Should HDMI input “wake” the amp up?

[Matt_Holland]

As per the thread title. I know that the HDMI input does not have auto-sensing but I’ve read elsewhere from users that the amp wakes up when the connected TV is turned on. Should this be the case?

I have requested auto-sense for the HDMI and streaming inputs via this forum and via a the feedback system.

 

[xsdmx]

The amp does not currently wake/sleep with TV, however, if you enable optical auto-sense in the settings when there is a few seconds of continuous audio output from the TV, the amp will wake up from standby. I'm hoping in the future we get an explicit HDMI auto sense option and also optional CEC standby support.

 

[Matt_Holland]

I’m getting very inconsistent behaviour. Sometimes the amp does wake from standby when the TV is switched on. Other times it doesn’t. Sometimes it wakes, but fails to switch to the HDMI input.

 

[xsdmx]

For me, I find what is working consistently is playing a continuous 10s of audio on the TV and then the amp always wakes. This is with an LG C9 TV.

 

[Matt_Holland]

In addition, auto-sense on optical doesn’t work for me.

 

[xsdmx]

In addition, auto-sense on optical doesn’t work for me.

Maybe you have to enable both line in and optical. There was some debate about that. I have both on and auto sense is working over HDMI.

 

[Cúlabúla]

I too note that auto-sense is working over HDMI. I’ve only owned this from Friday but there is much about it to admire. I’m still questioning the wisdom of running my turntable with high-end cartridge through a digital amp but I do confess I like how the act of putting on an LP overrides the radio station playing and begins to play from line-in instead. Remarkable.

 

[Woody]

I too note that auto-sense is working over HDMI. I’ve only owned this from Friday but there is much about it to admire. I’m still questioning the wisdom of running my turntable with high-end cartridge through a digital amp but I do confess I like how the act of putting on an LP overrides the radio station playing and begins to play from line-in instead. Remarkable.

At one time I was an audiophile "want to be" but ease of use has overridden those tendencies.
I really enjoy the WiiM Amp and the sound quality is fine for me these days. I should say the sound quality is very good, not just fine.

 

[Smartplug]

At one time I was an audiophile "want to be" but ease of use has overridden those tendencies.
I really enjoy the WiiM Amp and the sound quality is fine for me these days. I should say the sound quality is very good, not just fine.

It’s indeed very good, it can keep up with my separate components including mono block amp in term of sound quality except volume level. It has nice control on bass that is solid and tight. Many amp I use before had loose bass which not my cup of tea.

 

[Cúlabúla]

At one time I was an audiophile "want to be" but ease of use has overridden those tendencies.
I really enjoy the WiiM Amp and the sound quality is fine for me these days. I should say the sound quality is very good, not just fine.

Agreed. The sound is more than acceptable, the facilities are terrific and the footprint is admirable. That said, it might be best used for TV, Blu-ray and radio/streaming as I do not think it’s as ‘exciting’ as my classic Exposure amp, which is waiting in the wings to be reinstated. I just have to figure out how to connect everything to just one pair of speakers.

 

[Cúlabúla]

At one time I was an audiophile "want to be" but ease of use has overridden those tendencies.
I really enjoy the WiiM Amp and the sound quality is fine for me these days. I should say the sound quality is very good, not just fine.

In the end I decided to be an audiophile “staybe “. The WiiM does digital very well, its footprint is perfect and its facilities great. But I must have been mad thinking that I could take my proper amp out of the system and route an LP12 with Hana Umami Blue through this mini-marvel.

The main issue is that - incredibly - the WiiM shows digitally sourced LPs up for what they are while presenting original analogue records rather well - whereas my original amp makes a splendid fist of anything you throw at it although analogue LPs will triumph.

So they’re now running side-by-side for the best of both worlds. The main result is the absence of any syncing problems that I had with TV, Blu-Ray, Firestick,  TV or Chromecast, thanks to the amp and HDMI-arc.

 

[dimangiful]

The HDMI ARC auto-sensing almost works. I've been testing it a lot, and can't get consistent results. I've seen it work now and then with and without optical cable. My TV has HDMI ARC coupled with optical. There is option for just optical, but not for just HDMI ARC. Currently I have unplugged the optical cable, as it seemed to have impact on success rate and I can't disable it from TV settings.

Sometimes the amp turns on, sound comes out, but TV volume controls do not work (I suspect in these cases I had the optical plugged).
At other times, the amp turns on, no sound comes out, and eventually it turns itself off
And there are also times when everything works as it should.

The fix in error situations is to switch the sound output to TV only, and then back to Wiim. This works every time for me. It doesn't take big effort for me, but the rest of the family would not accept this solution.

The TV is LG 55SJ850V

 

[xsdmx]

I have an LG C9 TV with an Nvidia Shield and the behavior is also slightly inconsistent but much better than what you're experiencing.

For me with HDMI auto-sense enabled on the WiiM Amp and LG Simplink enabled on the TV:
1) After ~5s of continuous audio playback from the TV/Shield the WiiM Amp always wakes up and switches to HDMI
2) Volume control over CEC via my Nvidia Shield remote always works
3) Sometimes the WiiM Amp immediately wakes up and can play audio on CEC power-on via the Nvidia Shield remote, however, other times it seems like it relies on the HDMI auto-sense and audio is not output until ~5s of continuous playback after power-on

 

[dimangiful]

I also have LG simplink (HDMI CEC) enabled, as well as power management via CEC enabled. The first is under sound output, the second is oddly found under general settings. You can't configure the CEC buttons, as that would require to pick the right manufacturer and model from CEC settings (and Wiim is not on the list). However, I don't that's the issue, when the connection is recognised, it works fine.
I have also disabled power management and CEC from the other devices like Switch and Playstation (didn't seem to have much impact).

At some point I'll likely get Apple TV (when the old LG performance with gets too painful). It's nice to hear, that even a chained CEC power-on could potentially work.

 

[WiiM Support]

The HDMI ARC auto-sensing almost works. I've been testing it a lot, and can't get consistent results. I've seen it work now and then with and without optical cable. My TV has HDMI ARC coupled with optical. There is option for just optical, but not for just HDMI ARC. Currently I have unplugged the optical cable, as it seemed to have impact on success rate and I can't disable it from TV settings.

Sometimes the amp turns on, sound comes out, but TV volume controls do not work (I suspect in these cases I had the optical plugged).
At other times, the amp turns on, no sound comes out, and eventually it turns itself off
And there are also times when everything works as it should.

The fix in error situations is to switch the sound output to TV only, and then back to Wiim. This works every time for me. It doesn't take big effort for me, but the rest of the family would not accept this solution.

The TV is LG 55SJ850V

Hi dimangiful,

We have identified a limitation in the WiiM Amp where auto-sensing for the Optical In does not function when both HDMI and Optical input cables are connected to the amp. Currently, the WiiM Amp is designed to prioritize auto-sensing for HDMI inputs in such scenarios.

To work around this, please keep one connection - either HDMI Arc or optical connection, and turn on the auto-sensing of the optical input which applies to the HDMI ARC too. Please let us know if it works for you correctly.