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WiiM Pro - Review & Measurements (Streamer)

BenjaminB

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I got myself a Wiim Pro, hoping it should be superior to my WXC-50 / MusicCast. Got it a month ago, have had ample time to evaluate (without any measurements). This is then from a typical user perspective.

The WXC UI is much better than Wiim UI, in particular when playing music from a NAS. With MusicCast one gets thumbnails/ pictures / etc in a good way - Wiim UI hardly present any such, in particular when there is a folder with only folders (trick is to put an empty playable file (as music.mp3) in each folder, which is great fun when one is having 1000:ands folders. OK it can be done with a one-liner in Linux CLI, but to have 1000:nds of empty files is not attratctive).

As of today, Wiim and WXC are rather equal when it comes to streaming.

I do not have a separate DAC, thus using the included DAC:s in Wiim and WXC. Rather equal again in sound quality, provided both are set to flat / direct / fixed volume. As I only listens with loudspeakers (no headphones), I am not convinced a separate DAC unit, however good, with improve the listening (I might be completely wrong here, happy to see arguments).

Wiim as a rather new product have some problems. Some of the files on my NAS Wiim cannot play, but WXC has no problems (one typical such file has been downloaded with yt-dlp from youtube, and is characterized as "MP4 AAC 16 bit 200 kbps 48000 Hz 2 channels 1:22:06). Standard Linux players have no problems with this file, but Wiim has.

Thus, for the moment, Wiim Pro has not been a success for me. If Wiim improve the UI and implement some nice features as PEQ, that may bring Wiim in a better position. Would be nice if the distortion issues like those related to utput lervel could be solved but I fear those are hardware related. Somehow I get the impression that Wiim and others master digital design and maybe software whereas analog design is not so easy.
 

artkos

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Hi

I want to set wiim pro (spdif to external dac) as default speaker for google home mini (only for convenience of voice control). My question is, will the signal be 24bit/192kHz in such a connection? However, because it will be paired with google the signal will be limited to 24bit/96kHz?
 
Last edited:

Sam Ash

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This unit is no good without a good external dac - like this one :


With these two ( WiiM pro and SMSL D6 ) you get highend performance for only 350 bucks.:)

I havent found anything better for this price , - Allo Boss II streamer is very good but have no digital output with volume regulation.

I have some questions:-

1. When any of the digital output ports are used on the Wiim Pro (SPDIF or Coax), is the internal DAC bypassed?

2. In the case where the WiiM Pro is used as a digital transport and connected to the SMSL D6 can the volume still be controlled from the WiiM App? or Spotify and Tidal apps?

3. I've noticed that the WiiM pro does not have the facility to plug-in an external USB 2/3 drive in order to play local music content organised in folders, is there any way to achieve that using a router that can accept and external USB 3 drive or NAS drive?
 

Overseas

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@BenjaminB
I love Musiccast, but I wanted Tidal Connect, also the gapless feature plus the warranted bit perfect streaming. Just to list a few goodies.
 

Sam Ash

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Is volume control retained from within the app once an external DAC is used?
 

onlyoneme

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I have some questions:-

1. When any of the digital output ports are used on the Wiim Pro (SPDIF or Coax), is the internal DAC bypassed?

2. In the case where the WiiM Pro is used as a digital transport and connected to the SMSL D6 can the volume still be controlled from the WiiM App? or Spotify and Tidal apps?

3. I've noticed that the WiiM pro does not have the facility to plug-in an external USB 2/3 drive in order to play local music content organised in folders, is there any way to achieve that using a router that can accept and external USB 3 drive or NAS drive?
1. Internal DA conversion is not performed when the digital output is selected.
2. WiiM has a digital volume control if the volume is not fixed.
3. With UPnP server / service only.
 

Sam Ash

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1. Internal DA conversion is not performed when the digital output is selected.
2. WiiM has a digital volume control if the volume is not fixed.
3. With UPnP server / service only.

Thanks @onlyoneme, much appreciated. I need to read more about setting up a UPnP server. Is it simple to execute?
 

Overseas

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I think maybe I spotted a bug last night.
It was set Wifi/ optical out, then I looked at the app screen at the song that was played and the indication was something lime 'aux out' (surely not 'spdif'), then in 1 minute it interrupted the music, I thought maybe WIFI problem but the router was ok, then it resumed the play and indication was correct this time 'spdif' for output.
 

Tangband

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1. Internal DA conversion is not performed when the digital output is selected.
2. WiiM has a digital volume control if the volume is not fixed.
3. With UPnP server / service only.
Correct, and the digital volume control from spdif output seems to be with true 24 bit resolution - very good. :)
 
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Tangband

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I got myself a Wiim Pro, hoping it should be superior to my WXC-50 / MusicCast. Got it a month ago, have had ample time to evaluate (without any measurements). This is then from a typical user perspective.

The WXC UI is much better than Wiim UI, in particular when playing music from a NAS. With MusicCast one gets thumbnails/ pictures / etc in a good way - Wiim UI hardly present any such, in particular when there is a folder with only folders (trick is to put an empty playable file (as music.mp3) in each folder, which is great fun when one is having 1000:ands folders. OK it can be done with a one-liner in Linux CLI, but to have 1000:nds of empty files is not attratctive).

As of today, Wiim and WXC are rather equal when it comes to streaming.

I do not have a separate DAC, thus using the included DAC:s in Wiim and WXC. Rather equal again in sound quality, provided both are set to flat / direct / fixed volume. As I only listens with loudspeakers (no headphones), I am not convinced a separate DAC unit, however good, with improve the listening (I might be completely wrong here, happy to see arguments).

Wiim as a rather new product have some problems. Some of the files on my NAS Wiim cannot play, but WXC has no problems (one typical such file has been downloaded with yt-dlp from youtube, and is characterized as "MP4 AAC 16 bit 200 kbps 48000 Hz 2 channels 1:22:06). Standard Linux players have no problems with this file, but Wiim has.

Thus, for the moment, Wiim Pro has not been a success for me. If Wiim improve the UI and implement some nice features as PEQ, that may bring Wiim in a better position. Would be nice if the distortion issues like those related to utput lervel could be solved but I fear those are hardware related. Somehow I get the impression that Wiim and others master digital design and maybe software whereas analog design is not so easy.
Yamaha wxc50 biggest flaw in my opinion is the digital preamp with a volume control that do SRC to 48 KHz on every material and not in a very good way. Using this player without the digital preamp volume control ( select ” player” at the back ) have much less flaws in the sound , and theres no SRC going on.

Even then , my wxc 50 is not quiet as transparent in sound as my Mac/Tidal/Apple music with a DDC .

WiiM seems to have a better implemented digital volumecontrol when using the spdif out.

Thanks for the practical review. I have always thought that my 4 years old wxc50 is almost perfect with its UI , very good . If the preamp volume control section was better sounding it should wipe out the market .
 
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Romario

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I have some questions:-


3. I've noticed that the WiiM pro does not have the facility to plug-in an external USB 2/3 drive in order to play local music content organised in folders, is there any way to achieve that using a router that can accept and external USB 3 drive or NAS drive?
3. When an external hard drive is in the network somewhere ( mine is connected to a Blu Ray player, but one could try a printer I guess) the Wiim will see the folders and play the music. Not all file extensions are supported though.
 

Veri

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I was a reluctant upgrader from the wiim mini
I am finding the wifi connectivity to be more robust on the pro and the chromecast audio to be very reliable
I got mine in yesterday and it's a cute little box, seems to do all the streaming functionality I want it to. Now I just want uploadable 10-band (or more) PEQ presets!...
 

Firespeed

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I noticed nothing of the sort (LG OLED C2), so my guess is that it has been fixed since.
It is indeed perfectly transparent when using Wi-Fi, and remains always stable even when streaming 192kHz tracks. The S/PDIF inputs/outputs are a great addition if you want, like me, a streamer feeding your DAC (with only one optical input), that may also catch a signal from a TV or another source.
Chromecast is one of the best addition over the regular WiiM Mini, since you may choose to bypass the WiiM Home App, using either Roon, or any major streaming service's dedicated app. I am personally still waiting for Roon Ready update, and would be glad to re-measure if the digital performance remains the same that way.

Hi everyone, hi VintageFlanker,

Many thanks for your work and this detailed review!

It's good timing, my old laptop (2010) running Volumio (USB connection) broke down (processor fan out)...so here I am with this Wiim Pro connected in coax to the E50 DAC...

  • I confirm that the lag/jitter problems with my LG Oled TV on the optical output are perfectly managed with the Wiim. I can finally get the sound from my HDMI inputs to my amp (OSMC + Xbox) and from the live TV! :D

  • As far as playing personal library (local FLAC files) shared on a NAS, the WiiM can't index directly a network directory (samba for example); you'll have to set up a DLNA server/service on your NAS in order for WiiM to play your files. By the way, I use TWONKY server which is light, fast, simple and efficient.;)

My road stops here after a Node2i sold and replaced by a small laptop with Volumio and now this WiiM Pro which has nothing to envy to the much more expensive streamers of the market. Bravo ! ;)

Merci encore pour ton boulot VF ! :cool:
 

Firespeed

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Is it for constant power on?
(as NAS)

Hi Anli,

I'm not sure to understand your question...:rolleyes:

  • A NAS is always on. It goes into standby mode after a period of inactivity. Any network request to its shares and/or services will wake it up.
  • The streamer is going into standby mode too if you do not use it for a defined period of time. It's waking up as soon as you want to play something.
Does this answer your question?
 

OldManMatt

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So I only started using streamers in the last year and a half maybe. In the WiiM Pro's review and measurements it is noted that there is obviously no difference between using a LAN line or WiFi..mentioning this like it is common knowledge. I guess I'm am ignorant to this knowledge for I was always under the impression a wired signal would be preferable over grabbing a signal thru the air (I guess that's a crude way to describe it)

Has this always been the case? I've mentioned my ignorance to how WiFi signals work, and I'm ok with that if I don't know any better. I just always thought I have wifi and remote frequencies flying all over the house at any given time to different products.. making me believe in things like latency and interference effecting the signal. So is this simply not the case? I should expect a product either routed directly by cable or wifi to perform the same? Thank you
 
OP
VintageFlanker

VintageFlanker

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I guess I'm am ignorant to this knowledge for I was always under the impression a wired signal would be preferable over grabbing a signal thru the air
Two very different things:

Wired VS wireless, when it comes to overall speed and stability (wired being better).

Wired VS wireless... impact on audio performance.

I only care for the latter. ;)

mentioning this like it is common knowledge
Yes, it is, that network/data connectivity should not affect audio performance. It either works or it doesn't.;)

I should expect a product either routed directly by cable or wifi to perform the same?
Pick what works best with your own home network.
 

OldManMatt

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Two very different things:

Wired VS wireless, when it comes to overall speed and stability (wired being better).

Wired VS wireless... impact on audio performance.

I only care for the latter. ;)


Yes, it is, that network/data connectivity should not affect audio performance. It either works or it doesn't.;)


Pick what works best with your own home network.
Thanks for the breakdown.. appreciate it
 

Sam Ash

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Hi @OldManMatt, wireless networking has come a long way so it's not really about the impact it has on audio performance, you will still get top-notch performance via wireless. However, wireless signals are subject to interference from other wireless devices that are running within the vicinity e.g. neighbours or nearby buildings or commercial establishments. This is true especially for apartment blocks. Such interference in the wireless domain can effect the speed of wireless networks. When speed is effected or the speed drops, it does not mean that the audio suffers because wireless audio streaming devices incorporate buffers (information reserves) designed to compensate for any wireless speed compromise, this ensures that the audio fidelity is not affected.

Wired connections are much more reliable and robust as they are not subject to any interference as long as you don't run the network cable close to an electrical cable. Wired connections always and constantly provide optimal speeds.

Hope that helps.
 
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