Smart (Linkplay) Speaker

[scottm]

Hi, in my main room I have a Wiim Pro connected to my amp, but would like the option of listening in my kitchen, sometimes in isolation, other times as a multi-room setup.

I'm considering a budget smart speaker, either Audio Pro A10 (non-WiiM) or Edifier MS50A, both of which I understand should link with the WiiM, albeit without full functionality, such as Room Correction, etc.

Most of my listening is streaming my own collection (flacs served by MinimServer), although I also Google Cast (Bandcamp, BBC Sounds, etc.)

Firstly I was wondering which one of the speakers is thought to sound best? From reviews I reckon the A10, but not sure if there's much between them.

Secondly I was hoping to gain a better understanding of how a linked smart speaker works in practice. For instance, to play my flacs can I initiate an audio stream directly to the speaker or must it always be linked with my WiiM Pro as the master?
I believe the Edifier doesn't support Google Cast so does this mean only that I couldn't Cast directly to the speaker, or would it also be the case that the speaker wouldn't output a Google Cast that was sent to the WiiM?
I haven't used a linked setup before so anything else I should be aware of/have overlooked with these two devices?

Thanks.

 

[Burnside]

Hi, in my main room I have a Wiim Pro connected to my amp, but would like the option of listening in my kitchen, sometimes in isolation, other times as a multi-room setup.

I'm considering a budget smart speaker, either Audio Pro A10 (non-WiiM) or Edifier MS50A, both of which I understand should link with the WiiM, albeit without full functionality, such as Room Correction, etc.

Most of my listening is streaming my own collection (flacs served by MinimServer), although I also Google Cast (Bandcamp, BBC Sounds, etc.)

Firstly I was wondering which one of the speakers is thought to sound best? From reviews I reckon the A10, but not sure if there's much between them.

Secondly I was hoping to gain a better understanding of how a linked smart speaker works in practice. For instance, to play my flacs can I initiate an audio stream directly to the speaker or must it always be linked with my WiiM Pro as the master?

in the case of Minimserver, you could direct playback to either speaker separately, or as a linked group if you wish both to play the same track simultaneously.

I believe the Edifier doesn't support Google Cast so does this mean only that I couldn't Cast directly to the speaker, or would it also be the case that the speaker wouldn't output a Google Cast that was sent to the WiiM?

Correct - in order to use Google Cast/ Chromecast to send to linked speakers, both must first be grouped together in the Google home app and hence both must support Chromecast. You can link them in the WiiM app and just send audio to the Chromecast capable device , that won’t work.

I haven't used a linked setup before so anything else I should be aware of/have overlooked with these two devices?

Thanks.