Advice from Amazon UK users

[Stu]

Hi everyone,

I've read all the posts on here and Reddit regarding the Echo link. Has any UK people actually got the link to cast multi-room music from a line-in?

I have a wiim amp powering house ceiling speakers and an pro plus hooked into my living set up. It all is working great and I love the Wiim devices!

It would also be great to use my Amazon echos and echo sub in this set up as well. I mainly use SoundCloud and it would be great to cast to everything. One idea I had was to buy an echo link and feed this from a wiim out and then cast out to everything. Would this work?

In the future I am adding a turntable into my setup and it would be also great to push this out to everything.

Any advice and tips greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Stu

 

[Burnside]

The UK Echo Link doesn’t support line in redistribution viz. “Casting multi-room music from a line-in or Bluetooth input are not currently supported.” The USA version i.e one linked to a .com Alexa service, does.

Normally, you could switch your country/region preference in your Amazon account to access US features, but frankly that’s more hassle than it’s worth when it comes to music subscriptions, UK only skills you might rely on etc so I avoid it like the plague.

However, I have seen it claimed on Reddit (so take it with a pinch of salt) that by merely changing the device address of the Link in the Alexa app to a USA address, that does allow line in redistribution.

If that did work, you should be able to take the output from a WiiM and have it distribute non-Alexa supported audio to your echos.

See this post where it was discussed in the context of Roon and an Echo Link feeding an Alexa multi room music group of echo devices.

Post in thread 'Roon/ WiiM Pro/Amazon Echo Link/ MRM (Multi-Room-Music) Problems Getting Started'
https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/...usic-problems-getting-started.2016/post-30459

 

[Stu]

Thanks for the reply. I read the same on Reddit and just wondered if anyone UK users had actually managed to get the line in working following a region change. It's a lot more reliable on here than anywhere else

I might buy one and give it a go. Can always send it back if it doesn't work....

 

[Stu]

I've just ordered one. I'll report back on here if the region hack actually works...

 

[Burnside]

Good luck. I did buy one and returned it as it couldn’t even at that time play the bbc sounds skill as a group preferred speaker and its digital output was limited to 24/48. Actually, the more I mess around with WiiMs, Echo devices including the Studio, Amazon Music, multi room music (MRM) groups etc, the more I think their devices are all capped at 24/48, but that conveniently ticks the “UHD” box and they don’t or won’t tell you 24/96 and 24/192 aren’t actually supported on their own hardware. That’s why the WiiM Mini was a godsend for me…

 

[Burnside]

. It's a lot more reliable on here than anywhere else

I’d like to think the Amazon Alexa UK Users group on FB is pretty reliable too, but I would say that

 

[Stu]

Great, thanks guys

 

[Wiimer]

I remember a former moderator who was an eminent authority for all this Echo/Alexa questions. Also @Wiimer seems to be kinda specialist.

Shortly after a former moderator stopped posting here, @Burnside suddenly showed up and knows Alexa etc very well.
Wonder enough.

I honestly think he knows more about it than I do.

 

[Stu]

Just reporting back. Set up the Echo Link today on a quick test and it works fine. The US region hack works great. You get an selectable option to output line in to groups Piped SoundCloud to 2 echo's as a test and had no issues at all.

In saying this I do have a new issue though hahaha From my Pro Plus I was planning on going coaxal to my living room amp and then optical to the echo link. I didn't realise you can only send to one output. Any known work around for this through Wiim? I have searched the forum and there a few people asking for the same but I cannot see any resolution.

Worse case I will need to buy a splitter or something and just use one output on the pro plus. I didn't want to do this though, if possible. It is literality the final piece of the audio puzzle for me hahaha almost there!

 

[Burnside]

Good to know it’s working with the reported workaround.

Unfortunately WiiM device can only output to one destination type at a time so you will need to use some sort of splitter - or a WiiM mini grouped with your Pro Plus feeding the Echo Link.

 

[Stu]

Ordered an powered optical splitter and it's all working great I was listening to SoundCloud piped through to 2 premium echo's today and sounded really good, well as good as SoundCloud can sound