Bought a Wiim Pro Plus

[dannyboy2010]

Interesting to know what sort of level your system is? I already have a Wiim Mini in another system but I also have a room node in my main system. Just wondering what detriment the Pro Plus might have on vinyl replay.

It’s a Clearaudio/Accuphase/Sonus Faber based system, so not super high-end but decent enough. Any sonic detriment (of which I cannot detect) has been far outweighed by the benefits gained fTom the subtle implementation of peq.

 

[JezmondTutu]

It’s a Clearaudio/Accuphase/Sonus Faber based system, so not super high-end but decent enough. Any sonic detriment (of which I cannot detect) has been far outweighed by the benefits gained fTom the subtle implementation of peq.

Fascinating and a damned good system. I felt Mini DSP was to the detriment of SQ in my system but it did sort the hump out.

Thanks!

Are you using a LPSU with the the Pro Plus btw?

 

[dannyboy2010]

Fascinating and a damned good system. I felt Mini DSP was to the detriment of SQ in my system but it did sort the hump out.

Thanks!

Are you using a LPSU with the the Pro Plus btw?

No power supply upgrade as yet. I did see that PD creative offer a unit and Ive used one of his supplies in the past to good effect on a Bluesound node.

As I said, I’m really happy with the results, so any further improvement would be a real bonus!

 

[Lurch]

Given the wim pro has a dac capable of 19+bits of dynamic range I seriously doubt you’d hear any difference with another dac

Unfortunately not true when taking the A in DAC into consideration. The analogue circuit (along with PSU) implementation to my mind is where a bulk of the sonic differentiation between DACs is brought to the fore. Just as it is with amps, the circuit & PSU design, component choice & quality all contribute to an amps sonic signature.

 

[garyi]

Whether we like it or not, good sound reproduction is expensive. I have two old fashioned TT, Tuner and CDP Naim based systems with good quality speakers at home in the UK.

I missed having music in my holiday home in Spain and on the advice of Richer Sounds bought a package of a Sonos Amp and a pair of Dali bookshelf speakers for £1k. I stuffed it in my suitcase and it took less than 45 mins to set it up and link it up to both my and wifes iPhones. This was my first experience of streaming and it is brilliant. You just discover far more music by surfing the net than what you will ever do buying CDs and records.

However there is a price to pay and I only discovered that when I returned home to the UK and listened to the Naim/big speaker systems which knocked the spots off the streaming system.

What I should have done was buy a Naim Uniti Atom with a top end pair of speakers.

We will be soon returning to Spain for a bit of sun and then we will listen to the streaming system and make the decision whether to live with it or import the Unity Atom/decent speakers.

I was thinking of just buying a pair of better speakers but I think I need to bite the bullet and go for a decent streamer as well. Buy cheap buy twice, at my age and being a retired Purchasing Manager I should have known better.

Learn from my mistake. I am bloody ashamed of myself.

Honestly just get better speakers. I know it goes against the whole naim philosophy, but once you are over that its way easier.

 

[Fourlegs]

Unfortunately not true when taking the A in DAC into consideration. The analogue circuit (along with PSU) implementation to my mind is where a bulk of the sonic differentiation between DACs is brought to the fore. Just as it is with amps, the circuit & PSU design, component choice & quality all contribute to an amps sonic signature.

John, wise words based on experience I’m guessing but I also happen to agree with you based on my own experience.

I am sure the Wiim Pro dac is quite good compared to its cost but on needs to keep this within perspective.

 

[Sloop John B]

I am sure the Wiim Pro dac is quite good compared to its cost but on needs to keep this within perspective

But also be open to the fact that every now and then a disrupter appears and suddenly the difference between entry level and higher level is lessened and one then needs to add this fact to one’s perspective.

I really feel the law of diminishing returns on digital without a DSP function has quantitatively lessened in the past 12 months. And what I mean by this is that you have to spend a lot more money above what relatively decent gear sounds to get any sort of substantive improvement.

.sjb

 

[Fourlegs]

But also be open to the fact that every now and then a disrupter appears and suddenly the difference between entry level and higher level is lessened and one then needs to add this fact to one’s perspective.

I really feel the law of diminishing returns on digital without a DSP function has quantitatively lessened in the past 12 months. And what I mean by this is that you have to spend a lot more money above what relatively decent gear sounds to get any sort of substantive improvement.

.sjb

For sure that is the case but equally to know how far something like the Wiim goes ones needs to check it against state of the art to see how close it is. My experience is that there is still quite a gulf.

 

[Sloop John B]

For sure that is the case but equally to know how far something like the Wiim goes ones needs to check it against state of the art to see how close it is. My experience is that there is still quite a gulf.

Apologies I understood from you phrasing “I am sure the WiiM Pro is quite good” that you hadn’t actually heard it yet.

.sjb

 

[TheFlash]

I took a punt, sold my separates and bought a pair of Buchardt A700 active floor standers with the Platin Hub back in February.

Best thing I ever did to be honest - Using them with a Squeezebox Touch/Teddy Pardo power supply and a Technics 1200GR/Audio Technica VM540ML/Tisbury Audio Domino phono stage.

A700

Buchardt Audio Active Wireless Floor Standing Speakers

buchardtaudio.com

That's quite a punt but good on you! Not sure I'd have the courage, if taking a punt means buying blind (or is it deaf?), but hats off to you.

 

[TheFlash]

Given the wim pro has a dac capable of 19+bits of dynamic range I seriously doubt you’d hear any difference with another dac

Worth putting it to the aural test though, right?

 

[Somafunk]

Nah you’re alright - it’s a Dac. What can listening with my ears that are audibly fallible dependant on mood, tiredness etc tell me that I cannot read from a set of measurements. All I care about is good engineering backed up by measurements in a device that is pleasing to use. But I figure given my previous responses to such a notion as a hifi network switch you already knew that, hence your post.

Show me the scientific evidence that your network switch reduces noise and we can take the conversation from there, otherwise carry on with the foo peddling nonsense.

 

[Mick P]

Honestly just get better speakers. I know it goes against the whole naim philosophy, but once you are over that its way easier.

Hi Gary

I have persuaded Mrs Mick to spend some time every day listening to music as well as radio programmes on the two Naim systems so she gets familiar with both of them. We both know that these systems will outclass the Sonos/Dali system in Spain but the question is simple, is the the Spanish system good enough or should we up grade the speakers or the entire system.

The Spanish place is a holiday home to rest and chill out in and we do most of that outdoors and even somewhere miles away. So the music does in all honesty not have the importance of the UK systems. Mrs Mick thinks I am getting myself wound up over this and I am spending too much time thinking about it.

My son has spent some time out there and he thinks the system is great, so leave it alone.

However I am giving the wife the final decision and will live with it.

 

[garyi]

Hi Mick.

I would estimate 90% of my listening is done on a 25year old pair of Meridian Actives being fed by a node. Is it as good as my main system, no, but I don't think every music experience has to be the best of the best, sometimes convenience and yes price play a part to how good a system sounds. If you feel your 1k has led to a crap system thats a problem, but a node and meridian M2s for instance is less than a grand.

 

[Mick P]

Hi Mick.

I would estimate 90% of my listening is done on a 25year old pair of Meridian Actives being fed by a node. Is it as good as my main system, no, but I don't think every music experience has to be the best of the best, sometimes convenience and yes price play a part to how good a system sounds. If you feel your 1k has led to a crap system thats a problem, but a node and meridian M2s for instance is less than a grand.

It's far from being crap but it is not as good as the Naim based systems, which is what one would expect.

 

[garyi]

It's far from being crap but it is not as good as the Naim based systems, which is what one would expect.

For a grand? I think you would need to temper expectation, I would imagine the cables in your naim system are more than that. This all being said the few sonos amps I heard sounded 'compressed' like it was a radio playing rather than hifi if that makes sense, I think that will be down to the price point bearing in mind all the other stuff it offers. I do wonder what you might get if you swapped to active speakers fed from a streamer. Thats a fun market right there at the moment.

 

[pfbaat]

I'd just get a Rega System One and be done, maybe add a Bluetooth thing for radio podcast Spotify.
It would sound so much better than Sonos Dali that it hurts.

 

[John]

For a grand? I think you would need to temper expectation, I would imagine the cables in your naim system are more than that. This all being said the few sonos amps I heard sounded 'compressed' like it was a radio playing rather than hifi if that makes sense, I think that will be down to the price point bearing in mind all the other stuff it offers. I do wonder what you might get if you swapped to active speakers fed from a streamer. Thats a fun market right there at the moment.

I wonder if there was something in the settings of the system that was off. I know the Sonos Amp has an audio compression setting and streaming apps have several settings that if set wrong will adversely affect the sound quality.

 

[Paul L]

I’m thinking about getting one and, on the suggestion of a mate, I have downloaded a dlna android player for the phone. He advised I check out whether I can access my Synology NAS or whether that has to have a dlna media server put on it first. His own experience of dlna active on his NAS is that the loaded disks never stop spinning and was concerned with them wearing out.

So, I downloaded bubbleupnp (or something like that) onto my phone and I can see my NAS music folders and sub-folders no problem but not the FLAC files in them. That’s my next check when I get time later, if it doesn’t work then dlna might be the reason for me not to go down the Wiim route.

 

[irons1965]

That's quite a punt but good on you! Not sure I'd have the courage, if taking a punt means buying blind (or is it deaf?), but hats off to you.

Buchardt do offer a 45 day home trial tbh so there was a sort of a buffer so to speak.
Luckily I didn't need anywhere near a month and a half to decide they were right for me, I knew within a few hours!