Wiim Ultra streamer DAC preamp
Wiim has taken the budget end of the audiophile streaming market by storm since the launch of the Wiim Mini three years ago. Followed by the Wiim Pro and Wiim amp range, these products have formed the basis of many entry-level and secondary streaming systems. The company is a subsidiary of the Chinese brand Linkplay, which was established by a group of bright minds from some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Google, Harman, Broadcom and Intervideo.
I was keen to try the Wiim Ultra, the company’s latest product, as I was looking for a compact and elegant solution to feed my office headphone setup. The PC source I have been using recently was not cutting it sonically and I had heard great things about the Wiim range. The company describes this product as a digital hub, but as it includes a phono stage, line input, and volume control, it is more of a streaming preamp. If the Wiim Ultra sounds as good as it is reputed to and they can hold the £349 asking price, the company will struggle to keep up with the order books.
Build and features
Apart from a few cables and other accessories, you will only find a few products in our review pages with such a low retail price. So, prior to opening the box I had to adjust my expectations accordingly. Sure enough, this product is considerably lighter and generally less substantial-feeling than more expensive products from established high-end audio brands, but it is put together well. Upon firing up the Wiim Ultra, the high-resolution glass touchscreen, which, along with the app, can control all functions, helped elevate subjective impressions. This is an attractive display and it’s satisfying to operate. The input connections again betray the budget origins; the phono sockets proved too tight for some of the more exotic cables in my collection, and the figure of eight two-pin mains lead input meant I could not use one of my usual mains cables.
I certainly did not feel short-changed by the list of features however. At the heart of the Wiim Ultra is the same ESS9038 Q2M DAC chip you will find in the £14k Simaudio Moon 791 streaming preamp. There is a headphone amplifier with a mini-jack 3.5mm output socket and a subwoofer output. As previously mentioned, the Wiim Ultra also has a phono stage which appears to operate in the digital domain; unfortunately, not being a vinyl user, I was unable to test it. Being fully UPnP compatible means you can operate the Wiim Ultra with your favourite app of that type, but the company’s own Wiim Home app proved to be excellent and unlocks a host of services and features that alternatives will not. You can also control the Wiim Ultra with your Google Home or Amazon Echo device. Doing so allows you to take advantage of this device’s multi-room abilities, which can also be accessed via the Wiim Home app if you have other Wiim products connected to your network.
The Wiim Ultra supports Tidal Connect, Chromecast Audio, Spotify Connect, and Sqeezelite. It has a Wi-Fi 6E module and an ethernet input socket. It also includes a Bluetooth 5.3 module with BLE and BT LE audio and is compatible with the Wiim voice remote and a supplied IR remote, which can control basic functions.
Digital inputs include coax, optical, HDMI ARC and USB. You can also connect an external drive or memory stick via the USB socket, but doing so will mean that you lose the USB output, so a NAS drive may be a better option if you wish to connect this streamer to an external DAC over USB and retain access to your locally stored music files. Both digital input and outputs are limited to 24/192, which is probably a well-judged choice for this level of product. No mention of DSD is made in the spec sheet, but when I attempted to stream DSD files from my server, it converted them to 24/192. Again, I don’t think this will be a deal breaker for a product at this price point, but I feel obliged to point it out. The Wiim Ultra is Roon Ready and can decode MQA, although I am unsure how useful the latter feature is these days.
The Wiim Home app proved to be as good as anything I have used, bar the premium-priced JPlay app. Upon hitting the ‘Browse’ key, you are greeted by a plethora of music services and radio stations, which, in my experience, only the BluOS app can outgun. The Wiim Home app allowed me to seamlessly browse the files on my Melco server over the network, correctly displayed the artwork, and, unlike Bubble UPnP, which I use on my Android phone, put the tracks in the correct order. Within the app there is a ten-band equaliser, which even offers room correction modes.
Ultra performance
One cannot expect a £349 DAC/streamer to match the performance of the Moon unit in my main system, so for the majority of this review period, the Wiim Ultra was used in my headphone-based system, feeding a Heed Canalot III headphone amplifier and Sendy Peacock headphones. On hand was the Denafrips Iris 12th/Ares 12th DDC/DAC, which I have been using recently to feed this headphone system. In this setup, I used the Wiim Ultra over a wi-fi connection, as I suspect this is how the majority of people will use it.
Since the Sendy Peacock headphones do not have a mini-jack input socket, the initial setup was carried out using my HiFi Man Sundara headphones via the Wiim Ultra’s headphone stage. I will be honest and say this did not demonstrate the Wiim in the best light, with the music sounding somewhat shut-in and lacking in definition. As expected, my Chord Poly/Mojo did a better job here, as it should considering the price difference. Potential owners may have more success with less demanding headphones.
Switching to the Wiim Ultra’s line outputs to feed the Heed Canalot III proved to be a good move. Now, the music had life and energy and was pleasantly detailed. Both high and low frequencies were much improved, with the midrange sounding more open and lifelike. Adding the Denafrips Ares 12th unsurprisingly improved things. Due to the Chord Co Epic coax cable’s plugs proving too large to fit the Wiim’s input jack, I began with an Audioquest optical cable. Lady Blackbird’s It’s Not That Easy (Qobuz 24/44) sounded more organic, rich and relaxing this way. Once I had rooted out a suitable 75 Ohm coax cable, things improved again, with this connection adding air and space and improving instrumental separation. Initially, I had assumed the Wiim Ultra’s USB socket was only for media storage. Once I had realised it could be used as an output I added the Denefrips Iris 12th DDC to the Ares 12th via one of my favourite USB cables, the CAD USB II-R. The musical picture was now more complete and proved a joy to listen to. Via this setup, the Lady Blackbird track opened up further, her voice now enabling me to connect with the music on an emotional level. The keyboards possessed improved microdynamics, and the piano jumped forward to the front of the soundstage and was given space to breathe.
Returning to the Wiim’s line-output into the Heed headphone amp proved it was still capable of entertaining. The music sounded pacy and detailed, but there was a slight edge to the sound, which made it less relaxed compared with the external Denefrips DAC (£1,065).
PC killer
Keeping with the Denafrips/Heed combo but substituting the Wiim Ultra for my laptop reminded me of the superiority of a dedicated low-noise digital source. By comparison, the PC sounded flat, grey, sloppy, and ill-defined. Whilst I expected the Wiim to sound superior to the PC, I had assumed the Denafrips Iris 12th DDC would narrow the gap somewhat, but not a chance; the Wiim Ultra comprehensively outperformed the PC. Scritti Polliti’s Oh Patti (Don’t Feel Sorry For Loverboy) sounded more airy, detailed, and fuller via the Wiim Ultra. Timing improved considerably, with the guitar to the left side of the soundstage sounding snappier and dynamic, with the Wiim providing the data stream to my DAC. It was not surprising that the Wiim delivered cleaner and fuller bass than the PC, but I was surprised by how much more energetic and defined it sounded. The vocals of Green Gartside, the band’s singer, sounded cleaner and breathier.
Bringing out the big guns
Towards the end of my time with the Wiim Ultra, I hooked it up to my reference system. I did this to see if it was capable of producing entertaining music in such a setup and to see if it upped its game when fed with a quality ethernet connection.
Returning the Lady Blackbird track It’s Not That Easy, as before via Qobuz and beginning with the Wiim Ultra’s line outputs feeding the Audia Flight FSL1/4 pre/power combo we looked at last month, the music was surprisingly coherent and lively sounding. I could enjoy the emotional aspect of her performance, and there was even a reasonably palpable sense of acoustic. As via the headphone setup, her voice was presented in a slightly forward manner, and it lacked a little body, but I cannot think of a source close to the asking price that is likely to do a better job. Connecting the Wiim Ultra to my Melco S100 switch proved a good decision, allowing the soundstage to open up, not only improving instrumental separation but adding a good dose of airiness and improving the timing. The double bass now took on a life of its own and was a joy to follow as I listened to this track for the umpteenth time.
The next step was to connect the Wiim Ultra to my Moon 780D DAC via USB. As expected, this move improved most aspects of the reproduction. Of particular note is that it put some meat on the bones and eradicated the course forwardness of the vocals, which had previously compromised my enjoyment of the track. Streaming the same track using my Melco N1 server/streamer, as predicted, showed why this machine sits in an entirely different price bracket, especially in terms of detail, separation, dynamics and sheer believability. For sure, this was an unfair comparison, but to the Wiim’s credit, it took a direct comparison between the two to highlight the differences over a brief listening session.
Should you buy the Wiim Ultra?
I can imagine countless situations in which buying one of these streamers will prove the proverbial no-brainer. Indeed, I have already heartily recommended it to a good friend who is in the process of building up a second system. Outstanding gear like the Wiim Ultra proves that you don’t need to spend big to get a product that puts a smile on your face. Operationally, the Wiim Ultra is first-class and produces lively and fun-sounding music. Buy it if you want to add quality streaming to your well-sorted budget to mid-price system. Buy it if you want to add streaming capabilities to a higher-end system for non-critical listening without breaking the bank. Buy it as the basis and heart of a system for another part of your house. Whilst it is unlikely to replace your high-end CD player or turntable, the Wiim Ultra fulfils its brief brilliantly, and I have thoroughly enjoyed having it around.