WiiM Ultra connectivity help

[Solus47]

I’ve had the WiiM ultra for several months now and have a pair of Edifier R1280DB speakers connected via rca cable. The sound was OK but I settled on replacing them with some Hi Res certified Edifier MR3 studio speakers. I assumed they would have the same connections as R1280DB but I guess because they are studio speakers certain connections aren’t present. I really only clicked when purchasing them that they had RCA which was what I needed.

Anyway, I’ve asked Edifier the following question but they have yet to get back to me so I’d like to ask some advice/opinions from the forum.

1) The MR3 speakers offer several ways to connect to devices. The one way using rca suggests using the included cable, but it’s an rca to 3.5mm cable. Do you think it’s possible to use an rca to rca cable instead? What are your thoughts?

2) I wanted to check if rca connections can do 192KHz/24Bit Hi Res Audio?

3) The WiiM ultra has many settings to fine tune your speakers for your room. I wonder if you’d lean towards using the WiiM ultra to take care of this although I see the MR3’s has tweaks via an app and the obligatory dials and nobs on the rear.

4) I admit I’m a rookie when it comes to all the jargon and standards in the music world. I didn’t really configure the R1280DB’s much after plugging them in and purchased the MR3’s on impulse because of the certification. I admit these are budget speakers and I’m sure aren’t a match for some of the high end stuff. The MR3’s lack an optical and coax connection compared to the 1280’s, but reviews of the MR3’s seem to conclude that they sound good for the price. What do you guys think comparing the specs of the two?

2.0 Monitor Speaker System | MR3 -【Edifier】

Discover the Edifier MR3 2.0 monitor speaker system, equipped with dimpled tweeter waveguides and Hi-Res Audio certification, it supports 24bit/96kHz processing for high-quality sound, with multiple acoustic settings, Bluetooth V5.4, balanced TRS, RCA, AUX inputs, and a headphone output, it's...

www.edifier.com

Powerful Bookshelf Speakers | R1280DB -【Edifier】

The Edifier R1280DB powerful bookshelf speaker with 4 driver units, produce 42W total power output for a great listening experience in your home.

www.edifier.com

5) Essentially I want to make sure I’m able to play music up to 192MHz/24bit, as I’ve got a new tidal subscription and it would be a shame if I’m not hearing the audio in all its glory, so if I can get some advice on my 1st question I can feel confident to hook up these new speakers. Answering the other questions would be a bonus.

Hope you guys can help

Thank you

 

[d6jg]

Reading the spec the 24bit/96kHz is only available over Bluetooth but that really doesn’t matter.
The Ultra has a really good internal DAC which does support 24/192. Connect the Ultra using RCA to RCA

 

[harkpabst]

1) The MR3 speakers offer several ways to connect to devices. The one way using rca suggests using the included cable, but it’s an rca to 3.5mm cable. Do you think it’s possible to use an rca to rca cable instead? What are your thoughts?

Yes, the unbalanced analogue RCA input expects the same signal, no matter if the other end is terminated with a set of RCA plugs or a single 3.5mm TRS plug.

Make sure to set the Ultra's output level to 800 mVrms with the MR3 for best usability of the volume control. The R1280DB should work best with the Ultra set to 500 mVrms.

2) I wanted to check if rca connections can do 192KHz/24Bit Hi Res Audio?

The digital 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res is converted to analogue by the Ultra's DAC prior to being send to the analogue line output. Analogue signals don't have a sample frequency or bit depth by nature. But since the Ultra does support Hi-Res audio it will send the best possible quality signal through its line output to the speakers.

3) The WiiM ultra has many settings to fine tune your speakers for your room. I wonder if you’d lean towards using the WiiM ultra to take care of this although I see the MR3’s has tweaks via an app and the obligatory dials and nobs on the rear.

Looking at the back plate and the product page I'd say that the WiiM EQ and room correction is more flexible, so there is not much use in dealing with the speakers' controls. You can still try it, of course.

Honestly, on paper the MR3 don't look like a real upgrade compared to the R1280DB. They are different, but not fundamentally better. In particular the built-in amps are really low power. If you find that you like the sound better that shouldn't bother you. But the Ultra is really capable of much higher quality than any of these speakers.

Edit:
Actually amplifier power is very similar (2 x 19 W MR3, 2 x 21 W R1280DB, no mention of the distortion level and how the values are measured). Advertising is just different, stating 42 W for one and 2 x 19 W for the other.

 

[Solus47]

I appreciate the feedback and hopefully in the near future I’ll be getting an amp and better speakers.
So, if you are aiming for a better quality sound would you be connecting via a optical cable instead?

 

[harkpabst]

I appreciate the feedback and hopefully in the near future I’ll be getting an amp and better speakers.
So, if you are aiming for a better quality sound would you be connecting via a optical cable instead?

It mostly depends on the quality of the DAC. The WiiM Ultra has a very capable integrated DAC. If you connect e.g. to active speakers through optical then their DAC is used for conversion to analogue.

If you go with passive speakers instead you need an additional power amplifier at least. Power amplifiers rarely come with an optical input. Very few do, but most power amps just have an analogue input (and there's nothing wrong with that). You would keep using the Ultra as the DAC and volume control.

You could also decide to go with a separate external DAC, a separate pre-amplifier and a separate power amplifier, using the WiiM Ultra as a pure streamer (or digital transport as some like to call it). Wether this results in sonic improvement for you and if it's worth the expense, nobody can answer but you.

 

[Solus47]

Thanks Harkpabst

I have these floorstanders gathering dust which were part of a 5.1 Home Theatre Setup that I don’t have the space for, although I could possibly use just the floor standers.

https://supportarchive.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360000080918

The amp I used with the system was the Sony STR 1040

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/audio-components-receivers-amplifiers/str-dn1040/specifications

I had someone set it up at the time and when we moved I’ve had it in storage ever since.

The small speakers I have obviously make the whole setup very compact, but looking here at the picture of the amp I have, would this do the trick of providing me with a much better sound albeit on a rather outdated amp.

Just out of interest, if this is viable, what would be the best way in your mind to connect the WiiM ultra

Cheers