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WiiM Mini Review (Streamer)

Rate this streamer:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 12 2.6%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 47 10.0%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 224 47.8%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 186 39.7%

  • Total voters
    469

Brantome

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It's even... BETTER than Echo Link or Echo Link Amp IMHO.
I’d agree if you’re talking bit perfect output, but the WiiM mini isn’t officially sanctioned yet as a preferred speaker in an alexa device group, nor does it provide line in redistribution that many buy the Echo Link/amp for. But I’d agree that I’d buy the WiiM over the Link when it comes to playback of Amazon Music’s hires tracks.
 

photodesignch

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Currently their implementation is faking an echo speaker. Seeing echo options in the wiim mini setup makes me laugh.. how is it possible to enable the “communication” and “adaptive listening”? If only they were true! I would be afraid my wiim mini is listening to everything happening in my house
 

photodesignch

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I’d agree if you’re talking bit perfect output, but the WiiM mini isn’t officially sanctioned yet as a preferred speaker in an alexa device group, nor does it provide line in redistribution that many buy the Echo Link/amp for. But I’d agree that I’d buy the WiiM over the Link when it comes to playback of Amazon Music’s hires tracks.
Well! Echo link was capped at 16bit 48kbps? (I forgot the exact) due to the constrain of either their OS or hardware. Which makes me wondering why did they even included the optical out? Plus there is another catch! It doesn’t have physical switch for sources. The software switch was just buggy and slow. I was switching between tv and streamer. It had a 2 second delay! They ruined me with echo link experience once for all.
 

Brantome

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Currently their implementation is faking an echo speaker. Seeing echo options in the wiim mini setup makes me laugh.. how is it possible to enable the “communication” and “adaptive listening”? If only they were true! I would be afraid my wiim mini is listening to everything happening in my house
I think that rather misses the point and denigrates what WiiM have achieved in implementing the Mini as an Alexa wireless speaker - it's not "faking an echo", but implementing a device compliant with the Alexa MRM environment as outlined in this Amazon developer blog entry. It's not meant to be a echo as the tiny mic it has is only used for WiiM's own multiroom/ Airplay implementation, so it isn't "listening to everything happening in my house", nor does it have its own speaker as a real echo does...
 

Brantome

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Well! Echo link was capped at 16bit 48kbps? (I forgot the exact) due to the constrain of either their OS or hardware. Which makes me wondering why did they even included the optical out? Plus there is another catch! It doesn’t have physical switch for sources. The software switch was just buggy and slow. I was switching between tv and streamer. It had a 2 second delay! They ruined me with echo link experience once for all.
I'd agree the Echo Link/Amp were strange products in the Echo range - I think it was Amazon's attempt to allow you to feed the output of an echo into your home hifi at a better quality than a bog standard echo could. When it was released, Amazon only had their lossy music catalogue (Amazon Music HD hadn't been released) so 16/48 output from the Link was adequate. It didn't even have line in redistribution for at least a year after it was released (it still doesn't do that outside the USA), so in some ways it looked like a product looking for a reason to exist.

In some ways, the WiiM includes features that should be in Amazon's own echo hardware e.g. the optical out and ability to support UHD up to 24/192. Maybe Amazon will release such a device, or at least an updated Echo Link, at their annual September Devices event now that WiiM have led the way with such a cheap device
 

Jim Shaw

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Do you definitely have the new Mini’s output set to 24/192? I’m not sure the iPad route would have been bit perfect tbh - from recollection, it would have played everything at the max resolution it thought the DAC supported. I would have expected the WiiM‘s bit perfect output to be better.

And re Amazon Music, there are just three variants: Amazon Music Free, Amazon Music Prime and Amazon Music Unlimited. The last one is the lossless one with up to 90m HD and UHD tracks, while the first two offer lossy tracks.
Thanks for this. I need to figure out what/where the WiiM settings are. After my posts, I noted that it is sending data to the DACs at 16/48, however, the DACs are both at least capable of 24/96 (24/192 for the Modi). In what menu do I set this manually?

Yes, the iPad has been sending the Modi USB data at 24/192. Frankly, I am surprised I could hear the 16/48 difference so clearly.

I have Amazon Unlimited. Over the past couple of years, Amazon has changed the names, thus my confusion. But I find the Amazon library and selection scheme to be adequate for my chore. Sadly, they seem to lack audiophile snob appeal. ;)
 

Brantome

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Thanks for this. I need to figure out what/where the WiiM settings are. After my posts, I noted that it is sending data to the DACs at 16/48, however, the DACs are both at least capable of 24/96 (24/192 for the Modi). In what menu do I set this manually?
In the WiiM app main page, choose Device, then the cog icon at the end of the volume row for your device. Then choose Audio Settings and SPDIF Output Resolution, also toggling Fixed volume output on
 

Ralph_Cramden

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I think Jitter is pretty high.
All the pulse transitions in the datastream should overlay one another to produce an image of a wide-open "eye," with just one trace visible. This was the case with the Mini (fig.12) with the original 44.1kHz data plotted over one "unit cycle." The eye is wide open, with no blurring of the leading and trailing edges. The average jitter level, assessed with a 50Hz–100kHz bandwidth, was a relatively low 729.7 picoseconds, though with typical music recordings it averaged 1.6 nanoseconds.

 

Ralph_Cramden

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From the source you forwarded:

“The average jitter level, assessed with a 50Hz–100kHz bandwidth, was a relatively low 729.7 picoseconds, though with typical music recordings it averaged 1.6 nanoseconds.”

This is horrible. I believed Ifi stream is around 175 ps.
How does “relatively low” equal “horrible”? With an RME DAC, it is irrelevant anyway.
 

Jim Shaw

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In the WiiM app main page, choose Device, then the cog icon at the end of the volume row for your device. Then choose Audio Settings and SPDIF Output Resolution, also toggling Fixed volume output on
I tried this and made the changes. But it will only allow me to change audio settings for the first WiiM device (the bedroom). I set it to 24/96 and the test tone appeared on both. And I set the volume to 'fixed.' I also changed Amazon Music to "Best Available." Interestingly, when I play A-M-U on my phone, it offers UltraHD (where the album has it). But on the WiiM, I still get just 16/48 (as shown below the music playing on the WiiM app).

It's not just disappointment in the settings. I can hear that the stream is lacking in audio quality. I want the whole lollipop, not just the stick. ;)

Software just baffles me. Near-infinite possibilities; near-infinite things to go wrong. <grumble, gritch>
 

Brantome

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I tried this and made the changes. But it will only allow me to change audio settings for the first WiiM device (the bedroom). I set it to 24/96 and the test tone appeared on both. And I set the volume to 'fixed.' I also changed Amazon Music to "Best Available." Interestingly, when I play A-M-U on my phone, it offers UltraHD (where the album has it). But on the WiiM, I still get just 16/48 (as shown below the music playing on the WiiM app).

It's not just disappointment in the settings. I can hear that the stream is lacking in audio quality. I want the whole lollipop, not just the stick. ;)

Software just baffles me. Near-infinite possibilities; near-infinite things to go wrong. <grumble, gritch>
Are you casting from the Amazon Music app? That doesn't support lossless Amazon Music Unlimited yet in the publicly available firmware (hopefully it will soon, I've been using it in the beta firmware for a while), but it does support up to 24/192 if you use the WiiM app (select Amazon Music from the WiiM app main screen and make your selection from there)
 
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Jim Shaw

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Are you casting from the Amazon Music app? That doesn't support lossless Amazon Music Unlimited yet in the publicly available firmware (hopefully it will soon, I've been using it in the beta firmware for a while), but it does support up to 24/192 if you use the WiiM app (select Amazon Music from the WiiM app main screen and make your selection from there)
With the WiiM, I'm casting from the WiiM app on Android. But on the old iPad/USB/DAC solution, I was streaming on the Amazon app.
 

Brantome

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With the WiiM, I'm casting from the WiiM app on Android. But on the old iPad/USB/DAC solution, I was streaming on the Amazon app.
Sorry, forgot there was another switch to toggle - select Amazon Music from the WiiM app main browse page, then scroll to the bottom to the Settings tile and toggle on “Amazon Music HD/UHD Beta”
 

Jim Shaw

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Sorry, forgot there was another switch to toggle - select Amazon Music from the WiiM app main browse page, then scroll to the bottom to the Settings tile and toggle on “Amazon Music HD/UHD Beta”
Voila! New joy! Thanks so much for your help. WiiM app now says: 24 bit, 96 kHz which is what I asked for. And I must say the music sounds a lot better.
Gratzi, gratzi, gratzi. :)
 

Jim Shaw

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Voila! New joy! Thanks so much for your help. WiiM app now says: 24 bit, 96 kHz which is what I asked for. And I must say the music sounds a lot better.
Gratzi, gratzi, gratzi. :)
Oops. Not to be one of those guys, but I still seem to have a glitch. It seems strange. After making the new settings you kindly provided, when I play Amazon Unlimited on either WiiM alone, an UltraHD album seems to play at 24/96, BUT IF I play both WiiMs with the same album synced, it won't go above 16/48. I'm not at all sure what's going on with that.

I'm quite willing to live with it for a while, but I'd like to solve it, eventually. My WiFi is typically 30 MHz down, 3 MHz up, 5 GHz. Nothing else but the WiiM app is crowding that when this happens.

Thanks again for your help.
 

DeepSpace57

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How does “relatively low” equal “horrible”? With an RME DAC, it is irrelevant anyway.
Relatively low does not mean ‘much lower than many out there’. It is obvious that wiim mini is really bad at battling with Jitter.

Graphs show IFI streamer 4 times better considering the jitter performance.
 

Brantome

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Oops. Not to be one of those guys, but I still seem to have a glitch. It seems strange. After making the new settings you kindly provided, when I play Amazon Unlimited on either WiiM alone, an UltraHD album seems to play at 24/96, BUT IF I play both WiiMs with the same album synced, it won't go above 16/48. I'm not at all sure what's going on with that.

I'm quite willing to live with it for a while, but I'd like to solve it, eventually. My WiFi is typically 30 MHz down, 3 MHz up, 5 GHz. Nothing else but the WiiM app is crowding that when this happens.

Thanks again for your help.
I’ve a feeling that might be a limitation of the WiiM Mini itself - I think it uses Airplay 2 for its multi room and that can’t go beyond 16/48. Best asking WiiM directly about that - use the settings/feedback page in their app
 

Ralph_Cramden

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Relatively low does not mean ‘much lower than many out there’. It is obvious that wiim mini is really bad at battling with Jitter.

Graphs show IFI streamer 4 times better considering the jitter performance.
Again, with a proper DAC, like an RME, it’s utterly irrelevant.
 
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