WiiM Ultra - Tidal Connect lag

[574stereo]

My Ultra is connected via WiFi with very good signal. My laptop placed next to the Ultra on the same network is getting solid 150mbps internet upload/download.

Whenever I choose music using Tidal Connect, there's a lag of maybe 6-8 seconds before the music starts. This didn't used to happen and it's the same no matter whether I instigate playback from my Mac or my iPhone. Tidal is fully up to date on both devices, the Ultra is running the latest firmware (5.2.638250) and I don't have this same lag when I'm just playing back through Tidal conventionally (Mac speakers or whatever).


Once we're up and running, there is no similar delay between tracks in the queue.


Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Burnside]

Sounds like the Ultra may be buffering the stream before playback. Raise a ticket to WiiM via the more/feedback section in the app so they can inspect your logs and hopefully shorten the delay.

 

[574stereo]

Ticket submitted, thanks!

 

[harkpabst]

My Ultra is connected via WiFi with very good signal. My laptop placed next to the Ultra on the same network is getting solid 150mbps internet upload/download.

Whenever I choose music using Tidal Connect, there's a lag of maybe 6-8 seconds before the music starts. This didn't used to happen and it's the same no matter whether I instigate playback from my Mac or my iPhone. Tidal is fully up to date on both devices, the Ultra is running the latest firmware (5.2.638250) and I don't have this same lag when I'm just playing back through Tidal conventionally (Mac speakers or whatever).


Once we're up and running, there is no similar delay between tracks in the queue.


Anyone got any ideas?

This has got to be one of the most accurate and to the point bug reports I've ever seen on this forum.

I wish I had an answer for you.

 

[574stereo]

Got a reply back from WiiM support (within less than 24hrs), problem solved right away. Pasting the solution below:

We recommend turning off the "Preferred DNS Server" function by going to WiiM Home App > Device Settings > Network Status. After enabling this, please restart both your device and router to see if there is any improvement.

 

[Burnside]

Got a reply back from WiiM support (within less than 24hrs), problem solved right away. Pasting the solution below:

We recommend turning off the "Preferred DNS Server" function by going to WiiM Home App > Device Settings > Network Status. After enabling this, please restart both your device and router to see if there is any improvement.

If @Wiimer had only replied before me, they would have said this

 

[Wiimer]

If @Wiimer had only replied before me, they would have said this

I've been watching to see when @Mr Ee would say it.

Tidal is an unknown world to me.

 

[harkpabst]

That was almost too easy and I should have thought of this myself.

One thing is important to remember: It's not as simple as Preferred DNS Server On = Lag. Preferred DNS Server Off = No lag. It depends entirely on the individual situation. Otherwise this setting wouldn't make ans sense.

Preferred DNS Server = Off lets the WiiM Ultra use the DNS servers pointed to by your router. These are most likely (but not necessarily) your ISP's DNS servers.
Preferred DNS Server = On makes the Ultra use Google's DNS servers.

In many cases the latter is a good choice. Not so in this case, where obviously the "native" DNS servers are king. It's the same in my setup. The results could potentially even be different between IPv6 enabled and disabled.

 

[RemcoB78]

So better leave this off And ipv6 on?

 

[RemcoB78]

My ddns server is 8.8.8.8 is this good?

 

[harkpabst]

I meant to say: It depends.

DDNS is not an issue here, we're just talking regular DNS servers. You could just open a command prompt (on Windows or a shell on Linux or a terminal on MacOS) and enter this:

ping 8.8.8.8
and
ping <IP address provided by your ISP>

Whatever offers the shorter response time is probably better.

 

[RemcoB78]

Oké so it is better to enable this in the app on network settings

 

[harkpabst]

Oké so it is better to enable this in the app on network settings

No. You have to try what works best for you. It could be either way around.

If you don't have any issues then there's no need for tweaking, of course.