Incredible Airplay on Ultra, for free

[Dude]

Airplay from Phone to Airport Express v2 I already owned, Firmware Airplay (1) so is 16/44 lossless, to Toslink into Ultra. Sounds amazing. WiiM should have just included it!



(Note: Hi-Res Lossless button on Dominique Nameless song is what is capable, not what is playing: LPCM 16/44.1 lossless.)

 

[mrgsteele]

That's what I'd been doing when I stopped using Tidal/Roon and it works great. But I recently started using Lyrion Music Server with the ShaireTunes2 addon, and it's even better because you get to see the album info on the Ultra's screen, and it also gives you control of the Ultra volume knob. It does require an always-on computer though.

 

[BMeek]

Airplay from Phone to Airport Express v2 I already owned, Firmware Airplay (1) so is 16/44 lossless, to Toslink into Ultra. Sounds amazing. WiiM should have just included it!

Dude! [couldn't resist]. I've got an old (1st-gen) Apple TV 4K I already owned feeding my WiiM Ultra, and I'm using it to AirPlay into a WiiM speaker Group. I could've used AirPlay to go to the other speaker in the WiiM group, but they're in overlapping zones and WiiM's got audibly tighter sync.

Perhaps our two examples supports WiiM's decision to leave the AirPlay 2 receiver out?

Your use case sort of seems like the long way around the block for an inaudible upgrade - you might get better iPhone battery just going Bluetooth direct to the Ultra. I betcha a dollar you wouldn't hear the difference in a blind listening test .

That said, leveraging the old AirPort Express is pretty cool and a useful audio path to have feeding a preamp!

 

[FreakyKiwi]

WiiM should have just included it.

I'm sure they wanted to.

I gather there was some legal action from Apple to block it due to Wiim including Airplay cast in previous models, presumably by using open source code.

All talk of it was banned from the forum at the time so I'm only speculating.

 

[EddNog]

Dude! [couldn't resist]. I've got an old (1st-gen) Apple TV 4K I already owned feeding my WiiM Ultra, and I'm using it to AirPlay into a WiiM speaker Group. I could've used AirPlay to go to the other speaker in the WiiM group, but they're in overlapping zones and WiiM's got audibly tighter sync.

Perhaps our two examples supports WiiM's decision to leave the AirPlay 2 receiver out?

Your use case sort of seems like the long way around the block for an inaudible upgrade - you might get better iPhone battery just going Bluetooth direct to the Ultra. I betcha a dollar you wouldn't hear the difference in a blind listening test .

That said, leveraging the old AirPort Express is pretty cool and a useful audio path to have feeding a preamp!

AAC over Bluetooth sounds like . I've been able to successfully pick Bluetooth out from analog line in on my car's factory Bose sound system in a blind test with 100% accuracy before. Let's not even talk about a properly resolving system in a lower noise-floor environment. If you said you'd bet me a dollar I can't pick out LDAC from LHDC from AptX Lossless from AptX HD, I'd say you're probably right, but AAC is absolute trash with any halfway decently resolving setup.

-Ed

 

[Dude]

Perhaps our two examples supports WiiM's decision to leave the AirPlay 2 receiver out?

No.

Your use case sort of seems like the long way around the block for an inaudible upgrade

It is audibly better on an audiophile or decent consumer hifi system. Plugging Toslink in an Express right next to it is not long way around at all. The Express was long ago repurposed only as Airplay 1 device, nothing else.

- you might get better iPhone battery just going Bluetooth direct to the Ultra. I betcha a dollar you wouldn't hear the difference in a blind listening test .

Airplay is not a battery draining technology. I just listened two hours and the battery percent did not change. I have seen this many times before.