WiiM Mini - solution to connect 2 echo dots (paired together) to PC via Bluetooth?

[Tstaino]

I’ll start this off with I am very ignorant when it comes to any audio technology as a whole. I’ve tried to do some research on this myself and I’m struggling to understand if this would work as intended.

I have a PC (windows 11 if that matters) and two echo dots (newest version) paired together on my desk. I did not realized that having the echo dots paired together only works when steaming via the echo dots themselves. If you want to connect via Bluetooth, it’s one or the other.

95% of the usage of this would be for video calls, but maybe watching a video on YouTube now and then. If I was going to listen to music, I’d be fine streaming that via the echos themselves. I guess I say that to mention the audio quality doesn’t need to be perfect, but lag from the video calls would still be important. I most certainly want to have the paired echos work as a stereo system together to play my PCs audio output via Bluetooth.

Am I correct in my understanding that a WiiM mini would solve this for me? AKA, I’d be able to connect my PC to the WiiM mini via Bluetooth, and then connect my echo dots (as a stereo pair) to the WiiM mini via Bluetooth as well. And when I play audio out of the PC the WiiM mini will “bridge” the sound to both echo dots as a stereo pair?

I could also connect my PC to the WiiM mini via 3.5mm cable if that would work. The newest echo dots do not have any audio inputs other than Bluetooth so that must be connected via Bluetooth.

Another solution I have read about (that doesn’t include WiiM at all) would be a 3.5mm splitter, and then connecting two separate Bluetooth transmitters to the splitter. Then connecting transmitter A to echo A, and transmitter B to echo B. Not sure how that would work for a “true stereo” setup or if that would be just two “mono” outputs next to each other. I also don’t really even know what that means because I am an audio n00b … but again maybe because 95% of what I am doing is video calls, that won’t really matter for me? Anyone with more informed feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.

I am sure this concept has been covered on this forum 100 times, but my feeble brain is having a hard time reading between the lines. Hoping someone can directly answer this question for this exact scenario for me to know if this will work.

Thank you!!

 

[Burnside]

I’ll start this off with I am very ignorant when it comes to any audio technology as a whole. I’ve tried to do some research on this myself and I’m struggling to understand if this would work as intended.

I have a PC (windows 11 if that matters) and two echo dots (newest version) paired together on my desk. I did not realized that having the echo dots paired together only works when steaming via the echo dots themselves. If you want to connect via Bluetooth, it’s one or the other.

An echo stereo pair is a cloud based Alexa construct, so you can’t Bluetooth to the pair.

95% of the usage of this would be for video calls, but maybe watching a video on YouTube now and then. If I was going to listen to music, I’d be fine streaming that via the echos themselves. I guess I say that to mention the audio quality doesn’t need to be perfect, but lag from the video calls would still be important. I most certainly want to have the paired echos work as a stereo system together to play my PCs audio output via Bluetooth.

Am I correct in my understanding that a WiiM mini would solve this for me? AKA, I’d be able to connect my PC to the WiiM mini via Bluetooth, and then connect my echo dots (as a stereo pair) to the WiiM mini via Bluetooth as well. And when I play audio out of the PC the WiiM mini will “bridge” the sound to both echo dots as a stereo pair?
I could also connect my PC to the WiiM mini via 3.5mm cable if that would work. The newest echo dots do not have any audio inputs other than Bluetooth so that must be connected via Bluetooth.

Again, no for the same reason as above.

Another solution I have read about (that doesn’t include WiiM at all) would be a 3.5mm splitter, and then connecting two separate Bluetooth transmitters to the splitter. Then connecting transmitter A to echo A, and transmitter B to echo B. Not sure how that would work for a “true stereo” setup or if that would be just two “mono” outputs next to each other. I also don’t really even know what that means because I am an audio n00b … but again maybe because 95% of what I am doing is video calls, that won’t really matter for me? Anyone with more informed feedback on this would be greatly appreciated.

Bluetooth is bound to introduce some latency so you might find the audio and video are out of sync. If your splitter cable has a L/R split then you might get stereo as you’d be passing one channel to each echo thru the Bluetooth transmitters.

I am sure this concept has been covered on this forum 100 times, but my feeble brain is having a hard time reading between the lines. Hoping someone can directly answer this question for this exact scenario for me to know if this will work.

Thank you!!

Your issue is really using the echo dots as your stereo pair - you’d have been better off with basic pc speakers tbh.

 

[Tstaino]

Thank you for the feedback! Especially the part about a L/R splitter to see if that’d be more stereo-like. And yes I’ve realized after the fact that regular PC speakers would have been a lot simpler solution but I’m already halfway down this path (and do like the Alexa functionality on my desk in general) so will give the splitter/transmitter solution a try. Thanks again!