WiiM Mini Streamer

[Music1969]

As mentioned in the WiiM threads here, they say they will support lossless HD/UHD casting, but if they do, it’ll be a world first in my and others’ experience.

I look at Bluesound. If they can't do it (UHD bit perfect casting) with higher priced products, I remain a bit 'on the fence' about whether WiiM can pull off what they've said.

I have to remain hopeful though because I want this feature.

 

[imral3]

For now, I put baby (Wiim) in the corner. I have my Fire HD 8 connected via USB to my DAC. This allows AMHD up to 24/192. When and if Wiim delivers AMHD streaming FLAC bit perfect, I'll let baby out of the corner.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

I look at Bluesound. If they can't do it (UHD bit perfect casting) with higher priced products, I remain a bit 'on the fence' about whether WiiM can pull off what they've said.

I have to remain hopeful though because I want this feature.

Currently, the WiiM can do bitperfect "casting" from the Tidal app via Tidal Connect at 16/44.1, which I use daily. They plan to add higher "resolution" in a future release. It can currently do bitperfect via UPnP up to 24/192, which I've tested from my LMS server using RME's test files. It can do Qobuz "hi-rez" inside the WiiM app, or via UPnP (from LMS and others).

Whether Amazon will allow "hi-rez" casting from the Amazon app or not is an open question. I have little doubt, though, that the Amazon UI inside the WiiM app will be capable of at least lossless 16/44.1 within a month, as most other streamers can do today.

 

[Brantome]

Whether Amazon will allow "hi-rez" casting from the Amazon app or not is an open question. I have little doubt, though, that the Amazon UI inside the WiiM app will be capable of at least lossless 16/44.1 within a month, as most other streamers can do today.

Which “most other streamers” do you refer to? In my experience, it’s a rather limited field e.g. Bluesound, Denon/Marantz/Heos, Yamaha, Amazon’s own fire tv devices and apps off the top of my head…

 

[Brantome]

Just asked WiiM about keeping their “What we’re working on” page up to date, mentioned their 4/30 target has slipped and wondered if their 5/15 target would be met. Here’s their response:

“ Thanks very much for your suggestions, we will discuss the new timeline for the release of new feature and improvements.
1. Regrading TIDAL MQA, we plan to release 24bits/48kHz with TIDAL in next week.
2. Regrading Amazon Music, we are developing it and plan to release it at the end of May.”

No mention of their 4/30 plans, and perhaps unsurprisingly, lossless Amazon Music is slipping again.

 

[Music1969]

Currently, the WiiM can do bitperfect "casting" from the Tidal app via Tidal Connect at 16/44.1, which I use daily. They plan to add higher "resolution" in a future release. It can currently do bitperfect via UPnP up to 24/192, which I've tested from my LMS server using RME's test files. It can do Qobuz "hi-rez" inside the WiiM app, or via UPnP (from LMS and others).

Tidal Connect is easy to do - the proof is the number of streamers that already have it and many more have it coming.

You can pay a small fee to Volumio to have it on an Rasp Pi4.

So the coming Tidal Connect update should be pretty straight forward for the WiiM Mini.

My interest in casting is to do away with 3rd party apps, so personally I have no interest in talking about anything inside the WiiM app. And any UPnP apps. The official Tidal app is so much better (to me) than any 3rd party app (even Roon which I have).

And my only interest is the Amazon UHD update (not Tidal) coming to the WiiM because the promise is basically a 'world first'.

 

[Brantome]

And my only interest is the Amazon UHD update (not Tidal) coming to the WiiM because the promise is basically a 'world first'.

The statement "When casting music playback to a device, the streaming quality settings on that device are respected" from the Amazon Music help page does hold out some hope - it's just that it's been hard to verify that from the devices that currently can be cast to.

Given that the WiiM Mini looks like a fully fledged echo in the Alexa app but does show bit depth and sample rate in the WiiM app (and hopefully bitrate too at some point in the future), we might have the chance to have that bold assertion proved.

 

[Music1969]

The statement "When casting music playback to a device, the streaming quality settings on that device are respected" from the Amazon Music help page does hold out some hope - it's just that it's been hard to verify that from the devices that currently can be cast to.

Given that the WiiM Mini looks like a fully fledged echo in the Alexa app but does show bit depth and sample rate in the WiiM app (and hopefully bitrate too at some point in the future), we might have the chance to have that bold assertion proved.

Only a few weeks to go until this firmware update. Exciting !

 

[morillon]

funny.
personally it will be a lot to know if not things to do in firmware to significantly improve the jitter that I will be interested me...
;-)

 

[Brantome]

funny.
personally it will be a lot to know if not things to do in firmware to significantly improve the jitter that I will be interested me...
;-)

Have you raised a ticket directly with WiiM to see if that's an issue they can address in firmware?

 

[morillon]

if I'm alone it won't do anything except to look like an idiot
;-))

 

[Music1969]

Just use the optical output.

Expecting so much from the analogue outputs might be expecting too much for this price and digital feature set.

 

[morillon]

the jitter is strong in toslink......
:-0

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

the jitter is strong in toslink......
:-0

Per @amirm's review, there's only one jitter component, which, at -120db, isn't audible. So, why worry about it?

Here's Archimago's test of the CCA, which has much more jitter than the WiiM. Quoting Archimago:

As you can see, there are some jitter sidebands in the 16-bit J-Test but it's the 24-bit J-Test that suggests this device is quite jittery compared to what I have seen in the past. In fact the strongest sidebands with the 24-bit J-Test had an amplitude about 95dB below the primary signal at 12kHz. This is one of the most "jittery" results I have seen. Nonetheless, realize that 95dB is still a very big number and this is not going to pose an issue despite claims by the most golden-eared audiophile!

 

[Brantome]

At times, I think we all get caught up in raw numbers and somewhat esoteric measurements and perhaps forget the aim is to listen and enjoy the music - if you can't hear or audibly discern these 'discrepancies', then indeed why worry about them...

I'm in my sixties and have other sorts of jitter to worry about

 

[Music1969]

the jitter is strong in toslink......
:-0

Jitter from digital output is not important.

What is important is jitter from a DAC's analogue output.

Just connect it to a DAC that has good jitter performance with optical input and there's nothing to worry about.

Like RME ADI-2

 

[Music1969]

Per @amirm's review, there's only one jitter component, which, at -120db, isn't audible. So, why worry about it?

Here's Archimago's test of the CCA, which has much more jitter than the WiiM. Quoting Archimago:

If @Archimago measured with his RME ADI-2 optical input, result would be very different (much better)

 

[morillon]

I do not understand the observations, the low readability of what is presented here on this subject, without jitter figures, "gigue"
for me , what I could observe, the jitter is very noticeably superior to a chromecast for example...
but yes, the treatment will be very different depending on the type or generation of dac.
but we are not in usb...
(
if others more credible than me want to dig the case I will be delighted
I have a kind of 50ps and 80ps of jitter)
;-)

WiiM Mini Streamer

I ll ask here as its about the Wiim .. Mine shipped today. I ll also get a pair of Wharfedale 11.1, have a Pair of Borea BR02 als alternative to test and even some other slightly smaller older speakers. But probably the Wharfedales will be used. It will be for music listening in the bedroom...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[thomasward00]

There is certainly a market for a say $200-$300 dollar streamer that is fully fleshed out without having to pay $600 bucks for a Bluesound Node.... I'll be buying units for all 3 of my systems so the Node option would get very expensive....

There has to be a middle ground between chinsy $99 and expensive $599 Node.

 

[thomasward00]

Just use the optical output.

Expecting so much from the analogue outputs might be expecting too much for this price and digital feature set.

Agree 100%, every user on this forum at this point already has multiple good DAC's, either External or Internal.... it's not worth it for a company to include yet another unneeded DAC, most folks that buy this already have decent equip.