Wiim, please make a Wiim amp Mega!

[Indydan]

Yes, I would like to see one!
I would like the following Wiim device to be offered.
Specs:
Same streamer and DAC as the Amp Ultra
150 Watts into 8 ohms of Class D (Hypex or Purifi modules)
Same functionality as Amp Ultra, possibility of Dirac.
Priced accordingly.

This Wiim would be a direct competitor to the Cambrdige EVO 150. Wiim could undercut them on price slightly.
I would run out to buy one!

 

[pieterv1]

So why not just buy a WiiM Ultra and add a NCx252MP based amp (or build your own)? This combination will have the exact functionality you're asking for and can be had for less than €1000 + it is easier to upgrade over time with an external DAC for example.

 

[EddNog]

So why not just buy a WiiM Ultra and add a NCx252MP based amp (or build your own)? This combination will have the exact functionality you're asking for and can be had for less than €1000 + it is easier to upgrade over time with an external DAC for example.

Yeah... WiiM Ultra + IOM Ultra would cover this.

-Ed

 

[Indydan]

I want everything in one box. No DIY.

 

[dangermouse]

I want everything in one box. No DIY.

 

[EddNog]

I want everything in one box. No DIY.

Guess not like me. Two streamers, a DAC, a preamp, a pair of monobloc amps, standmounts, stands, and a subwoofer.

 

[dominikz]

150 Watts into 8 ohms of Class D (Hypex or Purifi modules)

Note that with doubling of power we only get 3dB higher maximum output - which is a very minor increase in perceived loudness.
We'd need 10x higher amplifier power to get 10dB more output - which would be perceived about double as loud.

So going from 100W to 150W would give us only about 2dB higher output. IMHO that alone probably isn’t enough to warrant a HW update.

 

[EddNog]

Note that with doubling of power we only get 3dB higher maximum output - which is a very minor increase in perceived loudness.
We'd need 10x higher amplifier power to get 10dB more output - which would be perceived about double as loud.

So going from 100W to 150W would give us only about 2dB higher output. IMHO that alone probably isn’t enough to warrant a HW update.

A lot of people confuse gain for power. The WiiM amplifiers generally have gain on the lower end. They might be able to quell some of this noise about higher amp power by simply having a high gain option.

-Ed

 

[dominikz]

A lot of people confuse gain for power. The WiiM amplifiers generally have gain on the lower end. They might be able to quell some of this noise about higher amp power by simply having a high gain option.

-Ed

I agree.

WiiM streaming amps are designed to reach maximum power when volume is set to 100% and peaks reach 0dBFS - i.e. to avoid clipping at any cost.

Now given that streaming platforms normalize content to around -14 LUFS average, while many tracks have <10dB crest factor, we can see that a lot of the power available will often be unused.

Higher gain would indeed make the amp seem louder, but on the other hand could clip with high volume setting and loud content.

As most things in engineering, it is a balancing act.

Worth noting is that we *can already* increase the amp gain by configuring positive input pre-gain. But that again brings the same risk of clipping - not much different to a theoretical high-gain option.

 

[pieterv1]

Yeah... WiiM Ultra + IOM Ultra would cover this.

-Ed

Quite literally even, because the Evo 150 seems to use the same NC252MP module