Stream wiim pro plus vs zenstream

[Ludodo57]

Bonjour, y a-t-il une différence de qualité audio entre le streamer Wiim pro plus et le zenstream ? J'ai le ifi zenstream avec une alimentation 12v ifi power Elite, j'en suis content et j'utilise principalement Spotify avec le zenstream. mais le wiim pro plus m'intéresse, il supporte Chromecast, youtube et amazon music. Je ne voudrais pas être déçu de la qualité audio

Translation by Moderator: Please use English going forward.

“Hello, is there a difference in audio quality between the Wiim pro plus streamer and the zenstream? I have the ifi zenstream with a 12v ifi power Elite power supply, I'm happy with it and I mainly use Spotify with the zenstream. but the wiim pro plus interests me, it supports Chromecast, youtube and amazon music. I wouldn't want to be disappointed with the audio quality”

 

[VintageFlanker]

“Hello, is there a difference in audio quality between the Wiim pro plus streamer and the zenstream? I have the ifi zenstream with a 12v ifi power Elite power supply, I'm happy with it and I mainly use Spotify with the zenstream. but the wiim pro plus interests me, it supports Chromecast, youtube and amazon music. I wouldn't want to be disappointed with the audio quality”

The iFi Zenstream is a streamer transport with no DAC. Any upgraded PSU can't have any influence on the way it sounds.

The WiiM Pro Plus is a standalone Streamer with a very capable DAC. Still, if you plan to use it through digital outputs only, then save your money and get the regular WiiM Pro.


PS: Effectivement, merci de faire attention à prioriser l'Anglais sur ce forum. Si c'est compliqué, utiliser éventuellement un traducteur...

 

[Ludodo57]

Thank you for your help, so I'm a little lost, what would be the best option for performance and which connection should I use on the inputs of my parasound hint 6 amplifier? the zenstream operating system supports the parasound hint 6 usb interface. with the wiim pro i will have to use the rca outputs? That's right ?
https://parasound.com/hint6.php

 

[VintageFlanker]

with the wiim pro i will have to use the rca outputs? That's right ?
https://parasound.com/hint6.php

Yes. That's the whole purpose of its integrated DAC.

 

[Greenman]

with the wiim pro i will have to use the rca outputs? That's right ?

No You won’t have to.

It depends Whether you might want to though…..

The hint6 looks like it has an inbuilt DAC, you are using this inbuilt DAC via the USB input from an off streamer currently I assume?

The Wimm pro Plus has a (good) inbuilt DAC and also provides digital output (Via coax and optical but not USB).

So.

You could buy the WiiM Pro Plus and use its inbuilt DAc, in which case you use the RCA outputs to the hint6 analogue inputs. OR you could use the wimm Pro digital outputs to the coax or optical inputs on your hint6 and thus use the hint6 inbuilt DAC. Which is the better option is impossible to say and would depend how good the hint6 DAC and digital interfaces are (USB vs coax etc).

IF you definitely want to use the hint6 DAC then buy the wimm Pro rather than the plus model as it’s cheaper and has the same features as the plus but has a worse DAC (that you wouldn’t use).

 

[VintageFlanker]

Which is the better option is impossible to say and would depend how good the hint6 DAC

There's absolutely no chance that the HINT 6 integrated DAC would be any better than this :

This is some old ES9018 implementation, with (claimed) 106dB SNR, A-weighted, according to specs.

You could buy the WiiM Pro Plus and use its inbuilt DAc, in which case you use the RCA outputs to the hint6 analogue inputs. OR you could use the wimm Pro digital outputs to the coax or optical inputs on your hint6 and thus use the hint6 inbuilt DAC.

On that, we agree.

 

[Greenman]

There's absolutely no chance that the HINT 6 integrated DAC would be any better than this

Likely true, but in reality 106db SNR is just as transparent as 115db in any real world system so tell me if it’s worth spending an extra £100 on an inaudible change?

 

[VintageFlanker]

Likely true, but in reality 106db SNR is just as transparent as 115db in any real world system

THD+N is -115dB, not SNR. It's more likely 120dB unweighted, so vastly superior in theory.

so tell me if it’s worth spending an extra £100 on an inaudible change?

The Pro Plus is not 100£ more expensive than the regular Pro. The OP is French, so it will be some 70€ difference for him. Also, considering the internal Gain of the HINT 6 (that again, we don't know anything about its real DAC performance), yes, it could be audible to a certain point, Noise-wise in particular.

 

[Greenman]

THD+N is -115dB, not SNR. It's more likely 120dB unweighted, so vastly superior in theory.


The Pro Plus is not 100£ more expensive than the regular Pro. The OP is French, so it will be some 70€ difference for him. Also, considering the internal Gain of the HINT 6 (that again, we don't know anything about its real DAC performance), yes, it could be audible to a certain point, Noise-wise in particular.

No it won’t be audible. No real world system with speakers and not in an anechoic chamber can resolve 106db dynamic range even if some human hearing is capable of that (in ideal conditions). It’s all by the by anyway as the SNR of the line level input on that amp is 103db so lower than the digital input…..in reality they will likely be identical noise And THD wise.

 

[Miguelón]

In my experience Ifi Zen Streamer is worst in software than Wiim Pro Plus (I had both).

Wiim has a nice dedicated app with can manage a lot of services, radio stations, podcasts, etc. and the company take care about the software: very stable and works great on PC, smartphone, tablet.

The Ifi Stream is really poor on stability, need to reset constantly, has no good app to integrate your streaming, files etc. It freeze the music when changing from Qobuz to Tidal or viceversa.

Taking dust on its box, but if you want one half the price, I will send it to you with pleasure

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,
Both the Wiim Pro and the WiiM Pro Plus are good streamers and will not sound worse than your Zen. They probably won't sound better either, so it's up to you if you want the additional features that WiiM offer.
I'd add my view that the WiiM app is pretty good, and I find the application and network stability good on mine (mini).

Personally, I'd spend the little bit extra for the WiiM Pro Plus so that you have a choice of using your current DAC or the WiiM one. Unlikely to make a difference to the sound though.

Enjoy the music

 

[DeepSpace57]

The iFi Zenstream is a streamer transport with no DAC. Any upgraded PSU can't have any influence on the way it sounds.

The WiiM Pro Plus is a standalone Streamer with a very capable DAC. Still, if you plan to use it through digital outputs only, then save your money and get the regular WiiM Pro.


PS: Effectivement, merci de faire attention à prioriser l'Anglais sur ce forum. Si c'est compliqué, utiliser éventuellement un traducteur...

What advice would you give to someone considering replacing his Wiim Mini with a Wiim Pro as the only streamer?

 

[JeremyFife]

What advice would you give to someone considering replacing his Wiim Mini with a Wiim Pro as the only streamer?

I'd say to keep the WiiM mini, unless there is a specific feature in the WiiM Pro that you need. As streamers, there is no material difference.