WiiM Ultra

[Owis]

They will still sell ship loads. This device isn’t marketed at people that Airplay their music, well not the vast majority anyway.

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

They will still sell ship loads. This device isn’t marketed at people that Airplay their music, well not the vast majority anyway.

The fact that room correction is only supported on iOS devices (due to the uniformity of their mics) would seem to argue differently.

I'm thinking of getting a WiiM mini to feed Airplay into the Ultra but that seems just a little ridiculous somehow.

 

[rgruber]

Because I don't use Airplay for anything?

If it has Spotify Connect, I'm good.

Everyone's use cases are different.

I can't imagine anyone invested in apple devices is going to buy the Ultra as things stand.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

ROFL. I have an iPhone, wouldn't for one minute think of using AirPlay.

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

ROFL. I have an iPhone, wouldn't for one minute think of using AirPlay.

What's wrong with Airplay? Is it not "audiophile" enough or has everyone here ponied up for a lifetime Roon sub?

 

[Petrushka]

What's wrong with Airplay? Is it not "audiophile" enough or has everyone here ponied up for a lifetime Roon sub?

I view airplay as an emergency measure. I use airplay when finding something on my phone is easier than finding it on a streaming device.

Now, I understand that AirPlay supports groups and multi-room synchronization. That’s heavy lifting, and worth having.

 

[elmoe420]

It's bizarre to me that folks are blaming WiiM and not Apple.

Apple gets mad at WiiM for making Airplay transmitting available.

Apple then roadblocks MFI certification for WiiM Ultra.

Apple designs Airplay (and other software features) in a way that requires a special hardware chip for "certification". Apple further designs this walled garden system so you cannot just include the chip and then get certified later, blocking manufacturing of certified devices until you pay to play and wait for the overlords approval.

Seriously folks, can we not see a problem with Apple here?

 

[Petrushka]

It's bizarre to me that folks are blaming WiiM and not Apple.

Apple gets mad at WiiM for making Airplay transmitting available.

Apple then roadblocks MFI certification for WiiM Ultra.

Apple designs Airplay (and other software features) in a way that requires a special hardware chip for "certification". Apple further designs this walled garden system so you cannot just include the chip and then get certified later, blocking manufacturing of certified devices until you pay to play and wait for the overlords approval.

Seriously folks, can we not see a problem with Apple here?

Can someone name some non-Apple devices that cast airplay?

I have a PC program that does it, but it wasn’t free.

 

[elmoe420]

Can someone name some non-Apple devices that cast airplay?

I have a PC program that does it, but it wasn’t free.

You now understand why Apple is currently screwing WiiM on the Ultra.

 

[Joffy1780]

It's bizarre to me that folks are blaming WiiM and not Apple.

Apple gets mad at WiiM for making Airplay transmitting available.

Apple then roadblocks MFI certification for WiiM Ultra.

Apple designs Airplay (and other software features) in a way that requires a special hardware chip for "certification". Apple further designs this walled garden system so you cannot just include the chip and then get certified later, blocking manufacturing of certified devices until you pay to play and wait for the overlords approval.

Seriously folks, can we not see a problem with Apple here?

You would think Linkplay/Wiim would be a lot more aware than us of Apple and their 'tactics'. It can't be a secret to them and obviously the decision to enable Airplay casting has backfired badly.
Wiim certainly have to take some of the responsibility.

 

[uofmtiger]

You would think Linkplay/Wiim would be a lot more aware than us of Apple and their 'tactics'. It can't be a secret to them and obviously the decision to enable Airplay casting has backfired badly.
Wiim certainly have to take some of the responsibility.

Exactly, every streamer I own, including new and old receivers have AirPlay. This issue is not Apple’s fault or responsibility. They made it sound like AirPlay was coming and that would be the expectation since it is on their cheapest Wiim device. They should have explicitly said it doesn’t have the needed chip and will never have AirPlay from the start. That being said, people can apparently send it back for a refund, so nothing has been lost… just really bad PR from a company that has had a great PR record.

That being said, I don’t use AirPlay with my Wiim devices, so I am keeping the Ultra I received yesterday and I have an iPhone. In the space, I have an AppleTV and receiver that already have AirPlay built in. I am using a direct feed into the Wiim via RCA of my iPad ( going through a topping DAC), so will have Apple Music available. I mainly use Wiim with Amazon Music, so it works for both of my purposes. I already have a Wiim Mini that I could run into the optical, but I am putting that in another space.

 

[uofmtiger]

Apple certification is never easy and never guaranteed. They are tough to work with. When Intel took on certification for Thunderbolt it was just as bad. And to make it worse Apple would jump from Thunderbolt 2 to Thunder 3 to Thunderbolt 4 versions while many companies were still trying to get certified. This made the developer have to start over again before selling enough product to pay for the effort. Development nightmare and a cash drain that turned many off. No wonder USB 3.1 was the choice of many developers instead of Thunderbolt.

I have no knowledge of exactly how hard they are to work with. I just have tons of devices from companies (including Wiim) that could navigate the issue before releasing their product. This is why it is a Wiim issue and not an Apple issue. Even if you have to jump through hoops, it is getting done by nearly every other streamer on the market...including stand alone speakers and Airplay devices. This is a Wiim issue.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

has everyone here ponied up for a lifetime Roon sub?

No, I rather like playing Tidal directly to my WiiM via the Allmusic.com website. No need for Roon or AirPlay.

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

If you care about your music playback, you won't use Airplay2 just like you won't buy mp3 files. Airplay2 compresses audio without warning. There are so many better options like UPnP supported by Audirvana and other quality audio gear. Airplay2 will likely sound better than Bluetooth but if you want to be sure your music is delivered without compression you will use UPnP or a direct connection to your DAC via USB.

My system isn't resolving enough to hear the difference! lol

 

[Jkdjedi]

That is not conflicting, and matches what they have on their product specification for the WiiM Ultra. It can be used as a media storage device ("Storage/Audio Out") or an output audio streaming port.

But, it cannot be used as in input audio streaming port. Which is what @Jkdjedi was referring to.

I saw the reviewer saying it was output but he had just received it, he might have been ignorant to the entire facts.

Edit: found this on the Wiim Forums

"The USB port on this device supports dual functionality: it can be used for USB storage as an input or as a USB audio output. For simultaneous use of both functions, you can connect a USB hub."

 

[elmoe420]

You would think Linkplay/Wiim would be a lot more aware than us of Apple and their 'tactics'. It can't be a secret to them and obviously the decision to enable Airplay casting has backfired badly.
Wiim certainly have to take some of the responsibility.

Very fair, Apple has operated in this way for decades and Linkplay/WiiM gambled and lost. Still can't stand Apple's gross tactics. Personally, I haven't bought one of their products since a IIGS.

 

[elmoe420]

I have no knowledge of exactly how hard they are to work with. I just have tons of devices from companies (including Wiim) that could navigate the issue before releasing their product. This is why it is a Wiim issue and not an Apple issue. Even if you have to jump through hoops, it is getting done by nearly every other streamer on the market...including stand alone speakers and Airplay devices. This is a Wiim issue.

Apple is refusing to give MFI certification on the WiiM Ultra (or likely any new Linkplay products) as retaliation because they are upset that WiiM added Airplay transmission as a feature to previous MFI certified products. Airplay transmission clearly being a software feature that they want to restrict to only their 1P devices.

Edit: I'll add that WiiM already removed the Airplay transmission feature ostensibly to try and smooth things over with Apple but apparently this wasn't enough so we are seeing the continued punishment unfold.

This is classic Apple anti-consumer practices to lock people into their expensive 1P ecosystem while being able to defend in a regulatory environment that they "allow 3P".

In my opinion, it is very legitimate to be upset with WiiM for falling into this decades-old trap and poorly communicating the 11th hour lack of MFI certification to customers. That's on Linkplay/WiiM for sure and I hope they learn from this.

 

[Jkdjedi]

Stoked!!

 

[joostdh]

Apple is refusing to give MFI certification on the WiiM Ultra (or likely any new Linkplay products) as retaliation because they are upset that WiiM added Airplay transmission as a feature to previous MFI certified products.

As they say on wikipedia: citation needed. Is this a fact or some kind of wish thinking by those that despise Apple? (which if fine, you do you)

 

[Joffy1780]

Stoked!!
View attachment 383356

I have to say, it does look lovely