Audio through ethernet

U

ubiq

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Joined
Apr 26, 2024
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Hi fellows

I plan to get the Wiim Ultra soon, but I had a question for you first, to see if it's the right device for me.
I mostly interested by the Ultra for the DAC section, its phone app quality, its RC capabilities and the list of IO (no typical USB in, sadly).
My setup is as follow:
Audio library on Macbook Pro M1 ; want a wired connection to the Ultra, i don't intend to use it as a streamer (yeah, go figure :LOL:). I know I could use the BT connection, but i'm looking for a better solution.

As the Ultra has no USB input for my laptop, I thought I could maybe use my USB-C > Ethernet dongle to make the connection between my Macbook and the Ultra and output the audio. Has someone tried this already? I've searched the forum but I didn't find an answer. Sorry if it sounds stupid, be kind. ;)

Thanx
 
Mr Ee said:
Why not a media server on the mac?
Click to expand...
Hi Mister :-)
Because I want to keep it *VERY* simple for everyone in the house. Heck, I even use iTunes. And I want to be able to sync my playlists on my phone without thinking.
 
If the songs are on your phone then the wiim app can see them and play them, i.e. wifi from phone to router, then to wiim.
A pro plus may be better for you as it has airplay, and a decent dac by many accounts. Not got one myself to compare to ultra.
Although... many say that airplay 2 is about the same as BT ;)
 
And to answer the direct question - usb audio through ethernet? Never heard of that on this forum!
 
Mr Ee said:
If the songs are on your phone then the wiim app can see them and play them, i.e. wifi from phone to router, then to wiim.
A pro plus may be better for you as it has airplay, and a decent dac by many accounts. Not got one myself to compare to ultra.
Although... many say that airplay 2 is about the same as BT ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know. But I hate Airplay and its buffer of several seconds when skipping a track. :p
 
I believe the wired network connection on the WiiM devices is there only for it to join a data network to act as a client or server depending on the application.

I don’t think you can stream audio through it in the manner you suggest.

You can get USB C to SPDIF converters. I don’t know how well they work.
 
Kampernaut said:
I believe the wired network connection on the WiiM devices is there only for it to join a data network to act as a client or server depending on the application.

I don’t think you can stream audio through it in the manner you suggest.

You can get USB C to SPDIF converters. I don’t know how well they work.
Click to expand...
Thanx. Well, I imagine I can have a macbook usb-c > DAC (eg Topping 10s) > Ultra via toslink > power amp.
I just wanted to simplify the setup...

It's true that if I can have a definitive answer on this usb/ethernet audio link it would be cool !
 
ubiq said:
Hi
Do you think I can use my WIFI connection without using Airplay ? :unsure:
Click to expand...
You could set it up as a server that the WiiM streams directly from using things like Plex.

I’m not as frustrated as you with AirPlay. That said, I use an Apple TV as my streamer and a ProPlus for the DAC and parametric EQ. AirPlay for me is how I do multi room playback.
 
I see. As I said to Mr Ee, no media server is allowed. :p
In your setup, isn't Airplay 2 converting all things to aac ? In that case, I almost ready to use bluetooth sbc codec. A lot more simple :cry:
 
Kampernaut said:
I believe the wired network connection on the WiiM devices is there only for it to join a data network to act as a client or server depending on the application.

I don’t think you can stream audio through it in the manner you suggest.

You can get USB C to SPDIF converters. I don’t know how well they work.
Click to expand...

Something like this maybe?

www.ebay.co.uk

M2Tech HiFace2 USB – S/PDIF Converter | eBay

It's a HiFace 2 so drivers are readily available where needed. I used it with Linux and I've just tried it with a Mac both without any need for driver downloads. Windows drivers and lots of info including a detailed manual available on the M2Tech website from which the paras below are taken.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
The Ultra can’t be used directly as an external DAC to a PC/Mac, nor do I think the dongle you posted will do the job.

The usb to spdif mentioned above or the device linked to in this post will provide a wired output direct into the Ultra’s optical input.

Post in thread 'Wiim Amp connection to macbook?'
https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/wiim-amp-connection-to-macbook.2294/post-34418

Or this cheaper version (usb a or usb c variants)

 
ubiq said:
Thanx. Well, I imagine I can have a macbook usb-c > DAC (eg Topping 10s) > Ultra via toslink > power amp.
I just wanted to simplify the setup...

It's true that if I can have a definitive answer on this usb/ethernet audio link it would be cool !
Click to expand...

ubiq said:
I see. As I said to Mr Ee, no media server is allowed. :p
In your setup, isn't Airplay 2 converting all things to aac ? In that case, I almost ready to use bluetooth sbc codec. A lot more simple :cry:
Click to expand...
No. The Apple TV’s audio comes out of the TV via optical into the WiiM. The advantage of this is that the TV becomes an awesome music browse and playback device and you still get to use Apple Music to drive it.
 
Alternatively you can use Airconnect to allow the Ultra to appear as a lossless CD quality Airplay 1 endpoint whether that be over WiFi or Ethernet via your router.

AirConnect: Send audio to UPnP/Sonos/Chromecast players using AirPlay

Didn't quite know which subforum to post this in, so general thoughts it is... AirConnect is a package developed by philippe44 who is pretty well known in LMS circles for his 'bridge' plugins which allow the transfer of audio between different protocols. This particular bridge allows UPnP...
forum.wiimhome.com forum.wiimhome.com
 
Dammit. No single simple option. My problem though. And I just noticed that it won't even work with a usb C to toslink/coax dongle, because in my case the optical input of the Ultra would be already used (for the extracted audio from an HDMI switch ; and the rca input would be used too for another device)!
As there is no coax input available in the Wiim, it's dead.
Maybe a minidsp Flex would be a better solution for me, but much more expensive, alas :cry:; I could always add a Wiim Mini / Pro / Plus later if needed.
Anyway, thank you all for your suggestions ! I wished the usb to ethernet would work.
 
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