Wiim Ultra

[manicm]

The Wiim ultra is fantastic value for money....I'm using it as stramer/dac Preamp into my Acoustic energy ae1 active speakers....the room correction uses the mic in your phone/tablet.....it over compensated the bass in my wee summer house so I just left it as it wass and I'm too lazy to fiddle around with the parametric eq....but it's there if the notion ever takes me.

How does your combo sound?

 

[twinkletoes]

I think the new blue ound products coming to market soon show some promise and some serious compition. they incorporate direc live (license required) the icon looks to be a good eversolo alternative, would certainly be a good shout with some active speakers.

 

[manicm]

I think the new blue ound products coming to market soon show some promise and some serious compition. they incorporate direc live (license required) the icon looks to be a good eversolo alternative, would certainly be a good shout with some active speakers.

The Nano is getting very good reviews as the cheapest one. (Spoiler alert Cheapaudioman thinks it sounds better than the WiiM Ultra).

 

[skinnypuppy71]

The Nano is getting very good reviews as the cheapest one. (Spoiler alert Cheapaudioman thinks it sounds better than the WiiM Ultra).

At this level..... I think better is probably splitting hairs and subjective, the youtubers love a bit of click bait to get you to keep coming back for more.....and more etc etc.

 

[DCarmi]

At this level..... I think better is probably splitting hairs and subjective,

Yup! But Wiim pushing the competition to up their game can only be a good thing. I also like how Wiim publicly publish regular detailed change logs for their devices, and not just saying "we fixed some bugs".

 

[manicm]

At this level..... I think better is probably splitting hairs and subjective, the youtubers love a bit of click bait to get you to keep coming back for more.....and more etc etc.

I was thinking of your exact same combo, how does it sound?

 

[skinnypuppy71]

Well it'd sound much better in my living room...lol....my summer house is not very big and it's a bit boomy when I up the volume, but I tested first in the living room.....the speakers are absolutely amazing and the Wiim is doing a good job, although volume control via the remote is in two step increments, so isn't the most precise,but volume can also be adjusted via the front dial and that is better.
When I have the time, I'll get the Ae 1's into the living room and give them a whirl with the Mytec brooklyn bridge and the turntable, that'll give me a better idea of their potential, which I'm very sure is going to be awesome.

 

[twinkletoes]

The Nano is getting very good reviews as the cheapest one. (Spoiler alert Cheapaudioman thinks it sounds better than the WiiM Ultra).

really! that pretty good

 

[Gray]

I think the new blue ound products coming to market soon show some promise and some serious compition. they incorporate direc live (license required) the icon looks to be a good eversolo alternative, would certainly be a good shout with some active speakers.

Icon will appeal to those that want XLR out.
And a 5" screen......on a Bluesound ....but not a touchscreen.

If I'm going to have a screen at all, I'd rather have a touchscreen (even if the device also has hard buttons controlling some functions).

 

[skinnypuppy71]

The Wiim really is excellent vfm....I doubt very much I could put together a rpi based system with touchscreen /dac /phono stage, output stage , case, psu.plus a operating system..not to mention the cables to get you up and running ..it beggars belief that Wiim can put this unit out for 350 quid.....oh and a remote control.

 

[Gray]

It has a better DAC. They won't say which till release.

Well, now we know it uses the ESS9038Q2M.
Some suggest it's this that makes the Ultra sound better than the Mini / Pro / Pro Plus.
I wouldn't know about that, as I haven't heard any Wiim - but I have heard the 9038Q2M.

It's the chip used on the latest Cyrus DAC board - as well as the Khadas Toneboard,
All I can say is that both of those sound identically great - to me (and slightly better than an earlier Sabre chip in another DAC that I own).

If any Pro / Pro Plus owner wanted the same DAC as the Ultra, they can currently do it for £69.45 plus a 5v PSU, with a USB C plug (which they might already own).....by using this - hidden away out of sight:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KPS8643/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A2FOS450W76C0S&psc=1

 

[manicm]

Icon will appeal to those that want XLR out.
And a 5" screen......on a Bluesound ....but not a touchscreen.

If I'm going to have a screen at all, I'd rather have a touchscreen (even if the device also has hard buttons controlling some functions).

Unless you're using it on the desktop, I don't see the need for a touchscreen at all.

The Bluesound Node Icon is being positioned as an audiophile device - not only XLR, it's a dual DAC design, fully balanced as I understand it, and its 900 quid price will see it take the fight to the likes of the Eversolo A6 and A8.

And it will have the option of Dirac Live for those who are serious about room correction. Bluesound are not messing about with the Icon.

 

[SteveR750]

With the Ultra, I can now connect my TT, and my old faithful analogue FM tuner to the device, it's digitalised so i can do the full DSP on all source inputs. It means RC is possible for every source, and I only need to use the power amp section of my Yamaha A-S501 (which is extremely capable). My entire system cost me around £1500 and sounds fantastic. Less time listening to hardware, more time listening to music and more money to spend on more interesting things!

 

[Gray]

Unless you're using it on the desktop, I don't see the need for a touchscreen at all.

Not quite desktop, but I'm nearfield enough to find controls on devices useful (I rarely use remote controls).

I might well be going for an Ultra.
If I was far enough away from it to make a touchscreen pointless, I'd probably find the 3" screen equally pointless.

 

[skinnypuppy71]

Not quite desktop, but I'm nearfield enough to find controls on devices useful (I rarely use remote controls).

I might well be going for an Ultra.
If I was far enough away from it to make a touchscreen pointless, I'd probably find the 3" screen equally pointless.

It is nice to see the album art.....or......you can have a nice wee bouncy vu metre.😁

 

[Gray]

....or......you can have a nice wee bouncy vu metre.😁

I've got a couple of real ones, lit in any colour I fancy 🤪

 

[DougK1]

It is nice to see the album art.....or......you can have a nice wee bouncy vu metre.😁

Already got both with Foobar

 

[SteveR750]

Wiim announced in the last couple of days that the next firmware upgrade will include full sub integration into the room correction app feature, ie, include latency, as well as L and R independent correction. It's bonkers how quickly these features are being rolled out at such a price level. Add a Dayton mic to your phone and you've got a pretty good start of proper room correction at a fraction of the cost of a full Dirac setup.

I have found that the phono input is not perfect - I have a constant clicking sound like an old telephone exchange. It's probably some RFI somewhere but I haven't found it yet. Not a deal breaker because vinyl is just for occasional fun and memories but it's an imperfection in an otherwise flawless gem.
Have to say, possibly placebo etc, but it sounds mighty fine as a streamer / DAC; better than the pro plus? Who knows, I've messed about with EQ so much, but there are bits of detail in some tracks that I'm sure I don't remember hearing before...

 

[spl84]

I'd say that It will really come down to pricing. I have the Pro Plus model and it's nice. My only complaint is the app. It's pretty bad tbh. Getting the thing to connect can be a really challenge. Then the navigation itself within WiiM and the integrated qobuz app is very aggravating. The search feature could be way better and easier to use.

 

[SteveR750]

I'd say that It will really come down to pricing. I have the Pro Plus model and it's nice. My only complaint is the app. It's pretty bad tbh. Getting the thing to connect can be a really challenge. Then the navigation itself within WiiM and the integrated qobuz app is very aggravating. The search feature could be way better and easier to use.

I had a NAD CS1 briefly before jumping over to Wiim. Now that was a painful ownership experience in comparison.
I have no connectivity issues with either the pro plus or ultra, with the app on multiple devices. Agreed the qobuz integration isn't great but you can't really blame Wiim for that, Qobuz really do need to sort their **** out with their app. Spotify, Tidal and Amazon have already done it a long time ago, and we're all still waiting for them to catch up.

 

[Rodolfo]

Well, now we know it uses the ESS9038Q2M.
Some suggest it's this that makes the Ultra sound better than the Mini / Pro / Pro Plus.
I wouldn't know about that, as I haven't heard any Wiim - but I have heard the 9038Q2M.

It's the chip used on the latest Cyrus DAC board - as well as the Khadas Toneboard,
All I can say is that both of those sound identically great - to me (and slightly better than an earlier Sabre chip in another DAC that I own).

If any Pro / Pro Plus owner wanted the same DAC as the Ultra, they can currently do it for £69.45 plus a 5v PSU, with a USB C plug (which they might already own).....by using this - hidden away out of sight:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KPS8643/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A2FOS450W76C0S&psc=1

It was also the chip that drove this nice Fiio unit: https://headfonics.com/fiio-k5pro-ess-review/

 

[spl84]

I had a NAD CS1 briefly before jumping over to Wiim. Now that was a painful ownership experience in comparison.
I have no connectivity issues with either the pro plus or ultra, with the app on multiple devices. Agreed the qobuz integration isn't great but you can't really blame Wiim for that, Qobuz really do need to sort their **** out with their app. Spotify, Tidal and Amazon have already done it a long time ago, and we're all still waiting for them to catch up.

Yeah I should have specified that's what I meant with respect to the search function was the Qobuz integration. It's a real pain in the neck, although I have nothing to compare it to since this is my first Hi Res streamer unit.