WiiM Ultra Music Streamer & Digital Preamp | 3.5" Touchscreen, Compatible with Google Cast & Alexa, Stream Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal & More | HDMI ARC, Phono Input & Headphone Output | Space Gray

I bought this because I had the inevitable audiophile itch to upgrade. My original setup was a Wiim Pro into a RME-ADI2 fs DAC. I ordered the Eversolo DMP-A6, the DMP-A6 Master Edition G2, and this Wiim Ultra just because I had heard so much hype and wanted to prove to myself that you get what you pay for. I ran all of these units through my Emotiva A300 amplifier and into my B&W CM9 as well as my B&W 704 s2 speakers. First off, the Wiim is a step down in build quality from Eversolos. It’s not bad, it’s just not audiophile-grade. The screen is not as nice either. It works, but it does not wow anyone. The Eversolos are fantastic in this metric. They look and feel like the real deal. This is not unexpected considering that the Eversolos are 3-5x the price. However, the Wiim app clearly edges out the Eversolo app. It’s just easier to use and you can stream from the Amazon Music app directly to the Wiim but you can’t with the Eversolos. The sound comparison, however, was mind-boggling. The Wiim was nose-to-nose with the regular DMP-A6. They have the same DAC chip so this seems logical, but how? HOW??!! It’s 1/3 the price! Good for you Wiim! Way to stand up to the playground bully. Then I ran the Ultra against the RME and Eversolo Master Edition. These aren’t just bullies compared to the Wiim, these are David versus Goliath. First off, the RME and Master Edition were virtually indistinguishable in sound quality. I did a blind A/B test for hours and they were weirdly identical. Considering that they both are in the $1500 range, I guess that’s reasonable. The Ultra at only $329 has no business in their ranks, right? RIGHT..? Think again. The Ultra actually sounded more dynamic and had a wider soundstage when compared to the RME and the Master Edition. There was definitely more “texture”/detail in the higher-end DACs and they had slightly more richness in the midrange. The Ultra is a teeny bit more relaxed but you can really only notice this with an A/B switch and you really have to concentrate. I also noticed the Ultra was a little less accurate in placing instruments in a 3 dimensional soundstage. When I say a little I mean like maybe 5-10% difference. The Ulltra is a bit more snappy and has a bit more punch in the bass. Again, we are talking a 5-10% difference here. The Ultra also has a very slight bump in the treble, ever so slightly accentuating cymbals and “s” sounds, but not in a way that introduces any offensive sibilance. It’s just a few percent more “airy”. Overall, the Ultra held its own, but how? HOW!!?? At 1/5 the price this is just stupid. I really wanted to keep the Eversolo ME Gen 2. The premium build and fancy screen just looks like it belongs with my system. This was supposed to be my impulsive yet objectively-justifiable audio equipment upgrade. It checks all the boxes. It has a sumptuous design with audiophile-approved bling. It has a screen to die for. The sound is exquisite. It has gold badges for Christ’s sake. GOLD BADGES! We are a match made in heaven. The Master Edition is my forever good looks girl with a parent-approved pedigree and we were going to live happily ever after. Then walked in this trashy, low-budget riffraff Wiim swaying her hips, twirling her curls, and grabbing my dirty mind like Susanna Hoffs’ legendary eye roll (I still get tingly today when I think about it) . I was ruined. I could no longer justify the investment in the Master Edition when I could have almost as much fun, maybe even more, with this cheap, trashy yet wildly irresistible vixen known as the Wiim Ultra. Yea, she's not the kind of girl I can bring home to mama and all my friends will officially disapprove of my transgression (but in private they will all want to know what immoral and forbidden fun I am having with this dirty little pig girl). Ostensibly hidden in their righteous contempt for my unacceptable break from convention will be endless envy. The ridiculous value proposition of the Ultra challenged my sense of financial responsibility (which was already quite rarified given that I engage in this ridiculous hobby). Simply put, the Ultra is 90% as good as the RME and the Eversolo Master Edition sound wise and function wise at 20% of the price. This damn little streamer robbed me of any reasonable argument for upgrading. In fact, I’m now selling my Wiim Pro and my RME DAC and returning the Eversolos. I have technically downgraded. Thanks Wiim. It’s like I cheated on my perfect boogie trust fund wife with a diner waitress, got divorced, and I’m now living in disgrace in a tiny apartment with this little hottie who doesn’t even know a single Coltrane song. Yet, somehow, it’s okay because I’m teaching her and she’s a quick learner who brings her own reckless but stunningly engaging approach to everything I love in life. So yes, I may have “downgraded”, but it feels like I’m still winning. Most of the time you get what you pay for. The Wiim Ultra is one of those rare products that breaks that paradigm and, in the process, turns everything we thought we knew on its head.

I just bought my 3rd one, will likely buy a 4th one.Our home if full of High End Audio gear... much is DIY, but there's a stereo in every room, except the bathrooms. Some rooms have more than one stereo..All of our systems have a DAC... and since the mid 90s I've been building media streamers. I was doing 24/96 in Y2K....Anyhow, I have noticed that Android and Chromebooks are not bit perfect when driving the DACs via a USB-OTG cable... meaning they reclock the signal. So I was looking for a bit perfect solution. PCs can be bit perfect but I had sort of gotten used to the Chromebooks.Home is fully ethernet wired with three access points for WiFi devices. Bluetooth sucks for audio quality too. So, whatever route I went had to be bit perfect, not bluetooth.These little Ultras fit the bill. I can connect them to the network via WiFi or wired ethernet. Then I connect the DACs via plain USB. WIth Tidal connect I can stream the music to my systems and hear bit perfect audio. For 350 bucks it's a steal....Now, there are some issues. WiiM Home doesn't work in Chromebooks, it's half way there in WIndows but perfect in Android. The Tidal Connect device gets dropped every so often and you have to re-toggle the DNS setting in the Ultra to republish itself -although the music never stops playing...I have not tried any of of the internal DAC features... I run it as a bridge, volume fixed, no room equalization, no other inputs or outputs and I already have a High End turntable set up, so I don't need/use any of that.But strictly as a bit perfect bridge between Tidal Connect and the DAC this thing shines. Just be aware you will need an Android Tablet/smart phone to do the initial configuration.I plan on hooking up the 34d one directly via its 2CH DAC into one of the inputs of the preamp in the Home Theater in the den.. We'll see, I do have more DACs just in case, but I want to keep this one set up simple, as the HT is complex already.Wife loves it... I might have to buy a 4th one for her home office audio system to replace the Bluetooth connection she runs.For a device that has does a bit perfect WiFi/Ethernet connection to a USB/DAC this thing works superbly.The rest? Well, do get the glitches out of WiiM Home, maybe get rid of the phono preamp... maybe, make a bare bones bridge without so many other I/O.... stuff like that.... Maybe add an Ultra-Ultra with better parts and op-amp sockets for rolling....But as it is, it works superbly.

Wow! I purchased this not knowing what to expect. I needed a new dac for my pc that drove headphones and pref had hdmi arc input. It worked perfect for my setup! HDMI eARc (from BenQ monitor) > WIIM > KEF LSX II / Headphones. Did this because my PC is on the opposite side of the room. The sound is great as is the display. I saw YT reviewers not liking the touchscreen. But, using it on my desktop, I love this! I switch headphones and speakers easy.I decided to buy another one and have it wired to my turntable. I can just stream my vinyls to the KEF speakers in my living room or the pair in my office on my pc. It does an amazing job as a phono preamp. Worth the money!One weird issue I have though... Looks like the display is not showing the correct bitrate from my pc. Cannot get it to show anything 24 bit. (My pc reads 24 bit as does my monitor). Maybe it's a software glitch? Sounds fine though!