Apple Music A Most Elegant Way to Get Bit-Perfect High-Res Apple Music with WiiM DSP & Bass Management!

[EddNog]

If you have an iPhone with USB-C and iOS 18 or higher, as well as a Mac with Mac OS 15 or higher running on Apple Silicon or at least has an Apple T2 Security chip, you can hook up your iPhone (put it on silent mode) via optical S/PDIF to the optical input on your WiiM Ultra with this:

https://a.co/d/iA6gbWT

Then you just use iPhone Screen Mirroring to your Mac so you can use your Mac for remote controlling Apple Music on your iPhone. Make sure to have (High-Res) Lossless audio enabled in your Music app settings on your iPhone. It really works and will send bit-perfect high-res Apple Music to your WiiM Ultra which will handle any DSP/PEQ/room correction/bass management needs you have as well as connecting to your speaker/sub/DAC chain.

The above adapter will also keep your iPhone charged while you listen!

-Ed

 

[adias]

If you have an iPhone with USB-C and iOS 18 or higher, as well as a Mac with Mac OS 15 or higher running on Apple Silicon or at least has an Apple T2 Security chip, you can hook up your iPhone (put it on silent mode) via optical S/PDIF to the optical input on your WiiM Ultra with this:

https://a.co/d/iA6gbWT

Then you just use iPhone Screen Mirroring to your Mac so you can use your Mac for remote controlling Apple Music on your iPhone. Make sure to have (High-Res) Lossless audio enabled in your Music app settings on your iPhone. It really works and will send bit-perfect high-res Apple Music to your WiiM Ultra which will handle any DSP/PEQ/room correction/bass management needs you have as well as connecting to your speaker/sub/DAC chain.

The above adapter will also keep your iPhone charged while you listen!

-Ed

You can do that but with Ultra an iPhone/iPad USB connection is superior.

Regarding charging… Belkin offers a USB-c ‘camera’ adapter that allows signal connection and simultaneous charging. But IMHO it degrades playback. I use a dedicated iPad connected to a Ultra via USB and charge it separately when it a charge.

Edit: misread original post.

 

[EddNog]

You can do that but with Ultra an iPhone/iPad USB connection is superior.

Regarding charging… Belkin offers a USB-c ‘camera’ adapter that allows signal connection and simultaneous charging. But IMHO it degrades playback. I use a dedicated iPad connected to a Ultra via USB and charge it separately when it a charge.

This does not make sense. The WiiM Ultra’s USB port does not accept digital audio input like the USB port on DACs. WiiM Ultra’s USB port can only be used for attaching storage (local audio libraries) or for digital audio output.

My post is not about playing music stored on an iPhone or iPad in ALAC or AAC format. It’s about allowing an iPhone or iPad to stream high-resolution lossless music off of Apple Music’s cloud servers and then output them bit perfect to the WiiM Ultra’s optical digital input.

And furthermore, to be able to control the attached iPhone remotely from the listening position instead of having to walk up to the iPhone that is attached to the WiiM in order to change tracks, playlists, etc.

-Ed

 

[Wiimer]

This does not make sense. The WiiM Ultra’s USB port does not accept digital audio input like the USB port on DACs. WiiM Ultra’s USB port can only be used for attaching storage (local audio libraries) or for digital audio output.

My post is not about playing music stored on an iPhone or iPad in ALAC or AAC format. It’s about allowing an iPhone or iPad to stream high-resolution lossless music off of Apple Music’s cloud servers and then output them bit perfect to the WiiM Ultra’s optical digital input.

And furthermore, to be able to control the attached iPhone remotely from the listening position instead of having to walk up to the iPhone that is attached to the WiiM in order to change tracks, playlists, etc.

-Ed

Thanks for the interesting news.
Do you think this can be done with Android phone as well?

Edit
I have never used Apple Music and have no knowledge of it.

 

[adias]

This does not make sense. The WiiM Ultra’s USB port does not accept digital audio input like the USB port on DACs. WiiM Ultra’s USB port can only be used for attaching storage (local audio libraries) or for digital audio output.

My post is not about playing music stored on an iPhone or iPad in ALAC or AAC format. It’s about allowing an iPhone or iPad to stream high-resolution lossless music off of Apple Music’s cloud servers and then output them bit perfect to the WiiM Ultra’s optical digital input.

And furthermore, to be able to control the attached iPhone remotely from the listening position instead of having to walk up to the iPhone that is attached to the WiiM in order to change tracks, playlists, etc.

-Ed

Sorry, misread your post.

 

[Burnside]

The use of a cubilux usb to optical adaptor (plus perhaps the use of a camera kit for older lightning connections as posted by @QuarryHunslet ) for Apple Music and other purposes has been mentioned quite a few times in the group , even as far back as Dec’23 viz.
https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/...into-toslink-in-for-ipad-mini.1958/post-29606

 

[EddNog]

The use of a cubilux usb to optical adaptor (plus perhaps the use of a camera kit for older lightning connections as posted by @QuarryHunslet ) for Apple Music and other purposes has been mentioned quite a few times in the group , even as far back as Dec’23 viz.
https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/...into-toslink-in-for-ipad-mini.1958/post-29606

My main contribution here is the remote control aspect. For some like me, who sit 10 feet/3meters away from the console to listen, no remote control=forget about it.

-Ed

 

[EddNog]

Thanks for the interesting news.
Do you think this can be done with Android phone as well?

Edit
I have never used Apple Music and have no knowledge of it.

This might only work with Android-based devices with systemwide resampling bypass, such as Android-based DAPs (like a FiiO JM21), but to have remote control, you need a DAP with remote control via screen casting, for example a HiBy R4 which has systemwide resampling bypass and can be remote controlled using HiByCast screen control.

Normal Android builds like standard phones will resample the audio down. The exception (phone) is Moondrop MIAD-01, which is an Android phone with systemwide resample bypass.

-Ed

 

[Wiimer]

This might only work with Android-based devices with systemwide resampling bypass, such as Android-based DAPs (like a FiiO JM21), but to have remote control, you need a DAP with remote control via screen casting, for example a HiBy R4 which has systemwide resampling bypass and can be remote controlled using HiByCast screen control.

Normal Android builds like standard phones will resample the audio down. The exception (phone) is Moondrop MIAD-01, which is an Android phone with systemwide resample bypass.

-Ed

I appreciate kindly your help.

Unfortunately, the only type available on Amazon JP was the one without PD (I think can use a hub though).



I may try it next time.
Thanks.

 

[d6jg]

My reading of this - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/gui...motely control your,Fi network as your iPhone. - is that it should be possible to control one iPhone/iPad from another iPhone/iPad if both are on iOS 18+. I have no way of testing though as although my iPhone is iOS18 my other iDevices aren't capable of running it.

 

[EddNog]

My reading of this - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphd9bc05ba9/ios#:~:text=You can remotely control your,Fi network as your iPhone. - is that it should be possible to control one iPhone/iPad from another iPhone/iPad if both are on iOS 18+. I have no way of testing though as although my iPhone is iOS18 my other iDevices aren't capable of running it.

I’ve used that in the past and it’s extremely rudimentary, just allowing you to play/pause, raise/lower volume, or skip/rewind track, no way to change or select specific song/playlist, no lyrics, no artwork.



My way gives you it all.

-Ed

 

[d6jg]

Rather than the Cubilix thing I'd use a FiiO KA11 but recognise that it doesn't provide simultaneous charging. USB-C or Lightning options available.

To me the question is moot as I don't use Apple Music and I CAN fully control an iDevice from another iDevice by using iPeng on one as the play out mechanism and Material on another to control if I want to. Of course I can only do this because I am using Lyrion so I do miss out on Amazon Music as well as Apple Music. No real loss though - Qobuz etc provides everything needed.

I do wonder why Apple make such a song and dance about HiRes but make it very difficult for their users to actually experience it!

 

[EddNog]

Rather than the Cubilix thing I'd use a FiiO KA11 but recognise that it doesn't provide simultaneous charging. USB-C or Lightning options available.

To me the question is moot as I don't use Apple Music and I CAN fully control an iDevice from another iDevice by using iPeng on one as the play out mechanism and Material on another to control if I want to. Of course I can only do this because I am using Lyrion so I do miss out on Amazon Music as well as Apple Music. No real loss though - Qobuz etc provides everything needed.

I do wonder why Apple make such a song and dance about HiRes but make it very difficult for their users to actually experience it!

Another option allowing simultaneous charging, albeit a lot more expensive:

xDuoo DT-01 - xDuoo official store

DT-01HIFITURNTABLEFOR PHONE, CONVERT USB TO COAXIAL/OPTICAL/AUX

xduoo.net

-Ed

 

[Smartplug]

Apple offer a music 24/192khz only be downgrade when it goes to airplay. If anything airplay need to upgraded to benefits the user who use their music service. 4K broadcast on 1080 tv.

 

[EddNog]

Apple offer a music 24/192khz only be downgrade when it goes to airplay. If anything airplay need to upgraded to benefits the user who use their music service. 4K broadcast on 1080 tv.

Even if Apple upgraded AirPlay to support lossless high-res, it won't help in WiiM ecosystem since WiiM has stopped supporting AirPlay on their latest hardware releases, unfortunately.

-Ed

 

[Smartplug]

Even if Apple upgraded AirPlay to support lossless high-res, it won't help in WiiM ecosystem since WiiM has stopped supporting AirPlay on their latest hardware releases, unfortunately.

-Ed

Yes but some of us has mini that can be toggled to ultra to make it a complete system.

 

[Wiimer]

Thanks to @EddNog I made a nice discovery .

I found out that Xiaomi's HyperOS 2 has a feature (Home screen+) to interconnect a phone and a tablet. So I immediately connected my Xiaomi 13T pro wirelessly to my Xiaomi pad 6 and tried remote control.

1) Pad 6 connected to DAC(Topping D30 pro) via USB cable.
2) I opened Amazon Music on the Pad 6 and played a 24bit/192khz track, and was able to output it at 192khz without resampling.
3) I connected the 13T pro and Pad 6 wirelessly and played Amazon Music on the 13T pro.

There is no delay in operation and it is much more comfortable than Alexa Cast!

View attachment 1c4973d1-9b3c-41f7-9c35-9d95ced6db44-1_all_7375.mp4


Unfortunately, however there are currently two problems.

1) The sample rate is fixed at 48khz for wireless remote playback.
(Both 13T pro and pad 6 can output 192khz).

2) Music playback is unstable, with frequent sound interruptions.


Resampling is not a major issue for me. But unstable playback is a big problem. Probably a Wi-Fi or USB issue, but the Cubilux adapter arrives tomorrow, so I'll see if that improves things .