Making powered speakers wireless with Mini
- Thread starter Raphaz
- Start date
The mains system has a sub, which is still faintly audible where the remotes will sit. It worked ok that way with the Minimus 7s which the remotes will replace. I don’t consider getting an additional sub for now.
I had the Kali LP-6 on my list for a while. Should I bring it back?
Not sure about the JBLs - too big/clunky? Maybe the 104BT but not sure if that will be powerful enough.
So you think active speakers produce better sound than powered speakers? Can you explain?
I have decent KEF towers, but I also have a pair of KEF LSX (1st gen) and I’ll sell them. Very disappointed with the LSX! Connectivity is terrible (and pairing is an issue even when wired), crappy app and other nuisances. So I’ll think twice before I buy another smaller KEF speaker in that price range (the LS50 II go for two grand).
I would add the Kali LP-6 back into consideration. The JBL LSR series has 3 sizes so if the Kali LP-6 is not too big I think the JBL 305P or 306P should be fine size wise.
Pat McGinty does an excellent job at explaining why active loudspeakers are better than passive loudspeakers. Remember a powered speaker is a speaker with a passive crossover and a stereo amplifier that is built into one of the cabinets.
www.meadowlarksings.com
Erin's Audio Corner has reviewed a number of the speakers on your list.
Pat McGinty does an excellent job at explaining why active loudspeakers are better than passive loudspeakers. Remember a powered speaker is a speaker with a passive crossover and a stereo amplifier that is built into one of the cabinets.
Meadowlark Audio DSP DR and Bass System
Erin's Audio Corner has reviewed a number of the speakers on your list.
The mains system has a sub, which is still faintly audible where the remotes will sit. It worked ok that way with the Minimus 7s which the remotes will replace. I don’t consider getting an additional sub for now.
I had the Kali LP-6 on my list for a while. Should I bring it back?
Not sure about the JBLs - too big/clunky? Maybe the 104BT but not sure if the sound is great.
So you think the active speakers produce better sound? Can you explain?
I have decent KEF towers, but I also have a pair of KEF LSX (1st gen) and I’ll sell them. Very disappointed with the LSX! Connectivity is terrible (and pairing is an issue even when wired), crappy app and other nuisances. So I’ll think twice before I buy another smaller KEF speaker in that price range (the LS50 go for
Mr Ee
Major Contributor
I'd say don't buy any speakers you haven't actually listen to.
Listen to music you know, not something someone else puts on to show you how 'good' they are.
Lists from reviews are, imo, just a starting point, and often not necessarily a good one!
A couple of years ago I had a list.
I listened to about 10 off the list.
Liked none of them.
Good luck!!
Listen to music you know, not something someone else puts on to show you how 'good' they are.
Lists from reviews are, imo, just a starting point, and often not necessarily a good one!
A couple of years ago I had a list.
I listened to about 10 off the list.
Liked none of them.
Good luck!!
Thank you, Mr Ee. You are so right!
But how can I listen to them all? I don’t have them and for most models on the list there aren’t shops that let you test-listen, not even here in NY. And I can’t possibly order and return all of them.
That is why I list them here in this way, hoping to get some more info and opinion for me to at least eliminate some that may not be suited for where I conceptually want this to go.
I’m not even sure anymore if active or powered, or if I should exclude “monitors” because of their near field nature. Eliminating both would narrow the field dramatically I guess.
Mr Ee
Major Contributor
Very tough indeed!
I've tried rave-review speakers with my hegel amp and my music tastes that I really, really (really!) disliked. And yet others have that same pairing and think it's fantastic.
My advice would still be to go and listen to whatever you can in stores, even things not on your list that dealers might suggest.
You never know, you might stumble across something unexpected, like I did with my Paradigms.
Of course, they cost more than I had originally intended to spend, but...
It's a trade-off between potentially missing out on a great set of speakers or buying some on others' recommendation, not liking them, and not being able to return them.
For me, being happy with what I heard and comfortable buying them was more important than potentially missing out on something 'better', but likely actually getting something worse.
Why do I think likely worse? Well, I didn't like any of my top 10 more than the speakers I already had that were at most half the price of everything I tried.
I wish you luck!
I've tried rave-review speakers with my hegel amp and my music tastes that I really, really (really!) disliked. And yet others have that same pairing and think it's fantastic.
My advice would still be to go and listen to whatever you can in stores, even things not on your list that dealers might suggest.
You never know, you might stumble across something unexpected, like I did with my Paradigms.
Of course, they cost more than I had originally intended to spend, but...
It's a trade-off between potentially missing out on a great set of speakers or buying some on others' recommendation, not liking them, and not being able to return them.
For me, being happy with what I heard and comfortable buying them was more important than potentially missing out on something 'better', but likely actually getting something worse.
Why do I think likely worse? Well, I didn't like any of my top 10 more than the speakers I already had that were at most half the price of everything I tried.
I wish you luck!
If listening in a store is difficult, one option is to look for speaker comparison videos on Youtube. Although not ideal by any means, such videos may be useful if you just want to compare the features of two speakers.
It may be difficult to find a video comparing powered speakers, but I think you can find several speakers suggested in this thread.
I decided to get a pair of Q Acoustics M20 (used for a good price) – I'll be happy to report how they fair in my desired setup when I get there and have them running for a bit. So far they look great and feel well designed and built, and sturdy.
I'm not sure if the way I try to set this all up is the best way to do it though.
I try to have the mains driven analog and the remotes via WiFi and then sync everything.
The Wiim Pro Plus will be the intake for all sources, music services (like Spotify) and analog (like CD and TT), with a simple switch to pick the current "external" source; and the Mini(s) will feed the remote speakers.
See attached graphic for reference.
The difference between the two scenarios is that Scenario 1 has one pair of remotes, Scenario 2 has two pairs (each pair will be in a different location within the same large space).
(I do have a second Wiim Plus I could add/use if that leads to a better solution)
In any case, I wonder if this is the right way to attack this, and if so, how best I link things in the Wiim app and set the "default" volumes and all that. I'm for example suspicious that the volume of the powered remotes may have to be turned way down against the analog towers/sub.
Help and suggestions are highly appreciated!
Also, I don't understand how I can set the Wiim output to WiFi (I don't see a WiFi option for output, only for input) – I want to make sure the output is set to WiFi not Bluetooth, and, when playing Spotify and such, I want to make sure the Mini picks that up WiFi from the Plus and not directly.
Thanks!
I'm not sure if the way I try to set this all up is the best way to do it though.
I try to have the mains driven analog and the remotes via WiFi and then sync everything.
The Wiim Pro Plus will be the intake for all sources, music services (like Spotify) and analog (like CD and TT), with a simple switch to pick the current "external" source; and the Mini(s) will feed the remote speakers.
See attached graphic for reference.
The difference between the two scenarios is that Scenario 1 has one pair of remotes, Scenario 2 has two pairs (each pair will be in a different location within the same large space).
(I do have a second Wiim Plus I could add/use if that leads to a better solution)
In any case, I wonder if this is the right way to attack this, and if so, how best I link things in the Wiim app and set the "default" volumes and all that. I'm for example suspicious that the volume of the powered remotes may have to be turned way down against the analog towers/sub.
Help and suggestions are highly appreciated!
Also, I don't understand how I can set the Wiim output to WiFi (I don't see a WiFi option for output, only for input) – I want to make sure the output is set to WiFi not Bluetooth, and, when playing Spotify and such, I want to make sure the Mini picks that up WiFi from the Plus and not directly.
Thanks!
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Mr Ee
Major Contributor
Regarding 'wifi output', that's not really a thing!
If you have grouped the wiims in the wiim app then they all (magically!) play what the parent in the group is playing.
I'd be pretty certain they each get their signal from the router, not 'broadcast' from the parent itself.
The volume for each device in the group can be adjusted individually, or the entire group volume can be changed at once
Right now these groups cannot be saved, you need to add/remove devices as wanted.
However, persistent groups is on its way, but I don't know if such grouping have default volumes or remember their last used volumes.
I've not actually looked at your picture yet - maybe later!
If you have grouped the wiims in the wiim app then they all (magically!) play what the parent in the group is playing.
I'd be pretty certain they each get their signal from the router, not 'broadcast' from the parent itself.
The volume for each device in the group can be adjusted individually, or the entire group volume can be changed at once
Right now these groups cannot be saved, you need to add/remove devices as wanted.
However, persistent groups is on its way, but I don't know if such grouping have default volumes or remember their last used volumes.
I've not actually looked at your picture yet - maybe later!
As @Mr Ee said, no need to think about Wi-Fi output. And you probably don't need scenario 2 - one Ultra and two Minis can all play simultaneously as one group.
However, if the active speakers have built-in DSP, there may be a problem with synchronization. Usually, auto-sync will solve this problem, but it may be necessary to synchronize each time the group is changed.
Also, it is not currently possible to explicitly set a default volume for a group. The volume is maintained at the last time it was used, so the volume on each device will not change unless the volume is manually adjusted.
Skull, are you saying I could skip the pre/switch? That'd be great. Unfortunately the Pro+ doesn't have enough inputs for all the sources so I'll need some kind of splitter before it – I decided to go with a simple switch box that has the added benefit of intake volume control (if needed).
It wasn't about switching input/output and volume on the Wiim. I just needed a solution to split/combine the sources for intake before the Wiim because there's only one Line In (and one SPDF In) – I don't want to have to manually plug in the respective source every time I switch. Instead of a simple splitter I got a switch box that happens to have a volume knob. From what I understand you're trying to tell me that I don't need the switch and volume functions – good to know, but since I already have it... And maybe a good idea to have the Wiim output volume fixed at 100% (like you seem to suggest) so I can control it all at once from my amp/receiver. I'll probably just have to turn down the volume on the remote speakers (either on the speakers themselves or on the Mini that feeds them) way down, as the powered speakers have their own amp and are, well, more powerful than the wired analog mains (towers and sub). We shall see...
Last edited:
Skull
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2024
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The way mine is setup suits me as I control the volume with a widget app called Sono+ which is efficient in my setup
I only have my turntable connected to the mini so no switching is needed I set mine this way as it worked the best for me
Good luck setting yours up
I have nothing bad to say about the Kali LP-6. All the good things brought to the table by the JBL cousin with a good improvement in the bass. Just a terrific value.
So it's all set up now—Scenario 1 (see further above)—just basic. I'm just playing Spotify right now, and I'm not using the pre/switch and other sources yet.
It seems to work fine. As expected, I had to turn the remote's volume way down, either on the remotes themselves (the powered Q Acoustics M20s) or on the Mini. Otherwise, they get super loud and overpower the mains.
Almost there. But I struggle with the volume settings now.
The volume on my amp/receiver volume is best set at +/- 9:30 max. for the mains. I'd like to have the Mini/remotes at a fixed custom volume so I can control the group's volume with the Pro+ all at once (and dial in the mains via amp/receiver a bit more when needed). The idea is to keep the volume ratio between the mains and remotes the same (and memorized after turning things off and back on) and turn the overall group volume up or down as needed. Plus, I want to prevent accidentally blowing the remotes up when the volume is all the way up. Not sure what the best way is to do that. "Fixed volume" on the Mini seems to just fix it at 100%. It doesn't look like the volume can be fixed at a custom level – or can it? Ideally, I power everything up and then just set the overall volume as desired. It seems like that shouldn't be super hard.
Advice appreciated. Thank you!
It seems to work fine. As expected, I had to turn the remote's volume way down, either on the remotes themselves (the powered Q Acoustics M20s) or on the Mini. Otherwise, they get super loud and overpower the mains.
Almost there. But I struggle with the volume settings now.
The volume on my amp/receiver volume is best set at +/- 9:30 max. for the mains. I'd like to have the Mini/remotes at a fixed custom volume so I can control the group's volume with the Pro+ all at once (and dial in the mains via amp/receiver a bit more when needed). The idea is to keep the volume ratio between the mains and remotes the same (and memorized after turning things off and back on) and turn the overall group volume up or down as needed. Plus, I want to prevent accidentally blowing the remotes up when the volume is all the way up. Not sure what the best way is to do that. "Fixed volume" on the Mini seems to just fix it at 100%. It doesn't look like the volume can be fixed at a custom level – or can it? Ideally, I power everything up and then just set the overall volume as desired. It seems like that shouldn't be super hard.
Advice appreciated. Thank you!
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