The phono stage is MM or MC viz. "Please check the Phono Stage specifications below: Gain: 41dB MM / 59dB MC MM: THD+N -75dB，SNR 76dB@5mV; MC: THD+N -58dB,SNR 56dB@0.5mV RIAA accuracy: < ±0.5dB / 20Hz - 20kHz"

You are right: nobody needs the touchscreen when there is a well working app on your phone. But it looks so much better in the rack with the cover art displayed… 😊

Room correction was the major attraction for me. However understandable, lack of compatibility with Android kills it for me.

I learn more from Darko than any other audio channel on KZfaq.

Top informative video ..as usual ..Thanks !

Sub-out and bass management is what really sets this apart from the Wiim Pro Plus. Hook this up to a good class A/B power amp with trigger/auto-on and you've got a killer setup!

Great content. Thank you

Ooooh, more affordable Wiim goodies! I bought the original Wiim based on your review and love it.

Thank you for this content

I remembered I have discussed a Wifi project with Link Play years before and visited their office in Shenzhen.

Another spot on video John. Look forward to the review. On the subject of your often repeated (and entirely correct) point that the sound quality of a DAC has so much more to do with … power supply, output stage and clock quality etc … beyond just the DAC chip itself, would it be of interest (to you and us, your viewers) to demonstrate this with ‘side by side comparisons’ of devices with the exact same chip, but with marked differences in quality in power supply, output stage etc? It could even form the basis for a series where you look at the relative importance of each factor in turn. Appreciate you’ve covered the influence of these in the past, such as the importance of a better quality power supply etc, but not (AFAIK) specifically comparing devices with the same DAC chip but marked improvements in other key areas. If that’s too much (or not of interest) I would still love to see you assess devices offering significantly different types of analog output stages (beyond just op-amps); for example high quality valve/tube based analog output stages, appear to be of increasing interest to those seeking a ‘less digital’ sound. I’m not talking just a token valve/tube buffered output - there are many interesting, high quality pieces from CD players, DACs and streamers which appear to use well designed and implemented valve/tube output stages, supposed to offer vastly improved ‘holographic’ soundstage/imaging etc AND WITHOUT being temperamental or running hot, becoming ‘apartment heaters’ or having sound saturated with even-order harmonics or typical ‘tube-like’ sound. That said, if you look at Burson devices for example, they actively encourage users to play around with swapping out ever better quality Op-amps in their output stages (‘Op-amp rolling’ if you like) which some swear offer vast improvements. Those could offer an easy side by side comparison to demonstrate what can be gained by just using ‘better’ op-amps, which are very much ubiquitous in mainstream devices. Anyway … just some food for thought. Hope that’s helpful 👍

We are living in a truly golden age of audio. Highly affordable products with great performance. Inexpensive access to vast streaming libraries. $329 for so much functionality, that’s insanely good. Twenty five ago I paid $1,100 (probably $2,000 in today’s money) for a tube linestage. All it could do was switch inputs and adjust volume. It had audibly worse performance.

I wish they add a pair of VU meters too.

I have pre-ordered from Crutchfield. They Guesstimate Jun 5 availability here in USA. I have a feeling I am going to be pleased because I was blown away by the Wiim Mini ever since I got it. Looking forward to John's Review.

I normally watch your channel to ooh and aah over things I'll never actually buy, even while respecting and adhering to your music-first manifesto. This may be the exception. That cost for what you get seems to be incredible value.

This looks cool, I'm still enjoying the wiim amp using the fantastic application provided by wiim. Dac sounds great to me, even when using a CD transport.

There are still some people in the world, including me, who don't own a cell phone and never will... hopefully...!!! So the touch screen on the Wiim is functionally important...!!! Great review, as I'm very interested in this product and was looking forward to your take on it... Thank you Mr. Darko...!!!

The current room correction beta firmware for the Pro, Pro Plus and Amp, which I suspect will be the same on the Ultra, doesn’t use two minutes of white noise but a single tone sweep and results in a 10 band PEQ set of parameters. The 10 band PEQ setting is alternatively available if you want to add the results from REW or HouseCurve.

Thanks John as always! Big question which I feel has never been fully answered: about this Peachtree GaN1 suggestion, does a ‘variable digital output’ as it is on the Bluesound Node and now in this WiiM Ultra affect negatively sound quality?? I don’t have a GaN1, just a Node with an external Dac and an integrated, and even with the Coax out from Node to the Dac, I use the volume gain on Bluesound’s App (yes, not having ‘fixed volume’ active). It is convenient for multi room purposes and general flexibility. But am I effectively reducing the bit quality so having worst sound?? Though my system is quite revealing, I struggle to find substantial differences when I switch to ‘fixed volume’ on the App and manage volume from my integrated. Comments on this?? Thanks a lot.

Nice review! One question though, is the HDMI ARC bi-directional in the way that I could connect my AV receiver (Pioneer VSX-528) to it and be able to turn-it on when I do playback through Wiim? :D Or, at least, does the wake-up ARC functionality works? Thank you.

Best as always~

Great video! Can you use the digital outputs at fixed volume with room correction all simultaneously?

That's One interesting looking Nucleus.. 🤔 Review incoming?

All sounds great, would like to see 2 sub stereo out puts on a future Ultra +

The screen is for those of us not tethered to their phone 24/7

Touchscreen or not I like the screen for the ability to see song details with album art without having to touch my phone. I’m excited to see the future review!

John, do you still use the chrome cast audio device? It sucks that google never made an updated version of the chrome cast audio device with usb c, newer and faster wifi chip while still retaining the same features and functionality of the old chrome cast audio device while maybe adding dsd support for dsd users. I still have my old chrome cast audio device and I wish it had usb c instead of micro usb and a newer and faster wifi chip.

Using a phone mic for calibration is Ronald McDonald HiFi.

It would be nice if WiiM brought out a budget priced unit with the capabilities of a HiFi Rose 201e.

Hope you do a comparison to the Bluesound Node and Node X when you do the full review.

Usb digital out! Usb digital out! Usb digital out! THAT is the killer feature apart from the comprehensive inputs.

I own the Wiim Amp so would probably use the ultra connected to the wiim amp.. Im curious does both having streaming cancel the other out? ive wanted more inputs on my wiim amp so hopefully the ultra solves this with additional inputs

Very nice, hope DSP room compensation will work well. Obviously we cannot expect same performances as DIRAC and dedicated micro, but for my worst reflexions may help! Do you know the line out power?

can i use that display just as a huge volume display? i want to be able to see the volume from across the room although i will be using the hdmi arc so ill probably see that on my tv but i haven’t tried that before….

That Eat Static track is epic

What are the speakers you have in the background on the stands? They look beautiful

When they did the sneak peek of this is when I thought, maybe what I've been looking for is finally here. Well I'll be sure to check it out at T.H.E. Show in California in a couple of weeks. If it does what I hope it's going to do, I might buy two for myself and another one for my friend. LOL

Hi John I am an og watcher since the beginning of the channel and I no you like micro dynamics and a lot of duff duff and I am here to recommend the brand mission But particularly the qx serie I think you should give the qx2 a listen maybe as part of a £1000 pound kick ass system lol 😂 I know you will be impressed 👍 I also don’t think these speakers get enough attention or credit qx2 mk1 -mk2 are an absolute steal for the price

Can I plug this into my active bookshelves and stream airplay2 audio to it from my Apple TV 4K for watching movies with no latency?

Will you be making a video on the Schiit Magni Unity W/ DAC? I can’t decide between it and the Topping dx30 pro+

Can the Wiim Ultra work as safe preamp if connected to a poweramp? I'm thinking that digital preamps sometimes have been known for faulty volume control damaging the speakers when the volume goes to max. Or does the Ultra have to be connected to an analouge preamp?

I'm hoping to try one directly to a amplifier. So far it sounds more promising than Bluesound.

I am trying to replace my Sonos AMP (as it has no BT and Chromecast), what AMP I can pair with the Ultra to get a similiar or even better audio performance? I'm using the Monitor Audio Silver 100.

This should be an interesting product given the announcement of the Marantz Model M1

I just stumbled on this video while trying to find some information and am a bit overwhelmed by all the stuff out there these days. Wondering basically how to best (simply and fairly cheaply) go about just streaming tidal in CD quality in our living room area? I'm not looking to connect to any AVR setup. I have Tidal on my phone and just want to be able to play Tidal over WIFI and stream from my phone to some sort of lower profile bookshelf speaker setup that ideally would just be 2 speakers with little other equipment except maybe a DAC. Any advice on what I'd need? I know I can stream to any bluetooth speaker easily but I'd like to do a little better than that since I think bluetooth often degrades quality. I've thought about a pair of Sonos speakers but I don't know. Is there some sort of DAC I could buy that I could just connect to a powered speaker set to play tidal/tidal connect from my phone to the DAC and get close to CD quality? I'm trying to keep the lowest profile and least equipment possible. Do I even need powered speakers? It's all a bit confusing with all the different equipment out there. I've seen something like the SVS Prime Wireless Pro speakers that look like they'd work but really don't want to spend $800 and would rather keep it to about $300 or less if I can. Just wondering how you'd suggest a "newbie" go about streaming tidal in "decent" quality over wifi to get a bit better results than just streaming from my phone through a typical bluetooth speaker? Would appreciate any quick advice you might have.

I figured it would affordable but that price surprised me, this is going to be a pretty big deal for a lot people getting into two channel. Now Wiim just need a affordable power amp to pair with it, and it would also be nice to see Wiim get native Plex Amp support as I think thats going to appeal a lot more than Roon.

One spec I haven’t seen mentioned is whether the two way Bluetooth supports transmission in Aptx. I’m currently considering the Node X as a Roon endpoint with Aptx transmission for headphones and the Wiim Ultra could be a real contender if it had the same capability.

Nice one John. Price in Australia is set to be $599! Au so once you convert exchange rate we cop another $100 extra than the US price. So bang for buck a little diminished down here but still more than worth it I feel if the SQ is right. The screen for me is all about the album art display and Ifeel that's the big draw card. Look forward to your review and as always thanks for posting !

dayta darta

John totally off topic, how are you getting a still picture on your TV and not getting screen burn ?

This is highly unlikely, but I really hope it can mix multiple inputs to a single output. Like to chrome cast audio to it while still being able to hear notifications from a PC input.

P.S . I using Qobuz 24/192 streams . And optical output only gives 16 bit CD quantity. The Wiim FAQ says it put out 29/192 from optical but it does. for the. Wiim Pro+

I have a screen on my streamer, but it’s not atouchscreen. That’s fine, as it’s just another item to collect fingerprints, and I can perform needed functions from my tablet or the remote control.

Say it, John!

I love your KZfaq videos and have a request. Obviously you have an expansive library of music, artists, groups, etc. based on references in your equipment reviews. Could you do a video (or series) on music you enjoy and can recommend? I’m in a rut and really need some new input.

quick question, I just installed the TV Remote app for Roon as you mentioned. Everything is fine except I have no audio. Is the Roon TV Remote app video only? How would you get audio and keep the video on screen if the app is video only? Also, I do have a Chromecast, however, to use it for displaying album art, etc. and audio is a real pain unless I'm doing something wrong. Yes, the Chromecast will also play audio but the audio is down sampled and the dip in audio quality compared to my Eversolo is extremely noticeable. To use the Chromecast video and a separate audio source like my streamer, I have to connect the Chromecast to one of the TV HDMI inputs, not the Anthem. It's not a convenient solution to change 2 sources instead of just one every time I want to go and view something else. Is this the way you have connected yours or am I missing something? Any info would be appreciated.

I'm going to buy a pair of lintons or jbl 4329p's. Is this device all I need to play my music over tidal? Do the speakers plug into this device and job done? Or do I need to buy an amp which connects to the speakers and this device?

you had me at squeezelite

Does it provide a convolution engine?

Great new Wiim with touch screen ... Europe price?

Is there a setup where you can connect a low cost CD player to the WiiM device and play thru connected speakers?? Maybe not the best but is it possible?

Does anybody know what's the product featured at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="505">8:25</a>? Thanks

Two questions if I can ask: Isnt WiiM Ultra more or less same thing as Squeezebox Touch? Is it possible to get VU meters on screen of WiiM ULTRA? thank you

Good afternoon. One question, I have an Onkyo 9.2 ch receiver. with Dolby Atmos. I listen to the Tidal service, Amazon music and Sirius Xm through apps through an Amazon device connected to my receiver. How could a Wiim device connected to my receiver be useful? Would the audio improve in these services or would the sound quality be the same? thank you!

looking forward to see the review. too bad that room correction will not be working on Android. hope there could be some kind of workaround though.

This might just tick all the boxes for me to replace my old preamp. Even if I hate the way the DAC and phono stage sound, I can run my existing gear. For the price I feel like I have to just try it.

Really interested to know what it's like compared to the Node X... I miss having a screen like I had back in the day with the Squeezebox Touch.

Could anyone help me and tell if this one can work in the following combo - TV + Ultra + Klipsch the Nines in order to get room correction and better bass control? Thanks 🙏

The screen could be useful if you use this on a computer desk, considering it's headphone amp.

Will the Wiim Ultra have a high pass out on the mains and a parametric eq like the Wiim Pro has?

Wondering if this little streamer would be better than the Cambridge Audio Cxn100

i am more interested in how it will work with the Roon Android app.

Ok so what’s the best 2.1 speaker setup These can drive? What speakers should I pair with it?

Even if I don’t need a screen, it would be so much better if it was AMOLED with a nicely designed UI.

So, John how good is it as a Preamp?

Does it support airplay or also gone like it has disappeared from WIIM Pro Plus? Can no longer stream from WIIM Pro Plus to Sonos fives

Can I use this as a preamp for my old rotel 990? 2x2 RCA cable in between?

Having lived through products that are essentially EOL because they depend on apps, that are no longer supported, such as the superb Oppo gear, I'm seriously in favor of gear not tied to a phone app. So, any approach to use without a phone is a positive feature.

Wonder if wiim will release a stereo class d amp like Eversolo amp af2

sneaking in a review comparison request Amphion Argon 1 (aluminum drivers) and Amphion Helium 510 (paper drivers) It would be nice to hear something about this brand, and also a aluminum vs. paper drivers

I think music delivery and replay still matter more

Does anyone know if the Ultra has dual-voltage 110/240 V?

Companies can only support apps for a period of time. Having a menu on the screen keeps it out of the dumpster later in life. ❤❤❤

Help, is the Dragonfly cobalt obsolete as a portable DAC or do you think it is still just as valuable and good. It is now about $200 on sale. I have a Fiio btr5, and I have looked at some other small portable DACs, none of them are nearly as strong as the cobalt .Thank you and happy work

On paper it has everything for a very good price. This and a good poweramp and you have a very nice system. The big, big question is what the sound quality will be. I gladly would have paid double if Wimm could make a giant killer.

Why cant I use a measurment mic with android?

I loke the touch screen . Sometimes i just dont need to always have my phone in hand its to easy to get sucked in to my phone

Will it output or decode DSF?

🥱 I’m much more drawn to your new USM in the background!

No Atmos output? Is there a streamer out there that has that?

I bought the pro plus but returned it because I wanted to step up to the ultra, primarily because I am hoping it has a better quality digital output SPDIF circuit. Looking for cleaner digital outs to power the Geshelli labs J2 pro dac I have on order.

Looking forward to the oxygen free copper cables and the little black square you stick on the box. Just kidding. This sounds like a nice gadget to have.

Oooh…. Is that a pair of 4329P’s there ?

It appears that Wiim have removed Airplay output from their streamers. I can't find confirmation as several posts on this issue have been removed from the Wiim forum. Can you confirm if this is true?

I hardly use the touch screen on my DMP-A6.

I agree with the other commenter that USB out is important.

So I connect everything to this and then I still have to connect it to an amp? Really wish it were an amp itself. I hate having so many products just to play records and digital. Plus, WiiM doesn’t play well with any external EQ, (which is a deal breaker for me.) The native EQ seems to kill the soundstage. Not that the WiiM Amp had much of one to begin with.

Hi John, I'm so glad you're covering this momentous, and much anticipated launch. Truth be told, WiiM had truly transformed the audio industry for the better up to a certain threshold of users...primarily the mid-fi's and low-fi's amongst us, as well as quite a few Hi-Fi users...even if they're not willing to admit it 😂 The WiiM Mini got me to transition away from my noisy USB laptop as a source which was driving my 33 year old SS Carver amp...the Mini being a fully functioning puck with an amazing user interface. One may question whether any of their more recent product launches has been as impactful to the industry (including the Ultra and Amp), I for one had moved up to the WiiM Pro Plus which is more than enough for me, especially when powered by a high quality LPS which takes it to the next level. Some day I will upgrade, but for now I'm all smiles. WiiM truly deserves the time and attention you're giving them... they waked up an industry that was poised for change...for the better. And I know I'm one of many that had their listening experience improved.

Never been a wiim fan but this one is different I use tidal so I don’t care about Apple Lossless.. You said before that tidal only has 10% in hi-res, that’s totally incorrect. I have a huge library and at least 70-80% is in hi-res. Btw……

Dumb question ahead: Does this thing sit on top of my Wiim Amp or does it REPLACE my Wiim Amp?