Rookie here, making rookie mistakes

[GlenJH]

So I recently wanted to play music from my iPhone through the old Hi-Fi system in the living room, but couldn't 'cos the old Sony receiver doesn't have Bluetooth.
As I looked into various BT adapters/dongles/receivers, I noticed WiiM was mentioned often and after some research decided this is exactly what I needed!
Not wanting to dive right into the Ultra, Pro or Amp just yet, I purchased a Mini (upgrade later), and I love it!
BUT I may have misunderstood it's limitations.
I initially assumed I could play music to a remote portable BT speaker and my living room wired passive speakers simultaneously, but that wasn't possible. Oh well, there's always Wi-Fi speakers...right? And WiiM isn't a closed proprietary system like Sonos, so almost any Wi-Fi speaker will work...right? As I'm budget conscious (ok, I'm cheap), the WiiM and AudioPro speakers weren't on my list, but it seemed the Amazon Echo Dot series could be an affordable alternative. After all, I just need a small speaker for the garage. This is where I made my mistake.
I wanted to cast (stream?) from the Wiim Mini to the Dot in the garage, while also having music in the living room. Reasoning for this is odd: The native Pandora App embedded in the WiiM App is awesome. Pandora's "Quick-Mix" music selection is perfectly curated for me, the sound quality is excellent and best of all: no ads! But alas, it was not to be. I discovered that the Echo Dot could not be used as a "receiver" for the Wiim's Wi-Fi signal in a multi room setup (please correct me if I'm wrong here). It DOES work the other way around: Echo Dot to Wiim, and multi room works, but sadly the Pandora App in the Echo Dot is not the ad-free version.
So that's my story. Good, bad & otherwise. Overall I really really love the WiiM, but my bad...I failed to understand it's limitations.
Comments or suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[s3igell]

Which tier of Pandora Account do you have??

 

[GlenJH]

Which tier of Pandora Account do you have??

I have the free with adverts version on my Apple devices (iPhone 15 & ipad) and my Roku TV. The same ad supported version is also on my Amazon Echo Dot speaker, though I don’t think it’s native to the Echo, probably just a stream from my phone to the Echo.
That’s why I thought it was cool that the “native” Pandora app in the WiiM was ad-free & sounding much better.

 

[s3igell]

I might be mistaken, as I am no longer a Pandora user.
All the non-native Pandora Apps use the same API. This means that they all use the same Pandora User Accounts, in the same way.
Not to spoil your fun, but... Are you sure the WiiM Mini was playing ad-free??

 

[GlenJH]

I might be mistaken, as I am no longer a Pandora user.
All the non-native Pandora Apps use the same API. This means that they all use the same Pandora User Accounts, in the same way.
Not to spoil your fun, but... Are you sure the WiiM Mini was playing ad-free??

Oh yeah! I have it on all day long while I’m home. It’s great! Also, the music selection is spot on for my eclectic tastes. Im sure it’s an algorithm but I love it.

 

[Doublej]

Here is my understanding of things. I could easily be incorrect.

Oh well, there's always Wi-Fi speakers...right? And WiiM isn't a closed proprietary system like Sonos, so almost any Wi-Fi speaker will work...right?

Incorrect. You need to have a speaker that is WiiM compatible. The only ones I know of are from WiiM and a few from Audio Pro.

I wanted to cast (stream?) from the Wiim Mini to the Dot in the garage, while also having music in the living room. Reasoning for this is odd: The native Pandora App embedded in the WiiM App is awesome. Pandora's "Quick-Mix" music selection is perfectly curated for me, the sound quality is excellent and best of all: no ads! But alas, it was not to be. I discovered that the Echo Dot could not be used as a "receiver" for the Wiim's Wi-Fi signal in a multi room setup (please correct me if I'm wrong here).
Correct. An Amazon Echo speaker cannot participate in a WiiM multi room setup.

It DOES work the other way around: Echo Dot to Wiim, and multi room works, but sadly the Pandora App in the Echo Dot is not the ad-free version.
Correct. A WiiM can be part of an Alexa group. FYI, Echo Dot, Echo Studio etc. refers to a device. Alexa is the software that provides the functionality.

 

[GlenJH]

Here is my understanding of things. I could easily be incorrect.

Oh well, there's always Wi-Fi speakers...right? And WiiM isn't a closed proprietary system like Sonos, so almost any Wi-Fi speaker will work...right?

Incorrect. You need to have a speaker that is WiiM compatible. The only ones I know of are from WiiM and a few from Audio Pro.

I wanted to cast (stream?) from the Wiim Mini to the Dot in the garage, while also having music in the living room. Reasoning for this is odd: The native Pandora App embedded in the WiiM App is awesome. Pandora's "Quick-Mix" music selection is perfectly curated for me, the sound quality is excellent and best of all: no ads! But alas, it was not to be. I discovered that the Echo Dot could not be used as a "receiver" for the Wiim's Wi-Fi signal in a multi room setup (please correct me if I'm wrong here).
Correct. An Amazon Echo speaker cannot participate in a WiiM multi room setup.

It DOES work the other way around: Echo Dot to Wiim, and multi room works, but sadly the Pandora App in the Echo Dot is not the ad-free version.
Correct. A WiiM can be part of an Alexa group. FYI, Echo Dot, Echo Studio etc. refers to a device. Alexa is the software that provides the functionality.

Thank you for confirming my understanding (or, mis-understanding in my case)!
I’m very happy with my Mini, and while it’s not a “closed/proprietary” system such as Sonos, I’m a little disappointed that I’m tied to just a few speaker choices.
Alternatively, adding additional Minis to a speaker of my choice could make life easier for me…right?

 

[Doublej]

Thank you for confirming my understanding (or, mis-understanding in my case)!
I’m very happy with my Mini, and while it’s not a “closed/proprietary” system such as Sonos, I’m a little disappointed that I’m tied to just a few speaker choices.
Alternatively, adding additional Minis to a speaker of my choice could make life easier for me…right?

Don't solely blame WiiM. Blame the darn industry for not coming up with a WiFi music standard. The folks behind HEOS, MusicCast, AirPlay, Bluesound, Sonos, DTS Play-Fi, and others which have competing formats are to blame too.

Fronting a powered speaker or pair of powered speakers with a WiiM will add them to your WiiM ecosystem.

 

[GlenJH]

Don't solely blame WiiM. Blame the darn industry for not coming up with a WiFi music standard. The folks behind HEOS, MusicCast, AirPlay, Bluesound, Sonos, DTS Play-Fi, and others which have competing formats are to blame too.

Fronting a powered speaker or pair of powered speakers with a WiiM will add them to your WiiM ecosystem.

Absolutely agree. I also ride mountain bikes, and for a while the competing standards between manufacturers were ridiculous (not so much now).
I always research heavily before purchasing but I totally whiffed on this one.
Still, I’m happy with my purchase and thanks to this forum can now make better decisions.

 

[castalla]

Absolutely agree. I also ride mountain bikes, and for a while the competing standards between manufacturers were ridiculous (not so much now).
I always research heavily before purchasing but I totally whiffed on this one.
Still, I’m happy with my purchase and thanks to this forum can now make better decisions.

That's capitalism and a market economy, folks...

 

[Doublej]

FYI, A Pandora stream originating from WiiM Home app to a WiiM device cannot be transferred to an Echo but you can transfer a Pandora stream if you used Alexa to initiate the stream on the WiiM device.

 

[GlenJH]

FYI, A Pandora stream originating from WiiM Home app to a WiiM device cannot be transferred to an Echo but you can transfer a Pandora stream if you used Alexa to initiate the stream on the WiiM device.

Thank you!
I’ve almost given up on using my Amazon Echo Spot for any WiiM related listening, though it’s useful as a bedside clock with a semi-decent sound.
I’ll eventually upgrade my “main” living room system with a WiiM Pro and relegate the Mini to remote speaker duty in the garage, backyard, etc fronting a powered speaker.