Question What's your next HiFi purchase?

[gasolin]

That's the ZA3. I want a mk2 of the V3.

As i remember it's an upgraded version of the v3

 

[ToppingSMSL]

As i remember it's an upgraded version of the v3

No it's a higher power one with more features, and measures a bit worse iirc.

 

[Jasonovich]

I currently use a Fosi Audio V3 amp and I'd like them to make a new version with balanced inputs

Great product

 

[nopiano]

That's the ZA3. I want a mk2 of the V3.

I’m not sure if that’s likely, although Fosi do seem to develop new products at a ferocious rate!

The ZA3 has the same chip amp as the V3 stereo, but a slightly different volume and on/off switching. Both lack correction for frequency related response changes that depend on speaker impedance, so will give slightly different results depending on your speakers. The V3 Monos have that ‘correction’ or PFFB circuit, and have balanced inputs too.

I’ve owned all three, and for me the Monos are a clear step ahead of the other two. As it happens I prefer the V3 stereo volume control and case design, but there’s no doubt that the ZA3 meets your stated needs already, as @gasolin said. A mk2 would surely have a PFFB circuit, but possibly not XLR sockets?

 

[nopiano]

My exploration of budget audiophilia took another step forward today as my Wiim Pro Plus streamer-pre has arrived - yes, on Sunday, thanks to the nice DPD man.

As I posted in the Prime Deals thread, by Friday the big companies like Richers and Tysons had reverted to £219, the usual RRP. However, a bit of googlage exposed a couple of sellers less anxious to raise their price. From the two I found, one had another £3 voucher for October (!) so they got my £166 and a Pro Plus would become partner to the Fosi Monos.

I had re-read the rave review of the Wiim in Hifi News - from Andrew Everard, once of WHF - and this magazine’s own write up. The state of the art performance will be very interesting to contrast with my Linn which probably represented SOTA about a decade ago. Coincidentally, both have AKM DACs, though not identical models. Fascinating that one is 20x the price of the other, showing how a few brands from Japan, Korea, and China have almost commoditised high-end Hifi. Obviously there isn’t a friendly helpdesk in Scotland should I need help with the Wiim, but all the reports says it’s a cinch to setup.

The package wouldn’t have seemed too large if it had contained a mobile phone, Extraordinary how compact these pieces are - like the Fosi amps - which must help keep the costs low.

 

[Gray]

I had re-read the rave review of the Wiim in Hifi News - from Andrew Everard

I didn't know HFN had reviewed it - they don't usually stoop that low (price wise).
I'm glad you got that even better price (you certainly snap up the bargains).

 

[Jasonovich]

My last purchase was XDUOO TA-66 tube head amp, no actually it was the Psvane 6SL7 Art Series tube (with converter adapter).
I had another wish burger, you know, two halves of a bun and you wished you had some meat in the middle.
It's not something I can afford and even if I could, do I really want to spend £9K DAC/Streamer?

The Matrix M series really aiming high to catch Rose, in terms of aesthetics and the integrity of the design it's up there with the Rose. I really like it

The stratosphere pricing of some of these DAC/Streamers is like a swift punch to the stomach, the Eversolo DMP-A8 for a mere(ish) £1.8K is beginning to look like a bargain.

Yep it was a bit of a nothing burger but I thought I share


Oh my, really brought tears to my eyes, it's the dogs........Bo......Ba Ba Blu Blu Blue Moon you saw me standing alone....

 

[nopiano]

I didn't know HFN had reviewed it - they don't usually stoop that low (price wise).
I'm glad you got that even better price (you certainly snap up the bargains).

Thanks @Gray! Yes, I was chuffed at the price too. I actually didn’t believe at first there was over 20% off an already bargain item, that had nothing but rave reviews, but it was true!

Then literally just this morning the annual Hifi News round up of all their favourite reviews arrived, via Mr Postman. In AE’s own column he said the Wiim was his product of the year. He reckoned he hadn’t yet totally convinced Editor, Paul Miller, that it embarrasses multi-thousand £££ streamers - like my Linn DSM, and many others that sail north of ten grand without a murmur. In the original review they gave it 90% which I’ve only seen before for high-end gear they feel breaks new ground, such as speakers like Magico and Wilson Audio!

 

[RoA]

Got a Wiim Pro + for just over £160 to replace my ancient but faithful CCA which served well for many years.

 

[Amormusic]

I'm picking up a World Audio Designs K5881, 20wpc valve power amp on my way back from the show in a couple of weeks.

A good price curiosity buy as I've heard a (different) WAD integrated at a bakeoff which sounded impressive. It will get a go in a few weeks time when I get a chance.

 

[Jasonovich]

Something is brewing.....???

Ah marketing don't you just love it!

 

[Friesiansam]

Ah marketing don't you just love it!

Nah! I ignore it...

 

[Jasonovich]

Nah! I ignore it...

Good answer

 

[jjbomber]

Something is brewing.....???

Ah marketing don't you just love it!

Amplifier or pre-amplifier. The plot thickens. Do Zidoo make amplifiers? Looks like they are taking on the HiFi Rose guys. Interesting times.

 

[Jasonovich]

Amplifier or pre-amplifier. The plot thickens. Do Zidoo make amplifiers? Looks like they are taking on the HiFi Rose guys. Interesting times.

Indeed.

 

[Jasonovich]

DMP-A10?

 

[nopiano]

DMP-A10?

View attachment 7608

I very much doubt it’s class A, but you never know! Maybe one of those A/D hybrid thingies that I’ve never fully understood.

BTW the Wiim Pro Plus is very good, isn’t it? Now I’ve got over the fact it looks more like a power brick than a source device I’m enjoying its anonymity, and their app is genius!

 

[Jasonovich]

I very much doubt it’s class A, but you never know! Maybe one of those A/D hybrid thingies that I’ve never fully understood.

BTW the Wiim Pro Plus is very good, isn’t it? Now I’ve got over the fact it looks more like a power brick than a source device I’m enjoying its anonymity, and their app is genius!

The little brick with tiny white light!
The probably most minimalistic streamer on the market and I was sort of, put off by it also but I have to say, it's seamless works beautifully with my Android phone and I have output it to my DAC for the best sounds. An absolute gem.

 

[Amormusic]

Question for Wiim owners @nopiano @Jasonovich or anyone else. How good is the Alexa search and control function? Can you control Tidal with it and do you need Alexa elsewhere for it to work?

I currently have 851n output to D33 DAC, so no slouch, but I quite like the idea of the laziness of telling my system to play whatever and it changes.

Not sure how much, if anything, I'd sacrifice in SQ with a Wiim though. Only way is to try I guess. If it's decent when you talk to it, I might pick one up for a play.

 

[nopiano]

Question for Wiim owners @nopiano @Jasonovich or anyone else. How good is the Alexa search and control function? Can you control Tidal with it and do you need Alexa elsewhere for it to work?

I currently have 851n output to D33 DAC, so no slouch, but I quite like the idea of the laziness of telling my system to play whatever and it changes.

Not sure how much, if anything, I'd sacrifice in SQ with a Wiim though. Only way is to try I guess. If it's decent when you talk to it, I might pick one up for a play.

I haven’t tried that yet, as I haven’t set up the remote. I think it works by pressing the remote and talking to it, which is roughly how the TV Firestick works.

I hadn’t thought of it for searching, which might actually be great if that’s what it does. I was guessing it was more to turn down the volume or switch inputs, a bit like talking to an Amazon Echo.

 

[Jasonovich]

Question for Wiim owners @nopiano @Jasonovich or anyone else. How good is the Alexa search and control function? Can you control Tidal with it and do you need Alexa elsewhere for it to work?

I currently have 851n output to D33 DAC, so no slouch, but I quite like the idea of the laziness of telling my system to play whatever and it changes.

Not sure how much, if anything, I'd sacrifice in SQ with a Wiim though. Only way is to try I guess. If it's decent when you talk to it, I might pick one up for a play.

I don't have Alexa, I think it would wind me up terribly 🤣🤣.
Not a great fan of talking algorithms.
Hopefully someone on this forum can offer a more helpful response 👍

 

[Revolutions]

No more struggling to figure out what side is which in the darkness at 6am. A real mid century lamp in putrid brown 😊

 

[podknocker]

My last purchase was XDUOO TA-66 tube head amp, no actually it was the Psvane 6SL7 Art Series tube (with converter adapter).
I had another wish burger, you know, two halves of a bun and you wished you had some meat in the middle.
It's not something I can afford and even if I could, do I really want to spend £9K DAC/Streamer?

The Matrix M series really aiming high to catch Rose, in terms of aesthetics and the integrity of the design it's up there with the Rose. I really like it

The stratosphere pricing of some of these DAC/Streamers is like a swift punch to the stomach, the Eversolo DMP-A8 for a mere(ish) £1.8K is beginning to look like a bargain.

Yep it was a bit of a nothing burger but I thought I share

View attachment 7592View attachment 7593
Oh my, really brought tears to my eyes, it's the dogs........Bo......Ba Ba Blu Blu Blue Moon you saw me standing alone....

View attachment 7594

View attachment 7595

https://magnahifi.com/matrix-audio-ms-1-music-streamer/

The spec looks amazing. Is there a matching power amp? They make so many products and their site does look a bit confusing. A smaller and simpler product range would be much better I think.

 

[Jasonovich]

https://magnahifi.com/matrix-audio-ms-1-music-streamer/

The spec looks amazing. Is there a matching power amp? They make so many products and their site does look a bit confusing. A smaller and simpler product range would be much better I think.

Indeed, price is crazy though.
Really happy with my Matrix i-4 Mini streamer, nice sounding and beautifully constructed

I'm not sure if power amp exists for the flag ship model but I do know Matrix does the Element P2 power amp, compliments the Element X2 streamer. The combination of these two, doing the maths is about £6K, not bad. Still beyond most people's budget but I think, any one looking to buy once, and not tinker about like me , I think, it's worth the investment.
Link below

Matrix Audio Element P2 Power Amplifier

Matrix Audio Element P2 Power Amplifier now available at Analogue Seduction.

www.analogueseduction.net

My Mini, streaming is flawless as the WiiM Pro Plus but I prefer to use it as a stand alone DAC, music play back courtesy of JF digitial transport.

 

[podknocker]

I bet the Element X2 streamer with a pair of the P2 power amps in mono would be an incredible setup. This setup is nearly £7700 plus speakers so it would be out of most people's budget.

https://www.matrix-digi.com/product/99/MS-1

This flagship model looks amazing, but again the site is confusing and seems to imply there is a MS-1 and an MS-1 pre. They need to tidy up the specs and the feature sets, because it's very confusing.

It looks like this MS-1 needs the MP-1 preamp and MA-1 power amp to complete a system and it looks very pricey.

One thing that does concern me is the easy to catch mono/stereo/bridged switches on the high end models. If you move one of these by mistake, there is a real chance of destroying something.

I really like this brand and the plain and minimalist design really does appeal to me, but I still think there are too many products and model ranges to choose from.