Hi everyone,
For five years, I had an Aune Audio setup on my bedside table, paired with my indestructible HD280Pro headphones for nighttime listening. It was a pleasant system. I always played the same SD card playlist of about 3,000 tracks. The downsides: no Replay Gain support (so I had to normalize the playlist manually), and the infrared remote was quite inconvenient.
From time to time, I looked for ways to improve my setup.
On paper, the WiiM Ultra seemed ideal: network player, USB file playback, touchscreen, headphone jack, remote control. I bought it as soon as it launched in July 2024.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment — at least for my specific use case. The playlist is limited to 2,000 tracks (initially only 502); the remote is sluggish and occasionally sets the volume to 100%; and worst of all, every three days I have to pull out my phone to restart the playlist — there's no way to save it as a favorite, either via the screen or the remote.
Back in July, I had my eye on the Fiio R7 and its big brother, the R9, but their price tags held me back. Eventually, I got the R9 with a 25% discount on AliExpress from Fiio’s official store. That, to me, feels like the holy grail.
Looking to upgrade my living room setup, I decided to give the WiiM Ultra one last chance. It will now serve as a simple transport via UPNP — a role it might be better suited for, especially if I can take advantage of room correction. I’ll pair it with a Fosi ZA3 while I wait to get a better amp, and most importantly, with a Chord Qutest (hoping for a good deal in November).
For the price, I don’t entirely regret the WiiM experience, but it hasn’t won me over yet.
For five years, I had an Aune Audio setup on my bedside table, paired with my indestructible HD280Pro headphones for nighttime listening. It was a pleasant system. I always played the same SD card playlist of about 3,000 tracks. The downsides: no Replay Gain support (so I had to normalize the playlist manually), and the infrared remote was quite inconvenient.
From time to time, I looked for ways to improve my setup.
On paper, the WiiM Ultra seemed ideal: network player, USB file playback, touchscreen, headphone jack, remote control. I bought it as soon as it launched in July 2024.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment — at least for my specific use case. The playlist is limited to 2,000 tracks (initially only 502); the remote is sluggish and occasionally sets the volume to 100%; and worst of all, every three days I have to pull out my phone to restart the playlist — there's no way to save it as a favorite, either via the screen or the remote.
Back in July, I had my eye on the Fiio R7 and its big brother, the R9, but their price tags held me back. Eventually, I got the R9 with a 25% discount on AliExpress from Fiio’s official store. That, to me, feels like the holy grail.
Looking to upgrade my living room setup, I decided to give the WiiM Ultra one last chance. It will now serve as a simple transport via UPNP — a role it might be better suited for, especially if I can take advantage of room correction. I’ll pair it with a Fosi ZA3 while I wait to get a better amp, and most importantly, with a Chord Qutest (hoping for a good deal in November).
For the price, I don’t entirely regret the WiiM experience, but it hasn’t won me over yet.
