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Connections on the WiiM Pro's rear panel include both analog and digital inputs and outputs (Image credit: Future) You can also control your Pro Plus using the selection of capacitive touch-points on the front panel for play/pause, volume up/down, set-up, Bluetooth pairing and assigning a preset (of which there are a dozen). The WiiM Pro’s cheap plastic case is flimsy compared to typical hi-fi components and even A/V streamers like the Apple TV 4K. You’re clearly getting what you pay for, though the compact WiiM Pro can be easily hidden away. Roon is a platform many swear to, and I am one of them. It's tempting to say that there are three different availability levels for streamers, with Roon Ready being the highest level, and which also ensures RAAT. Here we find, among other things, Bluesound's NODE streamers. The next level is Roon Tested , and this applies to my Linn Akurate DS streamer, among others. The lowest level is the category which in the Roon overview is listed as " Other network devices " and which it is tempting to call Roon Available . Here we find pretty much everything that exists among streamers, and the music is delivered either via Chromecast or via Airplay 2. This was the only way I could be fair here, as The SMSL M500 "measures" very well and has dual optical inputs, so easily compared to the Pi2AES.
Internal DAC: a very thin additional curtain between the music and me compared to the E50 DAC. But Jimi still plays the guitar imaginatively, and that is conveyed in a good way. If use Spotify and/or Tidal apps, the WiiM Mini is compatible with their ‘Connect’ feature (premium account may be required). This lets you use the Spotify or Tidal to take direct control of the Mini, giving you a seamless experience as you switch between devices. Support for AirPlay 2 lets you stream audio directly from your Apple device, via the Mini. TIDAL is the streaming service that, until recently, has been my favorite streaming service. Lately, TIDAL has had to settle for sharing that status with Qobuz, but I still have a very strong relationship with TIDAL. Not least in those cases where the streamer supports TIDAL Connect, a version of TIDAL that was obviously heavily inspired by Spotify's Connect when it was introduced in autumn 2020 . With TIDAL Connct, you choose which device to stream to in the TIDAL app. In my custom server and streamer construction, I have found LMS, aka Squeeze Server and Squeezelite streamer software, to be the most consistent operationally and sonically. The community has been updating the system regularly over the years. There is also an active group developing extensions for the system. We can play from multiple streaming sources alongside our local music library. There is even an interface for album and artist info along with lyrics.And despite its sonic shortcomings in a high-end hi-fi context, the Wiim Mini (€99) + Chord Mojo (€499) can be had for almost the same money as a 2021 Bluesound Node (€549). And yet the two-fer edges the Node on detail dig and top-to-bottom dynamic punch and is more likely to go wherever you go: to the office or on vacation. How’s that for something to think about? The little Wiim is also what you add to an Audiolab 6000A (Play) to take its gapless streaming support beyond Spotify. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 28th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)
In LMS, there are quite a few buttons you can push and values you can change to make the system your own. Support from the community is excellent, including a wiki and a very active user and developer forum. This is more complex than the single smartphone APP to control and operate a WiiM Mini. Forum | Wiki It’s worth (err) pausing here to mention that setting the Wiim Mini’s volume control to 100% inside the Wiim Home app will, in most use cases, optimise its sound quality. It’s almost always better for sound quality to use an amplifier’s (or external DAC’s) volume control than use the digital attenuation executed by a consumer-grade network streamer, especially if you prefer to listen at low volume levels. K? K. The Mini’s manual mentions that the unit’s volume output can be fixed at line-level (100%) using the Wiim Home app but I couldn’t find that setting. Akurate DS: Magic reproduction of Cohen's deep and raspy vocals. It feels as if he is standing in the room. And finally, these impressions are compared with the listening impressions from the integrated streamer Linn Akurate DS. The sound with Topping E50 So just a hair better than using Airplay. The internal DAC as expected, is a mass market product than high performance.
Play Music Everywhere
Want the same audio quality as that of an artist's recording in the studio? The WiiM Mini has got you covered, supporting up to 192kHz, 24-bit audio output. Additionally, the integrated TI stereo DAC provides high-quality analogue audio output with 106-dB SNR, dynamic range, and -92dB THD+N performance. Topping E50: Although the recording has some weaknesses, great presence and a very good micro-dynamics are conveyed here the Home app now features a ‘fixed output’ option that (presumably) bypasses the Mini’s DSP-based volume attenuator. That means a line-level output when connecting the Wiim to an integrated amplifier via its 3.5mm analogue output and a bit-perfect stream when connecting it to a DAC over TOSLINK.
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