WIIM AMP USB out to Sonos Connect Gen 2

[martyb]

Hi, complete newbie here, be gentle with me

I recently purchased a WIIM Amp to replace a Pioneer AV Amp. Great swap and I am so pleased with the WIIM.

I have a CD player connected to the WIIM Amp via RCA and a turntable connected to a Sonos Connect gen 2 also via RCA. I then have an optical out from the Sonos going into the WIIM Amp which allows me to play Sonos content through the WIIM Amp and speakers

As I have several other Sonos speakers throughout the house, I wanted to play the CD through the WIIM Amp and then through the Sonos Connect so that I can listen to the CD on the other Sonos devices around the house. I purchased a USB to RCA cable for this purpose and connected it to the Amp USB out and the Sonos RCA in, switch the Amp sound out from Speakers to USB Out, but I get no sound on the other Sonos Speakers.

Do I need a DAC in between the WIIM Amp and the Sonos? Or should the USB to RCA work?

Many thanks

Martin

 

[Mr Ee]

Welcome.

A usb to rca cable presumably has a dac built into it. Got details on the cable?
Does "no sound on the other Sonos Speakers" mean that the sonus directly connected to the wiim by that cable plays sound?

 

[martyb]

Hi the cable is a "MOSWAG USB to RCA Audio Cable, USB 2.0 Male to 2 RCA Male Stereo Audio Cable Converter" - the description says it has a DAC chip.

I can play content from the Sonos on the WIIM Amp via an optical cable. But it is the reverse that I want - play content on the WIIM Amp on the Sonos using the USB 2 cable.

 

[rubato]

Interesting. I don't have an Amp to experiment with, but the USB to RCA cable seems like a plausible approach. The description in this Amazon link says

Plug and play, no plug-in required, compatible with Windows 11 10 8 7 Mac OS, Linux and more systems

but it's also possible that the WiiM Amp doesn't recognize it for whatever reasons. I'd guess that WiiM is probably using Linux under the hood, but all Linuxes are not alike. WiiM tech support would be in a better position to answer this. Or it could be something silly like volume muted somewhere along the line, but presumably you've checked for that.

 

[martyb]

Thanks for this @rubato, very useful. Should I raise this on a different forum section with tech support?

 

[rubato]

This looks like the right part of the forum, but this is mostly a user forum. Maybe open a support ticket in the help center.

 

[harkpabst]

I purchased a USB to RCA cable for this purpose and connected it to the Amp USB out and the Sonos RCA in, switch the Amp sound out from Speakers to USB Out ...

This part indicates to me that the WiiM Amp does recognise the DAC built into the USB to RCA cable. If it didn't, you wouldn't even see USB as an output option.

Back to a question already brought up by @Mr Ee :

... but I get no sound on the other Sonos Speakers.

Does this mean you get no sound from the other Sonos speakers (with no wired connection) or no sound from any of them. I suppose the latter.

Have you any other device with RCA inputs you could test the output with?

What is the max. sampling rate and bit depth specified for the DAC in the cable? Maybe it just cannot cope with the current configuration?

 

[martyb]

This part indicates to me that the WiiM Amp does recognise the DAC built into the USB to RCA cable. If it didn't, you wouldn't even see USB as an output option.

Back to a question already brought up by @Mr Ee :


Does this mean you get no sound from the other Sonos speakers (with no wired connection) or no sound from any of them. I suppose the latter.

Have you any other device with RCA inputs you could test the output with?

What is the max. sampling rate and bit depth specified for the DAC in the cable? Maybe it just cannot cope with the current configuration?

I can play my turntable direct to my RCA audio in on the Sonos connect so that I can hear a record playing in other rooms.

I will test the USB to RCA cable with another device and report back.

The blurb on Amazon states that it is "designed to work devices such as stereos, TVs, DVD players, A/V receivers, gaming consoles, or more home stereo audio systems with RCA ports. Compatible with Windows 11 10 8 7 Mac OS, Linux and more system" but gives no details of the sampling rate etc.

I would love to get the USB audio out working but I think I may just buy a multi RCA switch, plug both the CD and turntable RCAs into it and plug the RCA switch into the Audio in on the Sonos. The sound from the Sonos will feed via optical cable to the WiiM Amp. Not ideal as I will need to cross the room to switch between CD and Turntable, first world pains etc

 

[rubato]

I would love to get the USB audio out working but I think I may just buy a multi RCA switch, plug both the CD and turntable RCAs into it and plug the RCA switch into the Audio in on the Sonos. The sound from the Sonos will feed via optical cable to the WiiM Amp. Not ideal as I will need to cross the room to switch between CD and Turntable, first world pains etc

That might get you better sound quality anyway. It eliminates one round of converting from analog to digital and back again, and in any case I'd be skeptical of the quality of the DAC in a $10 cable. Another option would be a mini stereo mixer instead of a switch. I have a Rolls MX515 that works well (barring the occasional pop), but there are a lot of choices available.