When I read that the mini's DAC is rubbish...

[r5yk5]

....what's the reality?

Rubbish as in the soundstage isn't entertaining, roll on, roll off, critical listening blah, blah, blah?

Or Rubbish as in cheap Tandy cd player from 1989?

It's for attaching to a pair of Ruark MR1 mk 2 active speakers mainly for DLNA and Spotify use.

 

[canard]

Is that what an AI told you?

What do you hope to achieve with this question?
You'll get contradictory answers, that's for sure...
""Not so bad" "enought" etc
So what?
:-0

That's the advantage of the internet and forums...you'll find the answer you're hoping to find there.

You can just try it... IA can t do it..

(Personally, I found that the listening experience was in line with mesureaments... really not good...
clearly inferior to a decent (16-bit) CD player..
a 2014 Chromecast Mini does better...
Then again, it will depend on the demands of the music you listen to... and your own...)

But small modest active ruark is with toslink input ,no?

 

[r5yk5]

What do you hope to achieve with this question?

It's for a gift. My partner's son and his girlfriend. For their kitchen. Aesthetically a mini would be perfect as it's small and out of the way. But I'd get them a pro plus if it would it would be better for them.

Id describe them as music lovers rather than audiophiles.

But small modest active ruark is with toslink input ,no?

Toslink and 3.5 jack I think

 

[Mr Ee]

Those speakers have optical in, right?
Mini via optical should be fine.
Maybe you read one of my posts on how I think the mini's analog output sounds

 

[MCG555]

It's for a gift. My partner's son and his girlfriend. For their kitchen. Aesthetically a mini would be perfect as it's small and out of the way. But I'd get them a pro plus if it would it would be better for them.

Id describe them as music lovers rather than audiophiles.


Toslink and 3.5 jack I think

For the kitchen? Well then it is by far good enough!

 

[Chris P]

Horses for courses, my wife has one in her sewing room which is 7 x 10 metres and it is locked on to one radio stream permanently and is linked to a BT soundbar. She has zero interest in the noise quality so it is a cheap and cheerful answer for her.

 

[rccarguy]

....what's the reality?

Rubbish as in the soundstage isn't entertaining, roll on, roll off, critical listening blah, blah, blah?

Or Rubbish as in cheap Tandy cd player from 1989?

It's for attaching to a pair of Ruark MR1 mk 2 active speakers mainly for DLNA and Spotify use.

WiiM Mini Review (Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Mini Wifi/Bluetooth streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale on Amazon for US $89. As you can see the former factor is a "hockey puck." An included phone charger needs to be used to power the unit over USB-C. It did not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[goodmore]

The Kitchen? It will sound great. Mine sounds great in my garage.

 

[dominikz]

....what's the reality?

Rubbish as in the soundstage isn't entertaining, roll on, roll off, critical listening blah, blah, blah?

Or Rubbish as in cheap Tandy cd player from 1989?

It's for attaching to a pair of Ruark MR1 mk 2 active speakers mainly for DLNA and Spotify use.

It's perfectly fine for listening to music, IMO. I use my Mini with a pair of Neumann KH120A and a small sub in my desktop system as a secondary source (primary being an RME audio interface and a PC).
A minor (but real) issue are the faint clicks/pops between tracks. WiiM can't seem to fix those on the Mini...

 

[Hiphiman]

my wife has one in her sewing room which is 7 x 10 metres

Metres? That sounds more like a sewing factory than a room.

 

[canard]

It's perfectly fine for listening to music, IMO. I use my Mini with a pair of Neumann KH120A and a small sub in my desktop system as a secondary source (primary being an RME audio interface and a PC).
A minor (but real) issue are the faint clicks/pops between tracks. WiiM can't seem to fix those on the Mini...

My point was about the internal DAC...

But be aware, the digital output isn't great either... but that's very much linked to the input processing of the "next" DAC...

The RME skews things a bit with its heavy processing at the input.
;-)

 

[kalle]

imo signal sources/dacs are very overrated compared to what actually matters, the speakers! many expensive sources do umistakable changes to the signal which one might prefer on lesser proper speaker designs. over the past 25 years iv had lots of "problems" with electronics that were actually as a result of the speakers being flinchy.
dont get me started on people having enormous dacs and amps connected to a pair of tiny 2-way bookshelfs *facepalm*
the cd is 43 years old with huge advances in chips and prices since then, now you can get transparent dacs for a few hundred dollars, like from topping.

 

[Cappa]

For that price and that size, is nearly perfect. Only some trouble with the wifi signal (needs a very strong one or an ethernet connection).

 

[Shotgun Rico]

My point was about the internal DAC...

But be aware, the digital output isn't great either... but that's very much linked to the input processing of the "next" DAC...

The RME skews things a bit with its heavy processing at the input.
;-)

KH120a is analog only no digital inputs.

 

[FuckaZip]

For that price and that size, is nearly perfect. Only some trouble with the wifi signal (needs a very strong one or an ethernet connection).

...how do you've tested/realized the ethernet connection?

 

[dominikz]

My point was about the internal DAC...

But be aware, the digital output isn't great either... but that's very much linked to the input processing of the "next" DAC...

The RME skews things a bit with its heavy processing at the input.
;-)

I'm using the analog output of the Mini. RME is not connected to the Mini at all, it is an alternative source to the same set of speakers.

IMHO the importance of DACs to sound quality is greatly exaggerated in audio enthusiast circles. It is not surprising, however: it is easy to perceive differences in informal listening tests (whether the differences are there or not) plus many audio equipment makers and sellers insist DACs are important to sound quality.

 

[canard]

I'm using the analog output of the Mini. RME is not connected to the Mini at all, it is an alternative source to the same set of speakers.

IMHO the importance of DACs to sound quality is greatly exaggerated in audio enthusiast circles. It is not surprising, however: it is easy to perceive differences in informal listening tests (whether the differences are there or not) plus many audio equipment makers and sellers insist DACs are important to sound quality.

I don't share your opinion here...

For me, my mini was really bad, and while I would have preferred the opposite since it was for "modest" use...

When I used it... I had to get a correct DAC out.....
It really annoyed me, many câbles more etc
That explains largely my move to "plus"... otherwise I would have stayed with the mini...

But we can also consider that

"No, no...not so bad, it's enough for me in general...(and it's inexpensive...very respectable ""quality""")"

(But to not invite Wiim to do a review of the Mini...when you see what's being produced in terms of quality "dongles headphones", etc...that would be a shame.")

 

[dangermouse]

I don't share your opinion here...

For me, my mini was really bad, and while I would have preferred the opposite since it was for "modest" use...

Well, you know what they say about opinions.

 

[canard]

Well, you know what they say about opinions.

Which ones don't deserve to be given?
Rest assured... I rarely do it in public spaces like this one....
I don't have the soul of a prescriber/influencer.....
;-)

 

[slartibartfast]

Which ones don't deserve to be given?
Rest assured... I rarely do it in public spaces like this one....
I don't have the soul of a prescriber/influencer.....
;-)

That isn't what they say about opinions