WiiM Ultra

Updated on 5/25/2024

Check out this fuller thread about our official announcement of the WiiM Ultra - https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/meet-wiim-ultra-the-digital-hub-for-your-music.3487/

Updated on 4/19/2024

Hi Team,

We're excited to give you a sneak peek at the WiiM Ultra, your future go-to digital hub for all things music! We're putting the final touches on this innovative product and are on track for a Q2 release. Stay tuned for more updates as we gear up for launch!




Original message by Brantome:
As mentioned in a user reply from the WiiM/Linkplay CEO on the WiiM Fan Page on Facebook, WiiM are developing a new device called the WiiM Ultra which will have a screen, aluminium case and USB audio output. It should be available Q2 2024, so a good five to six months away.

Guess @Smartplug is due a prize (e.g. I'll lay off gently ribbing them about their constant 'when' questions) as I think they first suggested that name a while ago

That's the entirety of the information I have, but WiiM do say they'll release more details in due course.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

They make sense to me. XLR is used in higher end amplifiers. Only when the DAC in the Ultra is of at least the same level, I would use it. Otherwise I would not want it in the chain

As was pointed out, the Pro Plus we already know to be transparent. it’s a more than reasonable assumption that the Ultra will be, too. And ground loops are as much/little of an issue, irrespective of the DAC.

Look, there are all sorts of arguments and reasonings for having balanced outs, whether they’re necessary, to what extent they’re necessary, etc., and we could argue the toss all day. But clearly some people would like them, whilst others pretty much demand them.

I’m of the mind that satisfying the customer/end user is rarely a bad thing.

And regrading higher amplifiers, the amp I’ve seen mentioned most often as a great pairing for the Ultra is the new Fosi Audio V3 Mono. They come in at under £300 a pair.

 

[cooky560]

And regrading higher amplifiers, the amp I’ve seen mentioned most often as a great pairing for the Ultra is the new Fosi Audio V3 Mono. They come in at under £300 a pair

This is a well received amplifier. That doesn’t need xlr so the ultra will be an excellent pairing for it. If it has a volume stage that the pro plus doesn’t have. A question I asked about 4 pages ago that was not answered

 

[VladaJ]

And regrading higher amplifiers, the amp I’ve seen mentioned most often as a great pairing for the Ultra is the new Fosi Audio V3 Mono. They come in at under £300 a pair.

Given the fact that neither the Fosi V3 Mono nor the Ultra are not yet on the market (I don't count YT reviewers as "market"), we can only speculate on how great pairing of the two will be.
Hopefully, they will play nicely together, since that does look like a great little combo

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Given the fact that neither the Fosi V3 Mono nor the Ultra are not yet on the market (I don't count YT reviewers as "market"), we can only speculate on how great pairing of the two will be.
Hopefully, they will play nicely together, since that does look like a great little combo

As I say, it’s certainly looking like something a lot of people are looking at.

Certainly, caveats that there may be issues. But the Fosi’s measurements look great, and their own measurements have always been accurate in the past. Indeed, this has already been measured as superb, including a nice uptick if using balanced.

And, as has been said, based on WiiM’s track record, the Ultra will be great.

In addition, the Ultra isn’t particularly ‘new’ in that we already have most of it in the Amp.

Could they still make a Horlicks if it? Yes. Is that likely? No, it’s extremely unlikely.

 

[Giro413]

Given the fact that neither the Fosi V3 Mono nor the Ultra are not yet on the market (I don't count YT reviewers as "market"), we can only speculate on how great pairing of the two will be.
Hopefully, they will play nicely together, since that does look like a great little combo

If one were to just invest in the Fosi V3 Stereo and pair that with the Ultra, might one get an decent result, or is two monos just the way to go? For a non audiophile like myself, it does seem a bit weird to have two identical amps in my setup.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Here’s a link to a review and measurements of the Mono.

There’s a comparison of load dependency betweeny the Mono and stereo versions a short way down.

Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio V3 Mono class D amplifier. It was sent to me by the company. The price with the power supply I tested is US $139.99. I must say the concept of a "monoblock" amplifier in such a small size runs foul of any expectation a longtime...

audiosciencereview.com

Hope that helps.

For less than £300 for a pair + power supply, the Monos look like an absolute steel.

 

[VladaJ]

If one were to just invest in the Fosi V3 Stereo and pair that with the Ultra, might one get an decent result, or is two monos just the way to go? For a non audiophile like myself, it does seem a bit weird to have two identical amps in my setup.

First of all, let me say that I really like your system (visible from your signature). I have switched from Denon DRA-F102/DCD-F102/WiiM Mini to the WiiM Amp, and I presume that your system sounds even better than mine did.

Regarding the V3 stereo, if YT reviewers are to be believed, it is not on the same level as the V3 Mono - consensus seams to be that the sound quality of the Mono is higher than the stereo variant. YToobers also seam to have a similar stand about the ZA3 (stereo) compared to V3 Mono.

Anyway, I kinda like the idea of having two separate amps besides my source

 

[SiR]

One thing that is missing for me in Ultra is the Coax IN

It has the Optical IN and adding Coax will make it a complete Streamer cum Desktop DAC

When HDMI ARC is there, Optical IN is an additional option for the same usage ???

Digital IN is more useful than Digital out for this Streamer cum DAC product


Will WiiM Team Consider this ?!!? @Brantome

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

I’ve seen a few comments recently about ‘YT reviewers’.

On the one hand I take the point. But looking at it from two perspectives. Firstly, from an objectivist perspective, there are plenty of reviewers who test kit using very accurate can expensive equipment, each knowing others will be doing the same, so they can’t just make the reviews up. More often than not they’ll also offer their own subjective opinions.

From a subjectivist standpoint, there are some complete arses out there, but I find Cheap Audio Man and Darko as entertaining as any, even though I’m not keen on their approach.

Compared to the absolute garbage you got (and still get) in What Hi-Fi, and the impenetrable, unexplained measurements in the old Stereophile magazine, we’re a lot better off these days. The (good) objectivists are smashing at taking difficult concepts and making them understandable.

To the extent that even Stereophile online makes more of an effort to be ‘user friendly’ these days.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

One thing that is missing for me in Ultra is the Coax IN

It has the Optical IN and adding Coax will make it a complete Streamer cum Desktop DAC

When HDMI ARC is there, Optical IN is an additional option for the same usage ???

Digital IN is more useful than Digital out for this Streamer cum DAC product


Will WiiM Team Consider this ?!!? @Brantome

I’ve posted this elsewhere today.

I'd have liked a coax in too, however...

Let's just stop and think, what are we going to use it for? As we're getting a lot of our music from streaming, or a HDD/local storage attached to the USB in, then that just leaves an external disc player. Okay, okay, perhaps one or two other uses, but pretty rare, I suspect. An old Mini Disc Player?

Many disc players have optical out. Those with only coax, we can use a coax to optical convertor. If our disc player is DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or UHD, we can use HDMI and an Amazon audio extractor. Okay, a bit of a pain, but cheap, and the easiest thing in the world to set up.

But seriously, we can find a disc player with optical out, and very cheap, and that's if we don't have one already. And if we effectively have enough digital inputs for streaming, a disc player, and local storage, then the need for a further digital input is going to be pretty rare, I think.

Just my opinion.

So SiR, genuine question. What were you thinking of using coax in for? Over to you.

 

[D1N0]

The SMSL D6s is an excellent DAC it has COAX, Toslink and USB in. It has XLR out and a volume control. You probably will be better of just connecting your WIIM whatever to that, instead of trying to get Linkplay to add your particular feature to the Ultra. It is 200 so combined with a pro just 350. People who want a screen and HDMI-arc will have to spend more or compromise.

 

[Brantome]

One thing that is missing for me in Ultra is the Coax IN

It has the Optical IN and adding Coax will make it a complete Streamer cum Desktop DAC

When HDMI ARC is there, Optical IN is an additional option for the same usage ???

Digital IN is more useful than Digital out for this Streamer cum DAC product


Will WiiM Team Consider this ?!!? @Brantome

As I said earlier, my take of the mock-up images is they represent what the Ultra is going to have - I fear it's too late for any design/hardware changes.

BTW, I have no more insight on the product than any of you on the forum - I just help moderate it and have no connection with WiiM other than being an owner of their products

 

[SiR]

I’ve posted this elsewhere today.

I'd have liked a coax in too, however...

Let's just stop and think, what are we going to use it for? As we're getting a lot of our music from streaming, or a HDD/local storage attached to the USB in, then that just leaves an external disc player. Okay, okay, perhaps one or two other uses, but pretty rare, I suspect. An old Mini Disc Player?

Many disc players have optical out. Those with only coax, we can use a coax to optical convertor. If our disc player is DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or UHD, we can use HDMI and an Amazon audio extractor. Okay, a bit of a pain, but cheap, and the easiest thing in the world to set up.

But seriously, we can find a disc player with optical out, and very cheap, and that's if we don't have one already. And if we effectively have enough digital inputs for streaming, a disc player, and local storage, then the need for a further digital input is going to be pretty rare, I think.

Just my opinion.

So SiR, genuine question. What were you thinking of using coax in for? Over to you.

Steve, good points to ponder which I have already done with

This device ULTRA was indeed my long time wish from WiiM

What products you'd like to see WiiM produce?

Wiim built-in portable speaker. There are many wireless small speakers on the market, but only a few have built-in good network streamer.

forum.wiimhome.com

I seriously thought of the usage of this devise and to me - Coax in is must to spin my CD's, though I stream and has good collection of music in my PC/HDD

Being an WiiM PRO user, I'm looking for an external DAC to use my CD's but if the Ultra comes with Coax IN, I may not go for an Desktop DAC

There are people who still prefer to use CD's though they stream

I like to have a TRUE ALL IN ONE PRODUCT

 

[canard]

Given it looks like it’s going to be formally announced on May 9th with availability within Q2, I’d say the chance of changing the design and case to accommodate balanced outputs is infinitesimal

of course...
balanced ..coax "in" ..aes etc....... etc....


frankly... wouldn't you prefer something really off-topic????

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Steve, good points to ponder which I have already done with

This device ULTRA was indeed my long time wish from WiiM

What products you'd like to see WiiM produce?

Wiim built-in portable speaker. There are many wireless small speakers on the market, but only a few have built-in good network streamer.

forum.wiimhome.com

I seriously thought of the usage of this devise and to me - Coax in is must to spin my CD's, though I stream and has good collection of music in my PC/HDD

Being an WiiM PRO user, I'm looking for an external DAC to use my CD's but if the Ultra comes with Coax IN, I may not go for an Desktop DAC

There are people who still prefer to use CD's though they stream

I like to have a TRUE ALL IN ONE PRODUCT

I can’t possibly disagree. All-in-one is clearly preferable.

But for me, and this is just my opinion, if I find a product that’s pretty much perfect for my personal situation, but I have to buy a small £30 box to nudge it over the line, I’m probably not going to complain too much.

Coax to optical converters cost £10-£15, and an HDMI audio extractor is £25.

A bit of a pain? Yes.

But compare that ‘bit’ to…well, what’s the alternative? Nothing even remotely close at the expected price point.

As I often say, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The (potentially/presumably) very, very, very good indeed.

 

[Fitzliputzli]

I can’t possibly disagree. All-in-one is clearly preferable.

This hurts me really! I love my boxes! ;-))

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

This hurts me really! I love my boxes! ;-))

Oh, and we love a tweak, don’t we.

Plug and play? BAH HUMBUG!

 

[Fitzliputzli]

Oh, and we love a tweak, don’t we.

Plug and play? BAH HUMBUG!

Yessir! The parts I most often have to replace are those little screw drivers ;-)) Once from high usage, today because I forget the places.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

“This is an all-in-one.”

Me:

 

[pmalecek]

I'm perfectly happy with WiiM Pro Plus. For the Ultra version I would appreciate a display with information about the quality of the stream (or digital input), coax input, second optical input. Phono input is not necessary, anyway its quality will not reach the discrete circuits of other preamps. Maybe an HDMI input and output would be nice (for example, to connect to Apple TV), but that's not important anymore. Subwoofer output, WiFi 6/6E and 1Gbit LAN. And definitely a better quality power supply (transformer).