@soix WiiM ultra isn’t all that great. Not sure if you heard it or used it. Sound is very low fi. The EQ options can somewhat make it more tolerable but that is a very temporary bandaid at best.
OP…If you add a bit to your $2,000 I would look for Bryston BDA-3.14 and use it as a roon endpoint. Stream Qobuz or Tidal. You can use it with its native Manic Moose software if you don’t want to add another subscription (Roon) but I highly advise to forego the Moose and do Roon.
In any case whatever you do WiiM isn’t going to knock your socks off.
Streamer vs. Cart upgrade (here we go again…)
I have a Clearaudio Concept TT with a Hana EH cart. I run it through a Mc110z and Mc240 through Klipsch Heresy’s with REL subs. I stream via blue tooth (audio engine B1). I’m soliciting advice on whether I should upgrade to a Hana ML or spend that money on a Wiim Ultra and Denafrips Potus II DAC. I love the sound of my TT, and I definitely hear the difference between my streaming and the turntable but records are expensive- wondering if the corner cutting is worth it. Any thoughts?
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A few years ago, I traded in my turntable to focus on getting a better streaming sound. I spent a lot of effort and money on the digital side, but wasn’t fully satisfied and still yearned for the vinyl sound that I heard on other people’s often quite modest systems. Last year, I got a new turntable as outlined in my virtual system. Now, I much prefer playing vinyl records. You can’t say one format is best because they all have there own strengths and weaknesses. Also, the quality of the mastering in each case is very important. If you can afford it, you really need both to cover all the bases. I sometimes listen to ripped CDs, etc and Qobuz. Yet I find vinyl to be the absolute pinnacle for sound quality. Unlike the other formats, I sit listening for hours enthralled. There’s something magical about it - it is sublime. |
You post on a digital forum, you will get votes on streamer, you post on the analog forum, you will get votes on cart upgrade. It did seem like you had made up your mind and hence posted on the digital forum :) That's how most people make decisions anyways.
I went the other way compared some of the gents here. I sold my very expensive DAC to focus on vinyl, wrote about it here: https://audiofool.substack.com/p/why-i-sold-my-50000-dac-part-one Wonder if I made the right choice, I will soon learn. |
In the end I can say my large investment into vinyl has been pretty much a waste as it and over 3k albums sit there all forlorn and unused.
While it took me many years and much effort, my streaming setup easily equals or surpasses my vinyl setup. With easy and cheap access to literally every recording I could ever dream of owning whats not to like! Unfortunately, quality streaming setup not cheap, but then same goes for vinyl or any source. |
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