Some music lovers have held on to their vinyl records and CDs, but more and more of us are turning to streaming our music from Amazon, Spotify, or TIDAL. The way we consume music has replaced the way we now praise our music and the days when we sit down to pay attention to both sides of a vinyl record that for many are just a remote memory.
There are many wonderful music streams and many of us also pay attention to radio via web radio and enjoy podcasts. So what’s the most productive way to get started with streaming and upgrade older audio systems that don’t have built-in streaming capability??
WiiM is a new audio logo that has made a big splash with its diversity of affordable, well-designed music streamers that can be connected to a hi-fi formula of almost any model, upgrading it to play music, Internet radio or podcast playback. . .
WiiM’s newest product is the Ultra. It is a compact music transmitter that represents a significant replacement for the logo, as it is enough of a device to compete with other products from some of the great audio logos such as Marantz, Denon, Cambridge Audio or NAD.
Like the recently announced Marantz Home M1 and Denon Home Amp products, the WiiM Ultra is about the length of a giant cookie jar and has a bright 3. 5-inch touchscreen on the front. It also has a volume knob with a touch surface that allows you to listen to music. to play and pause it. In addition to its colorful touch screen, WiiM Ultra can be controlled with the included remote control or via an Android or iOS smartphone with the WiiM app.
The WiiM Ultra’s build quality may not live up to Marantz’s or Denon’s criteria, but it still feels high-quality and robust. One small complaint I had was the volume knob, which scratches the front a bit when you use it. Rotate it and it also turns out a little light, but this is a minor complaint.
WiiM Ultra can connect wirelessly to a home network to access Wi-Fi 6E Internet. There’s also an Ethernet port if you’re lucky enough to have a stressed network. The formula is easy to set up and load, and demo presentations any preloaded app or widget installed on WiiM Ultra. The graphical flavor of the apps is not much like Apple’s CarPlay formula and the screen can display widgets, giant album art, playback controls, music queue, presets, equalizer settings, audio inputs and outputs, as well such as device settings.
To connect the WiiM Ultra to a home audio system, you can do so from an RCA line output. To connect it to a DAC, you can select between optical or coaxial TOSLink. Given the quality of the WiiM Ultra’s DAC, the line-out option would be the largest selection. There’s also a USB output where you can pay attention to the music by plugging your favorite headphones into the 3. 5mm jack on the front of the Ultra.
To stream music to a pair of wireless headphones, WiiM Ultra has the ability to stream its audio via Bluetooth, allowing for headphone listening without the restriction of cables. Once WiiM Ultra is connected to a hi-fi system, simply choose the appropriate input on your audio system and get back to enjoying the music.
On the back of the WiiM Ultra are the maximum physical inputs and outputs you need.
In addition to having many output options, WiiM Ultra has many input options. You can choose between Line In, TOSLink Optical, HDMI, or Phono. This means you can connect existing resources like a cassette recorder, radio tuner, CD player, TV, or even a turntable.
The inputs make the WiiM Ultra very flexible and you can connect it to a pair of active or powered speakers and have a compact sound system. The WiiM Ultra does not come with an amplifier with speaker outputs, however, WiiM makes something called the Amp Pro, an amplifier that can be paired with the WiiM Ultra to drive a pair of passive speakers.
In addition to its many physical inputs, WiiM Ultra can make do with streaming via Google Cast, WiiM Cast, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect. It deserves to get Roon Ready certified soon, but it has what I consider to be a serious flaw. I was told that there will be no help for Apple AirPlay 2, which is a must for iPhone users to stream Apple Music. At one point, WiiM said it was waiting for Apple Airplay to qualify for Ultra and that the feature would be added via an over-the-air firmware update, but that may not happen now. This is a real shame because other WiiM products already support AirPlay.
The WiiM Ultra has a built-in touch control volume control.
WiiM Ultra supports TIDAL, HiFi, HiFi, Spotify, Alexa Cast, DLNA, Qplay 2. 0, Squeezelite, SoundCloud, Pandora, Deezer, TuneIn, vTuner, Sound Machine, iHeartRadio, YouTube (via Chromecast), and Amazon Music HD and Ultra. HIGH DEFINITION. Others can be streamed from a smartphone via Google Cast or Bluetooth.
There are many presets available on Ultra to purchase your favorite radio stations or streaming services. So you can assign your jazz playlist from the night before to a preset and play it when you get home. The Ultra also has an alarm function, which can be set so that the device wakes you up with your favorite morning show or podcast.
If you use Alexa or Google Assistant, take comfort in knowing that Ultra directly supports either of those built-in platforms. You can ask WiiM Ultra to play your favorite radio station, podcast, or playlist with a voice command.
The WiiM Ultra’s touchscreen can be used to listen to music.
At the heart of the WiiM Ultra are high-quality components, in addition to a high-end 32-bit/384 kHz SABRE ES9038 Q2M DAC. This chipset is very good and transforms virtual audio files into sublime analog sound. For my first test, I plugged in the pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO. The sound sent a tingling sound down my spine. This is a flawless performer that fits perfectly with the DT 770 PRO X headphones. There’s a wonderful delicacy to the way Ultra articulates the music.
The WiiM Ultra’s audio clarity is impressive. It has a musicality that is on par with some of the most productive streamers out there. I enjoyed it and spent the rest of the day listening to TIDAL. Often, after an hour or two of listening to music, my ears get tired. This is possibly due to a distortion that puts extra pressure on the brain when playing music. None of this happens with the WiiM Ultra, so I think we can assume that the low degrees of distortion are very low.
This is a very good transmitter and the TI TPA3255 Class D headphone amplifier has no noticeable symptoms of hissing or distortion. I let TIDAL run and let it work its way through some of my favorite tracks and I was hooked. This is a sleek transmitter that can compete with much more expensive units.
The WiiM Ultra is compact and tidy. It can be connected to any audio system.
The WiiM Ultra is a wonderful piece of kit, but it is not without its flaws. WiiM takes great delight in adding features to its products through firmware updates and smartphone app development. For example, it doesn’t have a physical force switch, so the screen stays on even when the device is idle.
Fortunately, you can absolutely disable the demo of the device settings widget on the touchscreen. However, I think it’s desirable that there’s a dimming feature built into the smartphone app so you can turn the screen off or off completely to pay attention in the dark or leave it blank in standby mode. It would also be great if there was a dimming button on the remote.
The other feature I’m missing is a USB input, either for connecting a music hard drive or streaming from a computer. One user contacted me to tell me that they controlled the Ultra to read a USB drive, but I couldn’t play it. that and there’s no option for USB as input.
Next, it’s missing Apple AirPlay 2. I was hoping it would be added later via a firmware update, but that doesn’t seem to be the case and it hinders the WiiM Ultra for iPhone users.
The back of the WiiM Ultra offers plenty of connectivity and adds an HDMI ARC input. Womb. . [ ]
Verdict: WiiM Ultra is a very capable virtual music center and streamer. It’s possibly not as intuitive to use as BluOS or Cambridge Audio’s StreamMagic platforms, but it’s a step in the right direction. WiiM Ultra shines by transforming virtual files into beautiful analog music that sounds like natural magic. There’s a lot to enjoy for the money and plenty of features, as well as support for top streaming services. I know WiiM will consistently use their app and the Ultra firmware, so it offers a great cash price. You can load other WiiM products, such as the WiiM Mini and WiiM Pro, to create a musical formula for multiple rooms in your home. Advanced features like room pay also work well and make WiiM a realistic challenger to streamers from established brands like NAD, Marantz, Denon and Cambridge Audio. Too bad about the lack of AirPlay help.
Pricing and availability: The WiiM Ultra will be available in the United States starting in the third quarter and costs $329, while the WiiM Amp Pro costs $369. Both products will be sold through Amazon and will choose retail partners.
Technical Specifications:
Updated on August 3 to explain the USB function.
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