I much prefer having the 10 band EQ on the Wiim.

 

[vhrod]

Thank you for your report, I had exactly the same issue as I recently got a separate amp. I was initially concerned if Topping would work with Wiim, but today I got it and everything works fine. The only issue is that DAC is not getting off when Wiim is in standby mode, probably due to power by USB.
It's a shame that Wiim ultra doesn't have airplay2, it would be the ultimate setup for me.

@lluther I got 30 years old harman kardon for 50$ and damn there is a difference in sound quality. I'm new to this kind of stuff but I can tell that with my Focal aria 906 Wiim sound is much more flat, honestly I can't listen to Wiim tried this after this.

I have the same problem, I have a Topping E50, but I can't get it to turn off when the Wiim Amp is in standby mode. Did you manage to solve the problem? Could you share it with me? Thank you very much.

 

[vhrod]

@crash843 I have the same problem, I have a Topping E50, but I can't get it to turn off when the Wiim Amp is in standby mode. Did you manage to solve the problem? Could you share it with me? Thank you very much.

 

[Wiimer]

@crash843 I have the same problem, I have a Topping E50, but I can't get it to turn off when the Wiim Amp is in standby mode. Did you manage to solve the problem? Could you share it with me? Thank you very much.

Yes, my Topping D30 pro is the same.
Standby on works with USB but not standby off.

I also had the same result when I plugged my phone into the Topping DAC USB. Standby off does not work, it only works when the USB cable is unplugged.

 

[slartibartfast]

Yes, my Topping D30 pro is the same.
Standby on works with USB but not standby off.

I also had the same result when I plugged my phone into the Topping DAC USB. Standby off does not work, it only works when the USB cable is unplugged.

My Topping E30 was the same when connected to a Raspberry Pi player. I had to use a udev rule to control the power to the USB port. The power consumed by the E30 didn't change in standby mode anyway.

 

[Wiimer]

The power consumed by the E30 didn't change in standby mode anyway.

That's disappointing.

 

[slartibartfast]

That's disappointing.

Well using my power measuring socket it changed from 1.8W to 1.7W probably because the display was only showing a single dot in standby

 

[vhrod]

@crash843 I have the same problem, I have a Topping E50, but I can't get it to turn off when the Wiim Amp is in standby mode. Did you manage to solve the problem? If someone can help me. Sorry to repeat the question, but that would be the only thing I would need for everything to work perfectly. Thanx.

 

[slartibartfast]

@crash843 I have the same problem, I have a Topping E50, but I can't get it to turn off when the Wiim Amp is in standby mode. Did you manage to solve the problem? If someone can help me. Sorry to repeat the question, but that would be the only thing I would need for everything to work perfectly. Thanx.

One thing you can try is switching the Topping to an unused input.

 

[vhrod]

One thing you can try is switching the Topping to an unused input.

Wiim amp has only one usb output and Topping only one usb input, I can't choose.

 

[slartibartfast]

Wiim amp has only one usb output and Topping only one usb input, I can't choose.

I mean switch the Topping to coax or optical which are both unused. Then it will go into standby. Leave the USB connected just use the Topping remote to change the input.