Wiim pro plus connection to older AVR that has optical inputs

[Gene Skinner]

I’m hoping someone can explain this in detail as i’m finding it really confusing….I have a 2004 Yamaha HTR 5760 that has a built in dac and optical inputs (spdif ?)
I purchased the wiim pro plus and had it connected to my reciever with the optical cable to my md/cdr optical in jack on the reciever…playing tidal hifi in 2 channel mode and it sounds night and day different to my rocketfish bluetooth with optical with spotify premium to same jack.

not sure if the huge improvement is just because i switched to tidal

Ive since discovered ( i think) that i may be actually hearing my avr built in yamaha dac and not the wiim dac …is that true? if using just one spdif out to my avr?

I find a bunch of threads here and on the internet of how to connect but mostly mentioning if you are adding an internal dac…most of the responses i see about optical cables just barely dance around the subject with short one word answers from audiophiles with much more experience….i find the manual vague at best

Can someone please take the time explain to those of us less experienced if i should be using an optical spdif,a pair of good quality line out cables or a single coax cable ( not even sure how to connect that at the moment to my avr)

here is pics of my amp and the specs for onboard yamaha dac

 

[Brantome]

If you use the digital outputs from a WiiM device, you’re not using its internal DAC but passing the signal on to another device to do the digital to analogue conversion. Conversely, if you use the WiiM’s analogue RCA outputs into another device, you’re using that device’s DAC.

As to which is best, only you can decide by trying both options.

 

[Gene Skinner]

If you use the digital outputs from a WiiM device, you’re not using its internal DAC but passing the signal on to another device to do the digital to analogue conversion. Conversely, if you use the WiiM’s analogue RCA outputs into another device, you’re using that device’s DAC.

As to which is best, only you can decide by trying both options.

thank you for taking the time to answer…when you say “if you use the wiims analogue rca outputs into another device,youre using that devices DAC”……… do you mean that i’m then using the wiim DAC? Would that be the prefered way of connecting in my scenario? still not sure if and how the coax connection could fit in in my situation if that would give better audio…I realize the overall sound will be up to me to decide but for a technical aspect which is the preferred cable to use?

My apologies for asking such basic questions…The Yamaha dac actually seems pretty good and wondering if i should have just purchased the wiim pro

i only have the wiim and the avr ….nothing else

 

[onlyoneme]

You have 3 ways in general - digital coax, digital optical, analog RCA. The last one will use WiiM's internal DAC for DA conversion. In case of digital connections you will use Yamaha's DAC instead. For digital connection I prefer the optical way when applicable.
Your Yamaha is limited to 96 kHz over its digital inputs, so you should set this limit in WiiM Home app if you prefer to use Yamaha's DAC.

 

[Wiimer]

thank you for taking the time to answer…when you say “if you use the wiims analogue rca outputs into another device,youre using that devices DAC”……… do you mean that i’m then using the wiim DAC? Would that be the prefered way of connecting in my scenario? still not sure if and how the coax connection could fit in in my situation if that would give better audio…I realize the overall sound will be up to me to decide but for a technical aspect which is the preferred cable to use?

My apologies for asking such basic questions…The Yamaha dac actually seems pretty good and wondering if i should have just purchased the wiim pro

i only have the wiim and the avr ….nothing else

As mentioned in @Brantome, when you connect the WiiM's analog output (RCA) to an AVR, the WiiM's built-in DAC converts the digital signal into an analog signal.

If you are using a DSP in the AVR, you are also using the DAC of the AVR at the same time. Because the input from the RCA needs to be converted to a digital signal once again. However, you can pass through the DAC by setting the AVR to "Direct stereo mode".

For this reason, Direct stereo mode is recommended when using RCA cables. Conversely, if you use a YAMAHA DSP, you can use coaxial or optical cables to avoid the ADC.

In any case, compare both inputs and choose the one that suits your taste.

 

[Gene Skinner]

Thank you all for your time…i appreciate the explanation and it all makes sense now.

 

[river24]

For digital connection I prefer the optical way when applicable.

why?

 

[Brantome]

why?

Not subject to electrical interference that coax might be.