Wiim Ultra with external DAC: what output?

[Valentino]

If you have noticed such a behaviour you should raise a ticket through the WiiM Home app, @wkamil.

 

[DG77]

Have any of you who connected an external DAC encountered a situation where, in the case of an SPDIF connection (both optical and coaxial), in the high frequency range you could hear some artifacts, distortions, or irregular hissing? They cannot be heard from a distance, but they are clearly audible up close. In the case of a USB connection, this does not happen. I also connected another source (CD player) via spdif to rule out a problem with the DAC and here the sound is absolutely clear.

Strange if you can not hear it from a distance but from closeby?
Are you sure you are just not listening to close to the tweeter and hearing those high frequencies?

I actually have a setup where my Ultra is connected to an external DAC via SPDIF, and the sound is a bit "harsher" compared to the built in DAC in my Active Speakers, but on the other hand I gain a lot of extra control and a Sub-Out so still using it

 

[slartibartfast]

Strange if you can not hear it from a distance but from closeby?
Are you sure you are just not listening to close to the tweeter and hearing those high frequencies?

I actually have a setup where my Ultra is connected to an external DAC via SPDIF, and the sound is a bit "harsher" compared to the built in DAC in my Active Speakers, but on the other hand I gain a lot of extra control and a Sub-Out so still using it

I was assuming he meant with nothing playing and his ear to the speaker.

 

[multibit]

Its all down to the device being used , it's one of those things you have to try yourself and compare . For me with my kit I much prefer USB out

 

[wkamil]

I thought it was obvious that these distortions were heard from the tweeters since I mentioned high frequencies Interestingly, I can only hear them when the wiim is playing music, when I pause it there is silence in the speakers. And the funniest thing is that I have just switched the output from USB to SPDIF and now (after I sent the report in the home app) there are no distortions

 

[Saponetto]

Not at all... after some USB vs. Optical tests, I managed to use exclusively the optical out to feed my DAC.
Did you test it via coaxial also?

 

[Grossmeister_T]

Does anyone own a Pro-ject Pre Box RS Digital and did some testing?
BR

 

[foraye]

I tested coax, optical and USB. USB was better by far. It was unexpected.

 

[Vignus]

I tested coax, optical and USB. USB was better by far. It was unexpected.

Do you use a "high end" USB cable or the one provided with the Wiim? I just wonder if different USB cables would make a noticeable difference

 

[badunn]

Do you use a "high end" USB cable or the one provided with the Wiim? I just wonder if different USB cables would make a noticeable difference

Any standard data usb cable will do the job. There is no such item as a high end cable, and if anyone suggests there is - they are con artist.

 

[hgo58]

I tested coax, optical and USB. USB was better by far. It was unexpected.

Better in what way?

Did you blind test it?

 

[onlyoneme]

Any standard data usb cable will do the job. There is no such item as a high end cable, and if anyone suggests there is - they are con artist.

There are cables which exceed the USB specification greatly, I would call them high end ones.

 

[renpar61]

Its all down to the device being used , it's one of those things you have to try yourself and compare . For me with my kit I much prefer USB out

This.
It all depends on your system. There’s no universal answer. Technically USB should have an advantage, but you can get different result with different equipment. Trust you ears more than other people’s recommendations.

 

[harkpabst]

Do you use a "high end" USB cable or the one provided with the Wiim? I just wonder if different USB cables would make a noticeable difference

WiiM provide a USB cable? This would be a new addition then.

 

[badunn]

There are cables which exceed the USB specification greatly, I would call them high end ones.

A ‘high end’ USB cable is never going to deliver more / better anything that a standard robust cable will do when attached to a Wiim, so pointless exercise imho.

 

[jluce50]

A ‘high end’ USB cable is never going to deliver more / better anything that a standard robust cable will do when attached to a Wiim, so pointless exercise imho.

USB cables are subject to interference just like anything else (except optical, which can have other issues). Cable quality can matter under certain circumstances.

 

[badunn]

USB cables are subject to interference just like anything else (except optical, which can have other issues). Cable quality can matter under certain circumstances.

Absolutely agree… but our friend who posed the question specifically used the term ‘high end’… and ‘high end’ usually misleads the consumer in buying an over priced product that delivers no more than a sensibly priced robustly designed item. So I think we’ve answered his question.

 

[canard]

Absolutely agree… but our friend who posed the question specifically used the term ‘high end’… and ‘high end’ usually misleads the consumer in buying an over priced product that delivers no more than a sensibly priced robustly designed item. So I think we’ve answered his question.

hey...an asr mantra... ;-)

 

[Musician]

This.
It all depends on your system. There’s no universal answer. Technically USB should have an advantage, but you can get different result with different equipment. Trust you ears more than other people’s recommendations.

USB has a technical disadvantage with USB package noise , at 8 kHz . Sometimes it’s even visible at the output of the dac .

 

[Musician]

Here’s a video by Archimago , a annoying sound from his dac using asynkron USB

MEASUREMENTS: Computer USB port noise, USB hubs and the 8kHz PHY Microframe Packet Noise

A blog for audiophiles about more objective topics. Measurements of audio gear. Reasonable, realistic, no snakeoil assessment of sound, and equipment.

archimago.blogspot.com