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Dear experts,Which plan offers the best sound quality

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ABC666

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Dear experts, I need some advice. Which plan offers the best sound quality? Given that wireless connections are predominant, what kind of interfaces should be used between the intermediate devices and the speakers? Greatly appreciated !
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Welcome to ASR!

My thoughts on this:
  • A: WiiM Pro Plus is a very good device, but it doesn't have USB input for connecting to a PC, nor HDMI input for connecting to a TV. You need to decide if optical+analog in will be enough for you.
  • B: WiiM Amp is not a good choice because it doesn't have a line output and Kali IN-8 already have a built in amplifier (they are powered loudspeakers). WiiM Amp is meant to be used with passive loudspeakers.
  • C: SMSL DO100 Pro is a very good option for sure, if you don't need other types of wireless streaming apart from BT.
  • D: Kali MV-BT doesn't perform very well objectively, and is lacking in connectivity. It wouldn't be my choice.
Perhaps another alternative might be the upcoming WiiM Ultra. It will have HDMI ARC input (which should simplify connection to a TV), and a host of other functions. However to connect it to a PC you might still need to use the optical input as I'm not sure if the WiiM Ultra USB-A port can be used for this purpose (you'd need to doublecheck this).

EDIT: Perhaps it is also worth mentioning that any well-engineered option should give you exactly the same sound quality. You may also be thinking whether to use RCA (single-ended) or XLR/TRS (balanced connections) - if there is no increase in audible noise/hum when using RCA (i.e. a "ground loop"), both will give the same sound quality and either should therefore be fine. Balanced connection should be much more resistant to ground loops, and noise (in case of very long cable runs).
 
Last edited:
dominikz said:
Welcome to ASR!

My thoughts on this:
  • A: WiiM Pro Plus is a very good device, but it doesn't have USB input for connecting to a PC, nor HDMI input for connecting to a TV. You need to decide if optical+analog in will be enough for you.
  • B: WiiM Amp is not a good choice because it doesn't have a line output and Kali IN-8 already have a built in amplifier (they are powered loudspeakers). WiiM Amp is meant to be used with passive loudspeakers.
  • C: SMSL DO100 Pro is a very good option for sure, if you don't need other types of wireless streaming apart from BT.
  • D: Kali MV-BT doesn't perform very well objectively, and is lacking in connectivity. It wouldn't be my choice.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your detailed response! I have a question: With the same phone source and the same speaker output, which provides better sound quality, Wi-Fi or BT?
 
ABC666 said:
I have a question: With the same phone source and the same speaker output, which provides better sound quality, Wi-Fi or BT?
Click to expand...
Actually, sound quality will not depend on the transport used (BT vs WiFi) but on the codec running on top of it.
The codec used may depend on the transmitting/receiving device capabilities as well as on the audio streaming service and subscription you are using.
However, do note that BT didn't support lossless audio until recently, so a lot of BT-enabled devices might still not support it. From that perspective streaming based on WiFi MIGHT be a safer option.
Unfortunately I don't believe there's a simple and straightforward answer to your question.
 
ABC666 said:
Doesn't the Wiim Pro Plus rely on AirPlay (Wi-Fi) to transmit audio?
Click to expand...
WiiM Pro Plus seems to support AirPlay 2, yes.
AirPlay 2 itself can be lossy or lossless, as far as I understand, so I'm not sure there's any guarantee it will perform much different to BT. This would require a deeper analysis of the various protocols and codecs in either option.
 
dominikz said:
Actually, sound quality will not depend on the transport used (BT vs WiFi) but on the codec running on top of it.
The codec used may depend on the transmitting/receiving device capabilities as well as on the audio streaming service and subscription you are using.
However, do note that BT didn't support lossless audio until recently, so a lot of BT-enabled devices might still not support it. From that perspective streaming based on WiFi MIGHT be a safer option.
Unfortunately I don't believe there's a simple and straightforward answer to your question.
Click to expand...
Assuming the same music (lossy audio), played from the same phone, through the same speaker, using the Wiim Pro Plus, which would provide better sound quality: AirPlay 2 or BT? I've always wanted to know the answer to this. Deeply grateful once again
 
ABC666 said:
Assuming the same music (lossy audio), played from the same phone, through the same speaker, using the Wiim Pro Plus, which would provide better sound quality: AirPlay 2 or BT? I've always wanted to know the answer to this. Deeply grateful once again
Click to expand...
Again, in my opinion there's no way to be certain, at least not without much more information; or without performing measurements on the specific combination of equipment you're interested in. But given that you're anyway streaming lossy audio, honestly I wouldn't be that much concerned about it.
If it was me, I'd probably just use AirPlay for the convenience.

Lastly, the audio stream being lossy doesn't mean it equals to bad perceived sound quality.
Many people won't perceive *any* audible difference between well-encoded, high-bitrate lossy audio compared to lossless.
I personally have absolutely no reservations about enjoying lossy audio. :)
 
ABC666 said:
Doesn't the Wiim Pro Plus rely on AirPlay (Wi-Fi) to transmit audio?
Click to expand...
??

Your original post, below, asks "what interface to use between the intermediate devices and the speakers?" I was talking to that question. ALL the intermediate devices need direct wire connections to the speakers. The interface is wire, with matching connectors.
ABC666 said:
Dear experts, I need some advice. Which plan offers the best sound quality? Given that wireless connections are predominant, what kind of interfaces should be used between the intermediate devices and the speakers? Greatly appreciated !
View attachment 382494
Click to expand...
But now you are talking about the wireless comms between source and intermediate device, eg BT, AirPlay.

If the wireless tech can handle the lossy audio, then it doesn't matter which one for sound quality.
 
dominikz said:
Again, in my opinion there's no way to be certain, at least not without much more information; or without performing measurements on the specific combination of equipment you're interested in. But given that you're anyway streaming lossy audio, honestly I wouldn't be that much concerned about it.
If it was me, I'd probably just use AirPlay for the convenience.

Lastly, the audio stream being lossy doesn't mean it equals to bad perceived sound quality.
Many people won't perceive *any* audible difference between well-encoded, high-bitrate lossy audio compared to lossless.
I personally have absolutely no reservations about enjoying lossy audio. :)
Click to expand...
Thank you, and I really appreciate your response. Personally, I am also not opposed to lossy music. The improvement with lossless music would come at a higher cost.
 
Newman said:
??

Your original post, below, asks "what interface to use between the intermediate devices and the speakers?" I was talking to that question. ALL the intermediate devices need direct wire connections to the speakers. The interface is wire, with matching connectors.

But now you are talking about the wireless comms between source and intermediate device, eg BT, AirPlay.

If the wireless tech can handle the lossy audio, then it doesn't matter which one for sound quality.
Click to expand...
The question is : Which connection interface would you recommend for the decoder and speaker? The In8 supports TRS, XLR, and RCA, the Wiim Pro Plus only has RCA, and the SMSL DO100 Pro offers a wider range of options.
BT and AirPlay refer to connecting the decoder to the phone.
 
Personally I would go to the WiiM Pro Plus: you can connect it by Air Play 2 and is totally stable with the iphone. It supports barely all apps, at least I tried Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz…

You also have an onboard equalizer (10 bands parametric), and the app is nice with lots of radio stations and your preferred streaming services intergrated.

Unfortunately you don’t have hdmi input, given that your 10% of listening will be on TV you can do:

1- spend 150€ more and go to WiiM Ultra (my option, is still under Air Play certification but it has its own Wifi network compatible with almost anything).

2- go to a cheap hdmi to line out DAC, within 30 or 40€ you cam find it on Amazon: quality is not high end but do the job.

 
Miguelón said:
Personally I would go to the WiiM Pro Plus: you can connect it by Air Play 2 and is totally stable with the iphone. It supports barely all apps, at least I tried Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz…

You also have an onboard equalizer (10 bands parametric), and the app is nice with lots of radio stations and your preferred streaming services intergrated.
Click to expand...
Why is the sound particularly low, almost inaudible, when connecting Wiim Pro Plus to an iPhone via WiFi, and then connecting Plus RCA to Kali In8, even though both the phone and Plus are at maximum volume?
 
ABC666 said:
Why is the sound particularly low, almost inaudible, when connecting Wiim Pro Plus to an iPhone via WiFi, and then connecting Plus RCA to Kali In8, even though both the phone and Plus are at maximum volume?
Click to expand...
Compared to XLR usual audio interfaces which provide a peak of 4 volts per channel, RCA on WiiM is about 2 volts. The difference is 6 dBu, so you can adjust your Kali input gain.

No way to change that, RCA outputs are usually 6 dB lower than XLR equivalent because halved voltage. But the Kali has an RCA input so surely the company took this into account on gain adjustments
 
Miguelón said:
Compared to XLR usual audio interfaces which provide a peak of 4 volts per channel, RCA on WiiM is about 2 volts. The difference is 6 dBu, so you can adjust your Kali input gain.

No way to change that, RCA outputs are usually 6 dB lower than XLR equivalent because halved voltage. But the Kali has an RCA input so surely the company took this into account on gain adjustments
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your answer
back.jpg
 
Regarding streaming: I suggest using a device allowing Spotify Connect or Tidal Connect (or even Roon, if you are using that).

This way your mobile phone just serves as a controller for the streaming software - the audio is directly retrieved by the streamer. Should be ideally transparent, I.e. without any losses.

I am personally using a WiiM mini with Tidal connect. Perfect sound, horrible interface, as Tidal Connect does not synchronize any more after a few songs...

I personally would not use any Bluetooth music transmission as there may be resampling with unknown quality done by your mobile phone and Bluetooth codec compression artifacts.
 
dominikz said:
Welcome to ASR!

My thoughts on this:
  • A: WiiM Pro Plus is a very good device, but it doesn't have USB input for connecting to a PC, nor HDMI input for connecting to a TV. You need to decide if optical+analog in will be enough for you.
  • B: WiiM Amp is not a good choice because it doesn't have a line output and Kali IN-8 already have a built in amplifier (they are powered loudspeakers). WiiM Amp is meant to be used with passive loudspeakers.
  • C: SMSL DO100 Pro is a very good option for sure, if you don't need other types of wireless streaming apart from BT.
  • D: Kali MV-BT doesn't perform very well objectively, and is lacking in connectivity. It wouldn't be my choice.
Perhaps another alternative might be the upcoming WiiM Ultra. It will have HDMI ARC input (which should simplify connection to a TV), and a host of other functions. However to connect it to a PC you might still need to use the optical input as I'm not sure if the WiiM Ultra USB-A port can be used for this purpose (you'd need to doublecheck this).

EDIT: Perhaps it is also worth mentioning that any well-engineered option should give you exactly the same sound quality. You may also be thinking whether to use RCA (single-ended) or XLR/TRS (balanced connections) - if there is no increase in audible noise/hum when using RCA (i.e. a "ground loop"), both will give the same sound quality and either should therefore be fine. Balanced connection should be much more resistant to ground loops, and noise (in case of very long cable runs).
Click to expand...
I bought SMSL DO100 Pro and Wiim Pro Plus, and connected them via WIFI or Bluetooth. How can I measure the sound quality difference between the two very well
 
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