WiiM Ultra as Preamp

It is a great Preamp. Works flawlessly and as it should without influencing much outside of when you use the DSP tool onboard. Great software too @jl35 

Thanks . It’s arrived and sounding great as a streamer. I’ll probably try it’s preamp tomorrow. 

Please let us know. I am trying to talk sister into one and I am wondering how Well it would sound compared to the Marantz avr that is being used as a preamplifier. She is a minimalist and having a smaller box would be pleasing for her. Thanks for being the Guinea pig in this experiment 🔬. 

I've had a WiiM Ultra for about 9 months now. It works great.  However, the one potential drawback for some setups is that it's maximum output, even when used as a preamp, is limited to 2 volts.  If paired with a lower gain power amp you may find the maximum volume limited, especially when playing material that was recorded at a lower than normal level.  By comparison, the Schiit Saga 2 preamp shows a max voltage output of up to 10 volts.   However, as noted, the need for more than 2 volts from a preamp is system dependent. My setup works fine.

I had the Ultra. Its preamp / DAC is good but nothing to write home about.  Currently, I use it as a dsp to do RC/PEQ for my CD rig in the 2nd system:

Mxn10 (coaxial; Belden 2964 75 ohm) --------------↘

CD player (toslink) -> Ultra (usb) -> DDC (I2s) -> Topping D90 iii Discrete (xlr 5V) -> Cambridge Azur 851a -> Burchardt S400 II

A DDC is inserted after the Ultra to enhance the transport's sonic quality, making it comparable to the MXN10.

Initial response to Ultra as preamp is very positive, certainly no issues with volume. Will let it play a few hours before real comparisons. But since this is a non critical set up, it will probably be all I need, and move the excellent Saga 2 to home office...

The question will be whether or not to keep the Schiit Saga 2, which serves no functional purpose unless you have more analog sources to connect than the Wiim Ultra allows.

That said, know that if you open up a Wiim Ultra, you can easily bypass the phono preamp on the phono inputs, allowing them to be a second set of normal line-level inputs, giving you two instead of one. This bypass can easily be undone if you ever need the phono preamp back on those inputs at a later date. The FOSI V3 Monos will be a fine match for your Dynaudios. Enjoy!

To be clear, I'm using the Ultra directly into the amps, and only using to stream Tidal. So far it's sounding very good, but I'm too lazy today to do direct comparisons. So far it's looking like I will use the Ultra as preamp for volume control only, as I do not anticipate other sources in this system. The Saga 2, which I like very much, would then move to home office.  Thanks for the responses.