WiiM Ultra

[Jkdjedi]

RCA line out is analog, no bits involved. What exactly didn't work for you? I can play 24 bit files just fine through line out.

In settings for output (bit rate) there is no options for the RCA out, which makes sense now that you mention the analog. Not sure if it matters but I choose the highest possible from the coaxial and spdif (for future use?) Everything is working great otherwise. I'm here waiting for the family to wake up so I can mess with it some more, feel like I'm hearing my favorite playlist for the first time again.
I set the alarm feature and decided not to disturb the family and turned off the reciever last night. Only I forgot about the subwoofer..lol, that was diffrent. Wondering if that's another way to fine tune the subwoofer settings?

 

[Jkdjedi]

US v. Apple: everything you need to know

The center of all of it is Apple’s iPhone ecosystem.

www.theverge.com

View attachment 383455

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

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.

It appear that both my Ultra and Pro WiiMs are still able to cast (if you can believe Airfoil)

 

[Jkdjedi]

I stand corrected... Wow .. 24bit Flac playback.. (RCA out) using Tidal Connect

 

[Joffy1780]

It appear that both my Ultra and Pro WiiMs are still able to cast (if you can believe Airfoil)

Looks like a Chromecast symbol next to the ultra. Not used Airfoil, so not sure. I'd be very surprised if your ultra had Airplay, considering what is happening.

 

[uofmtiger]

Unfortunately, they obviously didn't know from the start. I don't know any details, but Apple did certify purely software based solutions in the past. Could well be that they just stopped doing so ... for whatever reason.

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

Looks like a Chromecast symbol next to the ultra. Not used Airfoil, so not sure. I'd be very surprised if your ultra had Airplay, considering what is happening.

Airfoil also works with Chromecast. The ultra does not show up as an Airplay option on my iPhone.

 

[Joffy1780]

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

Airfoil also works with Chromecast. The ultra does not show up as an Airplay option on my iPhone.

Sorry, I thought you meant the Ultra was available for Airplay.

 

[VJK_out]

Just a noob question here. The reason for me to purchase Wiim Ultra would be the ARC, room correction abilities and chromecast support.

I have 2.1 Genelec setup: G3 and F2 sub. As of now my signal comes from optical hub to the F2 optical in -> XRL to G3. F2 has default crossover frequency set at 85hz when hooked like this (not adjustable and always on I think).

With Wiim Ultra I could measure and calibrate this pretty well I guess. But should I still use the same way to connect like before.. to use the Wiim optical out?

Or should I connect these directly to the Wiim outputs (rca and sub out, and thus let Wiim handle the crossover and other parameters etc)?

My point here is do I get all the benefits either way or would you prefer one over other?

 

[Jkdjedi]

Just a noob question here. The reason for me to purchase Wiim Ultra would be the ARC, room correction abilities and chromecast support.

I have 2.1 Genelec setup: G3 and F2 sub. As of now my signal comes from optical hub to the F2 optical in -> XRL to G3. F2 has default crossover frequency set at 85hz when hooked like this (not adjustable and always on I think).

With Wiim Ultra I could measure and calibrate this pretty well I guess. But should I still use the same way to connect like before.. to use the Wiim optical out?

Or should I connect these directly to the Wiim outputs (rca and sub out, and thus let Wiim handle the crossover and other parameters etc)?

My point here is do I get all the benefits either way or would you prefer one over other?

I preferred the Wiim doing the sub out. I believe optical out bypasses the DaC on the Ultra.

 

[harkpabst]

As you said, we don’t know. What we do know is that Apple has a vested interest in Apple Music subscribers and AirPlay. It doesn’t make a lot of financial sense for them to deny software solutions ( if they allowed it in the past..unless they have a security issue with new firmware). Apple wasn’t telling people they were working on certification… that was Wiim. Like I said, it’s a non issue for me, so I don’t care either way, but until we hear specifics from both sides, we won’t have the full story. All I know is that I have tons of Apple AirPlay devices from everyone Belkin, Yamaha, Marantz, Denon, and even Wiim. Hard to come to the conclusion that Apple is the problem without all the facts.

We do know a little more than that, even though only from WiiM's perspective. Their statements are pretty clear now.

Originally they expected the Ultra to become AirPlay certified, just as every other device they made so far. However, the certification was not completed before introduction to the market. This came as a surprise to WiiM.

At this point they decided to remove all references to AirPlay from their marketing material and sell the Ultra, anyway. Sadly, not all retailers did the same. Also, at this point in time most potential customers did believe that a future firmware update would certainly enable AirPlay. It's not clear if WiiM knew better by then, but I expect they were still negotiating with Apple.

The final statement from WiiM was that the Ultra as is cannot support AirPlay because it doesn't have the MFi chip. That says two things: 1. They didn't expect to need the hardware chip (ask yourself why) and 2. Apple told them they need it (ask yourself when).

I come to the conclusion that it's far more likely, Apple did change something in their certification process or in the way they're dealing with WiiM then just WiiM "fucked up" as a friendly fellow member liked to call it.

No matter what Apple's interest may or may not be, WiiM has absolutely no advantage from (and thus no interest in) not supporting AirPlay in their top of the line streamer, only.

WiiM made themselves vulnerable by starting mass production prior to receiving the certification. Apple explicitly tells participants in the MFi programme not to do that. This was their mistake ...

 

[VJK_out]

I preferred the Wiim doing the sub out. I believe optical out bypasses the DaC on the Ultra.

Thanks. But if I used the optical out from Wiim, would it carry the room correction information + bass management (other than crossover) and how would it be with the F2 having the fixed 85hz crossover?

 

[uofmtiger]

Apple explicitly tells participants in the MFi programme not to do that. This was their mistake ...

then it is Wiim’s fault. The rest is pretty much irrelevant.

One thing that might be worth trying for those that want to use AirPlay and have a Mac on all the time. Use Airfoil Speakers (app) to get audio to the Mac and Airfoil Casting to cast to the Chromecast feature on the Ultra.

I have not looked into whether there are third party apps that might be on iOS for AirPlay to Chromecast or AirPlay to DLNA, but may be worth looking into.

Also, I wonder if you have two Wiims if can pair them and share the audio from one with AirPlay to the other via Wiim Link. Could be another workaround. ( I will check, but I expect this would work, as well).

 

[rcstevensonaz]

I think your full of shit man, this thing is selling like hot cakes, your just sore to be sore.

What in @harkpabst post do you think is wrong? I read his comment as being very straight-forward, even-keeled statements describing the situation as best it seems to be known at this time.

 

[uofmtiger]

I tested Wiim to Wiim linking as a back door to AirPlay on the ultra and it works. I have a Wiim Mini in a headphone setup that only I use, so I can go this route if I ever want to hear AirPlay on the ultra with my Mac off.

 

[terryforsythe]

We do know a little more than that, even though only from WiiM's perspective. Their statements are pretty clear now.

Originally they expect the Ultra to become AirPlay certified, just as every other device they made so far. However, the certification was not completed before introduction to the market. This came as a surprise to WiiM.

At this point they decided to remove all references to AirPlay from their marketing material and sell the Ultra, anyway. Sadly, not all retailers did the same. Also at this point in time most potential customers did believe that a future firmware update would certainly enable AirPlay. It's not clear if WiiM new better by then, but I expect they were still negotiating with Apple.

The final statement from WiiM was that the Ultra as is cannot support AirPlay because it doesn't have the MFi chip. That says two things: 1. They didn't expect to need the hardware chip (ask yourself, why) and 2. Apple told them they need it (ask yourself, when).

I come to the conclusion that it's far more likely, Apple did change something in there certification process or in the way they're dealing with WiiM then just WiiM "fucked up" as a friendly fellow member liked to call it.

No matter what Apple's interest may or may not be, WiiM has absolutely no advantage from (and thus no interest in) not supporting AirPlay in their top of the line streamer, only.

WiiM made themselves vulnerable by starting mass production prior to receiving the certification. Apple explicitly tells participants in the MFi programme not to do that. This was their mistake ...

I'm not an Apple user, so please forgive my ignorance. But, what is the benefit of using AirPlay over the streaming protocols that the WiiM Ultra does support?

 

[rcstevensonaz]

Thanks. But if I used the optical out from Wiim, would it carry the room correction information + bass management (other than crossover) and how would it be with the F2 having the fixed 85hz crossover?

I've been wondering whether the sub-out was configurable so that there was an option of using post-DSP digital out interconnect (e.g. to active speakers) and the sub-out interconnect to the subwoofer(s).

 

[Joffy1780]

I'm not an Apple user, so please forgive my ignorance. But, what is the benefit of using AirPlay over the streaming protocols that the WiiM Ultra does support?

I use it to connect my Apple TV 4k to my Wiim Pro when I want to watch TV at night when kids are asleep. It allows me to apply EQ before passing to my headphone DAC/AMP. With the Ultra I could use the ARC input and achieve the same results (without the separate headphone DAC/AMP)
Outside of that I, personally, would never need to use it. I don't use any other Apple devices.

 

[uofmtiger]

I'm not an Apple user, so please forgive my ignorance. But, what is the benefit of using AirPlay over the streaming protocols that the WiiM Ultra does support?

It works natively with Apple Music on Apple devices. The Wiim doesn’t have an Apple Music app. Last I checked, Apple Music was the 2nd largest music service, so it is a big deal to many to not have AirPlay on a modern streaming device.

AirPlay 2 allows for the device to be used in multiroom Audio at the Control Center level, as well… with all music apps.

AirPlay 1 would be my choice even if I lost multiroom audio from the control center because it would allow for lossless. I wonder if Wiim has looked into AirPlay 1 certification? There are other streamers out there still using AirPlay 1.

As I mentioned, if you can link two Wiim devices, it’s a back door to resolving the issue wirelessly.

 

[Jimbob54]

I think your full of shit man, this thing is selling like hot cakes, your just sore to be sore.

Be civil and nice please. Nothing in the post you quoted warranted that reaction. Formal warning next time you bite like that.

 

[Jimbob54]

Some totally off topic posts deleted. This shouldn't be one of the snarky threads.