WiiM Pro Plus terrible lag on initial track with AirPlay 2

[Richard Schwalb]

I’ve had the WPP for a bit now, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why there is such a terrible lag when playing tracks over AirPlay 2. Here’s my setup (living room):
WiiM Pro Plus on WiFi 6 connected to my H/K AVR 3600 by SPDIF
SPDIF Output Resolution is set to 24-bit/192kHz

I’m sending tracks that are local to my device (iPad and iPhone) to the WPP via AirPlay 2. The timeline indicator will start moving, but there’s silence for about a 1/2 second or so. On tracks that have a bit of silence in the beginning this goes unnoticed, but for tracks that start immediately it’s super annoying as I’m usually missing the first few notes regardless of whether I’m using the Music app or the WiiM app. Some example tracks are Tom Petty’s American Girl & Hoover’s 2 Wicky (Hooverphonic for those who don’t have the Stealing Beauty soundtrack). I have a Denon N10 in my bedroom that doesn’t exhibit this behavior. Any track sent to the Denon over AirPlay 2 starts as it should.

To clarify, I’ve only noticed this when I initially start play tracks, all subsequent tracks play fine as long as I don’t pause and restart playback. Also, I should note that gapless playback appears to work flawlessly.

I’ve played with the latency setting but haven’t gotten that to work. Does anyone have any ideas before I completely lose my mind and swap the WPP for something else?

 

[Wiimer]

I’ve had the WPP for a bit now, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why there is such a terrible lag when playing tracks over AirPlay 2. Here’s my setup (living room):
WiiM Pro Plus on WiFi 6 connected to my H/K AVR 3600 by SPDIF
SPDIF Output Resolution is set to 24-bit/192kHz

I’m sending tracks that are local to my device (iPad and iPhone) to the WPP via AirPlay 2. The timeline indicator will start moving, but there’s silence for about a 1/2 second or so. On tracks that have a bit of silence in the beginning this goes unnoticed, but for tracks that start immediately it’s super annoying as I’m usually missing the first few notes regardless of whether I’m using the Music app or the WiiM app. Some example tracks are Tom Petty’s American Girl & Hoover’s 2 Wicky (Hooverphonic for those who don’t have the Stealing Beauty soundtrack). I have a Denon N10 in my bedroom that doesn’t exhibit this behavior. Any track sent to the Denon over AirPlay 2 starts as it should.

To clarify, I’ve only noticed this when I initially start play tracks, all subsequent tracks play fine as long as I don’t pause and restart playback. Also, I should note that gapless playback appears to work flawlessly.

I’ve played with the latency setting but haven’t gotten that to work. Does anyone have any ideas before I completely lose my mind and swap the WPP for something else?

Is that different from the delay caused by the DSP in the AVR?

If the AVR has a delay, it may be resolved by setting the AVR to direct mode or pure direct mode, which allows the DSP to pass.

 

[Wiimer]

Also, please try changing the following settings in the WiiM app

Turn off the Fade in Fade out effects in Audio settings.

Change SPDIF Output Resolution to 16bit / 44.1kHz.

 

[Wiimer]

Please check if there is the same delay outside of AirPlay. For example, what happens when you play a song in the phone's storage with the WiiM home app?

 

[Richard Schwalb]

Thank you for the suggestions. I previously had an old Apple TV that used the same SPDIF connection that had zero delay. But, I will double check the AVR settings to make sure nothing was ever reset.

I was wondering if my Output Resolution setting was too high causing a processing delay of the incoming signal. I will follow your suggestion and lower it to 16/44.1. I believe the Fade In/Out effect is already turned off, but will double check.

 

[Richard Schwalb]

Please check if there is the same delay outside of AirPlay. For example, what happens when you play a song in the phone's storage with the WiiM home app?

Same issue. The delay appears regardless of the app used to stream over WiFi to the WPP.

 

[Wiimer]

Same issue. The delay appears regardless of the app used to stream over WiFi to the WPP.

In that case, the AVR is most likely the culprit, but can you check if the delay also occurs on the Line-out or Cox-out of the WiiM?

Or, if you could connect the Denon to the AVR, that would isolate the problem. But the Denon's output is just headphones, right?

 

[Wiimer]

You can also connect the WiiM to Denon to see if there is any delay.

 

[Richard Schwalb]

In that case, the AVR is most likely the culprit, but can you check if the delay also occurs on the Line-out or Cox-out of the WiiM?

Or, if you could connect the Denon to the AVR, that would isolate the problem. But the Denon's output is just headphones, right?

I will check the line-out when I can. The Denon is a full stereo system with CD player. It’s the CEOL N10 system. Unfortunately, it’s setup and I won’t be able to test it with the H/K amp.

I did set the output resolution to 16/44.1 and heard no change with SPDIF out. I fear this is an issue with AirPlay 2 and the WiiM software.

 

[Richard Schwalb]

I connected the WPP to the Denon to rule out the H/K amp after checking the H/K’s settings, which haven’t changed since I set it up for use with the Apple TV nearly 10 years ago. The lag with the WPP is the same connected by SPDIF to the Denon.

I want to connect to my amp with SPDIF so that I can be sure that I’m using my amp’s DAC, which I prefer.

Do you have any other suggestions that could help get rid of the lag (which is anywhere from 1 - 3 seconds)?

 

[Wiimer]

Sorry, but I do not have a device that can transmit over Airplay, so I am unable to reproduce your problem. Also, if you are experiencing delays outside of Airplay, there may be a problem with your WiiM device.

Please submit a support ticket through the feedback section of the WiiM app. A log of your device will be sent with it to help resolve the issue.

 

[Richard Schwalb]

Will do, thank you.

 

[OgreZA]

I too have experienced this same lag. Very frustrating indeed. This only occurs when queuing a new track or playlist. No issues if letting the next song just follow automatically. Hopefully this is resolved.

 

[Brantome]

I too have experienced this same lag. Very frustrating indeed. This only occurs when queuing a new track or playlist. No issues if letting the next song just follow automatically. Hopefully this is resolved.

As above, please submit a ticket via the settings/feedback section of the WiiM Home app so your device logs can be investigated. The more people who do this, the better diagnostics WiiM will get and improve the chance of a fix.

 

[Richard Schwalb]

I too have experienced this same lag. Very frustrating indeed. This only occurs when queuing a new track or playlist. No issues if letting the next song just follow automatically. Hopefully this is resolved.

Are you using the optical output? IIRC I also had lag using the analog output. Not sure what the issue is, hardware or software, but as I mentioned previously I don’t have this issue with AirPlay 2 going to a Denon CEOL N10. If it’s software hopefully there’s a fix in the pipeline. As @Brantome suggested put in a ticket via the Feedback section in the WiiM App Settings. They’re usually pretty responsive.

TBH, my biggest fear is that this is a hardware issue and therefore unfixable.