Room Correction Beta firmware for WiiM Pro, Pro Plus and Amp - User Testing Experience

[slartibartfast]

What’s your actual experience of WiiM products? Some early revision WiiM Amps did have an issue with humming which could be heard when nothing was playing, but that’s very old news.

Exactly. Every comment has been negative. Even one criticising my BK subwoofer which I haven't forgotten

 

[Wiimer]

WiiM AMP, in particular, has many bugs and shortcomings that users complain about; in terms of quality, the product is clearly inferior to “first-tier” manufacturers like Yamaha or Denon. That's why I say that you should pay more attention to improving the quality of your products.

In my opinion, as a resident of the country that created Yamaha and denon, that is not necessarily true.

I think you need to look into the product quality of the "first-tier" manufacturers in the same price range as the WiiM Amp. For example, please check out the reviews of the Denon PMA-60 in Japan.

 

[s0nix]

Since the room correction is finally released to the public, I immediately did some measurements. The weird thing is that I get different results when measuring multiple times. Another issue is that it's applying massive corrections, like +10 dB and -10 dB. Is this due to the placement of the speakers, the speakers themselves, or both?

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

For example, customers complained that the WiiM AMP's power output was not as good as advertised, compared to some lower-power amplifiers that actually had more headroom.

Or, for example, noise from speakers in standby mode (when there is no signal).

Read reviews on Amazon.

No one - well no professional review - has criticised the power output for being exaggerated.

There were a couple of complaints about noise from pre-release and (very) early release units, which were completely sorted.

Neither of those is a bug.

 

[landco]

professional review

Professional audio reviews are written by people who have been paid, this is a method of promoting a product in the market, not a way to learn about its shortcomings

 

[joffy1780]

Exactly. Every comment has been negative. Even one criticising my BK subwoofer which I haven't forgotten

Oh hell no!! I have 2 BK subs, he's well in my bad books now!!

 

[slartibartfast]

Professional audio reviews are written by people who have been paid, this is a method of promoting a product in the market, not a way to learn about its shortcomings

You prefer to trust reviews by people on Amazon and only the bad ones

 

[joffy1780]

@landco back to your original point, how do you feel the room correction could be improved? How does it compare to YPAO, Audyssey, Dirac or even Sonarworks for example?

 

[Jls]

I look at Amazon reviews, but they tend to lump different products together.

 

[slartibartfast]

I look at Amazon reviews, but they tend to lump different products together.

There are also lots of fake reviews all written by the same accounts which Amazon do nothing about even when told about them.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Professional audio reviews are written by people who have been paid, this is a method of promoting a product in the market, not a way to learn about its shortcomings

Not all of them.

All of the ones which measure things like amplifier output are completely independent, and don’t take cash from anyone.

Even for those that do, there are enough who don’t, and who publish figures, that we know we can trust.

 

[joffy1780]

Wiim Amp has an average rating of 4.5/5 from Amazon from 645 reviews, which is pretty good to be fair.

 

[Jls]

There are also lots of fake reviews all written by the same accounts which Amazon do nothing about even when told about them.

I read consumer Reports also, but the discussion is usually more important than the rating.

 

[slartibartfast]

I read consumer Reports also, but the discussion is usually more important than the rating.

Someone bought us an Air Fryer cookbook from Amazon. It had many 5 star reviews all published on the same day and all with the same bad grammar and spelling mistakes and obviously badly translated from a foreign language. Looking at some of the accounts other reviews showed similar dodgy reviews for other items totally unrelated to the book. These other items had multiple reviews from the same accounts that gave glowing reviews the Air Fryer book. Amazon don't care.

 

[Achim1811]

Everyone, at least nearly everyone is complaining about paid reviews, corrupt reviewers, fake feedback and so on. But obviously everyone, or nearly everyone knows, looks and reads this stuff. My hunch is good reviews are those which confirm the own opinion and bad reviews are simply corrupt nonsense or made by people with absolutely no knowledge. And sooner or later the three letter abb. will appear

 

[harkpabst]

The weird thing is that I get different results when measuring multiple times.

Yes, this is absolutely possible if not measuring in exactly the same MLP and should be considered when configuring RC.

Another issue is that it's applying massive corrections, like +10 dB and -10 dB.

You can actually tell adjust the maximum correction factor prior to starting the RC process. Personally (and even more so, if you discover differences between multiple runs) I would rather limit correction to something like 6 dB.

You can also define the frequency range WiiM RC is trying to correct for and the target curve. Leaving the target curve aside for a moment: How do you like the bass after performing RC? Chances are, the sound is very bass heavy after RC. If this is the case, then most probably your microphone and it's calibration are not really working well below ~60 Hz or so. If the mic detects "too little bass" but in reality you've got just enough, then the correction applied by WiiM RC will be all wrong. Until you have access to a better mic (which is supported by WiiM) the best option is to limit the lower frequency for RC to 60 or maybe even 70 Hz. Give it a try and listen for yourself.

That rather hefty boost of 4.6 dB at 2.78 kHz looks a little suspicious as well. But not knowing your speakers and listening environment this correction might just be adequate. Or just not. If the midrange sound good to you and measurements are repeatable then no further action is required. If it sounds harsh, limit the upper end of the RC working area to something like 1.5 kHz.

When it comes to bass below ~300 Hz it is very difficult to distinguish between effects of the room and defects of the speaker.

 

[Jls]

I don’t look for reviews that agree with me, but I look for people who describe approach problems the same way I do.

Sadily, I ignored people who complained that glass jars arrived broken. Bad luck I thought.

Mine arrived broken, and neither Amazon nor the seller responded to my complaint.

 

[landco]

back to your original point, how do you feel the room correction could be improved? How does it compare to YPAO, Audyssey, Dirac or even Sonarworks for example?

I take it there is no protection against clipping?
and there is a problem with the microphone, you can’t use an iPhone for this

 

[harkpabst]

I take it there is no protection against clipping?

What exactly are you referring to? I'm asking because this ...

and there is a problem with the microphone, you can’t use an iPhone for this

... is so incredibly far from reality, it makes me wonder how much time you spent even reading about WiiM products. Obviously not so much. Which leads to the question why you decided to spread your wisdom in this forum. Helping fellow user? Unlikely.

 

[Brantome]

I take it there is no protection against clipping?

Not automatically as yet in this first version, but means to avoid it have been discussed in the forum and WiiM are very open to feature requests to improve their software.

and there is a problem with the microphone, you can’t use an iPhone for this

Why not? The respected HouseCurve app does as well, and the characteristics of iPhone mics seem to be well understood.