Stupid question--Casting to Amp Pro from iPhone without AirPlay

[fredofredo]

Very impressed with the audio quality of the Amp Pro so far, definitely worth the modest $ premium compared to original Amp if you have a discerning system, IMO of course. REALLY noticeable improvement on sources like Jazz and vocal-centric music. I moved the original Amp to my modest home office system and it's working great there, very pleased, mated with Energy LCR satellite speakers and an Emotiva XS8 sub. The Amp Pro is in my better, 2-channel system downstairs (Meadowlark Swallow monitors; dual SVS SB-1000 Pro Subs; all SVS cabling; older Sony Blu-Ray Player strictly as CD transport via Toslink; Fluance turntable/Ortofon Red cartridge/Fosi tube phone pre for vinyl).

Dumb question. We all know at this point the biggest negative with the Amp Pro is the loss of AirPlay capability compared to the original Amp. I've grown used to that convenience with the original Amp. While it is not a normal use case for me, occasionally I would like to cast audio from YouTube on my iPhone directly to my Wiim. I can do that with the original Amp, you cannot do that with AirPlay on the Amp Pro, I'm OK with that. My question is, how do I do it now? Bluetooth surely, but how? Is there an option on the iPhone or within the iPhone YouTube app that I'm missing? I only care about this specific use scenario. For my local hi rez audio, I can play those on the Amp Pro via a connected USB drive just fine. I can also play anything via streaming from an audio service like Amazon Music Unlimited. But what about casting from YT, with AirPlay now gone?

 

[Wiimer]

Very impressed with the audio quality of the Amp Pro so far, definitely worth the modest $ premium compared to original Amp if you have a discerning system, IMO of course. REALLY noticeable improvement on sources like Jazz and vocal-centric music. I moved the original Amp to my modest home office system and it's working great there, very pleased, mated with Energy LCR satellite speakers and an Emotiva XS8 sub. The Amp Pro is in my better, 2-channel system downstairs (Meadowlark Swallow monitors; dual SVS SB-1000 Pro Subs; all SVS cabling; older Sony Blu-Ray Player strictly as CD transport via Toslink; Fluance turntable/Ortofon Red cartridge/Fosi tube phone pre for vinyl).

Dumb question. We all know at this point the biggest negative with the Amp Pro is the loss of AirPlay capability compared to the original Amp. I've grown used to that convenience with the original Amp. While it is not a normal use case for me, occasionally I would like to cast audio from YouTube on my iPhone directly to my Wiim. I can do that with the original Amp, you cannot do that with AirPlay on the Amp Pro, I'm OK with that. My question is, how do I do it now? Bluetooth surely, but how? Is there an option on the iPhone or within the iPhone YouTube app that I'm missing? I only care about this specific use scenario. For my local hi rez audio, I can play those on the Amp Pro via a connected USB drive just fine. I can also play anything via streaming from an audio service like Amazon Music Unlimited. But what about casting from YT, with AirPlay now gone?

If you link Amp and Amp Pro into a Linkplay group, and send AirPlay from your iPhone to Amp, can you play from both Amp and Amp Pro?

If so, then only the Amp Pro will play sound if only the Amp is muted.

 

[fredofredo]

If you link Amp and Amp Pro into a Linkplay group, and send AirPlay from your iPhone to Amp, can you play from both Amp and Amp Pro?

If so, then only the Amp Pro will play sound if only the Amp is muted.

I literally don't understand this. LOL. My bad, I'm sure.

 

[Wiimer]

I literally don't understand this. LOL. My bad, I'm sure.

Amp and Amp pro in one group in the WiiM home app.

Tap the chain icon in the upper right corner of Amp's card to add Amp pro to the group, and it will be grouped like this.

Can you make it this far?

In this case, "1F amp (WiiM amp)" is the master device of the group. When music is played on the amp in this state, music will be played throughout the group. (Since Amp pro is the child device here, playing music on Amp pro will cancel the group.)

Create a group similar to this example and send music from your phone to Amp via Airplay. Will the music be played by the entire group (Amp and Amp pro) at this time?

Once this is done, tap the Amp speaker icon to mute it.


My native language is Japanese and I use auto translation.
Sorry, I may not have explained it well.

 

[Wiimer]

However, this method will not allow you to use different sources in two rooms at the same time, because Amp is also playing at the same time.

This method suggested by @Burnside may help you.

AirConnect: Send audio to UPnP/Sonos/Chromecast players using AirPlay

Didn't quite know which subforum to post this in, so general thoughts it is... AirConnect is a package developed by philippe44 who is pretty well known in LMS circles for his 'bridge' plugins which allow the transfer of audio between different protocols. This particular bridge allows UPnP...

forum.wiimhome.com

Or, you can connect the WiiM Mini to the optical input of the Amp Pro and use AirPlay on the Mini.

 

[WiiM Support]

Very impressed with the audio quality of the Amp Pro so far, definitely worth the modest $ premium compared to original Amp if you have a discerning system, IMO of course. REALLY noticeable improvement on sources like Jazz and vocal-centric music. I moved the original Amp to my modest home office system and it's working great there, very pleased, mated with Energy LCR satellite speakers and an Emotiva XS8 sub. The Amp Pro is in my better, 2-channel system downstairs (Meadowlark Swallow monitors; dual SVS SB-1000 Pro Subs; all SVS cabling; older Sony Blu-Ray Player strictly as CD transport via Toslink; Fluance turntable/Ortofon Red cartridge/Fosi tube phone pre for vinyl).

Dumb question. We all know at this point the biggest negative with the Amp Pro is the loss of AirPlay capability compared to the original Amp. I've grown used to that convenience with the original Amp. While it is not a normal use case for me, occasionally I would like to cast audio from YouTube on my iPhone directly to my Wiim. I can do that with the original Amp, you cannot do that with AirPlay on the Amp Pro, I'm OK with that. My question is, how do I do it now? Bluetooth surely, but how? Is there an option on the iPhone or within the iPhone YouTube app that I'm missing? I only care about this specific use scenario. For my local hi rez audio, I can play those on the Amp Pro via a connected USB drive just fine. I can also play anything via streaming from an audio service like Amazon Music Unlimited. But what about casting from YT, with AirPlay now gone?

Hi fredofredo,

Apologies for the inconvenience.

You can pair your iPhone with the Amp Pro via Bluetooth using the WiiM Home App. Simply go to the 'Browse' tab and select 'Bluetooth' as the input source. Then, pair your iPhone with the Amp Pro through your iPhone settings. It streams using 256kbps AAC, offering the same audio quality as AirPlay.

 

[fredofredo]

Thanks for the help all, I'll try both methods when I get home from work tonight!

 

[pieterv1]

Another solution is to use the Airconnect plugin:

AirConnect: Send audio to UPnP/Sonos/Chromecast players using AirPlay

Didn't quite know which subforum to post this in, so general thoughts it is... AirConnect is a package developed by philippe44 who is pretty well known in LMS circles for his 'bridge' plugins which allow the transfer of audio between different protocols. This particular bridge allows UPnP...

forum.wiimhome.com

(needs to be running in the background on a server device like a computer or NAS)

 

[fredofredo]

Thanks again to reply posters in this thread, both methods work. These are such cool products, thanks WiiM!

 

[adias]

Airplay/Airplay 2 is not a ‘hand-off’ connection, meaning the transmitting device (iPhone) must be on and running the transmitting app. Thus… in the absence of Airplay why not use Bluetooth instead? WiiM’s Bluetooth is actually a better sound quality connection than AirPlay 2.

 

[fredofredo]

Airplay/Airplay 2 is not a ‘hand-off’ connection, meaning the transmitting device (iPhone) must be on and running the transmitting app. Thus… in the absence of Airplay why not use Bluetooth instead? WiiM’s Bluetooth is actually a better sound quality connection than AirPlay 2.

That's what I'm doing, the Bluetooth method suggested by WiiM above in this thread. I use that when casting audio from my iPhone--watching YT videos, and/or music files stored on my iPhone via the Apple Music app.

 

[Lush]

I have 4 Wiim Amps and I'm looking to add a Pro. Any chance we see any black Friday deals? Hoping to see a discount on the Amazon Canada listing.

 

[jed1]

Since OP mentions about typical use case (YouTube audio cast), below is my suggestion. I use YouTube Music via Chromecast on iOS / MacOS.

YouTube and YouTube Music apps on iOS have "casting" icon on upper right corner. You can select a "chromecast" device to stream audio. Use "Google Home" app to register WiiM devices on your network and set the audio quality to "full dynamic range".

 

[Burnside]

Since OP mentions about typical use case (YouTube audio cast), below is my suggestion. I use YouTube Music via Chromecast on iOS / MacOS.

YouTube and YouTube Music apps on iOS have "casting" icon on upper right corner. You can select a "chromecast" device to stream audio. Use "Google Home" app to register WiiM devices on your network and set the audio quality to "full dynamic range".

Do you have/need YouTube Premium for those to work?

 

[jed1]

Do you have/need YouTube Premium for those to work?

No. Main difference is absence of ads. I subscribe to YouTube Premium.

 

[Burnside]

No. Main difference is absence of ads. I subscribe to YouTube Premium.

I’m sure when I tried chromecasting from one or the other it told me I needed Premium to do that but I’d need to check the exact circumstances again

 

[jed1]

I’m sure when I tried chromecasting from one or the other it told me I needed Premium to do that but I’d need to check the exact circumstances again

I was wrong. I correct my answer. I use YouTube Music app not regular YouTube app. It shows Chromecast option. Also requires Premium.

 

[saberger1]

So casting audio just from the YouTube app (not YouTube music or Premium) is a no go? The Cast link shows on YouTube but when I press it my Ultra is not shown as an available device.

 

[Wiimer]

So casting audio just from the YouTube app (not YouTube music or Premium) is a no go? The Cast link shows on YouTube but when I press it my Ultra is not shown as an available device.

You can cast audio to Ultra using the Google home app. Only the audio can be output to Ultra for Youtube video playback.

 

[saberger1]

You can cast audio to Ultra using the Google home app. Only the audio can be output to Ultra for Youtube video playback.

I've did other searches and it seems it's not possible at this time to Cast with an iPhone just the audio from YouTube(not YT Music) to the Wiim Ultra. YT does not show up on the Home app.