Wiim Ultra with Headphones

[slartibartfast]

Yep, cover all the other ports for debris, and take it slow and steady!
Naturally it takes the 'paint' off and leaves a shinier looking edge, but it's round the back and probably never seen, especially if it has big, fat leads in it!

The warranty is void though.

 

[Mr Ee]

Some here will know why I''m laughing at that...
For me, anyway.

 

[onlyoneme]

Rhetorical question?
No idea, but they look good.

And they help to develop Dremel skills
Seriously, I thought it could be non rhetorical.

 

[Musician]

As I finally arranged my small headphone corner in the bedroom, I was able to spend some time on listening sessions with the Ultra. No measurements this time.
I've used Mogami 2497 and 2534 cables connected to the Topping A90D amp with Hifiman Sundara cans. My headphones were eq'd according to oratory1990 suggestions on the Ultra, with 87% volume limit for a headroom. And the competitor of the Ultra's internal DAC was Holo Audio Spring 3, connected via the USB cable. The one delivered with the DAC. Output levels were matched. I was listening to the female jazz mainly.
I found the sound coming from the Ultra rich, detailed but not fatiguing. It was definitely a pleasure for me. But I had a feeling that it lacks an intimacy level delivered by the Spring 3, which was able to show some subtleness unreachable for the Ultra. Maybe it's just an imagination, I cannot arrange proper blind tests actually to verify it.
Anyway, the Ultra paired with the Spring 3 is my choice for now and I'm extremely satisfied with results.

Your Sundara cans has an impedance of 37 Ohm ? The Ultras headphone amplifier has a high output impedance of 40 Ohm .

Its like using an amplifier driving 8 Ohm speakers with an output impedance of 9 ohms . The sound will have a slight change in frequency response and will lack ” intimacy level ” . - my five cents.

Using higher impedance earphones like 400 ohms or more would be more optimal. ( the more than 10 * impedance rule )

 

[onlyoneme]

Your Sundara cans has an impedance of 37 Ohm ? The Ultras headphone amplifier have an output impedance of 40 Ohm .

Its like using an amplifier driving 8 Ohm speakers with an output impedance of 9 ohms . The sound will have a slight change in frequency response and will lack ” intimacy level ” . - my five cents.

Using higher impedance earphones like 400 ohms or more would be more optimal.

I didn't use the Ultra's headphone output at all in the above setup.

 

[Musician]

I didn't use the Ultra's headphone output at all in the above setup.

Aha, I understand : you used your topping amplifier ( and rca out from the ultra )

 

[onlyoneme]

Aha, I understand : you used your topping amplifier ( and rca out from the ultra )

Yep.

 

[Murray]

Has anyone tried the WIIM ULTRA's headphone output with the SENNHEISER HD800S? Can it work with them?
Obviously, I mean without using an external headphone amplifier.

 

[Bozzz]

I am very hard at hearing and have sold all my speakers and just started using headphones. Would the Wiim Ultra be good with the built in headphone amp for my use.
I have owned the Wiim pro when I could hear with awesome results, gave it to a friend. My headphones that I have are 32 ohms. Anybody using headphones with this Wiim Ultra? Thanks

I’ve tested it with some hifi man headphones I have. Has plenty of power to run them.

 

[heroload]

Hello everyone. First of all I have to say that I didn't know a lot about Hifi Things until now - sadly, because ive got an ear for good sound quality i think. Secondly, my english is rudimental, I'm German

So, i would like to use the wiim ultra at first für Headphones from beyerdynamic. (Dt 880)
After Reading the previous Posts - i dont know which is the better choice. Is the ultra powerful enough for the 250 ohm piece or should i Take the 32 Ohm Version?

Second question: in Future i would Like to Run q Acoustics m20 With the wiim ultra. A good and workable pair?

Mostly i will run tidal and Things Like that on Headphones, also on the speakers. Later also TV.

Thanks in advance for your Help.

Nice Greetings

 

[Mr.Vernice]

I've had my Ultra for a couple of days now. I find its headphone output better than expected. It's quite good but my reference headphone set is a pair of Hifiman Sundaras powered by a Schiit Midgard and Modi Multibit 2 DAC using the Midgard's "Halo" connection to the phones (the streamer is an Inovato Quadra running Squeezelite.) The Ultra isn't as good as that setup, but very enjoyable, especially so for the price and the one-box convenience.

One other observation -- the headphone output is not automatic on plug-in. You need to go into the app (either on your phone or the Ultra's touch screen) and manually select the headphone output. A minor annoyance with the couple of extra steps, especially if you plan on frequently switching back and forth between headphones, line or digital out, or bluetooth.

Of course, you always have the option of connecting the headphones to the "line out". if you do that, then, when you turn the Ultra on, the headphones will always be on immediately.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I am very hard at hearing and have sold all my speakers and just started using headphones. Would the Wiim Ultra be good with the built in headphone amp for my use.
I have owned the Wiim pro when I could hear with awesome results, gave it to a friend. My headphones that I have are 32 ohms. Anybody using headphones with this Wiim Ultra? Thanks

Many folks with a hearing loss hear better out of one ear than the other. A nice feature of the Wiim when used with headphones is that it offers a channel balance control.

 

[Valentino]

I use variable volume to line out to my Topping L30 headphones amp which has it’s potmeter turned all the way up. Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro (250 Ohm) cans which may be too much for the Ultra onboard headphone amp. Eagerly awaiting the PEQ per output.

 

[heroload]

THX Valentino. I will try thr Version with 32 Ohm.

 

[musig]

I use variable volume to line out to my Topping L30 headphones amp which has it’s potmeter turned all the way up. Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro (250 Ohm) cans which may be too much for the Ultra onboard headphone amp. Eagerly awaiting the PEQ per output.

I am evaluating to buy Ultra to drive a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (320 Ohm) and your comment about being "too much for the Ultra" makes me curious. Did you actually test yours with the headphones out from the Ultra? That would be useful to know...

 

[Valentino]

@musig Actually, I didn't. I also wrote "...may be too much..."
I use toslink out to my (four way MiniDSP Flex Eight controlled) main speakers so line out is free. I had the L30 already.
ASR has measured both. The Ultra headphone output is actually at it's best behavior at 300 Ohms load, so maybe it's ok with the 1990s. If it will go loud enough is very individual:

Full ASR test of the Ultra: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiim-ultra-streamer-preamp-review.57342/
Full ASR test of the Topping L30: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...topping-l30-headphone-amplifier-review.15226/
Full test of the Topping L30 II: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/topping-l30-ii-review-headphone-amp.36027/

 

[musig]

@musig Actually, I didn't. I also wrote "...may be too much..."
I use toslink out to my (four way MiniDSP Flex Eight controlled) main speakers so line out is free. I had the L30 already.
ASR has measured both. The Ultra headphone output is actually at it's best behavior at 300 Ohms load, so maybe it's ok with the 1990s. If it will go loud enough is very individual:
View attachment 14346
Full ASR test of the Ultra: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiim-ultra-streamer-preamp-review.57342/
Full ASR test of the Topping L30: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...topping-l30-headphone-amplifier-review.15226/
Full test of the Topping L30 II: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/topping-l30-ii-review-headphone-amp.36027/

Yes, I understood, that's why I wrote "actually test"
Thank you for your useful and clear explaination. The reachable volume is my main concern because I already got some troubles with cheaper headphone amps

 

[Raphaellus_GC]

Has anyone tried using the Ultra just to do PEQ for headphones and use digital output to a dac/amp?
I am considering to purchase one in order to set the peq for my sennheiser hd800, then go via optical (or usb) to my jds labs element III...
Also: Is the PEQ implementation on the ultra better than the mini, pro or pro plus?

 

[Mr Ee]

Has anyone tried using the Ultra just to do PEQ for headphones and use digital output to a dac/amp?
I am considering to purchase one in order to set the peq for my sennheiser hd800, then go via optical (or usb) to my jds labs element III...
Also: Is the PEQ implementation on the ultra better than the mini, pro or pro plus?

If you are asking whether peq affects the digital outputs, then yes, it does.
As for peq implementation differences, I'm not aware of differences between the pros, amps and ultra.
My minis are not plugged in atm to check.

 

[kingstondouglas]

As per my signature, I normally run a pro into an smsl dac / ha two box combo. This is, therefore, my reference, and about A$1400 for all 3 boxes.
Not listed in my sig is a mini feeding a fiio k11 dac / ha amp. The fiio is about A$250
As it happens, I'm using the ultra headphones right now.

I'll try to keep it short so as not to give some others here flashbacks from my earlier testing notes...

Here are the 5 comparisons I've made previously, all with no eq applied.
1) my reference - as per my sig for pro2
2) ultra headphone out
3) ultra rca out to smsl sh9, using ultra supplied rca cables
4) ultra optical out to fiio k11
5) ultra optical to fiio, rca (ultra cables) to smsl sh9

I'm not sure how to best to describe the differences between them
1) is definitely the best, and using the ultra as the source instead of the pro is, as expected, just as good.
2) vibrant, enjoyable, toe-tapping fun. Decent bass, rich vocals.
3) far and away the worst combination, and I have no idea why. Dull. Boring. Lifeless. So bad I didn't even finish a single song with this combination.
4) a significant improvement over the ultra alone, but not as good as (1). Clearer / cleaner, more vibrant, more visceral, more engaging, foot tapping fun.
5) on par with the ultra alone

So back to my earlier conclusion - the ultra IS good, especially for its price point and all the other things it provides in a single box.
But, for me, that additional A$250 for the fiio would be well worth it given the amount of headphone listening I do.
Well, it would be if I hadn't already spent 4* that on smsl.

The Wiim Ultra should work well for your 32-ohm headphones, especially since it includes a built-in headphone amplifier. Since you've had a positive experience with the Wiim Pro, you might find the Ultra even better, as it offers more advanced features. The built-in headphone amp should provide adequate power for your headphones, and 32 ohms is relatively easy for most headphone amps to drive efficiently. If you're looking for a compact, versatile solution, the Wiim Ultra is likely a good fit for your needs. Just make sure the volume levels are adjusted to your comfort, especially given your hearing situation.