WiiM Ultra Review: Is the Hype Bigger Than the Sound? I will tell you my thoughts on it.

Comments · 410

• OL

  @OldGuyHifi · 1 month ago · pinned

  I realize this review may generate some disagreement, especially from viewers who own and enjoy the WiiM Ultra. That is perfectly fine. A product does not have to be the best-sounding option available for someone to be happy with it. For me, the Ultra’s greatest strength is its extraordinary number of features for the price—not its internal sound quality. Using its USB output with a good external DAC made a substantial improvement, but I still found better dedicated streamers more natural, dimensional, and musically involving. Have you compared the Ultra’s analog outputs with an external DAC? Did you hear a meaningful difference, or are you satisfied with the internal DAC? Please keep the discussion respectful and focused on your own listening experience. &nbsp;If you wish to join the channel please click here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@OldGuyHifi/membership">https://www.youtube.com/@OldGuyHifi/membership</a>.

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• PH

  @philmccracken2012 · 1 month ago

  All the settings that are within the WiiM Ultra is a huge bonus that I absolutely love. And that’s what’s so cool, you don’t have to use them, but they’re there if you want them. I love the fact that they’re there and I love the fact that I can go in and tweet this thing how I need what I need.

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• 09

  @09X19 · 1 month ago

  Have one …certainly sounds better than the DAC’s in an my somewhat older Yamaha receiver. &nbsp;These things are amazing at making vintage receivers ‘smart’

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• HE

  @helderfonseca3856 · 1 month ago

  for a first streamer, hdmi arc, pre amp . sub out &nbsp;you cannot complain for the money., even the graphs are great

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• HA

  @hanksta34 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Thanks Ed. You didn&apos;t hurt my fealings. The Wiim Ultra was my first streamer with built-in DAC. I am currently paralyzed to make a move to something else. It sounds pretty good paired with my Emotiva amp and a nice, refurbished pair of Martin Logan Ethos electrostatic speakers. However, no I don&apos;t get an enhanced sound stage or holographic presentation whatsoever. The ease of use and convenience is awesome for a product I only paid $263.00 for. :)

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• DA

  @danieldelgado8153 · 1 month ago

  Have 2 of them. &nbsp;Love them….

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• BO

  @BobbyBass-x6i · 1 month ago

  Thanks for the review. &nbsp;I had a Wiim and it was a great way to start streaming at a low cost. &nbsp;I upgraded to a separate streamer and separate DAC. &nbsp;I gave the Wiim to a friend to get them into streaming. &nbsp;Be well and rock on.

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• JD

  @jdmenton · 1 month ago

  I use the ultra strictly as a streamer or hub to forward cd transport source to a smsl po100 pro via usb and on to a dac to a preamp only for volume control. Setting the wiim bypassing the internal volume &nbsp;attenuation improves the sound markedly. Control of the wiim is 100% via remote contol works well and the touchscreen provides nice meters and that&apos;s all. Without going on and on, I found the software quite good. All in all, there are ways to tinker with the sound to substantially improve the usefulness. There is a learning curve here, and I agree with the general tenor of your review. Thanks and as always, I am a loyal subscriber

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• KB

  @kbergend · 1 month ago

  Honest and very fair review, as usual! My own experience: I bought the WiiM Ultra along with a pair of Fosi V3 mono amps and an SMSL PL100 CD transport (connected via Toslink) about two years ago to replace the compact Marantz streaming receiver I was using for the stereo system in our living room. This was my first foray into separate hi-fi components and I was very happy with the improvement in sound. I wanted a better headphone amp than what the WiiM offers, so I later purchased a Fosi ZH3 (which has an internal DAC) and connected it to the WiiM via USB and to the amps via XLR. I thought the DAC in the ZH3 sounded better through my Polk Monitor 70 II speakers than the one built into the WiiM Ultra, so I started outboarding the digital stream to it from the WiiM full-time. Next I replaced our old Monoprice subwoofer with the WiiM Sub Pro, which sounds amazing for its size once properly calibrated which the WiiM Home app makes very easy to do. Most recently I stretched my budget to purchase a Chord Mojo 2. While the unit&apos;s idiosyncratic color-coded interface and lack of remote control are beyond annoying, the improvement in soundstage is so dramatic that now I always route the stream through it via Toslink whenever I do any extended listening, whether using speakers or headphones. And I found I achieved better &quot;room correction&quot; in our somewhat asymmetric living room by tweaking the Mojo&apos;s four broadband EQ parameters vs. using WiiM&apos;s DSP-based room correction software. I subscribed to Roon about a year ago and have it running on an Intel i5 NUC which feeds the WiiM Ultra as an endpoint along with the three other digital systems in our house. Based on your review I&apos;m tempted to try Fosi&apos;s new streamer, especially as I&apos;ve been very happy with all the Fosi components I&apos;ve purchased and their commitment to improvement - in fact Fosi&apos;s product manager and two associates actually spent a couple of hours in my home for an interview a few months ago while they were in New York for CanJam, which I considered above &amp; beyond in terms of soliciting customer feedback.

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• DA

  @davidhires7403 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Okay Ed here you go. You asked for it hahaha. I’ll start by saying I acknowledge and respect your high level of technical audio expertise. It is far superior than mine and I enjoy learning from you. But I think you are missing the boat on this . WiiM did not make this for you. They made it for me. Let me explain. <br><br>I found WiiM as a fledgling newbie in audio as I wanted to get away from Bluetooth speakers and find a solution for whole house audio. I found WiiM and it was exactly what I was looking for. Sonos did not strike me WiiM did. I have 5 of them including this one from garage to kitchen to living room and bedroom. I love it. <br><br>They didn’t make this for you with your dedicated listening room they made it for someone like me who wants whole house audio, bass management, eq. And so forth. <br><br>I couldn’t disagree with you more on the app. I think it’s easy to use and very useful. I love the bass management and eq. <br><br>Sure the touch screen is gimmicky and I don’t like the room correction either. <br><br>But to give it such a negative,meh tone throughout your entire video I don’t think is fair. <br><br>The features are good and useful and I love them. I will say that all my wiims go through spidf to an external dac. <br><br>Remember they didn’t make this for you. I think you lost sight of that and only looked at it one sided in your dedicated listening room. <br><br>I’m kind of bummed you didn’t see this as a great product for people like me who value some of the other features.

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• MI

  @mindhead1 · 1 month ago

  Good stuff Ed. I appreciate your honesty on evaluating products like this. I like the WIIM gear and the feature/price point they address, but agree with you on SQ.

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• RO

  @robertldcarlson · 1 month ago (edited)

  So I&apos;m surprised you waited this long to review the Ultra, but certainly entertaining to see your take on it as I very much like your review style. I am dreaming of the day that WIIM comes out with a $1500-$2000 mega ultra. I love their software and usability and features. I sit about 12 feet away from it so yes I don&apos;t get up and push the touchscreen either, but I do appreciate the Clock or even being able to confirm when I turned the TV on that it auto switched to HDMI input, etc. I run mine through a Geshelli G3 dac via USB input and have the sparkos 2590 upgraded op amps in the DAC. For $1000 USD, i don&apos;t know of a better bang for the buck. I use mine also as the switching hub/preamp so the bass management and HDMI input is critical the Eversolo a6. cannot do what this can and I don&apos;t know of anything else short of $1500-$2000 that can touch it for functionality. That&apos;s why I&apos;m hoping WIIM sells an ultra ultra version. I&apos;ve had the ES DMP-A8 and my family had a hell of a time trying to operate it. The Ultra is a breeze to daily operate for a family/TV room. The Ultra to dac, to power amps to speakers; done. No additional preamp to juggle two volumes or different inputs, the Ultra does it all, with a better external dac.

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