WiiM Pro Preview

Here's a rendering of what WiiM Pro will look like. We're expecting WiiM Pro to launch by early December and will be sold through Amazon.com. More info will be on our website www.wiimhome.com. Please stay tuned! In the meantime, we'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think of WiiM Pro




Tech Specs
Software

• Chromecast Audio
• AirPlay 2
• DLNA
• (Roon Ready expected late Dec or early Q1 2023) - updated
• MICless Amazon Alexa Voice Service
  (AVS) MRM (Multi-Room)
• BT A2DP Source and Sink
• Linkplay streaming services and multiroom
• Spotify Connect/TIDAL Connect/Amazon Music cast
• HD Output 24-bit/192kHz
• Bit perfect output
• True gapless playback
• 10-band EQ or 24 Preset EQs
• TI Audiophile DAC
• Frequent FW/App updates
• Mobile and PC App

Button and LED

• Capacitive touch control: Play/Pause, Volume +, Volume -, 1 x Presets
• LED: BT/WiFi/Line-in modes

Hardware

• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4G/5G, BT5.1, Ethernet (100M）
• Line In RCA
• Optical In
• Line out RCA
• Digital Coaxial Out
• Optical SPDIF Out
• USB Type-C power
• 12v Trigger for AMP
• Mic for Multiroom audio auto-sync
• SBC and AAC codec

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJDY6D1W

 

[Brantome]

Airplay - unlikely!
Seems like wiim need an (obvious) amazon setup guide!
Wiim app, browse menu, Music Services, Amazon Alexa - 'register' in there.
Device menu, settings (cog icon), Amazon Alexa Settings - enable uhd.
Then just cast to wiim from amazon music app.
I don't have a pro (yet), so don't know how you can tell the difference betwen casting via alexa vs chromecast.

Don’t use Chromecast with Amazon Music as it’s not officially supported, but some have confirmed it delivers just 16/44.1.

“At this time Amazon Music HD is not supported on Chromecast.”

Amazon.co.uk: Amazon Music HD FAQs: Digital Music

Online shopping for Amazon Music HD FAQs from a great selection at Digital Music Store.

www.amazon.co.uk

When you cast from the Amazon Music app, the devices have a small circular cast icon if AlexaCast is supported, or the more usual rectangular cast icon for Chromecast - the WiiM Pro shows as one of each.

 

[Ralph L]

Hi Ralph, the remote will be released in late Dec as the separate listing. We'll have two SKUs for Pro (with or without remote). Currently, the preset on the WiiM Pro can be assigned as any one of the 12 presets, while the remote buttons correspond to the preset 1 to 4 of the App. By long pressing the preset button, you can save the "Now playing" as the preset. We have a plan to extend the capability of these preset buttons such that you can define some shortcut actions instead of playing presets. You can define this shortcut action as "grouping devices then play certain music", or "switch input source, set certain volume, apply EQ" etc on WiiM Home App. We would like to hear more ideas about your use cases from our community related to these shortcut buttons.

1 - Any update on when the remote will be available through Amazon?
2 - I noted on my mini unit that any custom url that is input into the "open network stream" feature in the WiimHome app CANNOT be saved as a preset in the app. Any possibility that this limitation can be fixed in a future update?
3 - Will the upcoming remote be capable of saving a custom url stream address as a working preset?

Thank you

 

[Smartplug]

Using chromecast on amazon shows 24/44.1 on wiim app. It’s doesn’t sound good regardless of music.

 

[Jdamberger1]

Hi Ralph, the remote will be released in late Dec as the separate listing. We'll have two SKUs for Pro (with or without remote). Currently, the preset on the WiiM Pro can be assigned as any one of the 12 presets, while the remote buttons correspond to the preset 1 to 4 of the App. By long pressing the preset button, you can save the "Now playing" as the preset. We have a plan to extend the capability of these preset buttons such that you can define some shortcut actions instead of playing presets. You can define this shortcut action as "grouping devices then play certain music", or "switch input source, set certain volume, apply EQ" etc on WiiM Home App. We would like to hear more ideas about your use cases from our community related to these shortcut buttons.

Is there any update on the release date for the remote control? Late December is upon us, I may have missed it, but have not seen it available yet.

 

[Balthazar B]

Using chromecast on amazon shows 24/44.1 on wiim app. It’s doesn’t sound good regardless of music.

With what source material? It can vary; on Radio Paradise over Chromecast, for example, I'm correctly getting 16/44.1. But I've noticed that Spotify appears to get upsampled to 24/44.1 from 256kbps AAC, which would appear to be a bug (either upsampling or not displaying the true bitrate).

 

[Brantome]

Using chromecast on amazon shows 24/44.1 on wiim app. It’s doesn’t sound good regardless of music.

As reported several times, Chromecast isn’t officially supported for Amazon Music HD as per Amazon’s own help pages. Little reason to use it anyway when AlexaCast provides bit perfect output up to 24/192.

 

[Brantome]

With what source material? It can vary; on Radio Paradise over Chromecast, for example, I'm correctly getting 16/44.1. But I've noticed that Spotify appears to get upsampled to 24/44.1 from 256kbps AAC, which would appear to be a bug (either upsampling or not displaying the true bitrate).

Isn’t 24/44.1 what would be displayed if you cast to the WiiM anyway as it’ll be outputting the AAC stream to PCM anyway? If you Spotify Connect to the WiiM not using Chromecast e.g. as if you were casting to an echo device, what do you see then?

 

[Balthazar B]

Isn’t 24/44.1 what would be displayed if you cast to the WiiM anyway as it’ll be outputting the AAC stream to PCM anyway? If you Spotify Connect to the WiiM not using Chromecast e.g. as if you were casting to an echo device, what do you see then?

The above is with Chromecast playback. OTOH, when Spotify is selected in the WiiM app and played via Spotify Connect mode, the app (rather oddly) displays the following:

 

[onlyoneme]

The above is with Chromecast playback. OTOH, when Spotify is selected in the WiiM app and played via Spotify Connect mode, the app (rather oddly) displays the following:

View attachment 173

Why oddly? Seems correct to me.

 

[Balthazar B]

Why oddly? Seems correct to me.

Lossy Ogg 320kbps bitrate ≠ 16/44.1, no? I'd expect the latter to be displayed if Spotify were actually streaming lossless, assuming the source content is that resolution. I'm confused why WiiM is mashing it up with the former.

ETA: It would be kind of cool if WiiM displayed the codec as well as bit depth/sample rate info.

 

[canard]

Lossy Ogg 320kbps bitrate ≠ 16/44.1, no? I'd expect the latter to be displayed if Spotify were actually streaming lossless, assuming the source content is that resolution. I'm confused why WiiM is mashing it up with the former.

ETA: It would be kind of cool if WiiM displayed the codec as well as bit depth/sample rate info.

it is indeed often not very precise..
I have personal aac 192k streams announced for example 48/16 etc...
;-)

 

[onlyoneme]

Lossy Ogg 320kbps ≠ 16/44.1, no? I'd expect the latter to be displayed if Spotify were actually streaming lossless, assuming the source content is that resolution. Dunno why WiiM is mashing it up with the former.

AFAIK majority of Spotify files are 44.1/16 encoded in Vorbis for bit rate around 320 kbps ABR in highest mode.

 

[onlyoneme]

ETA: It would be kind of cool if WiiM displayed the codec as well as bit depth/sample rate info.

I've asked for that once but I guess they forgot.

 

[Ralph L]

I've asked for that once but I guess they forgot.

100% agreed... an important omission that would be very useful if included in a future update. The current Wiim app fails to show COMPLETE information for most internet stations. I rarely see the bitrate (speed) displayed. Listening to a 16/44 stream encoded as mp3 at a 128k bitrate is vastly inferior than listening to that same 16/44 stream encoded as aac over the same 128k bitrate. And, even if codec remains the same, listening to that 16/44 mp3 stream at a 128k bitrate will sound inferior to the same 16/44 mp3 stream delivered at 192k, 256k, or 320k. Is the stream mp3 or aac?... is the bitrate 32, 48, 64, 96, 128. 192, 256, or 320?.. . all important information that is currently unavailable most of the time in the current app version.

 

[cc_rider]

Hmmm... Well, if it's so easy to hear the difference in streaming bitrates and codecs, what's the point of showing the metadata? It should just be obvious, right?

 

[mrgopal]

How do I get Amazon to play gapless?

 

[onlyoneme]

How do I get Amazon to play gapless?

It should be gapless by default as far as there is no sample rate change between the songs.

 

[mrgopal]

there’s a slight gap between songs, which is annoying when one song is supposed to flow into the next

 

[Mr Ee]

there’s a slight gap between songs, which is annoying when one song is supposed to flow into the next

How are you playing it? In the wiim app, alexa cast, chromecast?
I saw your same message in another thread that said alexacast, but there has been some confusion between that and chromecast before.
If casting, is it to a square or round icon?
I thought chromecast (square) didn't support gapless.

 

[Balthazar B]

How are you playing it? In the wiim app, alexa cast, chromecast?
I saw your same message in another thread that said alexacast, but there has been some confusion between that and chromecast before.
If casting, is it to a square or round icon?
I thought chromecast (square) didn't support gapless.

Chromecast supports gapless if the streaming service supports it properly. For instance, the late lamented Google Play Music service played gaplessly via Chromecast, because of the way it teed up the content on the backend.

I have little doubt that Amazon doesn't support gapless streaming via Chromecast. But since I'm not an Amazon Music customer, have nothing to report regarding AlexaCast on WiiM.