No. You only need to link a WiiM to Alexa if you want to use voice control, direct Alexa supported audio to it, use Alexa MRM groups or cast to it from the Amazon Music app. If you don’t , then there’s no need to link it to Alexa. On the other hand, it would do no harm to do so given you have an Echo and may wish to do use those functions in the future, albeit you’re primarily using the echo as a dumb wired powered speaker at the moment.
WiiM Mini with Echo 4th Gen to create WiiM Group with Pro Plus
For anyone playing along at home, an update:
WiiM replied to my third message to them through Amazon and they have promised to investigate the missing USB adaptor, given their listing details had it as an inclusion. They asked that I send them photos, which I did immediately. No further reply to date.
With regards to testing the functions that drew me to this particular setup, so far everything has worked. I can play stored music files, CDs, streaming and Alexa content through the Pro Plus and everything also plays through the supplementary speaker setup with the WiiM Mini, albeit still with the tinny JBL Go speaker. The Echo should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
But even with the JBL what I envisaged appears to work exactly as I'd hoped. So I effectively have a WiiM Sound Speaker without the cost and unknown wait.
WiiM replied to my third message to them through Amazon and they have promised to investigate the missing USB adaptor, given their listing details had it as an inclusion. They asked that I send them photos, which I did immediately. No further reply to date.
With regards to testing the functions that drew me to this particular setup, so far everything has worked. I can play stored music files, CDs, streaming and Alexa content through the Pro Plus and everything also plays through the supplementary speaker setup with the WiiM Mini, albeit still with the tinny JBL Go speaker. The Echo should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
But even with the JBL what I envisaged appears to work exactly as I'd hoped. So I effectively have a WiiM Sound Speaker without the cost and unknown wait.
Something I don't think that has been mentioned in the thread, and perhaps it's not an issue for your use case, but the Mini doesn't support Google Cast/Chromecast, so that's an area where this setup would differ from e.g. WiiM Sound (presumably the Sound will support this, although obviously specs are yet to be confirmed.)
Yes, I was aware of that. So presumably if I do cast to the Pro Plus it won't send the content to the Mini. I don't think it will be much of an issue as I've not Google cast anything to the Pro Plus since I received it last November.
Yes, from what I've been told on here, it's a limitation of Chromecast that only Cast-able decices can be included in a Chromecast group, so casting to the Pro can't produce audio on the Mini.
I use it for Bandcamp and occasionally if there's something playing on my phone (e.g. Youtube) that I'd like to hear from my speakers.
I think I know what you meant, and maybe you do too, but to clarify for anyone else reading.
Yes, a chromecast group can only have chromecastable devices, and the mini isn't one.
If a pro and a mini are in a wiim group and you chromecast to the pro then only the pro will play.
But that has nothing to do with it being a mini.
If your (any) wiims are in a wiim group and you chromecast to the group parent then only that parent plays.
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Thank you. That's an excellent an informative clarification. I don't imagine I would use Google Cast in this setup, but it's good to know.
I have tested the WiiM Group with Spotify Connect and it works perfectly.
Happy to tell you that the Echo speaker arrived this morning. Was a bit of a hassle getting it to connect to the WiFi, but once that was sorted I was able to set the Aux Audio to Line In for the WiiM Mini cable connection.
The sound is of course a massive improvement over the tiny JBL speaker. I have the Echo volume on maximum with volume control from the WHA. I'm not using the Echo for any other purpose at this time so I have its microphone off. The audio sync between the Echo and the main speakers seems to be correct.
The screenshot is of the WHA group settings for a local radio station that I initiate using the WiiM remote mic by asking it to Play the Wave, which is does by Alexa on the Pro Plus accessing the RadioApp service which is built-in to Google and Alexa devices here in Australia.
To conclude, the quality of the sound coming from the Echo, which faces our listening position, works excellently with the main speakers which do not, thus providing the desired result of improving the overall sound in the room.
Thanks again to all of the members here who provided their invaluable and advice and assistance in bringing my idea to fruition.
The sound is of course a massive improvement over the tiny JBL speaker. I have the Echo volume on maximum with volume control from the WHA. I'm not using the Echo for any other purpose at this time so I have its microphone off. The audio sync between the Echo and the main speakers seems to be correct.
The screenshot is of the WHA group settings for a local radio station that I initiate using the WiiM remote mic by asking it to Play the Wave, which is does by Alexa on the Pro Plus accessing the RadioApp service which is built-in to Google and Alexa devices here in Australia.
To conclude, the quality of the sound coming from the Echo, which faces our listening position, works excellently with the main speakers which do not, thus providing the desired result of improving the overall sound in the room.
Thanks again to all of the members here who provided their invaluable and advice and assistance in bringing my idea to fruition.
White is so cute
Maybe, but if you create a group of Echo's in the Alexa app and use the Pro plus speaker for music, you can also use voice control of the Echo.
Sorry if this is impossible as I've never done it before. Sorry if it's not necessary
Yes, I can do it like that as well, but using the WiiM Group means I can easily play anything from the Pro Plus through both the Echo and Q Acoustics speakers, and I don't need to have a microphone listening all the time. I can use Alexa through the Pro Plus with its remote mic when I need to.
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I have followed this advice and it seems to be ideal, so thank you for the tip. You can actually adjust the Echo volume from the Alexa app as well, so I have set it to maximum and use the WHA to adjust the volume for both it and the main speakers to achieve a balanced sound. I also ran the Auto Sync process. It all seems to work very well.
My little setup has been chugging along nicely, but this week I noticed a slight anomaly. When starting a track through the Pro Plus in its WiiM Group with the Mini and Echo speaker, as I've been doing for weeks now, there is a little pop or crackle from the Echo as the music starts. I've done power cycles and reboots of everything but the issue persists. I assume it's either the Mini or Echo at fault. The music plays perfectly from all speakers other than for this unexplained annoyance, and there is no pop or crackle from the main speakers.
Music source is mostly YouTube Music, which up until this slight hiccup has been working perfectly. The latest firmware for the Mini has not yet come through for mine, but will update as soon as it's available to see if it makes any difference.
Any thoughts as to what might be causing the unexplained noise?
Music source is mostly YouTube Music, which up until this slight hiccup has been working perfectly. The latest firmware for the Mini has not yet come through for mine, but will update as soon as it's available to see if it makes any difference.
Any thoughts as to what might be causing the unexplained noise?
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Is it only YouTube music that causes the noise?
If so, it may be related to the issue I have reported here. However, if there is no noise in Pro plus, there could be other issues.
Also, is the noise only at the start of playback? Or does it continue throughout playback?
Yes, it's only at the start of the first track. No problems after the initial pop and it appears to happen from all Music sources, but only from the Echo speaker connected to the Mini. I noticed it for the first time when playing the Bass Hz tone test a few days ago. Maybe I fried something after all?
To determine the cause, also please check the following.Yes, it's only at the start of the first track. No problems after the initial pop and it appears to happen from all Music sources, but only from the Echo speaker connected to the Mini. I noticed it for the first time when playing the Bass Hz tone test a few days ago. Maybe I fried something after all?
1) Does noise occur when playing music on the Echo alone?
2) Does noise occur in the announcement sound when you ask the Echo a voice-controlled question?
(Turn off the Echo's equaliser and repeat the same test).
I am using the Echo as a dumb speaker only. Nothing else it setup. It is used only to receive input from the Mini. I don't really want to change anything in case I stuff up something else.
Alexa through the main speakers is as it's always been with no issues.
Thankfully the issue is not a major one. I can certainly live with it, assuming initially it was something to do with different streaming rates. I was only curious to learn if it's a normal occurrence and if there was a simple adjustment to cure it.
I am using the Echo as a dumb speaker only. Nothing else it setup. It is used only to receive input from the Mini. I don't really want to change anything in case I stuff up something else.
Alexa through the main speakers is as it's always been with no issues.
Thankfully the issue is not a major one. I can certainly live with it, assuming initially it was something to do with different streaming rates. I was only curious to learn if it's a normal occurrence and if there was a simple adjustment to cure it.
To check whether the noise is caused by the Mini or the Echo, I recommend that you play sound on the Echo itself to check for noise.
If the Mini (or Multi-Room Music) is the problem, then the Team needs to fix it.
I understand. Thank you for taking the time to assist me.
My Mini produces low-level pop/crackle sound between some tracks since the beginning. I've opened a ticket and got a response that this is a known issue when using the Aux out, and that there's no solution at the moment. 
They suggested using digital out instead, but that's not an option for me in this system.
They suggested using digital out instead, but that's not an option for me in this system.Oh, okay. I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for the tip.
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