Wiim Pro connected to NAS via Ethernet

[perkri]

Hi.

Was hoping to stream my music library directly from iTunes to the Wiim Pro, but no luck as iTunes crashes as soon as I try to connect to it. Works fine from my iPad, but it doesn't have the storage necessary for my library.

So, I'm looking into a NAS drive as a server. And I'm hoping to connected it directly to the NAS via Ethernet.

Wondering if anyone is running their set up like this, and if they had any issues getting it to work.

After the iTunes debacle, I'm concerned I'm going to buy soething thats not going to work...

Thanks,

P

 

[d6jg]

You will need a NAS with a built in compatible media server - the 2 market leaders are Qnap and Synology. Others will work but aren’t as well regarded.

 

[perkri]

@d6jg Thanks!

I’m looking at a Synology single drive unit. Inexpensive and I don’t need it for anything other than music, so only need the single drive. My back up is on my main computer Is there anything I need to do to the NAS/hard drive so the Wiim will see the files? And I’m guessing the Wiim app browser should see the files?

First entry into streaming “properly” as up to this point I’ve been running my library through my Apple TV. But my son needs an Apple TV for his bedroom TV, so I figured he could take the Apple and I could begin my journey to a proper streamer.

I was shocked how much better the Wiim sounds than the Apple TV. Was not expecting that!

 

[DryTortuga]

You need a NAS model capable of running a UPnP server or LMS. If you’ve got a Pi 3/4 or a old Intel Mac/PC laying around you don’t need to buy anything but maybe a hard drive…

 

[DryTortuga]

You could also use your main computer…

 

[DryTortuga]

You won’t need airplay with LMS

 

[Mr Ee]

I recently put my music files on a qnap nas. (Some oldies here might recalll my 10,000 file limit issue when using my ISP modem as a server!)
If your modem can support an external hdd and do media serving from it then it might be worth trying it out, even as a stopgap.

Took more effort than expected to get the qnap media server working, and when I finally did I found that album artwork wasn't showing in the wiim app, nor in bubble iirc so not a wiim issue.
I installed minimserver (the basic usage I need is free) and that worked as I expected in both wiim home and bubble.

One minor inconvenience is that it seems minimserver, on my nas at least, doesn't auto refresh - i.e. updates to the files need me to manually trigger a rescan.
However, it seems that minimserver does a rescan on a restart, so I just scheduled a nightly restart of that app. Figured I was unlikely to be up at 3am.

 

[d6jg]

Qnap or Synology include their own UPnP/DLNA Media Streaming Server apps but also offer you the option to install alternatives such as Minimserver.
@DryTortuga suggested LMS which is what I use but these days there are only a couple of options for installation on a NAS.
If your NAS is sufficiently powerful you can use Docker. Alternatively there is a native package for QNAP called QLMS but is isn't listed in the QNAP apps library - you would need to get it from elsewhere. It is worth the effort though as LMS provides much more than a basic UPnP/DLNA server can.

 

[perkri]

Thanks! This is going to require some coffee, and patience I’ll likely be picking up a NAS this coming weekend, hopefully once I have it in my hands, it will become a tangible challenge to get resolved.

 

[rjcrum]

Although I'm not a Wiim Pro user (yet!) I do have experience with using a NAS as a music server. As a part of my streaming upgrade, I recently bought a new Synology NAS and re-ripped all of my CDs to FLAC. I first ripped them all 19 years ago into MP3, but now was the time to upgrade!
In any case, I have looked at and tried a LOT of DLNA/UPnP servers, and have found that the Asset UPnP server from dbPowerAmp fits my needs very well. Yes, you have to pay for it, but you get good support and they are regularly updating, enhancing and bug fixing. I'm a classical music listener, and the ability to customize the "browse tree" in Asset UPnP is a great feature, and one not found in a number of other products.

 

[d6jg]

Although I'm not a Wiim Pro user (yet!) I do have experience with using a NAS as a music server. As a part of my streaming upgrade, I recently bought a new Synology NAS and re-ripped all of my CDs to FLAC. I first ripped them all 19 years ago into MP3, but now was the time to upgrade!
In any case, I have looked at and tried a LOT of DLNA/UPnP servers, and have found that the Asset UPnP server from dbPowerAmp fits my needs very well. Yes, you have to pay for it, but you get good support and they are regularly updating, enhancing and bug fixing. I'm a classical music listener, and the ability to customize the "browse tree" in Asset UPnP is a great feature, and one not found in a number of other products.

As upnp/dlna servers go I do think asset is one of if not the best but still not a patch on LMS

 

[rjcrum]

I know that LMS has been around a long time and that it has a fervent fan base. But for me, reading something like this thread about trying to get LMS to run in/on/around a Synology NAS running DSM 7 gives me pause: https://davidrosam.me/logitech-media-server-and-synology-dsm-7/

Though I am a computer engineer by education, and worked in the industry for 43 years, I am no longer really interested in trying to get Synology, LMS, Docker, a Raspberry Pi and anything else to work. It was important to me to have a supported, commercial and easy to install/configure option...and for me, Asset is the best I have found.

I realize there are other solutions that might better fit the needs of others, so have at it!

 

[d6jg]

I know that LMS has been around a long time and that it has a fervent fan base. But for me, reading something like this thread about trying to get LMS to run in/on/around a Synology NAS running DSM 7 gives me pause: https://davidrosam.me/logitech-media-server-and-synology-dsm-7/

Though I am a computer engineer by education, and worked in the industry for 43 years, I am no longer really interested in trying to get Synology, LMS, Docker, a Raspberry Pi and anything else to work. It was important to me to have a supported, commercial and easy to install/configure option...and for me, Asset is the best I have found.

I realize there are other solutions that might better fit the needs of others, so have at it!

I totally understand that point of view. In which case yes Asset is about as good as you will get natively on a NAS

 

[perkri]

Thank you for the info! As soon as I get the NAS, I’m going to have some research

 

[pieterv1]

With any of the single bay options by Synology, you should just forget about LMS since it can only run as a virtual machine in Docker (only available on Synology devices with Intel processor). But plenty of other options have been mentioned here already.

I'm running Plex server and have paid for a lifetime Plexpass (there's also a subscription) to be able to use Plexamp - their specialized music app.