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WiiM WiFi Streamer

For you Qobuz fans, it looks like Qobuz Connect is FINALLY coming...

Beta Test: Qobuz Connect

We're excited to announce the beta is beginning for Qobuz Connect! Interested users can sign up via this Google Form. With Qobuz Connect you can use your Qobuz app to play directly to your WiiM devices instead of using the WiiM Home App. Implementation Process Registration: Fill out the...
forum.wiimhome.com forum.wiimhome.com
 
daleeper said:
This looks interesting. Please give us a few details.
Click to expand...
Just playing with Micropython development against the WiiM https API to display what's playing.

The Pimoroni Presto is a pretty slick little display, with the RP2350 CPU built in, and enough horsepower and memory to drive the 480x480 screen. Not super fast, compared to a Pi Zero 2W for example, but the OS is preinstalled, no SD card to deal with, etc, so it's simple to build. The original Pi Pico W definitely couldn't run a display of this size.
 
Simply asking:
Will any of the WIIM products provide significantly better sound over my present blue tooth streaming plan?
Presently I use a laptop, Tidal and Amazon Audio, a Star Tech blue tooth receiver and a T-mobile wireless router.
If yes, please what WIIM product is recommended?
 
Perceivably better sound? Likely not, depending on if you’re sensitive to how much compression the bluetooth codec uses (people say SBC sounds bad, but I can’t hear the badness). WiiM does support bluetooth streaming, but it also supports AirPlay streaming, which can support lossless streams (under certain conditions), and Tidal Connect, and can stream from Amazon from inside the WiiM Home app.

So might a WiiM be more convenient? Very likely. There is a WiiM Home app for both major platforms (Mac OS or Windows), and of course iOS and Android.

An advantage of the WiiM products is using the WiiM Home app allows you to 1) use your phone to cue up music and 2) put your phone down and not worry about your phone being the source for the stream. The WiiM’s hardware takes over and any streaming is done directly to the WiiM from Tidal, Amazon, etc. Presumably, the WiiM app for Windows or Mac does the same thing, and if the Tidal app supports Tidal Connect, you can use that to stream to the WiiM.
 
Descartridge said:
Simply asking:
Will any of the WIIM products provide significantly better sound over my present blue tooth streaming plan?
Presently I use a laptop, Tidal and Amazon Audio, a Star Tech blue tooth receiver and a T-mobile wireless router.
If yes, please what WIIM product is recommended?
Click to expand...

My answer would be yes, especially if you aren't running the latest/greatest versions of Bluetooth. The Wiim app supports both Tidal and Amazon, along with most of the other major music services and internet radio. Wiim Mini and Wiim Pro share the same DAC. Wiim Pro adds coax digital output option, while the Mini only has optical. Of course, both provide analog outputs for connecting directly to your analog stereo system.

The Wiim Pro Plus is a Pro with a better built-in DAC. They connect to your local network via wifi. For best quality/lossless music, your wifi signal needs to be in the neighborhood of -58dB. or better.
 
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You can enter the WiiM rabbit hole for under $100 with the Mini. It connects to internet via WiFi. Controlled via WiiM Home app. I have one plus the Pro, for two systems. May get a second Mini for a third system.
 
Descartridge said:
Thank you Spark and Rocky.
Would I no longer need my Schitt Modi?
Click to expand...

Your choice. You can still use it, in which case you would be bypassing the internal DAC of the Wiim. Or just use the Wiim by itself (with its built-in DAC) and eliminate the need for an external DAC.

In other words, the Wiims provide both analog and digital output. Digital must be converted to analog to make music. That's what a DAC does.
 
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Descartridge said:
Would I no longer need my Schitt Modi?
Click to expand...

The DAC in the WiiM Mini, and Pro isn't great, personally I'd get whichever you choose and try it on it's own with analogue out into your amp and then compare it to digital out and into your Modi before you make a decision.
The WiiM Pro Plus has a better DAC than the others, another alternative is the Bluesound Nano in which the DAC is quite good.
 
Witterings said:
The DAC in the WiiM Mini, and Pro isn't great, personally I'd get whichever you choose and try it on it's own with analogue out into your amp and then compare it to digital out and into your Modi before you make a decision.
The WiiM Pro Plus has a better DAC than the others, another alternative is the Bluesound Nano in which the DAC is quite good.
Click to expand...

Have you A/B compared them?

I owned a Pro, then bought a Pro Plus. Compared them back and forth. Difference is much more subtle than the ASR review would have you think.

I also have a Modi 3 for my office computer. So added it to the listening comparison. Again, difference was very subtle. I would not characterize any of the three as notably better than the others. Same for the DAC in my Node 2i.

Heck, I wouldn't even characterize the Arcam DAC I use with my Node as significantly better, although I do prefer it. My point is that in my experience, DACs sound much more alike than reviewers would have you believe.

Since OP already has the Modi, he can compare it himself to the DAC in whichever streamer he might end up getting.
 
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spark1 said:
Have you A/B compared them?
Click to expand...

I've spent the last 4 weeks extensively testing one of my Pro's my Pro Plus, an Ultra and the Bluesound Nano in various configurations using their onboard DAC's, using my Arcam SA30's DAC and also a recently bought Chord Qutest both via Optical / Coax and also USB into the Chord ... in the end so I could get an immediate back to back of the Ultra's USB out to the Chord vs the Nano's, someone came round and bought their Qutest with them and I also found a way of making it work using a KVM switch.

As you say the differences aren't between each improvement wasn't huge, even the worst setup was "good" but as you hear one step up to the next, you don't then want to go backwards, and if you take the staring point vs the end point the overall difference is very noticeable.
 
Witterings said:
I've spent the last 4 weeks extensively testing one of my Pro's my Pro Plus, an Ultra and the Bluesound Nano in various configurations using their onboard DAC's, using my Arcam SA30's DAC and also a recently bought Chord Qutest both via Optical / Coax and also USB into the Chord ... in the end so I could get an immediate back to back of the Ultra's USB out to the Chord vs the Nano's, someone came round and bought their Qutest with them and I also found a way of making it work using a KVM switch.

As you say the differences aren't between each improvement wasn't huge, even the worst setup was "good" but as you hear one step up to the next, you don't then want to go backwards, and if you take the staring point vs the end point the overall difference is very noticeable.
Click to expand...

What end point? The Chord?

And to be clear, we could discern a difference. But determining which one sounded better was harder. Much harder.
 
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