WiiM Mini Review (Streamer)

[AndyLewis]

Can't see it's got tone controls. You could always use high level output type sub like my cheapo Mivoc G10 which has such. Feed the spkr wires from the amp into the sub per channel & then back out again from the sub outputs. Works great.
I suppose the filters on the E30/E50 work as tone controls to a certain extent. I always find old analogue amps Pioneer, JVC usually sound best on direct setting anyway. Certainly don't miss them on my Audiolab 6000a either!

PS - You can always just pop an equalizer between the DAC & amp of course!!

 

[mhecimovic]

Must admit I'm tempted with the same setup and have 3 WiiMs but with different speakers. Also considering their E30 DAC (because I have one) with RCA to TRS leads ... how do you find it overall?

The one things that make me hesitate has the PA5 got bass / treble control or are they set and there's no Sub out of you went with smaller speakers.

I Like it very much! When WiiM will introduce 10 bands equalizer it will be even better! If you pair it with sensitive speakers, you can get very powerful system! Sound is very detailed, bass is soft and punching! What I don’t like is no remote control for PA5 and this manual on/off power switch!

 

[AndyLewis]

Yes that would sort your problem! The existing eq options aren't bad though. For 105€ ish it's a great little item. Was looking at the Audiolab streamer but at 500€ plus a fancy box & for what seems the same operating system I bought the E50 instead.

 

[Witterings]

Conclusions
Personally I can't recommend the WiiM Mini due to lack of support for Roon player. That aside, it is great to see bit exact digital output in a budget streamer allowing you to improve its performance to any level you want using your own DAC.

This summary stuck in my mind for a while and I've meant to look up the number of subscribers for a while (but have been buried with work) ... especially as a lot of people picked up on and commented at the time.

Roon globally has 100,000 subscribers in a world of 7.9Bn people ... Spotify has 182 million subscribers .... how does the "lack of support for Roon player" when it's such a miniscule proportion of the market have any bearing on whether it's a decent product and should warrant recommendation or not?

Surely an "independant" review should remove personal preference and be subjective to how the good the product itself is taking into account what the majority of it's userbase may want as opposed to what a drop in the ocean may prefer?

 

[Jeromeof]

I would agree, while @amirm is absolitely entitled to his opinions, and mostly they have been very balanced and fair. I think in this case, the lack of support for a premium service that most of the world (outside of the audiophile industry) really do not care about seemed very harsh. To me its the total contrast with the recent reviews of cheap RCA cables which I thought was great, as that review highlighted the fact that you do not need to pay "premium" for an good sounding product. The WiiM guys should not have to licence a premium service that is not generally used to be classed as a good product when they technically provide all the required specifications).

 

[AndyLewis]

Yes it seems an unusual judgement to make but what the hell the guy does a great job overall. I suppose the equiv for RCA cables would be he can't recommend them as he uses all balanced connections.... that's why it seems a bit out of place. For 105€ it's 5 stars from me...

 

[nothingman]

Totally agree. It’s a five star product at its price point and knocking it for not having a niche service is a little strange. Forget Roon, forget analog in (who’s using it?), and even ask yourself you’re going to use analog out. I would guess that for the majority of WiiM Mini customers it’s all about having a super cheap and easy bit-perfect streamer with support for the latest services and connectivity, and on that it delivers.

 

[sfdoddsy]

Not to mention it works just fine for me with Roon via Airplay.

 

[morillon]

an amazing thing...
explains little to me...
I'm in toslink...96k24bits...via dac , level fixed in analog...eq "off"

if I modify the equalization with the options .. I find myself at a much higher level!!! not a bit with just boost effects etc
even in "flat"! (what is the meaning of flat??)
????

explications?
what is behind this observation?
What is the difference between no eq and flat?
:-0

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

I've just noticed that Roon supports Sonos, including the older Sonos devices that don't have Airplay. Guess what? Roon uses UPnP for this. Roon necessarily, then, supports UPnP, which they swore never to support. Hmmmmm... They could easily support the WiiM Mini via UPnP, at up to 24/192, just like LMS can/does, even if WiiM doesn't add native Roon support.

 

[Jpdelaney.tml]

My first taste of CD quality streaming from Qobuz. Show FLAC file playing at 16 Bit, 44.1 Khz. Please tell me this is true ASR people! See screen capture.

 

[morillon]

since the last wiim app.. i also have funny things.. like i listen to internet radio and it also tells me deezer (but it's not wrong.. not flac)
here probably good flac cd...qoobuz
;-)
you have also deezer in your phone?

 

[Jpdelaney.tml]

since the last wiim app.. i also have funny things.. like i listen to internet radio and it also tells me deezer (but it's not wrong.. not flac)
here probably good flac cd...qoobuz
;-)
you have also deezer in your phone?

yes, only so I could finally hear a FLAC file through my external DAC from the MINI. Waiting for Amazon like the rest! That is if it is really a FLAC file playing. So many mysteries right now.

 

[Jpdelaney.tml]

yes, only so I could finally hear a FLAC file through my external DAC from the MINI. Waiting for Amazon like the rest! That is if it is really a FLAC file playing. So many mysteries right now.

I am also confused today, as you can see this is my "Deezer" subscription playing not Qobuz. No Qobuz in Canada. Same question, is this CD quality from the Mini?

 

[morillon]

hehe
what a happy mess...
(corresponds to problems for me just since the last app.. but the last firmware, a day before, had been a blessing for me.. )

 

[Jpdelaney.tml]

Update today no AM HD/UHD listed. Missed the screen shot. Looks same old same old.

 

[Jpdelaney.tml]

Am app ..

 

[Brantome]

Update today no AM HD/UHD listed. Missed the screen shot. Looks same old same old.

4.6.417855
(Latest)
Release date:
5 / 23 / 2022
This update involves the following:

• New feature - New music service: Sound Machine (Works with the latest app that will be updated in a few days)
• New feature – Bit perfect AirPlay 2
• Fixed – Small gap for Qobuz hi-res and Amazon music with WiiM Home App
• Fixed - WiFi disconnection when the device is idle for a day on certain routers
• Fixed - Random no sound issue when casting music from Amazon Music App to WiiM Mini

Specs - WiiM Mini - WiiM

wiimhome.com

Still waiting on a response to my request to be added to the whitelist to test AMHD

 

[nothingman]

Gotta hand it to @WiiM Support they are releasing these fixes and new features in rapid succession. Really nice to see them put so much effort into making this little streamer the best it can be as quickly as they can.

 

[Smartplug]

4.6.417855
(Latest)
Release date:
5 / 23 / 2022
This update involves the following:

• New feature - New music service: Sound Machine (Works with the latest app that will be updated in a few days)
• New feature – Bit perfect AirPlay 2
• Fixed – Small gap for Qobuz hi-res and Amazon music with WiiM Home App
• Fixed - WiFi disconnection when the device is idle for a day on certain routers
• Fixed - Random no sound issue when casting music from Amazon Music App to WiiM Mini

Specs - WiiM Mini - WiiM

wiimhome.com

Still waiting on a response to my request to be added to the whitelist to test AMHD

I answered back to them to be included. I was asked if I want to be whitelisted and reply to them. I haven’t got any answer yet.