Bluetooth Stutter

[Shozzer]

Morning All,

New WiiM Pro owner as of last week. Works flawlessly over Wi-Fi when connected to my Denon amplifier via Line Out and also Optical Out (Coax is a no go as my current connectors don't fit onto the WiiM!) but when connecting to Bluetooth devices - Dali Katch, Sony Headphones and a cheap headband (for use when going to sleep - not a good look!) the sound stutters badly. Have other users had similar problems and were they able to overcome them? The experience varies. Sometimes when the stutter starts, pausing a few seconds allows the sound to buffer and then normal playback is possible. Sometimes it then becomes necessary to repeat the process if the stutter starts again.

The problem occurs whether streaming from LMS or Qobuz via WiiM and happens irrespective of Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. A device reset did partly improve the situation but essentially Bluetooth is unusable which is a shame as that was the main reason for getting the WiiM. I have submitted a ticket to WiiM but wondered if others had similar experiences they could share.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

 

[hoohoohoo]

Morning All,

New WiiM Pro owner as of last week. Works flawlessly over Wi-Fi when connected to my Denon amplifier via Line Out and also Optical Out (Coax is a no go as my current connectors don't fit onto the WiiM!) but when connecting to Bluetooth devices - Dali Katch, Sony Headphones and a cheap headband (for use when going to sleep - not a good look!) the sound stutters badly. Have other users had similar problems and were they able to overcome them? The experience varies. Sometimes when the stutter starts, pausing a few seconds allows the sound to buffer and then normal playback is possible. Sometimes it then becomes necessary to repeat the process if the stutter starts again.

The problem occurs whether streaming from LMS or Qobuz via WiiM and happens irrespective of Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. A device reset did partly improve the situation but essentially Bluetooth is unusable which is a shame as that was the main reason for getting the WiiM. I have submitted a ticket to WiiM but wondered if others had similar experiences they could share.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

Are you in an apartment building? Are you or neighbors using older WiFi (2.4 GHz)?

Bluetooth uses UHF radio waves in the ISM bands, from 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz. So, WiFi, microwaves and other emitters can interfere with Bluetooth since it's a very low power emitter intended to go up to 10 metres / 30 feet and anything with higher power will stomp on the Bluetooth signal.

Workaround for bad RF (radio frequency) is often to use wired connections which isn't always idea. Or you could move

 

[Szczypior]

Are you in an apartment building? Are you or neighbors using older WiFi (2.4 GHz)?

Bluetooth uses UHF radio waves in the ISM bands, from 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz. So, WiFi, microwaves and other emitters can interfere with Bluetooth since it's a very low power emitter intended to go up to 10 metres / 30 feet and anything with higher power will stomp on the Bluetooth signal.

Workaround for bad RF (radio frequency) is often to use wired connections which isn't always idea. Or you could move

I can tell right away that you didn't bother to go through 9 pages of this thread and just wanted to post something..

 

[hoohoohoo]

I can tell right away that you didn't bother to go through 9 pages of this thread and just wanted to post something..

Now 10 pages...lol. So, he seems to have some Bluetooth frame buffering issues. Getting two hardware devices with differing buffering strategies to align can be challenging for a developer. Similarly, there could be some hardware erroring that's occurring which needs hands-on both devices to verify. Jitter and frame drops are pretty uncommon in most hardware because there are only a handful of Bluetooth chipsets and there are industry standardization tests required for the BT certification.

 

[Szczypior]

Just go through the thread first and then voice your opinion instead of jumping with your conclusions. You unfortunately are not a I-know-everything person.

 

[hoohoohoo]

Just go through the thread first and then voice your opinion instead of jumping with your conclusions. You unfortunately are not a I-know-everything person.

Thanks for the etiquette lessons.

 

[Brantome]

Just go through the thread first and then voice your opinion instead of jumping with your conclusions. You unfortunately are not a I-know-everything person.

As per the group rules, please keep comments courteous and friendly. Thanks

 

[Szczypior]

So a little update on my end. I just had a chance to test my A800 headset with quite new Yamaha R-N800A and they are having the same issue.

It seems like the headset works fine with mobile phone and for example LG OLED TV (C3 model if I remember correctly), but not with the true audio devices....

 

[onix]

As of 2024-05-14 , last several updates did not work in my case. Root-cause seems so native in deep where FW cannot reach.

 

[Shozzer]

Sadly, I think you are correct. There has been no news from Wiim on this matter for some time. I have no idea if the new products announced recently will work any better, but I will be unwilling to spend good money to try. It is a great pity as the inclusion of LMS is a real plus for me.

It would be helpful if WiiM could actually say if matters can be resolved satisfactorily or not. That would allow us to make decisions about the future, as well as alerting unsuspecting purchasers to the problem.

Steve

 

[castalla]

Sadly, I think you are correct. There has been no news from Wiim on this matter for some time. I have no idea if the new products announced recently will work any better, but I will be unwilling to spend good money to try. It is a great pity as the inclusion of LMS is a real plus for me.

It would be helpful if WiiM could actually say if matters can be resolved satisfactorily or not. That would allow us to make decisions about the future, as well as alerting unsuspecting purchasers to the problem.

Steve

I gave up with the Pro and repurposed with speakers. Wiim mini Bluetooth is flawless and works with LMS upnpbridge plugin

 

[Shozzer]

Well, there is one very disappointed user here. Having purchased two devices which offered BT connectivity (Pro and Amp) and having reported on numerous occasions regarding issues with playback, there appears now to be a deafening silence from WiiM with regard to a solution.

What concerns me the most is not the lack of a solution (although that would be greatly appreciated!) but rather the lack of communication regarding the problem. Yes, there have been some FW upgrades to try to address the situation, but none of these have actually resolved the issues being experienced and there are no indications that there is any work taking place to try to resolve the problem. One is left with the impression that awkward customers will float away and the issue fall quietly by the wayside.

What would be really helpful though is a firm, honest answer as to whether the problem can actually be fixed or whether the hardware just cannot deliver the functions advertised. If the latter, then customers should be notified, despite the pain of having to do so. It is not fair that customers should purchase equipment only to find that it cannot deliver.

Come on WiiM! Please let us know if this issue will ever likely be resolved, or whether we should be looking to dispose of the equipment we have purchased and look for alternative solutions.

Steve

 

[Szczypior]

Another month passed and yet WiiM team remains silent about the issues? I returned the Technics headphones as they did not work with the Yamaha R-N800A as well, looking for new headset for silent listening. Looking at something higher in price, but if there is the same issue with WiiM, then there is no point spending extra money..