WiiM Pro - Review & Measurements (Streamer)

[Joffy1780]

If you could test this, I would be forever grateful. It will answer all the questions. I don't care much about the sample rate, as any male over 50 probably is down 20dB at 15kHz, lol. But bitrate is the key. MP3, at best, is 300 or so. The CD is 1,411. I'd love to know what your WiiM is, but I'm mostly curious about what the bitrate is for HEOS by itself with the HEOS app vs. the Amazon app casting to the AVR with what Amazon calls HD and UHD. Thank you so much for checking.

I've done a crude check of the bitrates when casting from Amazon App vs using HEOS app with 2 test tracks.

1st track was For The Love Of Money - The O'Jays via Amazon Music.
My Wiim Pro tells me this track 1075 kbps, 16 bits, 44.1 khz.
When playing from the HEOS app my Denon AVR was downloading the data at an average of about 2 Mbps.

When playing the track from the Amazon App casting to my Denon AVR, the AVR was downloading the data at an average of about 2 Mbps.

2nd Track was Slippery When Wet by The Commodores via Amazon Music.
My Wiim Pro tells me this track is 6528 Kbps, 24 bits, 192k.
When playing from the Amazon App casting to my AVR, the AVR was downloading the data at average of about 2 Mbps.

When playing the track from the HEOS app, the AVR was downloading the data at an average of about 12 Mbps.

Crude, as I say, but make of it what you will.

 

[Witterings]

I recently updated my Amazon Music and Alexa Apps and now I can't cast from Amazon Music App on Apple devices, does anyone have the same issue?

If I try to cast and bring up the list of available WiiM's, tap on the one I want and I get the screenshot attached below, if I hit refresh list and try again I get exactly the same warning so just caught in a loop .... in essence I can't now cast from the Amazon Music App at all.

 

[Brantome]

I recently updated my Amazon Music and Alexa Apps and now I can't cast from Amazon Music App on Apple devices, does anyone have the same issue?

If I try to cast and bring up the list of available WiiM's, tap on the one I want and I get the screenshot attached below, if I hit refresh list and try again I get exactly the same warning so just caught in a loop .... in essence I can't now cast from the Amazon Music App at all.

Can you cast to your echos?

 

[Pritaudio]

Does anyone here have a crackling sound every so often when playing any sort of music. I have checked the power supply, have used both coaxial and toslink into my rme dac, but still get it infrequently.

i have raised it with Wiim and will hopefully get a response soon.
it happened many months ago, but I thought it will go away. may be burn in.

also, what is the warranty like with this.

 

[Beershaun]

Does anyone here have a crackling sound every so often when playing any sort of music. I have checked the power supply, have used both coaxial and toslink into my rme dac, but still get it infrequently.

i have raised it with Wiim and will hopefully get a response soon.
it happened many months ago, but I thought it will go away. may be burn in.

also, what is the warranty like with this.

Have you tried replacing your cables from the streamer to the DAC? Also swapped the DAC to make sure it's the wiim? In any case good that you have filed a customer service ticket with the company. It could definitely be an internal problem with the streamer or the DAC. I had a similar problem with my aftermarket car stereo and ended up having to replace the head unit.

 

[Pritaudio]

The problem is that it happens infrequently. But it doesn’t happen between tracks or streams, just during them.
i will leave it on and hear for it again.
regarding the dac, I doubt it is the rme adi2 dac.
there maybe a difference between coaxial and toslink.
wiim have asked me to change some settings, but they are presuming it happens between tracks or streams and not during.

 

[antcollinet]

The problem is that it happens infrequently. But it doesn’t happen between tracks or streams, just during them.
i will leave it on and hear for it again.
regarding the dac, I doubt it is the rme adi2 dac.
there maybe a difference between coaxial and toslink.
wiim have asked me to change some settings, but they are presuming it happens between tracks or streams and not during.

That crackling (only during playback) sounds like it might be data errors or synchronisation loss on the data link to the DAC.

This could be a problem with the Wiim - but it could also be a fault with cabling or the DAC. How far away is the DAC - I've had this with long cables - both toslink and Coax.

Does the wiim have a USB output you can try. Checked for myself - no, it doesn't

Finally - I only had the problem at higher data rates. Try taking the sample rate down to 44.1 or 48kHz to see if it still happens.

 

[mwangopd]

I did experiment with dedicated linear power supply (with fixed 5V output and up to 3A current) and a MFI-certified PD USB cable,which to replace the factory one, and after around a week of "run-in", my impression is that the overall sound quality is getting better, i.e. more transparent.
but still, that is for my subjective impression without any scientific proof. FYI for anyone with similar question/ curiosity.

 

[antcollinet]

and after around a week of "run-in"

The only thing running in is your auditory system.

 

[Overseas]

Regarding WIIM PEQ, someone argued with me that this is not 'real PEQ' (comparing to RME ADI 2, for ex.), but a kind of GEQ, overlapping frequencies and so on...
So, short answer, is this 'real' legitimate PEQ ?

I have to say there is much hate against good cheap solutions. OMG.

 

[BenjaminB]

Regarding WIIM PEQ, someone argued with me that this is not 'real PEQ' (comparing to RME ADI 2, for ex.), but a kind of GEQ, overlapping frequencies and so on...
So, short answer, is this 'real' legitimate PEQ ?

I have to say there is much hate against good cheap solutions. OMG.

Well, PEQ use to be defined as
"With a parametric EQ, you can select the center frequency for each band, the gain, and the bandwidth."

This is possible with Wiim Pro. Thus, it is real PEQ.
It can be argued that as it only has 4 bands, this is not the real thing. OTOH, 4 bands is sufficient in many cases. And it is of course always difficult to have a strict limit for the necessary number of bands. So, all in all, Wiim Pro PEQ is a real PEQ.
Wiim Pro is very cost effective, which -as you say- seem to irritate many.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Wiim Pro is very cost effective, which -as you say- seem to irritate many.

It's an ongoing pain, carried over from subjectivism.

Subjectivists used to say "It can't sound as good, it doesn't cost as much."

Now we can measure, and know how to, we understand that paying more doesn't always get you more.

And yet we still have that pull, don't we. Elsewhere, I'm discussing Amir's relative reviews of the £1,000 Revel M16, and the £250 Wharfedale Diamond 12.1. In the review of the latter, Amir directly compared the two, but still couldn't find 'any advantage' in the model costing 4x the price. In that thread you still get people saying "Yes, but the Revel costs more, so it's obviously better" (I'm paraphrasing).

The truth is, we have an in-built, automatic prejudice towards more expensive things being better, and it's almost impossible to completely defeat, even in the face of strong evidence to the contrary.

I think we're all guilty of it.

 

[Overseas]

I said it, it is something inherently behavioral to feel that pricier must be better. Takes judgement and analysis to accept proof of the contrary.

 

[Overseas]

I also get opinions that proper streamers are expensive, heavy and have a screen, while I primarily care for sound.

 

[Petevid]

Which brand advertised with the line 'Reassuringly expensive'?

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Which brand advertised with the line 'Reassuringly expensive'?

Stella. It doesn't seem so much these days.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

 

[BenjaminB]

I said it, it is something inherently behavioral to feel that pricier must be better. Takes judgement and analysis to accept proof of the contrary.

Well, guys, for some it is easy to fine a nice combination of price, quality, performance and features. Those some, as some of those on this forum, sometimes pay the price of ... experimenting, buying one piece after the other - I think we know that story. Maybe not so monetary expensive, but still, total cost is more than just the price of the piece of equipment. Takes some time as well. May give some joy (and sometimes not).

Then there are all the others, who may not have the interest, knowledge or time to spend. But may be willing to spend some more just to rest in the knowledge to have got the best available, or at least close to.
Hard to criticize, isn't it?

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Well, guys, for some it is easy to fine a nice combination of price, quality, performance and features. Those some, as some of those on this forum, sometimes pay the price of ... experimenting, buying one piece after the other - I think we know that story. Maybe not so monetary expensive, but still, total cost is more than just the price of the piece of equipment. Takes some time as well. May give some joy (and sometimes not).

Then there are all the others, who may not have the interest, knowledge or time to spend. But may be willing to spend some more just to rest in the knowledge to have got the best available, or at least close to.
Hard to criticize, isn't it?

Okay, I have some agreement with that.

But the I've seen tests here where DACs, amps and speakers, all costing big bucks, measure less-well, and significantly less-well, then far cheaper equipment.

Someone could easily spend £7,000 on a PS Audio Perfect Wave Direct Stream DAC, £3,300 on a Luxman SQ-N150 amplifier, and £2,500 on a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 805S speakers - that's a total of £12,800, and you've got some pretty dire kit, there.

Or you could spend £80 on an SMSL SU1 DAC, £90 on a Fosi Audio V3 amp, and £250 on a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 speakers, that's a total of £420 on something significantly better.

 

[BenjaminB]

Okay, I have some agreement with that.

But the I've seen tests here where DACs, amps and speakers, all costing big bucks, measure less-well, and significantly less-well, then far cheaper equipment.

Someone could easily spend £7,000 on a PS Audio Perfect Wave Direct Stream DAC, £3,300 on a Luxman SQ-N150 amplifier, and £2,500 on a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 805S speakers - that's a total of £12,800, and you've got some pretty dire kit, there.

Or you could spend £80 on an SMSL SU1 DAC, £90 on a Fosi Audio V3 amp, and £250 on a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 speakers, that's a total of £420 on something significantly better.

Sure, I agree. We are both on this forum, most likely with some interest in hifi technology. We know which pieces one should buy. Also I react when I see the horrendous prices of some equipment where it is easy for me to estimate development and manufacturing costs.

I know some people who have more than sufficient amount of money, they just want the best. They want to buy some pieces that are good, sounds good and look good. No technology interest and no experiments (which in a way Wiim Pro was earlier on).
Which is perfectly fine, each to their own.

BTW, have you seen the thread about a SMSL DAC (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-su9-n-issue.41040/ ) where it seems a second grade IC was used (and very diligently fixed by the OP!). Seems that happened more than once with SMSL DACs, according to that thread. Same happened to me with another SMSL DAC model. It is today very difficult to know if one does get original IC in the products or fake / secondary / xxx. One blunt way to minimize such problems is to buy more expensive products where the manufacturer does not dare to use "unmarked" ICs.

Again, I am not defending high prices - just saying I wouldn't critizese those who are buying too expensive things. Myself, I try to avoid doing that.

PS: this is becoming a bit OT, I will not continue this discussion in this thread although it is an interesting subject.