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Wiim Pro or Wiim Mini+Dac

the_watcher

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Hi,

I am about to buy my first music setup in years. The setup will be used for background music in my living room 90% of time.

I have decided to buy a pair of Genelec G3, because:
I like how they sound.
I like the looks.
Integrated amps simplifies the look of the music setup.
I want them in the color black.

I have also decided on a Wiim product as source.

Option 1:
Dac+Source:
Wiim Pro

I live in Japan and the release on Amazon.jp is TBD.

However I can buy it through Amazon.com if need be.

Option 2:
Buy a Wiim Mini and a Dac.

Dac’s I am considering:
Topping DX3 Pro+ (volume knob, nice!)
Topping E30 II
SMSL C200 (volume knob, nice!)
SMSL C100

Source:
Wiim Mini

Wiim Pro vs Wiim Mini
When I look at their webpage it seems that both products support or will support 10 band EQ. Can anyone confirm that ?

If for some reason (maybe slower CPU) the Mini does not support 10 band EQ, then I will choose the Wiim Pro (Option 1).

Another reason for Wiim Pro, is the Ethernet port. Maybe it will give more stable streaming?

Do you have any other recommendations for cheap dacs or just some suggestions about the hole setup?
 
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MrBingley

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Almost any other streamer sounds better. I know they are cheap. But you get what you pay for.

Find a deal on a used Bluesound Node if budget is a concern.
 

Overseas

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Wiim Pro is excellent on digital (bit perfect, resolution selectable) , plus the rest of the features. On analogue, not so good as Topping E50. But can live even with analogue, no need to pay 2,3 times more just for some metal case (and less features).
Wiim Mini is not advisable due to its fragile construction (optical port).
Plenty of Bluesound Nodes sold second hand on my local market.
 

MrBingley

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Wiim Pro is excellent on digital (bit perfect, resolution selectable) , plus the rest of the features. On analogue, not so good as Topping E50. But can live even with analogue, no need to pay 2,3 times more just for some metal case (and less features).
Wiim Mini is not advisable due to its fragile construction (optical port).
Plenty of Bluesound Nodes sold second hand on my local market.
No WiiM is veiled sounding on "bit perfect" digital.

I just went thru a lot of comparisons and it is the worst sounding streamer. Especially the beta MQA decoding.

The hardware matters.
 

Overseas

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Not care about MQA, the discussion was not about MQA so better should have specified that from the begining. I do not trust MQA fans to recommend me anything.

We do not know your taste in sound, also not clear your comparisons with 'lots' of stuff. Bluesound Node was measured and evaluated on this forum.

I compared it with Triangle streamer, Harman Kardon streamer, Denon Heos streamer. Wiim Pro does excellent job on optical and decent on analogue.
 

JeremyFife

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Hi,

I am about to buy my first music setup in years. The setup will be used for background music in my living room 90% of time.

I have decided to buy a pair of Genelec G3, because:
I like how they sound.
Hi,
Sounds like a great way to get started. Your Genelecs will be set up for a balanced signal so it makes sense to get a DAC with balanced output (smsl do100, smsl c200, topping e50 etc). The DACs you list would be absolutely fine though too.

I had a bluesound Node and replaced it with a Wiim Mini - sounds identical.
Neither the WiiM mini or the Pro have PEQ yet - I'm hoping that comes soon but until it does we don't know how good it is.

Personally, I'd get the WiiM mini because it's a known quantity, it just works. The Pro may be better, but it could be a while before we really know.

Good luck, and enjoy the music
 

MrBingley

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I am surprised at all the pumpers of this product. I agree it is inexpensive and for the price it does sound fine. Maybe some do not have a very resolving system and cannot tell the difference. I was testing with headphones so easier to hear the lack of detail and depth and width of soundstage. A non audiophile person could hear the difference between the WiiM and just the Node not to mention better streamers.

But don't take my word for it by all means go buy it and find out for yourself.

Testing equipment:

DACS: Denafrips: Aries 12th, Pontus II, Venus II
DAC Amps: Sennheiser HDV 820
Amp Dac Streamers: Naim Uniti Atom, Uniti Atom HE, Uniti Nova, Matrix Audio Element I2
Amps: Cayin HA-6A, Luxman L-550AXII, Muzishare X7, X9, X10, Willsenton R300
Streamers: ifi Zen Stream, ifi Neo Stream, Bluesound Node N130, Lumin U1, Lumin U1 Mini, Lumin D2, WiiM Mini, WiiM Pro
Headphones: Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Elite, Meze Liric, Sennheiser 800S, Hifiman HE1000SE, Hifiman Ananada
 

BDWoody

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MrBingley

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Yeah... That must be it.



Uh huh...
Wow a Moderator would post some lame comment like that?

I spent hours testing and system matching. The WiiM mini is ok for $80 but does not compare to other streamers in sound quality - that is a fact.

I will not waste any more time on this as you likely will just delete the post anyway.

Thanks for being lame.
 

BDWoody

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Philipp

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I use a WiiM mini, optical out to an external DAC (lent the DAC for testing), RCA out from the DAC to my Denon Amp.

Next time I would buy the WiiM pro, mainly because it has an eathernet Port (LAN).
If you use two (or More) wireless networks at home (large house, thick walls, …) your mobile phone (or other device to control the WiiM) must always be in the same network as the WiiM, gets on my nerves, but this is not an issue for everybody, just for info and consideration.

EQ is a feature on both devices, Pro and Mini.

WiiM Specs camparison Mini and Pro
Scroll down to See the comparison!

Tested here:
WiiM Mini Review by Amir
It gives a clear picture what the streamer can do best, output over optical to an external DAC. For this usecase, there is nothing to discuss what another „better sounding“ streamer could really do better, is there?

Amir already denied the WiiM Mini his recommandation because of the missing ability to integrate Roon.
Roon ready will be released in 02/23, but only for the WiiM Pro, do this might be an argument for the Pro?

F592F95D-E8E8-47A3-8AF3-BF2B6E50F4FC.jpeg
 
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OP
T

the_watcher

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Thank you all for your responses and help.

I have decided to go with the Wiim Mini + DAC combo. I will purchase the speakers and Wiim Mini first, which should provide me with some background music. After that, I will take some time to research which DAC to choose (a lot of options).

EQ:
Regarding EQ, I initially thought that the 10-band EQ function in the Wiim Mini and Pro was a parametric EQ (PEQ), but I was wrong :)

I am not entirely sure I understand PEQ, so perhaps you can help me.
PEQ has three parameters that can be adjusted: Frequency, Gain, and Q for each available band. Suppose that the Wiim Mini has three frequency bands (Low, Mid, and High), and I wish to adjust the settings in the mid-band at 3700Hz.
In that case, I would set the frequency to 3700Hz, the gain to -1dB, and the Q to a value that determines the width of the range of frequencies around 3700Hz that will be affected.

Can I make further frequency adjustments in the mid-band let's say 2300Hz or is only one frequency per band?
Is it better to use PEQ or GEQ or will it maybe be possible to use both at the same time in the Wiim Mini?
 

Philipp

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EQ:
Regarding EQ, I initially thought that the 10-band EQ function in the Wiim Mini and Pro was a parametric EQ (PEQ), but I was wrong
According to the WiiM Forum PEQ will come with one of the next updates, development has been delayed.
 

onlyoneme

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Wow a Moderator would post some lame comment like that?

I spent hours testing and system matching. The WiiM mini is ok for $80 but does not compare to other streamers in sound quality - that is a fact.

I will not waste any more time on this as you likely will just delete the post anyway.

Thanks for being lame.
Considering digital output both Mini and Pro will provide the same bit-perfect performance with any decent and bit-perfect capable DAC. Just like Node.
 

VintageFlanker

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Testing equipment:

DACS: Denafrips: Aries 12th, Pontus II, Venus II
DAC Amps: Sennheiser HDV 820
Amp Dac Streamers: Naim Uniti Atom, Uniti Atom HE, Uniti Nova, Matrix Audio Element I2
Amps: Cayin HA-6A, Luxman L-550AXII, Muzishare X7, X9, X10, Willsenton R300
Streamers: ifi Zen Stream, ifi Neo Stream, Bluesound Node N130, Lumin U1, Lumin U1 Mini, Lumin D2, WiiM Mini, WiiM Pro
Headphones: Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Elite, Meze Liric, Sennheiser 800S, Hifiman HE1000SE,
So much useless and redundant electronic gears here...
I'm honestly surprised that you haven't listed your cables.

Hifiman Ananada
I wasn't aware of this one! ;)
 
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