A Formula 1 engine in an ordinary car

Is it really worth investing an extra $1,000 in a streamer for a $5,000 or even $10,000 system? For me, it is like installing a Formula 1 engine in a conventional car. Impressive on paper, and nowhere to use it.

The limiting factor in most systems is not the streamer. It is the speakers, it is the electronics, and maybe the cables. Put a better streamer in front of them and they simply cannot pass on what it adds.

So for a system worth up to $10,000, I would buy the WiiM Ultra at $329 without hesitation. The $1,070 or more you save is money better spent on room treatment, amplification or even speakers. The audible differences from those are likely to be more material than anything the dearer streamer gives you.

This is not snobbery in reverse. Above $30,000, with the room, the speaker positions and the electronics optimised, I would not recommend the WiiM Ultra even as a streamer, because there the system can reveal what better components do. The engine should match the car, in both directions.

First build the car. Then talk to me about the engine.