WiiM Mini Streamer

[Jim Shaw]

I just had this dystopian vision:

One elephant is being described by 5,000 blind men...

 

[Bamyasi]

Yep. This has been ongoing on-and-off across several updates for me.

Interestingly, if I open Alexa app, its now playing page always shows correct track (the one which is actually being played by WiiM Mini) and apparently Alexa app has no problems with connecting to WiiM and monitoring it. Alexa app also shows correct HD/UHD label for the track and provide acces to the playback queue. Which is currently not available via WiiM Home nor Amazon Music apps when casting. I should admit using no less than four (!) different apps to simply play music from the phone is a bit cumbersome. Hope @WiiM Support will be able to improve this situation sooner or later.

 

[RadioBuddha]

Hi, sorry for the inconvenience caused. The issue is due to old API issue that happens to some device. That's why we have to change to the latest API to fix the issue. Please help workaround this issue by re-login your account. We'll do our best to release the updated on within two weeks. Our apologies for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Does anyone know the idle power consumption of the Wiim Mini and the upcoming Wiim Pro, and the power consumption for both when the external volume is set at its highest?

 

[thibodeaux]

It was funny during time I had amazon I have been tweaking from pure direct to eq even re adjusting my speaker placement but nothing works all sounding flat. As soon I subscribe to that hit pure direct it was immediate there were differences. Quoboz doesn’t sound flat it got depth that other just don’t. In your case, you hear them equally same quality or there’s one you prefer over the other?

Maybe my ears just aren't as refined as yours, or my system isn't resolving enough, but I just subscribed to Qobuz to see if I could tell a difference, listened to a dozen+ songs 1-1 Amazon vs Qobuz, and noticed absolutely zero difference. Neither service sounded "flat" or exhibited any difference in the soundstage, or any other quality I could detect.

I guess how it goes in this hobby sometimes though - we hear what we hear...

 

[jakc]

What about other casting methods, are they also affected?

Have downed rate and depth to 48/16bit

Same issue. Plays, end of song clicks, and 50/50 chance that the next song is audible despite the fact it’s definitely playing on iPhone ok.

I will try Bluetooth from a laptop later on.

Have also tried playing from different apps on the iPhone - same issue.

 

[Brantome]

Does anyone know the idle power consumption of the Wiim Mini and the upcoming Wiim Pro, and the power consumption for both when the external volume is set at its highest?

Negligible for the Mini in either event - its manual quotes 5v/1A. Wouldn’t expect the Pro to be much higher.

 

[Brantome]

Interestingly, if I open Alexa app, its now playing page always shows correct track (the one which is actually being played by WiiM Mini) and apparently Alexa app has no problems with connecting to WiiM and monitoring it. Alexa app also shows correct HD/UHD label for the track and provide acces to the playback queue. Which is currently not available via WiiM Home nor Amazon Music apps when casting. I should admit using no less than four (!) different apps to simply play music from the phone is a bit cumbersome. Hope @WiiM Support will be able to improve this situation sooner or later.

May be splitting hairs, but the Alexa app isn’t connecting to the Wiim, it’s connecting to the Alexa/Amazon Music cloud service and accessing the info there.

 

[Bamyasi]

May be splitting hairs, but the Alexa app isn’t connecting to the Wiim, it’s connecting to the Alexa/Amazon Music cloud service and accessing the info there.

Good point, I haven't thought about it. But it should be equivalent since both the WiiM and apps on my phone get this information from Amazon servers.

 

[jakc]

Issue:
When running through AudioEngine DAC, between songs the DAC gives audible click.
About 40% of the time, does not actually allow for playback of next song and just dead air.

Tried:
Reverted back to using the AUX out and bypassing the DAC = works fine.
Was hoping a newer WiiM firmware would revert the issue, but still happening today.
Same issue if I use a different USB power source

Setup:

• Airplay from iPhones
• WiiM connected to Audioengine D1 DAC via SPDIF
• DAC powered from Audioening A1 USB
• See below for more info

Before I submit a ticket, anyone seen this or can suggest a workaround that incorporates the DAC?

View attachment 231948

Some luck.
Switched the D1 DAC for another D1 DAC.
Everything else is the same.
Now plays every song using SPDIF output at highest resolution/bit rate.

However - very loud audible popping between tracks. This seems to a common issue with DACs, but I cant spot any obvious workaround?

EDIT - Pace of discussion is fast in here, so put up a dedicated post for my issue here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/popping-issue-wiim-audioengine-dac.37613/

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Bought the $29 Inovato Quadra to use as a server for the WiiM Mini UI I've been hacking away at.

Specs look a whole lot like the upcoming WiiM Pro:

Allwinner H6 quad-core A53
ARM v8 64-bit SoC, 1.7ghz

As there are lots of requests on the WiiM forum to include Squeezelite, thought I'd give it a try on the Quadra. Installed without a hitch, tested fine via the built-in HDMI audio out, and via an external Topping D10s.

Then I thought, hey! Let's see if Roon works! I don't have the Roon server, but let's just see whether the client (or Roon Bridge, as they confusingly call it) will install and run. It does...

Then I looked at what had been installed. OMFG! What a clusterf... This bloated piece of cr.. requires the Windoze .NET runtime, in this case provided by Mono. Unbelievable. What a mess. I will definitely not be purchasing Roon, ever. Squeezelite accomplishes the same task for a free, open source server with infinitely more elegance, requiring just a single binary written in C and compiled natively. Quickly uninstalled this POS.

 

[Music1969]

Bought the $29 Inovato Quadra to use as a server for the WiiM Mini UI I've been hacking away at.

Specs look a whole lot like the upcoming WiiM Pro:

Allwinner H6 quad-core A53
ARM v8 64-bit SoC, 1.7ghz

As there are lots of requests on the WiiM forum to include Squeezelite, thought I'd give it a try on the Quadra. Installed without a hitch, tested fine via the built-in HDMI audio out, and via an external Topping D10s.

Then I thought, hey! Let's see if Roon works! I don't have the Roon server, but let's just see whether the client (or Roon Bridge, as they confusingly call it) will install and run. It does...

View attachment 232051

Then I looked at what had been installed. OMFG! What a clusterf... This bloated piece of cr.. requires the Windoze .NET runtime, in this case provided by Mono. Unbelievable. What a mess. I will definitely not be purchasing Roon, ever. Squeezelite accomplishes the same task for a free, open source server with infinitely more elegance, requiring just a single binary written in C and compiled natively. Quickly uninstalled this POS.

View attachment 232052

If you think that's a cluster fark, wait till you see what Chromecast needs (WiiM Pro will have)

Roon Bridge is light in comparison

 

[Smartplug]

Maybe my ears just aren't as refined as yours, or my system isn't resolving enough, but I just subscribed to Qobuz to see if I could tell a difference, listened to a dozen+ songs 1-1 Amazon vs Qobuz, and noticed absolutely zero difference. Neither service sounded "flat" or exhibited any difference in the soundstage, or any other quality I could detect.

I guess how it goes in this hobby sometimes though - we hear what we hear...

I’m not sure what system you have but I have good system with multiple speakers array that I switch from different brand. These are bower wilkins, focal, klipsch, Polk and elac. All the these speakers were near to their flagship and not entry level. The only affordable I have in the chain was wiim since to me they are just digital transport and dac take care of the rest. I have many different Dac as well and some were just collecting dust. Hobby like this can be fun and expensive and much like a computer when a new product comes out I just want to have it. I buy them and when I get board with it I put it aside till I don’t want to use it till new products cones out.

 

[Brantome]

Quite a long but interesting review from Norway - it makes scant mention of Amazon Music, maybe it’s not available there.

REVIEW: Wiim Mini – the little giant that keeps on growing

Over the past year, Wiim Mini has emerged as an interesting streamer candidate in the budget class. At the bottom of the budget class to be a bit precise. And when Hifisentralen included it in its range together with a rich selection of DACs, headphone amplifiers and other amplifiers from...

www.audiophile.no

 

[thibodeaux]

I’m not sure what system you have but I have good system with multiple speakers array that I switch from different brand. These are bower wilkins, focal, klipsch, Polk and elac. All the these speakers were near to their flagship and not entry level. The only affordable I have in the chain was wiim since to me they are just digital transport and dac take care of the rest. I have many different Dac as well and some were just collecting dust. Hobby like this can be fun and expensive and much like a computer when a new product comes out I just want to have it. I buy them and when I get board with it I put it aside till I don’t want to use it till new products cones out.

My system isn't necessarily "top of the line" but it's decent enough to my ears - The WIIM feeds my SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII, which goes to my Bottlehead Moreplay, to a Hafler DH-500 that drives a pair of PSB Stratus Gold(i)s. Like I said, maybe my stuff just can't resolve the difference, or perhaps its my old ears that can't pick it out.

 

[Jim Shaw]

Maybe my ears just aren't as refined as yours, or my system isn't resolving enough, but I just subscribed to Qobuz to see if I could tell a difference, listened to a dozen+ songs 1-1 Amazon vs Qobuz, and noticed absolutely zero difference. Neither service sounded "flat" or exhibited any difference in the soundstage, or any other quality I could detect.

I guess how it goes in this hobby sometimes though - we hear what we hear...

For the most part, it goes like this:

If you are motivated to hear a difference, you will hear a difference. If you have a prejudice for or against one of the sources, you will hear one as better than the other. No one has ever become a calibrated, objective listener who has any 'dog in the race.' Not even close.
It's not that you don't want to be objective; it's that you can't be.

The act of measuring a device, using the best available methods and equipment, will also give the test listener a prejudice that then becomes part of his/her listening experience.
.....
Additionally, your perception is always skewed by whatever you heard just before your listening test. It is undeniable human nature to judge everything against personal experience. It is hard-wired into humans. And the most recent experience weighs heavily on one's judgment.

Toole's research, et al, uses select groups and complex statistical methods to try to get past the individual human issues of testing. If not entirely successful, the results become repeatable -- the next best thing to perfect agreement.

 

[Jim Shaw]

Quite a long but interesting review from Norway - it makes scant mention of Amazon Music, maybe it’s not available there.

REVIEW: Wiim Mini – the little giant that keeps on growing

Over the past year, Wiim Mini has emerged as an interesting streamer candidate in the budget class. At the bottom of the budget class to be a bit precise. And when Hifisentralen included it in its range together with a rich selection of DACs, headphone amplifiers and other amplifiers from...

www.audiophile.no

Enjoyed reading the referenced page, muchly. Thanks for the referral.
.....
Am I the only one here who thinks that MQA has no long-term future? I mean, when we were lucky to get barely enough bandwidth at home for 1080P video, maybe MQA made sense. But, in today's world, MQA seems analogous to speaking Latin in the 19th century.

[Will MQA send an Inquisitor to my house to correct my thinking? ]

 

[Merifon]

MQA seems analogous to speaking Latin in the 19th century

I asked tidal several times if they could do the favor of leaving mqa. They would probably spend even less on royalties...

 

[Music1969]

Am I the only one here who thinks that MQA has no long-term future?

I hope that's the case but as long as it's there, MQA "core decoding" coming to WiiM (like Roon, Audirvana and Tidal Desktop app already have) is technically a good thing (versus playing the file un-decoded) if you use Tidal , like I do a lot.

Refer to my post # : #2,985

 

[onlyoneme]

I asked tidal several times if they could do the favor of leaving mqa. They would probably spend even less on royalties...

Would be nice if MQA stays "HiFi plus" hi-res related and lossless flac always available for "HiFi" CD level, but it doesn't seem to work such way.

 

[Music1969]

Would be nice if MQA stays "HiFi plus" hi-res related and lossless flac always available for "HiFi" CD level, but it doesn't seem to work such way.

I can switch to HiFi and it does stay that way.

Problem is , in many cases, these are 16-bit MQA still (referred to as MQA-CD).

So you are playing MQA unfolded (not a good thing) on HiFi tier.

There's hardly any escaping MQA on Tidal these days