WiiM Pro - Review & Measurements (Streamer)

[AdamG]

Amazing and comprehensive testing and analysis of functionality @VintageFlanker. Exactly the extremely high level of Review we have come to expect from you. Well done Sir. I see probably hundreds of hours use represented in your work. Bravo Zulu Sir!

 

[VintageFlanker]

Thanks, Adam !

I see probably hundreds of hours use represented in your work

Haha. Not exactly "hundreds", but two or three dozens for this one, that's for sure.

 

[jotas_66]

Thank you very much for the review @VintageFlanker. It is very interesting.

I have a WiimPro and one question. There are measures of the WiimPro as ADC. I don't understand this. Is not necessary a chipset to do this?. Other elements as NAD amplifiers, i.e. the new 3050LE have a chipset to do this. NAD uses a TI PCM 1863 ADC.

What about the WiimPro?

Best regards

JP

 

[Jimbob54]

Very interested in one of these. Practical question..

With either Amazon Music or Qobuz, is it possible to shuffle ones entire album collection on the Wiim app? As opposed to just shuffling a playlist (They both cap playlist sizes way too small)

The Amazon pc app allows, the mobile app doesnt. Qobuz doesnt allow on anything I have encountered.

 

[BossBunos]

Excuse me... Just hundred of times before I can post all the data shared in post#1...

I had to switch back and forth between toslink input and others for measuring (like dozens of times per hour), and it was nowhere near "automatic".

Right.

It does. The other way around, I'm still waiting to see... But no doubt this could be definitely fixed with firmware.


Apples and oranges.


It is, according to Qobuz:View attachment 267592

Correct. But while "Chromecast" is not displayed in Tidal App, both solutions are working 100% the same in practice.
View attachment 267593


Hum. Probably more "had" than "have", then. When I look at CD players for sale by today, majority comes with a fixed input. Sure there is some, but not that common.

I guess that came of a little blunt from my part, apologies and many thanks for the awesome review
Just to clarify: your unit does not switch to optical when auto sensing is on and the unit is in stand by?
There was/is a bug where the WiiM doesn't go back to standby because it does not sense the optical is not receiving input anymore. I emailed WiiM and they told me they reproduced the issue and will fix it in the next firmware release. A new firmware was released after that so it should be fixed now but haven't tested it yet.

 

[Sonic-Wall]

WiiM Home asides, the WiiM Pro (through Chromecast) worked flawlessly when controlled by either Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, and Roon.

Great review!
However, I wasn‘t aware that Qobuz Connect is already available?

 

[onlyoneme]

Great review!
However, I wasn‘t aware that Qobuz Connect is already available?

AFAIK there is no "real" Qobuz Connect available yet, I mean here a dedicated communication protocol and APIs similar to the Tidal Connect or Spotify Connect. Qobuz Connect currently is a way of the casting thru chromecast.

 

[enricoclaudio]

Thanks @VintageFlanker for another great review. Performance wise, this is basically a Bluesound NODE at 1/3 of the price. If it gets Roon Ready certification, it’s going to be a very popular Roon transport choice. However I have serious concerns regarding SINAD performance going south when using Roon DSP with fixed volume.

 

[Joffy1780]

Thanks @VintageFlanker for another great review. Performance wise, this is basically a Bluesound NODE at 1/3 of the price. If it gets Roon Ready certification, it’s going to be a very popular Roon transport choice. However I have serious concerns regarding SINAD performance going south when using Roon DSP with fixed volume.

I was under the impression that the Roon software applied the EQ before sending to the transport/endpoint?

 

[Lednek]

Damn that's a shame. @WiiM Support if you add an automatically input selection feature I'll buy one!

I think it may in fact do just that.

I have not tried it yet with my TV, as I've been putting off pulling it off the mount to run the in wall spdif cable.

 

[Rottmannash]

Yes, and this is a device that can be used as a highend digital transport to a dac , with good GIU to, at least as good as a bluesound node or a Linn DS, and its ROON ready.

No need to buy anything more expensive than this then ? Lets see how much impact this streamer will have on the hifi market.

The players plastic facia is a small letdown, but the bluesound node is not any better. Yamaha wxc50 has a metal case, but has a digital preamp volume issue with resampling of everything to 48 kHz, with less good sound. Not good enough sound for highend use in my opinion ( I own one ) . And its twice as expensive.
———————-

Edit: using this streamer with the A/D, the eq or/and the D/A converter with analog output is very low-fi. An Allo boss streamer is much, much better in this case.

I:e - dont use the WiiM pro as a streamer with analog output , only as a digital drive to a dac or digital inputs to a loudspeaker

Except the Node weighs considerably more and has a rubberized coating on most of the surfaces.

 

[Joffy1780]

Except the Node weighs considerably more and has a rubberized coating on most of the surfaces.

Not sure why the weight would matter.

 

[Rottmannash]

Not sure why the weight would matter.

I was responding to @Tangband comment "The players plastic facia is a small letdown, but the bluesound node is not any better." I was referring no only to the more tactile rubberized surface but to its weight as these small plastic devices (of which I own a few can be frustratingly mobile when trying to hook them up or when the cables get bumped/moved. The weight matters to me.

 

[BioMedTechGuy]

Except the Node weighs considerably more and has a rubberized coating on most of the surfaces.

The last time I touched or moved my WiiM Pro was to put it on my equipment rack. As long as it doesn't fall off, I'm good. I do appreciate heavy weight components, having a receiver and amp that each weigh over 60 pounds, but at $149 I'm thrilled with my WiiM.

 

[Joffy1780]

I was responding to @Tangband comment "The players plastic facia is a small letdown, but the bluesound node is not any better." I was referring no only to the more tactile rubberized surface but to its weight as these small plastic devices (of which I own a few can be frustratingly mobile when trying to hook them up or when the cables get bumped/moved. The weight matters to me.

I suppose we all have different priorities. I wouldn't pay 3.5 times the price for added weight, but mine just sits on a shelf and hasn't been touched since I hooked it up.

 

[MacCali]

So basically if youre not a coax type of guy just buy the mini? Glad I did cause I figured this would be the case. Wonder if they can work with SMSL or topping to make a combo unit and a legit AIO.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Great review!
However, I wasn‘t aware that Qobuz Connect is already available?

Not yet. However, in a video that they made together with WiiM, the Qobuz rep said it would be coming to the WiiM devices first.

Qobuz Live: WiiM

Linda Kim and Steven Willenborg from WiiM will join us to talk about how to stream in Hi-Res for under $100. We'll discuss how and why WiiM Pro and WiiM mini...

www.youtube.com

 

[Joffy1780]

So basically if youre not a coax type of guy just buy the mini? Glad I did cause I figured this would be the case. Wonder if they can work with SMSL or topping to make a combo unit and a legit AIO.

There are some other differences, but if you are simply using it to stream music to a DAC, then they both do that just as well.

 

[Atanasi]

So basically if youre not a coax type of guy just buy the mini? Glad I did cause I figured this would be the case. Wonder if they can work with SMSL or topping to make a combo unit and a legit AIO.

You can consult the table at "Which WiiM product is right for you?". The table lacks a few features like Roon coming for Pro only.

 

[My adventures in stereo]

Got mine today
It is substantially bigger than the mini
Already had wiim home installed on my phone, so set up was really quick
Tidal connect had me frustrated for a bit, had to un install & reinstall Tidal, clear cache etc
Not sure how but it sorted itself out and is now working fine

The trigger works fine when using the streamer but the poweramp goes to standby within 30 seconds, when using other sources
So I put the standby timing to never, hope that solves the issue