WiiM Amp Ultra Streaming Amplifier

[MNMLSM]

Hello everyone, my name is Eugenio and this is the first time I’m writing here. Has anyone ever tried this amplifier with the KEF LS50 Meta speakers and could tell me if it’s enough to drive them? Thanks in advance.

Yes, currently using them with the Amp Ultra, power ist more than enough in my case. I use them in a nearfield setup.

 

[Bacchusoo7]

My wife has Apple everything and could care less about Airplay because we don't subscribe to Apple Music. If she wants to listen to her ripped CD collection, she uses LyrPlay. If she wants to listen to Amazon Music, she uses Alexa or the Amazon Music app via Alexacast. If she wants to listen to Spotify she uses Spotify Connect, Tidal she uses Tidal Connect, Quobuz etc. etc.

Really this only matters to folks married to the Apple Music streaming service.

Wait, so she needs six apps to listen to her music? Mine's all in one place: Apple Music. All my ripped CDs, all of my classical music, all of my subscribed music, all of the music I buy from Bandcamp all ends up in one place and I can use it on all of my devices. Honestly, the subscription component of Apple Music isn't that important to me, but I've been building this digital library for twenty-five years and it is sizable, I don't want to go bobbing around from app to app to app. I want my stuff and I want it to work.

It's all an ecosystem, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, etc. Each one has its corresponding streaming protocols (or they're borrowing someone else's) It shouldn't be a mystery why people who use one of these ecosystems is annoyed that theirs isn't included when a bunch of far less prevalent ones are. But, it is the choice of the manufacturer and one that may cost them sales, or not.

 

[antcollinet]

Wait, so she needs six apps to listen to her music? Mine's all in one place: Apple Music. All my ripped CDs, all of my classical music, all of my subscribed music, all of the music I buy from Bandcamp all ends up in one place and I can use it on all of my devices. Honestly, the subscription component of Apple Music isn't that important to me, but I've been building this digital library for twenty-five years and it is sizable, I don't want to go bobbing around from app to app to app. I want my stuff and I want it to work.

It's all an ecosystem, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, etc. Each one has its corresponding streaming protocols (or they're borrowing someone else's) It shouldn't be a mystery why people who use one of these ecosystems is annoyed that theirs isn't included when a bunch of far less prevalent ones are. But, it is the choice of the manufacturer and one that may cost them sales, or not.

Thing is - if you want to just airplay your music then why are you looking at this device at all. All you need is a simple airplay receiver (you can do it with a raspberry pi - or old ipad or iphone, and an amplifier.

 

[elmoe420]

Wait, so she needs six apps to listen to her music? Mine's all in one place: Apple Music. All my ripped CDs, all of my classical music, all of my subscribed music, all of the music I buy from Bandcamp all ends up in one place and I can use it on all of my devices. Honestly, the subscription component of Apple Music isn't that important to me, but I've been building this digital library for twenty-five years and it is sizable, I don't want to go bobbing around from app to app to app. I want my stuff and I want it to work.

It's all an ecosystem, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, etc. Each one has its corresponding streaming protocols (or they're borrowing someone else's) It shouldn't be a mystery why people who use one of these ecosystems is annoyed that theirs isn't included when a bunch of far less prevalent ones are. But, it is the choice of the manufacturer and one that may cost them sales, or not.

I listed six different music services that are alternatives to Apple Music you could use instead. Alternatively, buy a $40 WiiM Mini used off eBay and stick with Apple Music.

We use two, LMS for local files and Amazon Music for everything else. Works great with WiiM and all OSes.

 

[Bacchusoo7]

Thing is - if you want to just airplay your music then why are you looking at this device at all. All you need is a simple airplay receiver (you can do it with a raspberry pi - or old ipad or iphone, and an amplifier.

This was stated way above, but I have an NAD integrated amp I'm looking to replace and if this had AirPlay, it'd be perfect for me.

It's not the only thing I need, just a feature that's important to me. At the moment I have an Apple TV hooked up to that integrated amp and I can stream through that, but then the TV needs to be on which is not what I'd prefer. And, as I use the Apple TV as a video streaming device as well, I don't want to just run it headless.

 

[Bacchusoo7]

I listed six different music services that are alternatives to Apple Music you could use instead. Alternatively, buy a $40 WiiM Mini used off eBay and stick with Apple Music.

We use two, LMS for local files and Amazon Music for everything else. Works great with WiiM and all OSes.

That makes sense. Forgive my stupidity here, when you're out of the house how do you listen to LMS files?

I never needed a media server when they were a new thing, and now that I probably could use one I find myself a little out of my depth when I look into it. Not that it's beyond me, just that my time and attention is demanded elsewhere.

 

[obsessive9119]

That makes sense. Forgive my stupidity here, when you're out of the house how do you listen to LMS files?

I use tailscale to access my media server (which hosts music, video and audiobooks) when I’m not home. Actually, I use it even when I’m at home because it makes network config so easy.

 

[SoundMagic]

Currently I’m driving them with a Cambridge Audio CXA80, and at times they seem to need more power.

Get ready to get some surprises if you are used to CXA80. It is colored. I have tried CXA81 with LS50 Meta but ended up with a 200wpc Rotel RB-1582MkII for that oomph. Seriously, the bass improved on them and I won't even need a subwoofer in some instances.

 

[thirdeyeOMFG]

Get ready to get some surprises if you are used to CXA80. It is colored. I have tried CXA81 with LS50 Meta but ended up with a 200wpc Rotel RB-1582MkII for that oomph. Seriously, the bass improved on them and I won't even need a subwoofer in some instances.

I will be moving soon, and the hi-fi system will be placed in a larger room. I will definitely add a subwoofer, but I will also change the amplifier.

 

[somebodyelse]

That makes sense. Forgive my stupidity here, when you're out of the house how do you listen to LMS files?

Using a VPN that links my mobile devices and my home network. Some routers and NAS drives include an option for this, usually using WireGuard or OpenVPN.

 

[harkpabst]

Sonos cannot transmit AirPlay to another AirPlay receiver. What it can do is have a single Sonos product act as an AirPlay receiver then distribute that across the Sonos network (which is really a proprietary UPNP variant) that is not the same.

I don't own Sonos gear, that's how these folks report it occasionally and yes, it's wrong. However, redistributing a stream received through AirPlay to multiple devices using a different streaming protocol is - to the best of my knowledge - not possible on any other platform but Sonos. Feel free to correct me.

As you rightly point out WiiM do not license LDAC from Sony or AptX from Qualcomm both of which are equally as proprietary as AirPlay. They would need to license AAC from Via LA which while open source implementations exist requires patent licenses to actually bring a product to market. The SBC patents have all now expired but even when they were active you got a free license along with Bluetooth itself to encourage adoption.

As an actual vendor of WiiM products pointed out upthread not supporting these things *is* costing them sales.

I never said the lack of AirPlay support would help their sales, did I? Quite the contrary, I explicitly said that they didn't let AirPlay go on purpose, which you chose to question in a somewhat hair-splitting way.

How would you as a non Apple user know? Can you pick a audio or video and instantly cast it to any Airplay or multiple device in the network? Is that possible with Bluetooth?

Just because I'm currently not using Apple products in my private life doesn't mean I don't use Apple products, nor does it mean I never did. And even if I had no clue of Apple's ecosystem I could still make this judgement. Casting to multiple devices in the network is supported by may different multi-room solutions.

... but it’s having the effect of wildly exaggerating the importance of wireless playback for a device whose strengths are overwhelmingly about superb wired hi-fi performance.

Wired or Wi-Fi. Wireless is not just Bluetooth or AirPlay. As you said, nobody would use Bluetooth with a WiiM Amp Ultra, as long as network streaming is available.

 

[somebodyelse]

I don't own Sonos gear, that's how these folks report it occasionally and yes, it's wrong. However, redistributing a stream received through AirPlay to multiple devices using a different streaming protocol is - to the best of my knowledge - not possible on any other platform but Sonos. Feel free to correct me.

LMS using the Airplay Bridge plugin? PipeWire? I don't have any Apple devices so haven't tried them.

 

[chelgrian]

LMS using the Airplay Bridge plugin? PipeWire? I don't have any Apple devices so haven't tried them.

In terms of multi room systems that do not purely use Airplay or Google Home to achieve the only ones that really exist are:

- Sonos
- MusicCast
- Heos
- Linkplay

Sonos and Linkplay we know about, MusicCast is pretty much moribund which leaves Heos. From

Using Airplay 2 with HEOS Built-in stereo pairs, 5.1 setups and other multi-channel speaker configurations

support-eu.denon.com

It seems that it can do some bridging to achieve multichannel output between Heos speakers but leaves multi room to AirPlay’s own method.

Obviously different because it’s using an Apple end point but it’s possible to use a Mac as an AirPlay receiver then play the audio over anything which appears as a Core Audio driver including Dante and Ravenna virtual sound cards.

 

[somebodyelse]

In terms of multi room systems that do not purely use Airplay or Google Home to achieve the only ones that really exist are:

- Sonos
- MusicCast
- Heos
- Linkplay

Not sure what you're saying here as Roon, LMS and UPnP/DLNA are all multi-room and not purely Airplay or Google Home.

 

[mrick39]

Non technical people can use things like Spotify/Tidal/Quboz Connect or the Wiim app (or other app like BubbleUPNP) just fine. I guess if you use Apple music it has no other options, but you're signing up for that closed ecosystem experience with that.

It goes beyond "non technical" people. I actually prefer Apple Music (Apple Classical is a great app IMO) and so does my family. It's funny you're telling someone else what they're household members should be able to use "just fine". Get outside your bubble once in a while.

 

[harkpabst]

LMS using the Airplay Bridge plugin? PipeWire?

I don't know, I don't use either. Both are definitely not MFi certified hardware products, though.

 

[somebodyelse]

I don't know, I don't use either. Both are definitely not MFi certified hardware products, though.

Neither is Roon, but that also claims to interoperate with AirPlay.

 

[harkpabst]

Neither is Roon, but that also claims to interoperate with AirPlay.

At a first glance I don't see Room claiming that one incoming AirPlay stream could be distributed to multiple non-AirPlay receivers using their system. Or didn't I read thoroughly enough? I read this like you need a Mac or an iOS device to play to AirPlay 2 devices.

 

[somebodyelse]

At a first glance I don't see Room claiming that one incoming AirPlay stream could be distributed to multiple non-AirPlay receivers using their system. Or didn't I read thoroughly enough? I read this like you need a Mac or an iOS device to play to AirPlay 2 devices.

I don't know the ins and outs of AirPlay so could be missing the details. It does read a bit ambiguously, especially around AirPlay 2. As I understand it they're using reverse engineered AirPlay like the open source options, presumably limiting themselves to the parts that aren't still covered by patents unless they're getting the benefit of some patent deal between Apple and Samsung. The AirPlay 2 side has lagged on the open source side so maybe Roon don't have full coverage either.

 

[ZinMe]

I have four Wiim Amp Ultras for whole house audio duty via ceiling speakers. I was a Sonos Connect Amp user for 15 years prior, but even though they offered a 25% discount to upgrade to the newer Sonos Amp (as a way to make up for the lack of S2 upgradability of the Connect Amp), I went with the WiiM set-up. The sound quality is better (I tried against the latest Sonos Amp) and the ability to configure the EQ and add subwoofers were big selling points. The WiiM allowed me to better manage crossover with subs (I run a KEF T2 sub in one room and a REL 8 inch in another.) The mains are 8 inch B+W ceiling speakers. The sound is terrific. It does take experimentation to get everything tuned but it’s worth the effort. I find the software to be a little confusing for multi room when playing from a service like Spotify where the Spotify Connect app must be used (it’s not integrated into the WiiM app like Tidal.) But I mostly use Tidal so that isn’t a major issue.