WiiM Pro - Review & Measurements (Streamer)

[onlyoneme]

BTW, I do see a -5/-6dBFS fundamental tone here, not -0.5dBFS.

It's on the analog output. 2vrms pro output, 0dBFS signal, 2.7vrms range on cosmos gives me measured -4.08 dBFS.

 

[onlyoneme]

Thank you @VintageFlanker for your review of the WiiM Pro. After reading it I have purchased one together with a remote. Today my systems are driven by JRiver on PCs for everything from audio to video and TV. It is not easy then for a visitor to listen to music. One can use dlna apps or Jremote but they are rather limited and it needs software to be installed in the smartphone. If I could connect the WiiM Pro to my PC then anybody could be able to play music on my system without the need to add any software as everybody has either an Android or Iphone compatible with Chromecast or Airplay . I am now able to achieve that.
First good news is the unit that I have received is slightly better than the one that @VintageFlanker has tested. The manufacturer may have taken into account @VintageFlanker test. We have now a SINAD of -95dB instead of -88dB. This 6 to 7dB improvement is really significant as it pushes the device form poor to well into fair inside @amirm scale. It becomes thus acceptable for more applications although it is still far from where we would like it to be.

The test is made thanks to a E1DA Cosmos which is at least 20dB better. Input is on WiiM pro optical output line 2V. By the way there is no more the improvement when going to 1V or less that @VintageFlanker found. On the image one should read -95dB and -94dB without the fs
View attachment 288704

Intermodulation distortion is also around 6dB lower than @VintageFlanker first test.

View attachment 288705


So the line output is better but not yet good enough for me. Also I wanted to use my JRiver room correction by convolution. I have thus bought the HiFime optical to USB converter. https://hifimediy.com/product/s2-digi/
The first unit I have received was faulty and it took me a lot of time to determine if it was not working because of my incompetence or else. It was replaced gracefully by the seller.
In order to work both sides of the optical link have to be using the same format. Unfortunately the wiim pro cannot force a fixed format, it can only force a maximum format. I am thus obliged to use the lowest format to insure compatiblity. Wiim Pro output resolution is then set to 16 bits 44.1 khz.
On the windows side in the sound "spdif interface" I select the same format and I link it to JRiver WDM driver. Selecting a Qobuz album played on Chromecast Wiim Pro is now output by Jriver with the room correction.
At the beginning I was experiencing a lot of crackling between tracks or when changing radios or pausing. No crackling at all during playback. This is solved almost completely by setting in Wiim Pro the "sampling rate switch latency" above 1000ms in "audio output" . Unfortunately it is not 100% solved but it is acceptable.
I hope that these explanations on how to use WiiM Pro with JRiver will help others to waste less time than me on a similar project.

Your sinad on 2vrms is better than mine on 1vrms output. I would suggest repeating the test in a month or so to see if it does degrade over time.

 

[VintageFlanker]

It's on the analog output

You don't say.

2vrms pro output, 0dBFS signal, 2.7vrms range on cosmos gives me measured -4.08 dBFS.

In mono, I rather used the 1.7Vrms and got much closer (and a hair better) to 0dBFS results.

Did you also find -95dB THD+N?

 

[onlyoneme]

In mono, I rather used the 1.7Vrms and got much closer (and a hair better) to 0dBFS results.

Maybe he had used 2.7 range as I use. Output signal level suggest it.

Did you also find -95dB THD+N?

No. Maybe there is a kind of improvement on the analog side in current batches or he is just lucky.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Maybe there is a kind of improvement on the analog side in current batches

You mean like... changing D/A chip ? Because PCM5121 is limited to 92/93dB SINAD anyway.

 

[onlyoneme]

You mean like... changing D/A chip ? Because PCM5121 is limited to 92/93dB SINAD anyway.

92 for -1dBFS signal according to the spec, but chips can also vary. We do not know REW settings being used. Maybe it's just slightly better in fact.

 

[Abrise]

Thanks @Abrise.

Well, this we have to verify:

You really have to display the distorsion settings in REW RTA, otherwise, it is hard to compare anything. BTW, I do see a -5/-6dBFS fundamental tone here, not -0.5dBFS.

Maybe because it is indeed 6dB lower.

Yes here are the REW results. And congratulation for your careful reading.
The E1AD Cosmos used for the measurements has fixed inputs. REW is calibrated accordingly . Full scale is 3.6135V. Thus 2V is then measured (-20log(3.6135/2)) ie -5.13dB. Then -0.5dB on the input should become -5.13-0.5= -5.63dB measured.
The max output of the Wiim pro is 2.005 right 1.997 left.
So when you read -5.67dBfs on the chart you should understand -0.54dBfs for the Wiim Pro. The scale translation doesn't alter the THD+N results.

Otherwise distortion is measured beween 20Hz 20000Hz

 

[Firespeed]

Hello, can you explain the jitter you encounter with you OLED LG, and how you can handle it the best way ? I'm interested because I also own a OLED LG.

My problem, which is the same for anyone with an LG TV, is that the optical output is not managed in the same way as on a Sony TV, for example. I can't explain why, nor is it exactly a jitter problem? Maybe @VintageFlanker can tell us more...he is THE expert !

In any case, with the E50 DAC (ESS ES9068AS chip), it was causing audible and very unpleasant micro-cuts.

1. I solved the problem with the Wiim Pro: the latter better manages this specificity of LG TVs and prevented these permanent micro-cuts. I connected the TV optically to the Wiim, which sent the signal back via the coaxial connection to the E50.
2. Since switching to the LA90D and E70V, I've been connecting the TV (optical output) directly to the E70V DAC (the latest AKM chip) and I don't have any problems with micro-cuts.
3. A third solution would be to recover the LG TV sound from the HDMI ARC socket with an external box that extracts the sound to an optical or coaxial output (easily found on Amazon).

Voila. I'm sorry I can't give you a more technical description of the problem, but I've managed it in two different ways, and you may have a third, cheaper one.

I hope I've answered your questions and that this helps a little.

Cheers.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Official internal photos are now published.

https://device.report/m/735f54e7540ce5c6184839d271ddf70688b8bba9f72ac2c230b6f0c9f475b204.pdf

 

[silver12]

My TV (Philips android) have conected to WiimPro - Spdif, and then to DAC (Audiolab Mdac+). All works fine, when I use TV box for play TV...but when listen/watch movie trough App (HBO, Youtube...), some cracking sound come out, very loud metalic... Any suggestion? When I connect Tv direct to DAC is ok...

 

[Ykar]

I just received and installed new firmware 4.8.518747 but changelog still show 4.8.517862 as the latest.

WiiM Pro Release Notes

The firmware update is performed in batches such that the devices take turns getting updated. All the devices will be updated during the next few days. Please find the list of known issues here that we're working around the clock to fix and r...

faq.wiimhome.com

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Hans does another pointless "review" of the WiiM Pro, sitting in front of test equipment which he doesn't use, instead telling us how it "sounds" on three different systems, lol.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Hans does another pointless "review" of the WiiM Pro sitting in front of test equipment which he doesn't us

Definitely the Lord of Bullshit above all. Certainly much more dangerous than regular subjectivist reviewers, since he likes to sound "technical" with his bunch of pseudoscience. He doesn't look great, nor talk and feel comfortable on camera either (contrary to Andrew Robinson or Darko). Why he has so many subscribers puzzles me quite a bit...

on three different systems, lol.

Sure. Synergy...

 

[VintageFlanker]

 

[VintageFlanker]

What a surprise !

 

[onlyoneme]

He called Nirvana linear power supply... Well...

 

[VintageFlanker]

He called Nirvana linear power supply... Well...

Was that intended to improve analogue, or digital outputs ?

 

[onlyoneme]

Was that intended to improve analogue, or digital outputs ?

Trying to force me to watch it again was not fair. It was for analog output.

 

[VintageFlanker]

It was for analog output.

At least it "could" almost make sense. Probably even measurable, audible for that range of DAC performance... Haem...

 

[onlyoneme]

At least it "could" almost make sense. Probably even measurable, audible for that range of DAC performance... Haem...

The only difference I was able to measure using FFT was when the Pro was idle - no 50 Hz component when Nirvana was used. With earthed DC side.