WiiM Ultra with Devialet 1000

[Gerronwithit]

I have been very sceptical about streamers and their notional benefits so decided to dip my toes in this water by buying a WiiM Ultra. I bought this rather than, say, a Cambridge option because I subscribe to Amazon Music which Cambridge does not support. My “investment” was £350 which is negligible against the price of the Devialet.

I connected it optically to my Devialet with the whole process being quite simple. I set the output as 24/192 and allowed the device to sound balance my room. Initial results are very positive with a more realistic soundstage and clearer separation between instruments and vocals. I had hoped it might stream music to my Dione but have not found a way so far. 

Going to need hours of testing to verify all of this 😀

[ray1234]

Devialet's DAC is surprisingly very detailed even at today's standard. Wiim Ultra is ok sounding, but it will sound even better with better streamer setup.

I used PC to connect to a DDC, feeding the DDC with a 10Mhz external clock. All these (including the clock signal) gets passed through to my D400 via AES.

I don't know if your Devialet connects to network, even if it does not, investing in a network switch capable of accepting 10Mhz clock signals improves the resolution further, even if the network cable just connects to my PC. I am sure the improvement will be even more if Devialet is connected to LAN as well. In addition, I use FMC between the switch and PC and that further improves the resolution.

The above improvement is huge compared to using Devialet Air, resolution, air, soundstage, etc all improved by a large margin on my D400. On a 1000, the improvement may be even more.

[Gerronwithit]

Before the WiiM I used Apple AirPlay and have to say the difference in overall reproduction is enormous. In fact the detail is a bit overwhelming and any failings or defects in the recording are transparent. The Devialets are connected directly to the internet which is provided by Virgin with a nominal rating of 1000 Mb/s. Before buying the WiiM I had done direct comparisons between Tidal and Amazon and was surprised that Amazon was significantly better on every track I played. Have not done a comparison of Qobuz yet.

[ray1234]

Before the WiiM I used Apple AirPlay and have to say the difference in overall reproduction is enormous. In fact the detail is a bit overwhelming and any failings or defects in the recording are transparent. The Devialets are connected directly to the internet which is provided by Virgin with a nominal rating of 1000 Mb/s. Before buying the WiiM I had done direct comparisons between Tidal and Amazon and was surprised that Amazon was significantly better on every track I played. Have not done a comparison of Qobuz yet.

Qobuz should be even better than Tidal or Amazon. It depends on the songs you play, Tidal brings vocals a bit more forward but soundstage is more flat, so if vocals are all one listens to Tidal sometimes seems to play better, but if considering soundstage and all other hifi aspects, Qobuz is the best.

Seeing that you direct connect your network to Devialet, try a switch that can clock signals in between and you will be surprised with the result. If you just want to see if it is worthwhile in your system, you can simply put a cheap chinese made fmc between the network, even a USD10 fmc works as long as you do not plug the power of the fmc to your hifi network..... those cheap fmc has very noisy power transformer, plug those transformers to your other home appliance electric network, like next to the fridge power, then you will be fine.

[Gerronwithit]

Before the WiiM I used Apple AirPlay and have to say the difference in overall reproduction is enormous. In fact the detail is a bit overwhelming and any failings or defects in the recording are transparent. The Devialets are connected directly to the internet which is provided by Virgin with a nominal rating of 1000 Mb/s. Before buying the WiiM I had done direct comparisons between Tidal and Amazon and was surprised that Amazon was significantly better on every track I played. Have not done a comparison of Qobuz yet.

Qobuz should be even better than Tidal or Amazon. It depends on the songs you play, Tidal brings vocals a bit more forward but soundstage is more flat, so if vocals are all one listens to Tidal sometimes seems to play better, but if considering soundstage and all other hifi aspects, Qobuz is the best.

Seeing that you direct connect your network to Devialet, try a switch that can clock signals in between and you will be surprised with the result. If you just want to see if it is worthwhile in your system, you can simply put a cheap chinese made fmc between the network, even a USD10 fmc works as long as you do not plug the power of the fmc to your hifi network..... those cheap fmc has very noisy power transformer, plug those transformers to your other home appliance electric network, like next to the fridge power, then you will be fine.

I lied! I actually connect through a NetGear Gigaswitch for both Devialets. I would like to trial Qobuz but was deterred for some reason when comparing Tidal to Amazon. What I didn’t like was Tidal taking money out of my account even though I had cancelled the “free” trial.

Not sure of the potential benefits of a FMC.

[ray1234]

Not sure of the potential benefits of a FMC.

My experience playing with digital audio is don't use common sense, just try whatever you can try and see if it works. I can tell you my LAN is connected to PC, and the PC connects via USB to a DDC (digital to digital convertor), and then the DDC connects via AES to Devialet.

Theoretically, the LAN is so far away and went through so many equipment in between that it shouldn't matter. I can tell you a hi fi switch and FMC to the LAN still make a significant difference to the sound. Don't ask me why .....

At the end of the day, it depends on the resolution of your whole system and how good your ears are. I can tell you there are differences for digital audio from changes in any components in between, it is just a matter of whether those differences can be heard.

I actually connect through a NetGear Gigaswitch for both Devialets.

I don't mean a normal network switch, but a hifi purpose switch which can sync the network signal with a clock, and connect to external clock which also syncs with streamer. BTW, for the 1000 you connect RCA to XLR? I assume you have tried the XLR ground lifting trick? the ground lifting improves the soundstage substantially.

[Gerronwithit]

Not sure of the potential benefits of a FMC.

My experience playing with digital audio is don't use common sense, just try whatever you can try and see if it works. I can tell you my LAN is connected to PC, and the PC connects via USB to a DDC (digital to digital convertor), and then the DDC connects via AES to Devialet.

Theoretically, the LAN is so far away and went through so many equipment in between that it shouldn't matter. I can tell you a hi fi switch and FMC to the LAN still make a significant difference to the sound. Don't ask me why .....


At the end of the day, it depends on the resolution of your whole system and how good your ears are. I can tell you there are differences for digital audio from changes in any components in between, it is just a matter of whether those differences can be heard.

I actually connect through a NetGear Gigaswitch for both Devialets.

I don't mean a normal network switch, but a hifi purpose switch which can sync the network signal with a clock, and connect to external clock which also syncs with streamer. BTW, for the 1000 you connect RCA to XLR? I assume you have tried the XLR ground lifting trick? the ground lifting improves the soundstage substantially.

Thanks for that! Will give Qobuz a one to one try when I get a free moment. We’ll see what that brings before considering anything else.