Using WiiM Pro+ as a streaming bridge

Listening and comparing

The first thing we notice in the Vega Trail track, using the WiiM as source, is that the saxophone sounds dark and the sound is smeared. This is in the first test scenario. In high notes, blown with some force, the saxophone becomes shrill. The reverb of the church is audible when the saxophone still sounds loud, but diminishes rapidly. The double bass is messy and sounds booming at the bottom end.

With the Primare, the sound is much lighter and open. You hear more detail, there is texture in the sound of the instruments and, especially in the transients, the speed of the response is adequate: the different strings of the double bass can be distinguished. The difference between the two streamers is far from subtle.

Laura Marling’s voice is placed at the very front with the WiiM. The instruments are somewhat diffusely placed around her and you can hear that the reproduction of the cello is not quite right.

With the start of the track the Primare shows that it is rhythmically on point. A few moments later, the sound of a wooden drumstick on the metal rim of a drum stands out, the sound is unmistakable. Most importantly, all the instruments are positioned nicely around her voice. The voice leans much more into the music, forming a whole with the instruments. Details, like the subtle sound of a shaker, are not heard with the WiiM and can be heard with the Primare.

The conclusion of this round of testing is that the Primare has a much lower noise floor, no smearing of the sound and the WiiM does not perform very well.

The second test scenario

We plug the Dodo into the WiiM Pro+ and the Dlink switch and listen again.

The WiiM steps up, the stereo image becoming more transparent. A harsh edge to the instruments remain in the Laura Marling track, and they continue to sound quite flat. The stereo image is not as restless though, but that seems mainly due to the switch’s power supply. There is improvement, but the smearing of the sound remains.

The Primare jumps a big leap forward. Rhythmically, the sound is greatly improved; the Vega Trails track sounds more immersive. Particularly striking is that the SMSL sounds so much better. Laura Marling sings with more intimacy in her voice, as if she is performing this song especially for you. The shaker, the cymbals, the cello, the guitar strings, everything sounds razor-sharp with fine detail. The sound has become much softer and rounded in the highs.

The take-away is that character of the Primare NP5 Mk2 and the character of the SMSL SU-10 match well. Invest in a better power supply for the streamer and for the switch and you have a combination that allows you to enjoy listening for hours. But that is not what this comparative test was about, it is a nice spin-off finding though.