WiiM Ultra as Preamp


WiiM Ultra arriving today. Wondering how others have felt about it's sonics as a preamp. I will, of course, be testing it but curious about others experiences. Using Fosi V3 mono blocks, Schiit Saga 2 preamp, Dynaudio Focus 220mkll speakers. Thanks.

jl35

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.