My setup is a wiim ultra with a hisense tv & denon receiver. My question is this: is there is a sound quality difference comparing the ethernet wiim ultra internal apps vs using my hisense tv apps connected to the ultra through HDMI arc? My tv has many music apps including tidal, youtube & amazon etc. I prefer using the apps available on my tv but is the sound quality the same as using the ultras internal apps? Thanks
Ethernet native wiim ultra apps sound vs tv apps connected to ultra
- Thread starter wad
- Start date
-
- Tags
- wiim ultra
I don't know your TV, but mine resamples everything to 16/48 and, even though I'm no audiophile and my ears are made of gristle rather than gold, I can tell the difference.
Luckily my server of choice has a fire stick app that lets me play direct server > ultra using my TV remote, so I use that.
Luckily my server of choice has a fire stick app that lets me play direct server > ultra using my TV remote, so I use that.
hgo58
Major Contributor
The WiiM Ultra has dedicated streaming hardware and software that your TV don't have. So in theory it provides better quality. Also the TV may or may not convert or compress the stream.
If you cannot hear any difference, and you probably can't, then just use what you like best.
PS: The WiiM don't run Apps like they do on a phone or on the TV. It has dedicated processes implementing the APIs providing access to the streaming services and processes providing control interfaces.
The tv resampling is why I am thinking through the tv app will not have the same quality. I also have a firestick with music apps & it connects directly into my denon receiver. The Denon also has HEOS but that is very user unfriendly. My firestick app functions the same as using my tv apps. Both controllable by a remote control. I am considering buying the ultra but am wondering if there is a benefit over my current setup. What benefits do you find? Thanks for your reply
Aquaman
Senior Contributor
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2025
- Messages
- 908
I would object.
The TV is a streamer like any other. As long as it passes the data through unchanged where should any quality difference come from?
Well, in the case of the Amazon Music app it resamples everything to the max resolution it detects on the device it's connected too. When I used it on my fire tv device into my amp, it claimed it changed resolution with each track but my amp showed it was steadfastly (like its Windows app) outputting 24/192. It also sounded weak and thin compared to the Heos HS2 I had plugged into the amp.
I'd expect tv sound to be tailored for tv and not streaming audio tbh...
hgo58
Major Contributor
As said, it doesn't always pass the digital signal unchanged and the API used by the TV Apps may not use the highest resolution.
hoohoohoo
Trusted Contributor
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2024
- Messages
- 468
I’ve tried HEOS and it works for persistent people, but FWIW I've found the WiiM app much easier to use.
I always described the Heos app as execrable and I'm not aware it's got any better...
I can't speak to it as I don't own anything from Denon or Marantz but the screenshots make it look decent.
With constantly evolving software saying brand x is better or worse than brand y is only relevant if one has compared the latest version of each. And how values claimed features from brand x and brand y working as marketed.
To be honest, the one place I could probably do without a wiim is my living room where I have the ultra. I could just stream music over dlna to my blue ray player. However, that's just because I don't care for roomfit and multi-room and peq and all those other fancy goodies. Many people do though.
For me, the beauty of wiim devices, is connecting them to my gear (in other rooms) that don't have streaming capabilities. That's how they were sold to me and that's how I use them.
That said, I do have roomfit switched on and I do use the Movie eq preset for my TV. And it means I don't have to switch the amp input when I decide to switch the TV off and listen or vice-versa. And I do use the presets on my wiim remote.