I think a lot of us are often on the lookout for great value equipment to enhance our enjoyment of listening to music.
The Wiim Ultra is excellent value and a very accomplished piece of hifi.
On the back are all the connections you will ever need. Line in/out, Phono in, Optical in/out, HDMI Arc, Sub out, Coax out, LAN, USB and Ground. The front has a large volume/play,pause knob, a headphone jack and a very useful, if small screen. Also included is a fairly simple remote and all the leads (Phono, HDMI, Optical) that you should need.
Set-up is very easy. Connect your speakers, CD player, Turntable etc. You will need powered/active speakers as this is a pre-amp not a full blown amp. Then as with everything nowadays download the app, it finds the Ultra and away you go. Sign into your various streaming apps, it seems to do nearly everything.
The screen helps with navigation as well but the app has tons of options to tweak the sound, outputs, and display etc.
It also offers room correction using your phone (Apple and unusually Android) which had a noticeable positive effect when I ran it in my small room where I listen to music.
So what does it sound like? Absolutely brilliant. The phono stage is pretty good and certainly better than the one in my Audio-Technica deck I was using with much detail and clarity. CDs sound great but the real star is streaming from Spotify or better still Hi-Res files from Amazon Music or my local files via Plex. You can use files you have on a NAS or plug in a hard drive or memory stick via the USB on the rear. But either way my FLAC files sound incredible. Of course it will depend on your speakers, and my Q Acoustics M20 seem very well suited to this budget set-up.
Add in the firmware updates that happen on a regular basis, four so far in the month and a bit I’ve had the Ultra.
I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone on a budget for a brilliant upgrade for their existing (Crappy photo below, showing the size and screen)
I’ve been considering the Wiim Pro Plus as an entry level streamer. Does anyone have any thoughts on it?
I’ve had a Pro+ for over a year now. Analogue outputs plugged into my Arcam/Mission gear it sounds great to me playing from Tidal.
I’ve also used it playing via an old Cambridge DacMagic + but marginally prefer the Wiim’s internal DAC.
If I’m being really picky, I’d say that CDs played on my Marantz CD6006 might sound slightly better but not by much. I can’t really see the point of upgrading the Wiim to anything “better” anytime soon.
Thanks, I think that’s probably convinced me to take the plunge. I also have a secondhand Cambridge DAC Magic which was gifted to me, and a Marantz CD6006 UK edition, so it will be interesting to make the same comparisons.
I have an Ultra, I like it a lot. A few things in the user interface need improvement but as you say there are many firmware updates. I thought the phono stage was pretty poor though. My turntable sounds better to me using other pre-amps.
I think it may be that the Audio-Technica wasn’t brilliant to begin with. And any other phono stage would be better.
In case anyone thinks WiiM are upstarts, they are the commercial brand of Linkplay Technology (a coming together of Google, Broadcom, InterVideo & Harman).
Linkplay is the audio streaming brains behind kit for Harman, JBL, Yamaha, Marshall, Edifier, Audio Pro, Magnet, etc.
In summary, despite being a “new” brand, they have some experience.
Does anyone ever buy one if they’ve thought long and hard about it?
I thought long and hard about it and still bought one. No doubt there are better ones out there but for the price I think the Ultra is unbeatable.
I think my joke hasn’t passed the is it funny test.
Sorry. The cold has affected my brain.
I think Bluesound are going to have some serious competition.
I have had a WiiM Pro Plus for over a year now.
It plays through my 15 year old Onkyo AV amp and pair of 20 year old mission floor standing speakers.
I use Qobuz as my streaming service and also play Radio Paradise quite a lot using their Flac settings.
I was really impressed with the sound quality using its own internal DAC. Really good value for money at just over £200.
The controlling app is excellent.
This set up is in my secondary listening room and due to space limitations I may have to ditch the Onkyo amp.
Looking to replace this with a WiiM amp or WiiM amp pro which will have the streamer and amp housed in one small box.
Has anybody tried using this amp yet ?
Any thoughts on this set up ?
Thanks in advance.
The WiiM Amp Pro features the same DAC chip (ESS Sabre ES9038QM2) as the WiiM Ultra, and adds a sensing circuit to the outputs, to make performance less dependent on the speakers used.
The WiiM Amp uses a cheaper ESS Sabre ES9018 DAC and no speaker sensing circuit.
If you’ve already been using a WiiM Pro Plus (which has a AKM 4493SEQ DAC) I would be tempted to pay the extra £80 for the WiiM Amp Pro.
Many thanks Steve.
I probably will go for the pro.
If I add a sub to the set up that would also enhance the sound quality ( although my GLW hates subs ).
@fentonsteve
You’re making this all up, aren’t you??
Sadly not, but I did have to look it up, which I rather enjoyed. I think I might be a bit dull.
I bought a Eversolo DMP-A6 some time ago which I utilise as a digital streaming platform. It’s a Swiss army knife of a device which frankly has far more functionality and tech onboard than I either need or use. When I purchased it I required a few of those bells and whistles but due to subsequent upgrades elsewhere in the chain they have been superseded. It does however perform it’s primary function with aplomb. The streaming device arena is becoming rather overcrowded and apart from paying close attention to the implementation the DAC it really comes down to choosing a platform based upon functionality/connectivity and the app. As a matter of interest Bluesound have just launched three new streaming devices starting with the Nano, a new Node sits in the center and their flagship Icon brings up the rear. If I was in the market I’d buy from Bluesound mainly because their BlueOS is second to none and a joy to use.
WiiM use the(ir) Linkplay app, which is no slouch, either. Their app is behind many a name brand (Roberts being the latest in the list).
I’ve no direct experience with WiiM products so I can’t comment. The app from Eversolo is very good as is their hardware and software support. As I use Tidal Connect whenever I stream from Tidal the app is only used for Internet radio, Radio Paradise and to interact with the device settings which isn’t something I do particularly often. Once I set a device up how I like it I tend to leave things be. I do know from using BlueOS that it is very, very good with a clean uncluttered and attractive UI.
To be honest, neither do I. My 10-y-o Naim streamer is considered too vintage to update, so there hasn’t been an app refresh in years, which suits me fine.
The Wiim app is pretty good but I usually cast from the Plex app to the Ultra for my local files. It’s a bit more flexible than the Wiim app
So is there any discernible advantage of using a dedicated streamer such as this or Bluesound etc to play local files / streamed music ?
I currently use an old Mac Mini running as a Roon Server to my OPPO 205 which seems to work extremely well – it just sits on the Network in the store room and serves up the files, all controlled via the (rather good) Roon software.
Aren’t streamers just a means to get the digital files to the Hi-Fi and the main factor in sound quality is the DAC / amp that they are coming out of – or am I missing something?
You’re correct. A streamer could be more to taste aesthetically if you’re spending time looking at an equipment rack or some streamers may offer eArc connectivity along with a variety of digital and analogue connections and digital pre-amp capability which some find useful and of course a different DAC implementation may improve SQ or not depending upon one’s preference. Other than that a dedicated streamer does in essence what your existing set up already does. I use a dedicated streaming transport simply because I don’t use a laptop or a desktop. I don’t own either device so I needed a different solution.
If all things are equal, you are correct. Once you’re over the hurdle of stuttering flac playback, which was a combination of using an old Pentium PC as server and a crowded WiFi spectrum. But…
I bought a Naim streamer/preamp 10 years ago. Great – fewer boxes, great DAC, one remote control, etc. First, Tidal went MQA. New Naim Firmware #1. Then the Beeb changed to Sounds and changed how their HD streams worked. New Naim Firmware #2. Then Xilinx, who made the FPGA used in the Naim streamer, were bought by AMD, and AMD withdrew the “old” FPGA chip from sale, so Naim had to redesign the hardware to use a different FPGA. The replacement FPGA is twice the capacity (Moore’s law) so Naim added Qobuz streaming to the firmware, but not to my ‘old’ hardware because the FPGA in my unit is no longer big enough. So there’s a new branch of Naim FW, and mine is off the development “trunk”, so I won’t get any further updates. Then Tidal dropped MQA (the file format) shortly after the parent company went bust… Plus… Dolby Atmos.
If the Beeb change Sounds again, I’m looking at buying a WiiM to act as a bridge.
Progress, they call it!
My Linn LP12 was initially launched in 1972 and, even with a Trigger’s broom of upgrades ever since, still plays records!
Wow the comments above on the Bluesound UI really surprise me. I find their search function almost worthless in its usability and usefulness. And on Windows, editing the current playing list by drag and drop is functionally not fit for purpose. Further more detailed criticisms available on request!
Shame because I really like the sound and they have the multi-room thing nailed down.
I guess it depends what you’re using it for. I don’t have local files, I don’t use them. I haven’t used BlueOS for some time as I no longer own any Bluesound products but when I did I found the UI clean and efficient when streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon and Spotify all of which I used at one time or another when I had a Node 2i.
Just to add another product to the mix for consideration, my friends at Richer Sounds let me audition the WiiM amp ( not pro ) and the Marantz M1 streamer/amp in their listening room.
As I said earlier I am having to consider a smaller amp ( in size ) due to limited space restrictions.
I liked them both but the Marantz had a much warmer and involving musicality than the WiiM.
It should do. It is more than double the price at c. £900.
However the deal breaker for me was the lack of support for Qobuz and Apple Music.
Also the supporting HEOS app is very poor comparing it to the WiiM app.
This is for a secondary room so the WiiM amp pro will probably be my choice.
I am still using the Bluesound Node 2i in my main listening room.