WiiM ULTRA

gyosa
gyosa Posts: 769
edited October 2024 in 2 Channel Audio
Picked one of these up for the bedroom system to replace the Yamaha WXC-50 …
The HDMI ARC input is the reason why … It’s HDMI CEC compliant, the Yamaha didn’t have one - was using optical from TV.

It works great and sounds great , it’ll do Tidal hi-rez FLAC …
330 bucks … figured why not give it a try … so far so good

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PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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Comments

  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,729
    Yeah, for the money, Wiim stuff is great.

    I got into streaming with a Wiim Pro Plus, it sounds pretty darn good.

    Good enough that it got me curious and now I'm testing some other streamers.
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  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,371
    I like the looks of it.
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 769
    May be able to remove the WXC-50 as it’s only use now is to stream SiriusXM , and the WiiM has Chromecast built in - so I can stream from the SiriusXM app at the same resolution.

    Tidal sounds pretty damn good though the WiiM - the Yamaha hasn’t been updated yet to play Tidal hi-rez FLAC.

    I’m all about simplifying things…
    😂

    Bk
    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 769
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    Yeah, for the money, Wiim stuff is great.

    I got into streaming with a Wiim Pro Plus, it sounds pretty darn good.

    Good enough that it got me curious and now I'm testing some other streamers.

    Check out the Eversolo DMP-A6 / A8 ….. best bang for the buck out there … I’m extremely happy with both of mine , and I’ve got a pretty good setup …

    Bk

    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,729
    gyosa wrote: »
    Upstatemax wrote: »
    Yeah, for the money, Wiim stuff is great.

    I got into streaming with a Wiim Pro Plus, it sounds pretty darn good.

    Good enough that it got me curious and now I'm testing some other streamers.

    Check out the Eversolo DMP-A6 / A8 ….. best bang for the buck out there … I’m extremely happy with both of mine , and I’ve got a pretty good setup …

    Bk

    Might be a touch ahead of you… ;)


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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 769
    It’s the BOMB , isn’t it ?

    I can’t imagine any streamer sounding audibly better , and its feature set is second to none …
    It will literally do anything you want , from inputs to outputs to total customization.

    I love that you can “sideload” almost any streaming app out there that may not be native to the A8 - SiriusXM for example…

    And the A6 is just as good …

    Bk
    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,729
    gyosa wrote: »
    It’s the BOMB , isn’t it ?

    I can’t imagine any streamer sounding audibly better , and its feature set is second to none …
    It will literally do anything you want , from inputs to outputs to total customization.

    I love that you can “sideload” almost any streaming app out there that may not be native to the A8 - SiriusXM for example…

    And the A6 is just as good …

    Bk

    So far, I'm really happy with it. As you know, the ARC connection is really nice when you're also using a system to watch TV. I'm arguably underutilizing the unit, as it's connected to my Prima Luna Evo 400 Pre, but I was chasing the ARC, build quality and AKM DAC configuration of the A8.

    The bummer, my wife wants me to move my Oppo UDP 205 on since this has come into the house. She is tired of the piles of equipment that just seem to be growing...

    I'm not psyched to lose the disc capabilities of the Oppo, it's an excellent unit. But she isn't wrong.
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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 769
    edited October 2024
    I’m not using a pre with my A8 , don’t feel a need to , as that system is all digital with the exception of the TV . Straight into the amp - the r2r analog volume control is awesome - love the relay clicking sound . I haven’t spun a disc - cd or dvd in years - everything is streaming these days , no need for physical media. 1gb fiber into the house , 4K streams beautifully.

    Bk

    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,616
    I got a WiiM Vibelink amp on sale yesterday to try out the brand. Very impressed for $230. Out of the box it's output is at least equal to a Pioneer Elite SC-57 receiver I had been using. Bass performance is most noticeable. Build quality is solid and their gear is packaged to mimic Apple's way of doing things. The speaker binding posts are internal which I haven't seen before but they are cool and actually seem like a great idea.

    https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimvibelink/overview

    It advertises 100 watts into 8 ohm loads and 200 watts into 4 ohm loads from a Class D amp but turns out it's only 60 watts into 8 ohm loads when using the RCA connections. Not sure why that is. The higher power ratings are for when the internal DAC is being used.

    Haven't used the built in DAC yet as I have it connected to a Sony HAP-Z1ES media player. My use case is for a room with a weak WiFi signal. A WiiM Ultra streamer wasn't needed in my case but I am going to get one for elsewhere to replace a Squeezebox Touch.
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,729
    Emlyn wrote: »
    I got a WiiM Vibelink amp on sale yesterday to try out the brand. Very impressed for $230. Out of the box it's output is at least equal to a Pioneer Elite SC-57 receiver I had been using. Bass performance is most noticeable. Build quality is solid and their gear is packaged to mimic Apple's way of doing things. The speaker binding posts are internal which I haven't seen before but they are cool and actually seem like a great idea.

    https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimvibelink/overview

    It advertises 100 watts into 8 ohm loads and 200 watts into 4 ohm loads from a Class D amp but turns out it's only 60 watts into 8 ohm loads when using the RCA connections. Not sure why that is. The higher power ratings are for when the internal DAC is being used.

    Haven't used the built in DAC yet as I have it connected to a Sony HAP-Z1ES media player. My use case is for a room with a weak WiFi signal. A WiiM Ultra streamer wasn't needed in my case but I am going to get one for elsewhere to replace a Squeezebox Touch.

    It's a great, inexpensive amp. When paired with the Ultra, it's a great combination for very little $$$.

    My father runs the Ultra and Vibelink for his enclosed porch setup, also connected to an OLED, running Totem Arro speakers.

    We spend a lot of time out there, especially during the football season.

    The power jump using the digital inputs is not night and day, but we did notice a bit fuller overall presentation and a bit better midrange clarity. Overall, I think it's a worthwhile move to use the digital connections.

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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,125
    edited October 12
    I just picked up a WiiM Ultra here from a long time Polkie and it is great for the money. I recently got back into streaming and went with Qobuz this time instead of Tidal because Tidal seemed to be centered around a bunch of music I never listen to.
    Qobuz connect works great and connectivity is easy. Years ago I had an Auralic Aries and it was a PITA to connect to my home network.
    On to the sound of the WiiM - it crushes the Bluesound Nano it replaced-high rez content through the Nano seemed to have a veil over it and I swear CD quality through the Nano sounded better (to my ears at least). I knew the sound would improve with the WiiM over the Nano but I didn't think this much. Terms like air, separation , and crisp detail come to mind when describing what I hear now. My ONLY gripe with the Ultra is the C7 cord and socket is WAY too loose and will become disconnected with minimal force. I will continue to try electrical tape around the C7 connector and maybe even a dab of hot glue if I get angry enough lol. Two 👍 s up for the WiiM Ultra.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,616
    FWIW, the Ultra streamer uses a C7 power cord connector and the WiiM amps use a C5 connector. Both types are readily available aftermarket if there is a need for a longer or shorter cord or just one with better connectors. Both types are widely used with computer power supplies. Teflon tape wrapped around the fitting on the C7 may be another choice to help with the fit. The C5 connector is inherently more stable and may have been a better choice for their products.
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,125
    Teflon tape it is....thank you sir!
    Not it the market for a pricey AQ cord right now so Ill give it a try.
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