The thing is... I want the WiiM Ultra to work like a CD player: I open the tray, I put in a CD, I close the tray, and I press play. I don't want to know anything else about the CD player except which buttons to press to get music playing out of my speakers. As a rule, I do not listen to streaming services except for Idagio and, in its absence, Amazon Music (which I get free through my employer). The main reason why I got the WiiM Ultra in the first place was to be able to listen to Internet radio (I live about halfway between New York and Philadelphia and cant really bring radio stations from either city in with any reliability, and I do want to listen to CBC Music - I'm originally from Canada - and BBC3, as well) and to play my library of FLACs from a USB drive on my hifi. The WiiM Ultra seemed like (and is) a convenient way to do this. I am disappointed, however, that Idagio (the only streaming service that I really care to use) is not integrated into the WiiM Ultra.
The bottom line is this: I bought the WiiM not because it is great technology that I want to engage with, but because it was a cheap, simple, convenient solution that I could use like my AM/FM tuner or a CD Player - and it even has front-panel controls on the display that I can use instead of my phone or the remote. I have never used Chromecast and have no desire to, even if it is the easiest thing in the world to use. (I dislike using my phone most of the time and, apart from Strava, I almost never even use social media.) I am the ultimate lo-tek (selective) Luddite. I would rather listen to the radio, play LPs and CDs, and since Idagio is pretty much the only streaming service I use (I listen to it on the train to work), I would like to have the most convenient-possible access to it on my hifi for those times when I am not listening to LPs, CDs, or the radio. I don't want another step.
I know I'm the outlier here, among a bunch of guys who're really into digital media and tech. I'm not, and I want my exposure to it to be as convenient and minimal as possible.
If WiiM could integrate an Idagio app just like the Amazon Music app, that would be great (I have no idea how the other streaming apps work on the WiiM, nor do I care), and I would appreciate. If they don't, I'll be disappointed, but I'll live. The Ultra will probably be the last WiiM product that I will buy. And it was cheap enough that I wouldn't feel much pain swapping it out for a unit that better meets my needs at some point in the future.
Just how to select the device you want to play on.
. And apologize if this is not the right place to ask.
