powered speaker for wiim mini

[Andy13]

I am using wiim pro in my living room with older denon amp playing amazon music unlimited. I want to put a single speaker in another room to play amazon music. I don't have an interest in alexa or voice control. I'm assuming I can use a wiim mini and a standalone powered speaker. Any suggestions for a decent sounding speaker without breaking the bank?

 

[d6jg]

How big is the bank - range?

 

[Witterings]

How big is the bank - range?

When you say 1 speaker I'm guessing you mean that literally and not a pair?

On your Pro I guess you're using Ulta/HD, if you're looking to set it up as multiroom with a WiiM mini I believe you'll have to switch that to standard quality for it to work as part of a group.

Personally I'd explore if you could use an Echo Studio, it has a 3.5mm in so if nothing else you could plug the WiiM mini into that but you may be able to set it up as part of a speaker group with the Pro.

They're £189 at the moment but they quite often drop them to £139 when they have a sale.

 

[d6jg]

If that is within budget then I'd suggest a Libratone Zipp 2 - it is a very flexible portable speaker with Airplay, Bluetooth and 3.5mm Aux In and also has inbuilt Internet Radio and Spotify Connect. It is also sounds very nice.

 

[Andy13]

Thanks. So it sounds like all I need is a 3.5mm in. Those are in the budget. I appreciate the advice.

 

[d6jg]

Thanks. So it sounds like all I need is a 3.5mm in. Those are in the budget. I appreciate the advice.

Provided you are content to use the WiiM’s onboard DAC then yes.
For bit perfect you would need to use a digital out and set volume at 100% and a speaker with digital input - quite rare at that price point.

 

[Witterings]

Provided you are content to use the WiiM’s onboard DAC then yes.
For bit perfect you would need to use a digital out and set volume at 100% and a speaker with digital input - quite rare at that price point.

I was going to post the same, strangely enough the input on the Echo Studio is either 3.5mm or mini-optical in but I don't know if the DAC in the Echo would be any better.
There's obviously the alternative of an external DAC in between as well.

 

[DryTortuga]

By the time you’re done with this thread you’ll be talked up to a Schiit Ragnarock, nice bookshelf’s, and a set of cans.

 

[d6jg]

By the time you’re done with this thread you’ll be talked up to a Schiit Ragnarock, nice bookshelf’s, and a set of cans.

And why not? It is season of January sales after all.

 

[Andy13]

It would be nice to have a digital input powered speaker at my pricepoint but it is a big ask. Thanks.

 

[d6jg]

It would be nice to have a digital input powered speaker at my pricepoint but it is a big ask. Thanks.

Witterings is saying the Echo Studio has digital input via mini toslink.
Specs say it’s DAC is 24bit but it’s silent on KHz capability. Some research required.

 

[Witterings]

Witterings is saying the Echo Studio has digital input via mini toslink.
Specs say it’s DAC is 24bit but it’s silent on KHz capability. Some research required.

I'm as interested to know if it'll play Amazon HD/Ultra in a multiroom group with a WiiM Pro, I have 3 WiiM Mini's and it's a PITA to have to keep switching Ultra HD off whenever you want to multiroom and back on again when you don't.

I'll probably buy the Pros when they're available in the UK to replace 2 of those in the critical listening areas and then use Echo Studios in rooms that are casual listening and would be nice to have multiroom.
Amazon are promoting try a Studio for 30 days and send it back if you don't like it so may do exactly that to test it when the WiiM Pros are available.

 

[Mr Ee]

I'm still unclear on the budget, but how about a (2nd hand?) soundbar.
Would almost certainly have an optical in, and stereo too.

 

[Andy13]

As for my budget, less than $200. So a soundbar, new or used, may work. A question on the Echo Studio. Do I need all WiiM pros and minis connected to an amazon echo for the same music to be played in multiple rooms? Or is this possible with individual speakers/soundbars hooked up to WiiM minis in multiple rooms?

 

[Witterings]

As for my budget, less than $200. So a soundbar, new or used, may work. A question on the Echo Studio. Do I need all WiiM pros and minis connected to an amazon echo for the same music to be played in multiple rooms? Or is this possible with individual speakers/soundbars hooked up to WiiM minis in multiple rooms?

I think you just need an Alexa account / App which you can have on your phone / tablet and with that can create speaker groups irrespective of if you have an Echo device or not.
In other words you could have 5 sounds bars connected to 5 WiiMs and you could create a group that would play to all of them ... BUT .... if that's a mix of Pros and mini's the mini's can't do multiroom Ultra HD and you'd have to disable it on all of the WiiM's in the group for it to work ... unless they're all Pros.

 

[Andy13]

OK, I really appreciate the response. This is something I really needed to know/understand. I didn't know I could set up groups without using Alexa speakers. I can get ultra HD through WiFi? For some reason I thought I had to hardwire to my lan for that, which I have on my pro. Thanks.

 

[Witterings]

OK, I really appreciate the response. This is something I really needed to know/understand. I didn't know I could set up groups without using Alexa speakers. I can get ultra HD through WiFi? For some reason I thought I had to hardwire to my lan for that, which I have on my pro. Thanks.

Yes you can get Ultra HD with WiFi .... one of my WiiM's wired and the other's on WiFi and they both work fine.

 

[jjue1979]

You may be able to get a Gen 1 S1 Sonos Play:5 used in that price range and just use the Line In. The S1 app i definitely going to be more reliable than the current app that Sonos recently released and is rapidly updating to stop the bleeding. If it wasn’t for the release of the new app 2 months ago, I still wouldn’t know that WiiM exists, and I now have two WiiM Amps and am slowly replacing the rest of the Sonos speakers in the house.

 

[Skull]

You may be able to get a Gen 1 S1 Sonos Play:5 used in that price range and just use the Line In. The S1 app i definitely going to be more reliable than the current app that Sonos recently released and is rapidly updating to stop the bleeding. If it wasn’t for the release of the new app 2 months ago, I still wouldn’t know that WiiM exists, and I now have two WiiM Amps and am slowly replacing the rest of the Sonos speakers in the house.

I didn’t upgrade my s2 still using 16.1 so mine still works but I have a WiiM mini plugged into my 5 line in and haven’t used the Sonos App other than volume and grouping since
WiiM is much better I am replacing my 5s and sub with a class a/b amp and a Pair of floor standers soon