DAC Recommendation for Wiim Mini or Pro

[wacomme]

I need a DAC for my new Wiim Mini (may exchange for Pro) that has optical in. I know the Topping E30ii will work, but I've been reading about skipping problems with the the E30ii. I'm looking for something inexpensive, but reliable. It'll be used in the living room to run powered stereo speakers.

The SMSL SU-6 and DO100 (my desktop dac) come to mind, but I'm trying to find something less expensive.

Michael

 

[staticV3]

The SMSL SU-6 and DO100 (my desktop dac) come to mind, but I'm trying to find something less expensive.

JDS Atom DAC+ ($100)
Schiit Modi+ ($130) (reddit discussion about Toslink compatibility)

and from China there's:
Khadas Tone Board ($80) (requires cheap Toslink to S/PDIF adapter)
SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKIII ($140)

 

[keiron99]

I need a DAC for my new Wiim Mini (may exchange for Pro) that has optical in. I know the Topping E30ii will work, but I've been reading about skipping problems with the the E30ii. I'm looking for something inexpensive, but reliable. It'll be used in the living room to run powered stereo speakers.

The SMSL SU-6 and DO100 (my desktop dac) come to mind, but I'm trying to find something less expensive.

Michael

Are we working on the assumption that the DAC within the Wiim is not good enough?

 

[wacomme]

Are we working on the assumption that the DAC within the Wiim is not good enough?

Yes.

 

[EMCCM]

Are we working on the assumption that the DAC within the Wiim is not good enough?

Yea, I’m curious about this as well. I was under the impression that the internal DAC really is fairly decent, and assumed if I wanted a “significant” upgrade I’d be spending in the $500+ territory to make it “worth it”. Saying this as I am highly skeptical I would notice this difference. If a $100-200 DAC would make a noticeable difference for the WiiM, I’d be very interested.

 

[wacomme]

Would the JDS Adam Dac+ or the Schiit Modi+ be better dac alternative than the Topping E30ii? I just need a transparent dac with a decent optical input.

 

[Doodski]

Would the JDS Adam Dac+ or the Schiit Modi+ be better dac alternative than the Topping E30ii? I just need a transparent dac with a decent optical input.

The JDS Labs Atom DAC+ has the 5 minute auto OFF feature which is pretty nice. I went with the Atom DAC+ over the Schiit even though I bought a Schiit Heresy on the same day as the JDS labs Atom DAC+.

 

[amper42]

I am using the RME ADI-2 with the Wiim. It has nice EQ and loudness controls plus a great sound. If those feature were not important I might try the Topping E70 with the Wiim.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKG84QMH

 

[Jim Shaw]

Yea, I’m curious about this as well. I was under the impression that the internal DAC really is fairly decent, and assumed if I wanted a “significant” upgrade I’d be spending in the $500+ territory to make it “worth it”. Saying this as I am highly skeptical I would notice this difference. If a $100-200 DAC would make a noticeable difference for the WiiM, I’d be very interested.

If you haven't, read Amir's review of the WiiM Mini elsewhere on this site. Disregard his non-recommendation because it doesn't run his beloved Roon, and read how the internal DAC measures. Then you have some facts to deal with in deciding how to 'improve' on it.

 

[mediocrebutarrogant]

im using E50 with wiim, dac's awesom, and no skipping problems. The wiim on the other hand is , well buggy...

 

[wacomme]

I have the e30ii, but I haven't opened the packages since I've read the e30ii has skipping issues. Is this true, or is the E30ii a viable dac via toslink to use with the wiim mini (or pro)?

 

[Turambar]

I use it often with a Topping E30 (and a few other DACs, as well), and I don't have any issue so far.

 

[RumbaAsul]

Yea, I’m curious about this as well. I was under the impression that the internal DAC really is fairly decent, and assumed if I wanted a “significant” upgrade I’d be spending in the $500+ territory to make it “worth it”. Saying this as I am highly skeptical I would notice this difference. If a $100-200 DAC would make a noticeable difference for the WiiM, I’d be very interested.

I tried the Topping E30 for a few weeks and eventually went back to using the WiiM anologue out. The DAC in the WiiM is good enough for my ears.

 

[Jim Shaw]

I tried the Topping E30 for a few weeks and eventually went back to using the WiiM anologue out. The DAC in the WiiM is good enough for my ears.

I appreciate your comment. Out of curiosity, are you willing to comment on your observed differences between the two DACs, internal vs. E30? Or are the two nearly identical?

I'm contemplating more WiiM Minis, and would prefer to not have to invest in outboard DACs for each. They tell me (?) that the new Pro will have the same internal DAC as the Mini.

 

[WillBrink]

I need a DAC for my new Wiim Mini (may exchange for Pro) that has optical in. I know the Topping E30ii will work, but I've been reading about skipping problems with the the E30ii. I'm looking for something inexpensive, but reliable. It'll be used in the living room to run powered stereo speakers.

The SMSL SU-6 and DO100 (my desktop dac) come to mind, but I'm trying to find something less expensive.

Michael

Can I ask why one needs a DAC with the Wiim? Is the DAC in the unit that terrible? Has anyone compared with and without external DAC in listening tests and or measurements?

 

[staticV3]

Is the DAC in the unit that terrible? Has anyone compared with and without external DAC in listening tests and or measurements?

it ain't great: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiim-mini-review-streamer.33099/

 

[WillBrink]

it ain't great: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiim-mini-review-streamer.33099/

Note some used better DACs and didn't hear audible differences. Worth trying I suppose, but depends on things like whether the rest of the system will pass along those minor differences, etc.

 

[Jim Shaw]

The internal DAC in the Mini (and supposedly the Pro) isn't terrible at all. Read Amir's review again with a positive attitude. It's plenty good enough for CD quality all day and can do better on higher res material. No, it isn't one of those doomsday 32bit/768k foo-foo DACS that high-end companies want to sell for $3000, but surely it's plenty good enough to be an order of magnitude better than your speakers. I'd try it out and see if you can live with it. A lot of stuff you stream may say UHD, or so, but it comes mostly from 16/48k files and 16/41k CDs. Some of their files are actually high res, but most of the material recorded before about 2005 or so was 16 or 24/48k in the studio. Music streaming services tend to say their files are "high res" because they upscale those files to something like 24/192k to justify charging you $20 a month for their service. (I have noticed that Amazon Music has been scaling back somewhat on doing this. Don't know if Tidal or Qobuz is.) There's little point to taking a 16/48k file and upscaling it to 24/192k, is there?
.....
In truth, I use 2 Minis. One feeds optical to a Modi3 because the Modi was already there. The other feeds the internal DAC inside a Denon PMA600NE, which is about the same quality as the Mini DAC. Again, the Denon was already sitting there with an available optical input.

I have tried the Mini analog out to the Denon analog input. Sounds fine. It's not better or worse than the Denon's internal DAC. The sound is a bit different, but I can't say one is "better." Just different.

Others here may think they have more golden ears; enjoy that fantasy.

PS: The Mini can't presently do better than 16/48k when playing to 2 or more systems at once. The Pro is expected to eliminate that issue in the future. You might, for that reason, prefer buying the Pro. But the feature is only promised, I think.

 

[Hartj85]

Was hoping someone could help.

I bought a setup for my dad and having a problem connecting the wiim mini to the atom dac+ and the tv. I bought a splitter but think I just need an optical switch maybe not a splitter to make that work?

So trying to connect speakers which are kef q150>aiyima07>atom dac+ and then split connection from there to the tv and wiim mini.

I bought this splitter but thinking that may not be what's needed.

https://a.co/d/hkDBKeM

Thanks for any help

 

[Jim Shaw]

Was hoping someone could help.

I bought a setup for my dad and having a problem connecting the wiim mini to the atom dac+ and the tv. I bought a splitter but think I just need an optical switch maybe not a splitter to make that work?

So trying to connect speakers which are kef q150>aiyima07>atom dac+ and then split connection from there to the tv and wiim mini.

I bought this splitter but thinking that may not be what's needed.

https://a.co/d/hkDBKeM

Thanks for any help

I assume that both connect individually (no splitter) and work properly, right? I have noticed that optical connections can easily get upset; I don't know why. After power interruptions or switching an optical source off and then back on -- sometimes I must cycle the DAC power or dis/reconnect the optical cable to get both devices properly communicating. In my case, it happens with two systems:
wifi>Mini>optical>Modi3, and
wifi>Mini>optical>Denon PMA600NE

I can't recommend a fix because I don't know one. But a switch might/might not be better...