WiiM Pro Streamer Review

[MKR]

i believe a product at this price point shouldnt come with such poor quality cables and adapters. In my system, i use belden power cables and the difference compared to generic ones is clearly audible to me. There is no point in getting into this endless debate at the end of the day, im confident in what i have experienced through my own testing.

Audible difference with power cables? You might be in the wrong forum

 

[Ruediger]

i believe a product at this price point shouldnt come with such poor quality cables and adapters. In my system, i use belden power cables and the difference compared to generic ones is clearly audible to me. There is no point in getting into this endless debate at the end of the day, im confident in what i have experienced through my own testing.

You successfully tested what happens when you buy expensive, shiny stuff and expect an effect. The mind is an incredible thing to taste.

 

[testp]

have you tried turning it off & on again? joke aside

make sure your wiim is outputing bit_perfect signal, don't do anything with the signal, expect maybe lower it for volume or peq/eq later.

sometimes we expect everything has to be at full/upscaled and that makes things better, it doesnt.

 

[kyuu]

i believe a product at this price point shouldnt come with such poor quality cables and adapters. In my system, i use belden power cables and the difference compared to generic ones is clearly audible to me. There is no point in getting into this endless debate at the end of the day, im confident in what i have experienced through my own testing.

We won't bother debating it with you, as long as you don't pretend that your "testing" is in any way valid outside of your own perception. If you want to pretend that your experience has any value outside of that, you don't get to dictate whether or not we are allowed to debate that.

 

[LawrenceL]

I had the opportunity to audition the WiiM Pro against the WiiM Ultra and a Bluesound Node Anniversary Edition. Comparing them strictly as digital transports [not the internal DACs] using Digital Coax in fast A/B switching testing on identical digital inputs in my AVR, they were indistinguishable. It follows and confirms the conventional wisdom on the subject. For my stated purpose, the WiiM Pro is more than sufficient, so I returned the Ultra and the Bluesound Node. My FOMO is officially gone. FYI

 

[anonyless]

i believe a product at this price point shouldnt come with such poor quality cables and adapters. In my system, i use belden power cables and the difference compared to generic ones is clearly audible to me. There is no point in getting into this endless debate at the end of the day, im confident in what i have experienced through my own testing.

I paid about 140USD for my WiiM Pro on AE (not an official distributor, they don't sell the Pro here) -
maybe you should define better "product at this price point", because I don't see where you can get today a streamer/pre-amp/DAC that is running solid software, plus basic USB adapter and cables in the box at this price range.
I use the original USB adapters that came with my Pro and Pro Plus, they work just fine

 

[dr.n]

I had experienced similar issues with the musical fidelity v90 dac before, and i was only able to fix it with an external linear power supply. I assume your building or the electricity you use is cleaner than mine.

i am continuing to test the wiim pro, unfortunately it carries all the electrical noise from the mains into the music. i will be testing it again in the coming days after making some power delivery improvements, however potential buyers should be prepared for negative experiences caused by setup issues just like mine.

 

[dr.n]

Audible difference with power cables? You might be in the wrong forum

i dont use my amplifiers in a sterile laboratory environment, on the contrary, i believe that quality and shielding are important for power cables that sit together with many electronic devices and cables in a home setup. I can even say that I get better performance on my computer with a proper power cable compared to a generic one. I think you misunderstood me, I am not talking about thousands of dollars for a cable, even a Belden 19364 /Belden 83803 makes a difference.

 

[gwing]

I had experienced similar issues with the musical fidelity v90 dac before, and i was only able to fix it with an external linear power supply. I assume your building or the electricity you use is cleaner than mine.

i am continuing to test the wiim pro, unfortunately it carries all the electrical noise from the mains into the music. i will be testing it again in the coming days after making some power delivery improvements, however potential buyers should be prepared for negative experiences caused by setup issues just like mine.

Yes, I had electrical noise issues from the mains as well, although that was my own stupidity in using shielded ethernet cables so I was getting a ground loop through that directly injecting hum into the ground of my pro+. A simple solution to counter a dirty ground is to use the optical output from the Wiim into an external DAC and then you take away any Wiim power related issues. A better solution of course is to clean up your mains, which in my case was just a switch to (cheaper) UTP ethernet cables.

 

[blueone]

I had the opportunity to audition the WiiM Pro against the WiiM Ultra and a Bluesound Node Anniversary Edition. Comparing them strictly as digital transports [not the internal DACs] using Digital Coax in fast A/B switching testing on identical digital inputs in my AVR, they were indistinguishable. It follows and confirms the conventional wisdom on the subject. For my stated purpose, the WiiM Pro is more than sufficient, so I returned the Ultra and the Bluesound Node. My FOMO is officially gone. FYI

This is how I use the WiiM Pro too - digital connection (TOSlink) to a DAC/preamp. Basically, the WiiM Pro is an AirPlay2 WiFi access point. Firmware upgrades after I bought it made the EQ capabilities very useful.

 

[Ruediger]

I can even say that I get better performance on my computer with a proper power cable compared to a generic one. I think you misunderstood me, I am not talking about thousands of dollars for a cable, even a Belden 19364 /Belden 83803 makes a difference.

Not how computers work. Like at all.

Good power cables or at least periodical tests are not a bad idea though. Everything comes with a cheap cable nowadays. Depending on the jack (euro here) the ground contact can be or become unreliable. That's dangerous and we have tests per law in work environments for that.

 

[dr.n]

Yes, I had electrical noise issues from the mains as well, although that was my own stupidity in using shielded ethernet cables so I was getting a ground loop through that directly injecting hum into the ground of my pro+. A simple solution to counter a dirty ground is to use the optical output from the Wiim into an external DAC and then you take away any Wiim power related issues. A better solution of course is to clean up your mains, which in my case was just a switch to (cheaper) UTP ethernet cables.

Following your suggestion, I placed the wiim pro alone on a shelf, separate from the system, and the sound quality improved by %10-15. I will take action regarding the main unit tomorrow. This streamer is likely heavily affected by other cables and electronic devices around it.

 

[gwing]

Following your suggestion, I placed the wiim pro alone on a shelf, separate from the system, and the sound quality improved by %10-15. I will take action regarding the main unit tomorrow. This streamer is likely heavily affected by other cables and electronic devices around it.

Well, thanks. I'm glad you liked my suggestion and I'm happy for you if you have managed to improve your sound quality.
But
I'd just like to make clear that I was talking about electrical noise/pollution originating from a dirty mains supply entering the Wiim via the mains (or in my case ethernet ground) cables actually attached to the Wiim. Where the devices are physically positioned and what other cables and devices are positioned around it are, in my opinion, unlikely to have any actual effect at all on the sound assuming those cables aren't as thick as your arm and carrying thousands of volts and amps through them .

 

[dr.n]

Well, thanks. I'm glad you liked my suggestion and I'm happy for you if you have managed to improve your sound quality.
But
I'd just like to make clear that I was talking about electrical noise/pollution originating from a dirty mains supply entering the Wiim via the mains (or in my case ethernet ground) cables actually attached to the Wiim. Where the devices are physically positioned and what other cables and devices are positioned around it are, in my opinion, unlikely to have any actual effect at all on the sound assuming those cables aren't as thick as your arm and carrying thousands of volts and amps through them .

Yes, exactly, since the coax cable i use with the wiim is very long, I was keeping a part of it in the same compartment as the wiim, and I think this might have caused some kind of interference. I have now rearranged the setup by moving the cables away, and currently there is only a noticeable electrical noise left, which I expect to resolve tomorrow.

 

[dr.n]

Well, thanks. I'm glad you liked my suggestion and I'm happy for you if you have managed to improve your sound quality.
But
I'd just like to make clear that I was talking about electrical noise/pollution originating from a dirty mains supply entering the Wiim via the mains (or in my case ethernet ground) cables actually attached to the Wiim. Where the devices are physically positioned and what other cables and devices are positioned around it are, in my opinion, unlikely to have any actual effect at all on the sound assuming those cables aren't as thick as your arm and carrying thousands of volts and amps through them .

i bought a brennenstuhl efi filtered power strip, and i have largely gotten rid of the electrical noise issue. price is also quite low compared to similar hifi products. i recommend it to those who want to solve these problems cost effectively. at this point, it has reached a level where it can be considered a stream transport that delivers very good performance for its price.

 

[roddo]

Hey folks.

I have a brand new wiim pro, connected via coaxial to a topping s50 II dac. (ie, just using the wiim as a streaming transport.)

Before I could even do speaker calibration per the wiim setup, I was getting loud non-continuous static over both channels. The coax input light on my dac would flicker, suggesting inconsistent signal. I switched to toslink, and same issue.

I tried increasing/decreasing bitrate etc, with no noticeable change in static. Tried set volume, and a few different power plug connections, same result. There was a brief period where the static and pops receded, and I was able to listen to a couple of songs, which sounded good, but I could still hear occasional pops. Feels like a power issue?

Read a few articles about the wiim and noise over coax (not so much toslink), and I feel like Ive exhausted the mainstream fixes.

Any suggestions?

 

[elmoe420]

Hey folks.

I have a brand new wiim pro, connected via coaxial to a topping s50 II dac. (ie, just using the wiim as a streaming transport.)

Before I could even do speaker calibration per the wiim setup, I was getting loud non-continuous static over both channels. The coax input light on my dac would flicker, suggesting inconsistent signal. I switched to toslink, and same issue.

I tried increasing/decreasing bitrate etc, with no noticeable change in static. Tried set volume, and a few different power plug connections, same result. There was a brief period where the static and pops receded, and I was able to listen to a couple of songs, which sounded good, but I could still hear occasional pops. Feels like a power issue?

Read a few articles about the wiim and noise over coax (not so much toslink), and I feel like Ive exhausted the mainstream fixes.

Any suggestions?

Return the WiiM Pro and get a replacement.

 

[roddo]

Return the WiiM Pro and get a replacement.

Im trying to eliminate operator error first as there is a lot of stuff about static/pops across coax (and lots of reasons, from unmatched bit rates, locked volume max, power supply ground loop, etc.

Obviously I think it should just work, but if its a setting or physical setup issue, replacing will not fix the issue.

Are you using the Pro for steam transport via coax?

 

[Ruediger]

i bought a brennenstuhl efi filtered power strip, and i have largely gotten rid of the electrical noise issue. price is also quite low compared to similar hifi products. i recommend it to those who want to solve these problems cost effectively. at this point, it has reached a level where it can be considered a stream transport that delivers very good performance for its price.

To my knowledge Brennenstuhl does only surge protection. No further filtering. No idea to what interference it would apply. Static?

Superb power distribution products, I recommend them too. Outdoor and indoor.

 

[anonyless]

Hey folks.

I have a brand new wiim pro, connected via coaxial to a topping s50 II dac. (ie, just using the wiim as a streaming transport.)

Before I could even do speaker calibration per the wiim setup, I was getting loud non-continuous static over both channels. The coax input light on my dac would flicker, suggesting inconsistent signal. I switched to toslink, and same issue.

I tried increasing/decreasing bitrate etc, with no noticeable change in static. Tried set volume, and a few different power plug connections, same result. There was a brief period where the static and pops receded, and I was able to listen to a couple of songs, which sounded good, but I could still hear occasional pops. Feels like a power issue?

Read a few articles about the wiim and noise over coax (not so much toslink), and I feel like Ive exhausted the mainstream fixes.

Any suggestions?

try powering the Pro using a power bank. if that doesn't help, return it