delayed track start

[Hollywood]

I think this has been discussed here before, but I can't find the thread or resolution.

I recently upgraded my audio system, mostly due to the WiiM making it so easy to access my library.

I have been tuning my new system's crossovers and adjusting the parametric equalizer. It takes a lot of patients and applying and changing settings often to the same song.

One of the songs I use to tune is Emerson Lake and Palmer, album Trilogy, track From The Beginning. The initial acoustic guitar notes can sound bland, or warm and realistic. A great song on a good system.

Ironically, the WiiM Pro does NOT play the song from the beginning (ya C wat eye did dare?). I used the progress slider to start the song over and also used the previous and next track to start the song, but it always missed at least the first note, and just a bit more.

I also have the Hi-Fi Cast app that you can "cast" to devices. It also plays the same to the WiiM Pro, but when I cast just to my phone (on Hi-Fi Cast), it does not skip that first note.

I know the programmers have to make decisions on how to handle gapless play and other factors, but there has to be a way to play tracks in their entirety. Has this been addressed with a solution? Am I missing something or is this currently being worked on?

Thanks!

 

[effortless]

I can confirm this for every version of this song in Qobuz streaming (if I skip to this track or play it from pause).
If I however start from the preceding track (The endless Enigma pt.2) minus 10 sec, I can hear the first note of the song. Also, if I play the track in the Qobuz app on iOS (without WiiM), no problem.

In the other threads on this topic, it was suggested to adjust the sample rate switch latency to any value and then back to zero. Unfortunately this did not work for me. I find it mildly annoying as this behavior was introduced a couple of versions ago, iirc.

WiiM Home app iOS 2.5.4
WiiM Pro 4.8.520133
COAX out 192/24
LAN, Qobuz

I‘d suggest to file a ticket via Feedback, with the ELP From the beginning track for reference. We could name the bug appropriately „rom the beginning“,

 

[GrahamLayton]

Whatever the problem was that this is supposed to be a solution to, it could not have been a music fan who signed off on it. Trilogy is one of the greatest albums of the 1970s ( and that’s saying something), and this fade in is a disaster. Worse than that, the first note of Tom Sawyer fades in at the start of Moving Pictures. An abomination. I’ve gone back to CDs for serious listening until this is fixed.

 

[Hollywood]

Whatever the problem was that this is supposed to be a solution to, it could not have been a music fan who signed off on it. Trilogy is one of the greatest albums of the 1970s ( and that’s saying something), and this fade in is a disaster. Worse than that, the first note of Tom Sawyer fades in at the start of Moving Pictures. An abomination. I’ve gone back to CDs for serious listening until this is fixed.

The WiiM Pro is a relatively lower priced hifi streamer. It is not a cheap entry level unit used just to do the basics. It has optical and coax out, and a pretty good DAC. It has a lot of quality and features that let it compete with much more expensive streamers. The app could use a few improvements, but is actually pretty good. I would say the two WiiM models are great, BUT....

If the device can not play a whole track that is selected, either by itself or as several tracks as in a CD or playlist, it is pretty useless other then for background music.

You could stream music from your phone by bluetooth, but the music gets interrupted with calls, test, and other notifications. Bluetooth is not a hifi solution, but WiiM streaming is supposed to be. You can't have players that don't play the whole songs.

My guess is that some decisions were made to accommodate gapless play. Maybe there are other reasons, but enthusiasts are really into their music. They know the the songs, or even just the sounds, and it is something we look forward hearing... mpletely.

This is actually a pretty big deal. I was really excited about the WiiMs and was telling my neighbors and friends, but unless this gets sorted out, I am not recommending WiiM.

 

[GrahamLayton]

Agree with every word of this.

 

[Brantome]

Have you submitted a bug report to Wiim?

 

[Achim1811]

Tried "From the Beginning" a few minutes ago, with the three possibilities Qobuz gives me, the album, the track, some playlists and my vinyl.
The album version in Qobuz following Enigma Pt. 2. No such issue with all of that. It starts exactly where my vinyl starts and this getting louder is reproduced exactly the way it is on my original (first German) pressing. No single note missing.
To make it clear: I will not question a problem, I only want to report it as non-existing here.

 

[Achim1811]

As a small addition: Trilogy was infamous for its great dynamic range from ffff to pppp. Was used very often to show what an amp, a stylus or a speaker is able to reproduce. And if someone is not aware and does not know the vinyl it could be a little bit confusing.

 

[onlyoneme]

In the other threads on this topic, it was suggested to adjust the sample rate switch latency to any value and then back to zero. Unfortunately this did not work for me.

It won't work as it's unrelated to the issue. You probably face a fade-in effect which can be applied by the WiiM on the beginning of the stream.

 

[Hollywood]

Have you submitted a bug report to Wiim?

yes, it's been three days and no response. I would think a hifi player that doesn't play the whole song is a pretty big detail.

I also use an app called Hi-Fi Cast that will let me play content from my server to my WiiM devices or my cell phone. When I cast to the WiiM with Hi-Fi Cast it also cuts off the first note (same behavior), but when I cast to my cell phone it plays properly. This leads me to think the issue is with the WiiM device or firmware, but not the app.

I hope they figure this out as it is otherwise a great device.

 

[Hollywood]

Tried "From the Beginning" a few minutes ago, with the three possibilities Qobuz gives me, It starts exactly where my vinyl starts

I'm happy for you, but I do not use Qobuz or even know what it is. It appears to be a streaming service that I do not have.

As I stated, my content is CDs I ripped to FLAC files on my server (SSD connected to router). When I cast to the WiiM with a 3rs party app(s) it also cuts off the first note (same behavior), but when I cast to my cell phone it plays properly.

 

[Achim1811]

My response followed the post from @effortless who had this issues with the Qobuz files too, an issue I didn't face. So good luck in tracing the evil.

 

[Hollywood]

My response followed the post from @effortless who had this issues with the Qobuz files too, an issue I didn't face. So good luck in tracing the evil.

gotcha. thanks for clearing that up. also thanks for testing the other poster's similar situation.

 

[Brantome]

yes, it's been three days and no response. I would think a hifi player that doesn't play the whole song is a pretty big detail.

Three days delay when they're in the run up to their much requested Roon Ready firmware is perhaps unsurprising. Hopefully they'll pick up on this soon. What's your ticket number?

 

[Hollywood]

Three days delay when they're in the run up to their much requested Roon Ready firmware is perhaps unsurprising. Hopefully they'll pick up on this soon. What's your ticket number?

The reason I mentioned the time was because the auto-reply said to expect a response in 24 hours (to that affect).
#13050 wiim pro

 

[d6jg]

I can’t do this now but I’ll try playing that track on its own from LMS with the UPnP/DLNA Bridge tomorrow morning.

 

[Hollywood]

I can’t do this now but I’ll try playing that track on its own from LMS with the UPnP/DLNA Bridge tomorrow morning.

I just got a new sub this afternoon so I was testing it with my "go to" songs. Since I was critical listening, I was really noticing the delay. I also tried the song GrahamLayton mentioned, Rush>Tom Sawyer and yes, the WiiM cuts off the beginning note.

I don't know about LMS, but I assume you can cast to a WiiM. If it also cuts off the first note, can you test casting to another device too, even just the cell phone.

Thanks!

 

[Mr Ee]

Maybe it somehow depends on the source?
I used to, but no longer, have this issue with Tidal Connect.
I don't have this issue playing my own music from my nas via either WHA or Bubbleupnp.
And yes, I have Rush / Moving Pictures, so have tried Tom Sawyer too - nothing missing at all; the first note kicks in fine.

 

[Hollywood]

I don't have this issue playing my own music from my nas via either WHA or Bubbleupnp.
And yes, I have Rush / Moving Pictures, so have tried Tom Sawyer too - nothing missing at all; the first note kicks in fine.

As I wrote, I have the issue with WHA and Hi-Fi Cast.

I just tried it with my paid version of BubbleUpnp too and the track is also started with part of the first note missing. I then switched to "Local Renderer" and it played on my phone just fine.

Others on this thread have also stated they have the same delayed start issue. I'm glad you do not have the issue, but some of us do and would like to see it fixed. It is so awesome to be able to sit on the couch and be able to select whatever we want to listen to. Sometimes we select songs someone told us to check out, but mostly we select stuff we know, and know when somethings not right.

Who knows, maybe I am doing something wrong, but the tracks from the same library play fine "cast" to my phone but cut out some of the first note in the WiiM Pro.

 

[Mr Ee]

Others on this thread have also stated they have the same delayed start issue. I'm glad you do not have the issue, but some of us do and would like to see it fixed.

I agree it's very annoying, but it might well be some combination of settings / factors causing the issue as there is at least one person (me!) not experiencing it.
Just a thought - does it still have a delay using the wiim's analog output?
(fyi, I'm using optical out.)