Wiim Ultra as PreAmp

[Tkkahalepuna]

Is the performance with the Ultra as a Pre good enough for the average listener? I have a Van Alstine power amp and would love to be able to use the Uotra for all its functionality, just curious as to how it performs.

 

[harkpabst]

If I'm an average listener, then yes, it performs very well.

Which functions of a pre-amp are you most interested in? The phono input is not exactly state of the art, but OK as long as you stay with MM. The line input is digitised immediately to allow e.g. equalisation and room correction. With modern sources (usually capable of ~2 V output voltage) there's not really any amplification going on. As a source switcher and volume control the Ultra works exceptionally well from my point of view.

 

[mlsstl]

I've used the Ultra as a preamp for 6 months now and sold the Schiit Lyr 3 I had been using as a preamp. No regrets. Note that I don't use the RCA or phono inputs on the Ultra; I just stream my local collection, Qobuz and some internet radio. The only two hitches I see that would cause a problem would be as follows:

• You need XLR/balanced outputs for your power amp -- the Ultra doesn't offer that connection
• Your power amp doesn't have enough gain. The Ultra is limited to 2 volts max output from its RCA line out connections. You may find that with digital material that has an average playback level well below average or you're using the phono input with a cartridge that needs a lot of gain, using the Ultra as a preamp may not produce the desired playback volume. Many standalone preamps have a voltage output capability well over 2 volts.

 

[harkpabst]

Points that should be noted.

However, I would basically consider any power amplifier with an input sensitivity lower than 2 V rms through RCA (lower sensitivity means higher input voltage required) broken by design.

If the digital source is far from 0 dBFS (like most early digital masters made for CD), then it's still possible to add some digital pre-gain. The same goes for low output MM cartridges (which are most likely really of "high output" MCs or Moving Iron type). Needless to say that pre-gain reduces the digital dynamic range, but the Ultra has plenty of that.

Just remember to reset the pre-gain when playing higher level sources.

 

[Bozzz]

Is the performance with the Ultra as a Pre good enough for the average listener? I have a Van Alstine power amp and would love to be able to use the Uotra for all its functionality, just curious as to how it performs.

Works great as a preamp going into my Willsenton r8

 

[Ronnie D]

Is the performance with the Ultra as a Pre good enough for the average listener? I have a Van Alstine power amp and would love to be able to use the Uotra for all its functionality, just curious as to how it performs.

Works well as preamp into Arcam p80. The amp was looking for 700mv. The nearest from the wiim settings is 800mv so I set the wiim to 500mv
as I think it's better to supply under voltage than over and its still goes loud enough.