WiiM Mini Streamer

[DeepSpace57]

I have listened many songs between cd and high resolution on quoboz but no wow factor on high resolution. In fact, cd quality on quoboz much more pleasing to my ear.

I have the same experience. Someone said the provided cable was not enough to provide the bandwidth to 24/196 high files. He claims Replacement solved the issue, but I am not sure at all of the truth of his words.

 

[onlyoneme]

I have the same experience. Someone said the provided cable was not enough to provide the bandwidth to 24/196 high files. He claims Replacement solved the issue, but I am not sure at all of the truth of his words.

Possible. When bandwidth issues appear you can get no sound at all, or easily hearable clicks and cracks, or quite subtle interface jitter effects. Unfortunately plenty of DACs will not inform about locking issues or parity errors or the ones related to bi-phase mark, which can affect audio quality.

 

[andresdelnorteh]

It's Deezer's problem, not Wiim's. Ask Deezer to fix the API. Wiim can only work with the API given to them by Deezer.

It is Wiim's problem because their product doesn't work with Deezer's new API. What do you suggest? Deezer roll back their API just so it works with this one product on the market?

 

[trevor_bartram]

Has anyone had success controlling the Wiim Mini from a Chromebook? What was the secret to your success? I could find nothing regarding this online.

All of my Chromebooks inc a brand new one purchased today are not hardware compatible with the Google Play Store Android download.

 

[Witterings]

I've been through hoops and back a bit recently trying to upgrade my systems in a couple of rooms and my biggest issue with what I've bought was thinking how brash and harsh some of them have been (all exclusively tested with a WiiM) so have lost quite a lot of money, buying and the selling things and at a later stage paying return postage, thinking I was buying a decent level equipment that didn't sound so great when you tried it.

It coincided with me also getting fed up with having to switch off UltraHD on each device everytime I wanted to use multiroom stereo so I decided to start using my Echo Dots for multiroom again as they offer the same quality as the WiiM with UltraHD switched off and I could just select them whenever I wanted multiroom and save the Wiim / UltraHD for "critical listening".

I genuinely believe the WiiM's create a harsh / bright sound that very quickly becomes hard on the ears and with an elevated song is an absolute killer but also their lower range is muddy compared to just using a wired Echo Dot, I would say the WiiM possibly gives a smidge more clarity / seperation but at a serious expense to the overall sound.

I was initally using a Topping E30 DAC with the WiiM which is reasonably regarded, I then switched to using the onboard DAC on an Arcam SA30 which took the edge away a bit.

I also wanted to test the digital inputs vs analogue inputs on the Arcam just to be fair so did a back to back comparison with one of my Chromecast Audios into a digital input, this complteley blew the WiiM out of the water .... no elevated highs or muddy lows, just clarity of music.

I am actually kicking myself, I shouldn't have put so much faith in these and just tested one product vs another thinking this source was the ultimate, I should have tested the products with other sources instead and would have seen the shortcomings of these a long time ago and probably saved myself at least £1500.

Worst part of this that made me realise they're not what they're meant to be, I had a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300's on trial and when I thought they sounded bright / harsh (which I now know is introduced by the WiiM), I tried adjusting the EQ only to find they then sounded an awful lot worse and were definitely going back.

It was after I'd reluctantly packed them up and commited to an £80 fee to return them I discovered threads saying the EQ creates distortion.

I'm sitting here typing this listening to music through one of my Chromecast Audios and it's the best I've heard music sound for many months in comparison to using Wiims

I posted quite a while back I thought these are toys and anybody who's bought one are just testers for them, now I just think they're toys.

I know this won't go down well with some but honestly, go compare with other sources before jumping on me.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Has anyone had success controlling the Wiim Mini from a Chromebook? What was the secret to your success? I could find nothing regarding this online.

All of my Chromebooks inc a brand new one purchased today are not hardware compatible with the Google Play Store Android download.

Still working fine on my Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet after just updating the OS. However, updated the HP Chromebook, and it replaced the WiiM app with "Legacy Player". While the legacy app works for playing, it's missing a lot of config features. It crashed several times until I was able to get it set to "Phone" mode - won't work in fullscreen or "Tablet" mode - but finally working fine. Search Playstore for WiiM, it should show the Legacy Player.

 

[Merifon]

I know this won't go down well with some but honestly, go compare with other sources before jumping on me

For what it may serve, I have to report a different experience. The comparisons I made some time ago were between a wired echo show, a denon cd player coaxed to an SMSL DO100 dac and the Wiim via toslink to the same DAC.
I compared songs I had on CD and the non-MQA and possibly non-remastered TIDAL versions, in order to have the closest possible correspondence between the editions.
My impression were a little closed sound and not so low extended on wired echo, whilst cd and Tidal's were substantially equal. The only difference easily foundable was among cd player analog output and the dac, in little favor of the second.
I have nothing to complain about wiim results, maybe the time to change my vintage Nad has just come.

 

[trevor_bartram]

Still working fine on my Lenovo 10e Chromebook Tablet after just updating the OS. However, updated the HP Chromebook, and it replaced the WiiM app with "Legacy Player". While the legacy app works for playing, it's missing a lot of config features. It crashed several times until I was able to get it set to "Phone" mode - won't work in fullscreen or "Tablet" mode - but finally working fine. Search Playstore for WiiM, it should show the Legacy Player.

Legacy app ran on my Chromebook 3 but I hav'nt bought a Wiim Mini yet so can't test the app. It definitely slows the Chromebook, pointer movement is slow.

What's your opinion of the Legacy app for streaming major sites (Amazon Music HD, Tidal etc)?

 

[onlyoneme]

I've been through hoops and back a bit recently trying to upgrade my systems in a couple of rooms and my biggest issue with what I've bought was thinking how brash and harsh some of them have been (all exclusively tested with a WiiM) so have lost quite a lot of money, buying and the selling things and at a later stage paying return postage, thinking I was buying a decent level equipment that didn't sound so great when you tried it.

It coincided with me also getting fed up with having to switch off UltraHD on each device everytime I wanted to use multiroom stereo so I decided to start using my Echo Dots for multiroom again as they offer the same quality as the WiiM with UltraHD switched off and I could just select them whenever I wanted multiroom and save the Wiim / UltraHD for "critical listening".

I genuinely believe the WiiM's create a harsh / bright sound that very quickly becomes hard on the ears and with an elevated song is an absolute killer but also their lower range is muddy compared to just using a wired Echo Dot, I would say the WiiM possibly gives a smidge more clarity / seperation but at a serious expense to the overall sound.

I was initally using a Topping E30 DAC with the WiiM which is reasonably regarded, I then switched to using the onboard DAC on an Arcam SA30 which took the edge away a bit.

I also wanted to test the digital inputs vs analogue inputs on the Arcam just to be fair so did a back to back comparison with one of my Chromecast Audios into a digital input, this complteley blew the WiiM out of the water .... no elevated highs or muddy lows, just clarity of music.

I am actually kicking myself, I shouldn't have put so much faith in these and just tested one product vs another thinking this source was the ultimate, I should have tested the products with other sources instead and would have seen the shortcomings of these a long time ago and probably saved myself at least £1500.

Worst part of this that made me realise they're not what they're meant to be, I had a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300's on trial and when I thought they sounded bright / harsh (which I now know is introduced by the WiiM), I tried adjusting the EQ only to find they then sounded an awful lot worse and were definitely going back.

It was after I'd reluctantly packed them up and commited to an £80 fee to return them I discovered threads saying the EQ creates distortion.

I'm sitting here typing this listening to music through one of my Chromecast Audios and it's the best I've heard music sound for many months in comparison to using Wiims

I posted quite a while back I thought these are toys and anybody who's bought one are just testers for them, now I just think they're toys.

I know this won't go down well with some but honestly, go compare with other sources before jumping on me.

Your thoughts on WiiM look similar to the ones I've seen on Polish audio forum - some people claimed that Mini sounds bright and fatigue, and lacks details and finesse.

TBH it's not my observation, of course I exclude the time, when FW was broken as distortions were obvious.

 

[morillon]

I've been through hoops and back a bit recently trying to upgrade my systems in a couple of rooms and my biggest issue with what I've bought was thinking how brash and harsh some of them have been (all exclusively tested with a WiiM) so have lost quite a lot of money, buying and the selling things and at a later stage paying return postage, thinking I was buying a decent level equipment that didn't sound so great when you tried it.

It coincided with me also getting fed up with having to switch off UltraHD on each device everytime I wanted to use multiroom stereo so I decided to start using my Echo Dots for multiroom again as they offer the same quality as the WiiM with UltraHD switched off and I could just select them whenever I wanted multiroom and save the Wiim / UltraHD for "critical listening".

I genuinely believe the WiiM's create a harsh / bright sound that very quickly becomes hard on the ears and with an elevated song is an absolute killer but also their lower range is muddy compared to just using a wired Echo Dot, I would say the WiiM possibly gives a smidge more clarity / seperation but at a serious expense to the overall sound.

I was initally using a Topping E30 DAC with the WiiM which is reasonably regarded, I then switched to using the onboard DAC on an Arcam SA30 which took the edge away a bit.

I also wanted to test the digital inputs vs analogue inputs on the Arcam just to be fair so did a back to back comparison with one of my Chromecast Audios into a digital input, this complteley blew the WiiM out of the water .... no elevated highs or muddy lows, just clarity of music.

I am actually kicking myself, I shouldn't have put so much faith in these and just tested one product vs another thinking this source was the ultimate, I should have tested the products with other sources instead and would have seen the shortcomings of these a long time ago and probably saved myself at least £1500.

Worst part of this that made me realise they're not what they're meant to be, I had a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 300's on trial and when I thought they sounded bright / harsh (which I now know is introduced by the WiiM), I tried adjusting the EQ only to find they then sounded an awful lot worse and were definitely going back.

It was after I'd reluctantly packed them up and commited to an £80 fee to return them I discovered threads saying the EQ creates distortion.

I'm sitting here typing this listening to music through one of my Chromecast Audios and it's the best I've heard music sound for many months in comparison to using Wiims

I posted quite a while back I thought these are toys and anybody who's bought one are just testers for them, now I just think they're toys.

I know this won't go down well with some but honestly, go compare with other sources before jumping on me.

I often felt that too.. and that's also why I had pointed out a strong jitter....even in comparison with the old little chromecast...
I had valued the taunts of some here...(on the other hand it's the same people who made fun of me at the beginning for the story of distortions ;-) )
"idiot..it doesn't matter..."
but also...
can be linked to the sum with this precise dac which will not soften..
wedding stories...


Oh shit..
I forgot that we are on asr here....!!!
hehehe
;-))))

 

[onlyoneme]

I often felt that too.. and that's also why I had pointed out a strong jitter....even in comparison with the old little chromecast...
I had valued the taunts of some here...(on the other hand it's the same people who made fun of me at the beginning for the story of distortions ;-) )
"idiot..it doesn't matter..."
but also...
can be linked to the sum with this precise dac which will not soften..
wedding stories...


Oh shit..
I forgot that we are on asr here....!!!
hehehe
;-))))

The biggest issue here is believing in "bit-perfect" statements...

 

[morillon]

I discovered by attending asr for a few months, after years of "pure juice" audiophiles, to what extent mantra beliefs etc are shared by *all* sides....
hihi

 

[liviurosioara]

The biggest issue here is believing in "bit-perfect" statements...

Actually is there a reliable way to test 'bit-perfect' with a test sample? For example 30 seconds from a song, checked against the optical output of WiiM? And then checking original vs captured to see what is the percentage of match between the two files?

I read here there is a DAC doing this but with a sample of hundred milliseconds, maybe this is not enough to conclude 'bit-perfect' pass.

 

[onlyoneme]

Actually is there a reliable way to test 'bit-perfect' with a test sample? For example 30 seconds from a song, checked against the optical output of WiiM? And then checking original vs captured to see what is the percentage of match between the two files?

I read here there is a DAC doing this but with a sample of hundred milliseconds, maybe this is not enough to conclude 'bit-perfect' pass.

It's possible with a proper equipment.

RME DACs have built-in bit-perfect test when using their test files which contain short bittest patterns. It can tell for sure that the system is not bit-perfect if it fails the test but unfortunately passing the test does not guarantee bitperfectness.

 

[liviurosioara]

It's possible with a proper equipment.

RME DACs have built-in bit-perfect test when using their test files which contain short bittest patterns. It can tell for sure that the system is not bit-perfect if it fails the test but unfortunately passing the test does not guarantee bitperfectness.

Can you give me some ideas how to capture digital optical out without any fancy, exotic equipment? Are you aware of any USB soundcard that supports optical in?

This one seems to have optical in: Vantec USB External 7.1 Channel Audio Adapter: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...usb-external-7-1-channel-audio-adapter.14058/

 

[onlyoneme]

Can you give me some ideas how to capture digital optical out without any fancy, exotic equipment? Are you aware of any USB soundcard that supports optical in?

This one seems to have optical in: Vantec USB External 7.1 Channel Audio Adapter

I think that any DAC with proper spdif support and a capability of passing its optical input to usb output would be ok. My DAC can do that but it's not a direct passing so not suitable for bit perfect tests. RME DACs should do that correctly.
No idea about usb sound cards.

Maybe this kind of devices could be enough:

Hifime SPDIF Optical to USB converter, record DAT/minidisc to computer

The UR23 accepts SPDIF optical sources and transfer this to USB. Suitable to record DAT tapes, minidisc or other digital source to a computer.

hifimediy.com

 

[Merifon]

I discovered by attending asr for a few months, after years of "pure juice" audiophiles, to what extent mantra beliefs etc are shared by *all* sides....
hihi

"cognitive biases" are cross-cutting and powerful, in every respect, for better or for worse... ;-)

I would even add that any aural comparision loses meaning if too much time passes to stop, disconnect, reconnect and restart....

 

[telemike]

I've been through hoops and back a bit recently trying to upgrade my systems in a couple of rooms and my biggest issue with what I've bought was thinking how brash and harsh some of them have been (all exclusively tested with a WiiM) so have lost quite a lot of money, buying and the selling things and at a later stage paying return postage, thinking I was buying a decent level equipment that didn't sound so great when you tried it.

I'm using a Topping E30 DAC with my WIIM into my McInstosh 4300V receiver with ELAC Debut Reference 6.2's. I do not experience any of the sound issues you hear. I *think* (or my brain deceives me) that Spotify is not as good as Amazon HD but honestly there is probably no real difference worth fussing about listening and enjoying the music. Spotify's app and Connect is so much better than Amazon and Tidal imo. No listening fatigue for me.

 

[Smartplug]

I'm using a Topping E30 DAC with my WIIM into my McInstosh 4300V receiver with ELAC Debut Reference 6.2's. I do not experience any of the sound issues you hear. I *think* (or my brain deceives me) that Spotify is not as good as Amazon HD but honestly there is probably no real difference worth fussing about listening and enjoying the music. Spotify's app and Connect is so much better than Amazon and Tidal imo. No listening fatigue for me.

I find these high resolution music to be more gimmicky than wow factor. Majority of time cd sound pleasing than hd music.

 

[onlyoneme]

I find these high resolution music to be more gimmicky than wow factor. Majority of time cd sound pleasing than hd music.

I really doubt you could hear any difference for upsampled content if there are no transport issues related to higher sample rate.