[smartplug]

We as human don’t hear same and translate sound in many different way. So what’s good to you won’t be good to others. ASR is based on measurements and starting point but since I have said we don’t hear and translate sound differently. This is why no product will satisfy every person regardless of cost as we have personal preference and taste.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

With regards to the harshness you are hearing, it’s more likely that your system is highlighting inadequacies in the Wiim, rather than the Wiim exposing any flaws in your system.
I’m running mine through a basic Schiit Modi/Magni set up, and it doesn’t sound harsh, to my ears. I’ve given it a blast through my quite revealing speaker system, and it’s a bit rough sounding, in comparison to my usual Node 2i.
I’m not having a go at the Wiim, as it’s great value, but it doesn’t sound as good as other, admittedly more expensive, streamers I’ve tried.

Thanks, @Mike Foley

It is difficult to explain what you are hearing, and I may be overly sensitive to this area, and you might be 100% correct, I only know that in comparison to other streamers I have tried, this is the only one that did that to me. It also may have something to do with the optical connection as I rarely use that type of connection, and I have been told by others that it can sound glassy in certain areas.

I do hope they continue to get better, obviously, they now have deals in place that other streamers do not have which is a huge plus for them.

I am also a big believer in gear that can suck in one place and shine in another, so I am hoping to find a spot to be able to comment and follow this product.

Cheers!!

 

[smartplug]

Die hard stream like their sound color, nothing wrong with what you enjoy. I have both with 3 highly regarded brand that audiophile praise about and those are Polk r200, elac ub5 and Klipsch reference premier.

 

[mr_macgee]

Thank you so much for starting this thread it is very much needed and welcome...............Cheers!!

Totally agree with Foley. For $80 it's more than expected to sound harsh if you only use the internal built-in DAC but most here on Head-fi would implement it with the digital toslink out going into an outboard DAC. In this configuration, many commented that they've been very happy with the sound and format it's putting out and it's playing in.

On 8/31/22 Wiim is said to be coming out with another big firmware update, fixing some issue's and adding new features. I have to give Wiim huge credit for their efforts in updating and trying to give audiophiles and music lovers features that works; theyre actually listening and replying almost too much; I cant see how this little thing will be able to make all of the audio streaming formats work perfectly; something will have to give.
Remember, this is a very tiny hockey puck size device for only $80, it's electronics, processing and memory can only squeeze so much out of it, while trying to give everyone the high-end features they're seeking. I think they've been doing an amazing job attempting to do this. The Bluenode and IFi are substantially much more expensive, more dated and as of now, also getting less attention from there companies with less updates and patches.

Later this year they also said to be coming out with a Wiim Pro for $150 that will have more much capacity to crunch numbers, handle formats and process a lot of the desired features with more inputs & outputs. If this is true, it will be game changer at that price and with all the tech support.

 

[smartplug]

Totally agree with Foley. For $80 it's more than expected to sound harsh if you only use the internal built-in DAC but most here on Head-fi would implement it with the digital toslink out going into an outboard DAC. In this configuration, many commented that they've been very happy with the sound and format it's putting out and it's playing in.

On 8/31/22 Wiim is said to be coming out with another big firmware update, fixing some issue's and adding new features. I have to give Wiim huge credit for their efforts in updating and trying to give audiophiles and music lovers features that works; theyre actually listening and replying almost too much; I cant see how this little thing will be able to make all of the audio streaming formats work perfectly; something will have to give.
Remember, this is a very tiny hockey puck size device for only $80, it's electronics, processing and memory can only squeeze so much out of it, while trying to give everyone the high-end features they're seeking. I think they've been doing an amazing job attempting to do this. The Bluenode and IFi are substantially much more expensive, more dated and as of now, also getting less attention from there companies with less updates and patches.

Later this year they also said to be coming out with a Wiim Pro for $150 that will have more much capacity to crunch numbers, handle formats and process a lot of the desired features with more inputs & outputs. If this is true, it will be game changer at that price and with all the tech support.

Wiim has only 128 memory and reaching its limit so the pro will take care of that plus a quad core.

 

[Headphiguy]

The Amazon Music-Wiim-Mojo2 is an excellent setup for me at home. I was wondering if anyone had tried to take the WiiM on the road? I presume it must be possible to stream from a mobile phone hotspot to a Wiim powered by a power bank and onto a portable DAC such as mine?
I appreciate the cable logistics and general clutter may take some thought but in theory it could be a valid alternative to having to buy a Chord Poly.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

The Amazon Music-Wiim-Mojo2 is an excellent setup for me at home. I was wondering if anyone had tried to take the WiiM on the road? I presume it must be possible to stream from a mobile phone hotspot to a Wiim powered by a power bank and onto a portable DAC such as mine?
I appreciate the cable logistics and general clutter may take some thought but in theory it could be a valid alternative to having to buy a Chord Poly.

I do have the original Mojo that I can test this out for you, but I know I can't get to it in the next few days if that's alright. As I do not know much about the hotspot area, I would want to make sure any power bank I have is in spec with the wiim. But I will certainly try.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Would there be anyone here that would like to get to the bottom of the issue I hear with the wiim? If so we could do this in a PM environment to avoid cluttering the thread.

Requirements would be having possible two streamers (to avoid switching time) two optical inputs would be best. We could use Mconnect as it supports the wiim, and would allow for a single source, and also the same IEMs or Full-size cans. Also, Qobuz would be best as we don't want to deal with MQA in the picture.

Hit me up in a PM if you think we can match gear and give this a go, and apologies if I don't answer immediately...

See my original post on this here, so you can see the gear I used...

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wiim-mini-streamer.963949/post-17116590

Cheers!!

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Totally agree with Foley. For $80 it's more than expected to sound harsh if you only use the internal built-in DAC but most here on Head-fi would implement it with the digital toslink out going into an outboard DAC. In this configuration, many commented that they've been very happy with the sound and format it's putting out

I was using optical as my basis...

Cheers!!

 

[Mike Foley]

I forgot to mention that when I compared Wiim to Node2i it was via optical out on both. I have a Cambridge DAC with two optical inputs, so was able to compare directly.

 

[Mike Foley]

The Amazon Music-Wiim-Mojo2 is an excellent setup for me at home. I was wondering if anyone had tried to take the WiiM on the road? I presume it must be possible to stream from a mobile phone hotspot to a Wiim powered by a power bank and onto a portable DAC such as mine?
I appreciate the cable logistics and general clutter may take some thought but in theory it could be a valid alternative to having to buy a Chord Poly.

I’ve got an original Mojo/Poly combo, and it sounds great. I bought the Poly second hand, as I can’t afford £500.00!
I’ll have a go at connecting Wiim to iPhone via hotspot, and see what happens.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

The Amazon Music-Wiim-Mojo2 is an excellent setup for me at home. I was wondering if anyone had tried to take the WiiM on the road? I presume it must be possible to stream from a mobile phone hotspot to a Wiim powered by a power bank and onto a portable DAC such as mine?
I appreciate the cable logistics and general clutter may take some thought but in theory it could be a valid alternative to having to buy a Chord Poly.

All I can verify for you is that I can power my Wiim from a charging block...

So there are no issues there, however, I do not have Personal Hotspots available to me, as I am on Crickett and I think that is an added cost that I do not need, so can't check that part. But there is Bluetooth on the Wiim if that could do for you.

Oh and a new update, at least for mine...

Cheers!!

 

[Headphiguy]

All I can verify for you is that I can power my Wiim from a charging block...



So there are no issues there, however, I do not have Personal Hotspots available to me, as I am on Crickett and I think that is an added cost that I do not need, so can't check that part. But there is Bluetooth on the Wiim if that could do for you.

Oh and a new update, at least for mine...




Cheers!!

Many thanks for your efforts. I was keen to see if this was even feasible and you seem to have helped show it probably is.
Update present and correct here too. All the best.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

In an effort for me to Understand what I am hearing in my research of the Wiim Mini I have taken files from the test I am running and uploaded them too Mega so others can download them and listen to them and hopefully tell me what I am hearing, or not hearing,

This was done fairly and directly from the SMSL M500 analog output and Directly into my studio board, no files were manipulated or boosted, or EQ'd in any way shape or form. Here was my test and inside the folders you will find 16 bit WAV format files for you to listen too. There are two folders inside the Wiim Test folder. One labeled original file, and this contains the direct streams to the board from the SMSL M500. The other is labeled Edited and simply contains the files cut and synced so they can be listened too in any program like audacity side by side to switch back and forth, that is the only difference in these different folders.

This was recorded with...

A. Wiim Mini-optical-SMSL M500-Analog unbalanced out to the L-12 Board
B Pi2AES-optical-SMSL M500-Analog Unbalanced out to L-12 Board

Please give me your thoughts on what you hear, and even if you hear no difference at all, this is just for me to try and understand what I am hearing, and if it is even there, or I have lost my mind completely,

I also had to do it this way as posting to youtube even privately to avoid copyright is pointless, so this is the best way for me to get you direct files to listen too, here's the link for you if you are interested in giving it a go, your thoughts as always are appreciated!!

https://mega.nz/folder/2WwHmQCb#iVmrjmB0NtbhX1ZzAbDT4A

Cheers!!

 

[iFi audio]

and IFi are substantially much more expensive, more dated and as of now,

There's something there for sure, but we're into supporting our ZEN Stream platform for as long as we can. As a fairly new product it's nowhere near its end of life