Hooking Wiim Pro to AVR

[Fluroscent]

Hi Folks,

I am planning to get Wiim Pro which which will be hooked to my AVR x2600h. But before putting my money into Wiim, I would like to know from the experienced user with similar set up that what improvement I will have with my AVR in stereo set up. I am using wharfedale diamond 225 as fronts. As the AVR also has inbuilt DACs so what kind of value addition I’ll have with Wiim? I generally listen to the music through heos app. Will I have a discernible difference in sound output?

 

[BucYouUp68]

What brand AVR? If you want to use the WiiM Pro DAC use RCA.

 

[Fluroscent]

What brand AVR? If you want to use the WiiM Pro DAC use RCA.

I am using Denon X2600h. But would like to know what will be the discernible difference I would het in 2 channel stereo?

 

[BucYouUp68]

You will need to assign the input in setting, once that is done you are good. The WiiM Pro has a better DAC in it then the Denon. Denon is fine for Film audio, not so much for music imho. I am running the Pro Plus via RCA and works great, just make sure you assign it or you will have no sound.

 

[Fluroscent]

Thanks a ton for your response. Sure I’ll assign it in the settings. Some of the folks outside this group are mentioning that the sound difference will not be much as the DACs inside Denon are more or less work similarly to that of Wiim Pro. So it’s creating a lot of doubt in my mind.

 

[BucYouUp68]

I went with the Pro Plus because the DAC is better then the Pro

 

[ABAstroUK]

Hi Folks,

I am planning to get Wiim Pro which which will be hooked to my AVR x2600h. But before putting my money into Wiim, I would like to know from the experienced user with similar set up that what improvement I will have with my AVR in stereo set up. I am using wharfedale diamond 225 as fronts. As the AVR also has inbuilt DACs so what kind of value addition I’ll have with Wiim? I generally listen to the music through heos app. Will I have a discernible difference in sound output?

Hi, I'm considering doing the same with my WiiM Pro Plus and Denon AVR-X2800H so I'm interested to hear people's views. I suspect using the DAC on the Pro Plus with Analog input to the AVR may have a beneficial effect, whether it's audible or not is subjective. The other advantage is the WiiM software and multiroom capabilities.

 

[Fender]

In this range, and without knowing the mentioned devices, for me it would be a no-brainer to choose the WiiM because of its so much better software. Was not aware of it but the WiiMs software vs HEOS made my decision a few months ago quick and easy.
I do not really believe in great sound differences in this environment. In your situation I would go with the Pro Plus.

 

[Brantome]

Which music service(s) will you be using?

 

[AlanB]

I have a WiiM Pro feeding into a vintage Arcam AVR300 (in stereo direct mode) via a Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M headphone amp/DAC and vintage KEF Q3 speakers, along with a REL subwoofer.

The result is the best hifi sound I've had from the Arcam and KEF speakers ever, even better than when I had a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable and Marantz KI Signature CD player as the sources.

The Wiim Pro built in DAC is OK, but I prefer the DAC in my DACMagic.

 

[Fluroscent]

Which music service(s) will you be using?

Spotify, amazon music, apple music

 

[Brantome]

With WiiM you’ll be able to use the Amazon Music app and cast bitperfect up to 24/192, or use Alexa (even with Spotify which if I recall the alexa Heos skill didn’t support), rather than the execrable Heos app. You’ll also be able to include it, and by extension your AVR, in an Alexa MRM group alongside any echos you may have.

 

[Doublej]

Do these Denon AVRs have an input where the digital circuitry in the Denon is bypassed? If not, does it matter if the WiiM DAC is better, as feeding an analog signal to the Denon will be converted to digital using the ADC in the Denon and then back to analog using the DAC in the Denon.

I would feed a digital signal from the WiiM to the Denon by connecting the SPDIF OUT on the WiiM to an OPTICAL input on the Denon.

 

[Brantome]

I believe they do have a “pure direct” mode, but not sure if that bypasses all the digital circuitry.

 

[ABAstroUK]

I believe they do have a “pure direct” mode, but not sure if that bypasses all the digital circuitry.

I've tried to find out if this is the case with no luck so far. In Pure Direct mode all DSP processing is not available but does this also bypass the DAC - who knows?

 

[Doublej]

According to perplexity.ai the DAC is not bypassed on the Denons in Direct or Pure Direct modes.

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/does-denon-direct-39rlBF67SJW.Rlr5nEBaxg

 

[Fluroscent]

Do these Denon AVRs have an input where the digital circuitry in the Denon is bypassed? If not, does it matter if the WiiM DAC is better, as feeding an analog signal to the Denon will be converted to digital using the ADC in the Denon and then back to analog using the DAC in the Denon.

I would feed a digital signal from the WiiM to the Denon by connecting the SPDIF OUT on the WiiM to an OPTICAL input on the Denon.

The pure mode is there in Denon but I am not sure it bypasses the internal DAC or not.

 

[harkpabst]

What would be the point of bypassing the DAC? If it is fed a digital signal it will need to use the DAC to convert it. Otherwise, no sound could be heard, digital inputs would be useless. There's really no choice.

Bypassing a DSP could be a different story (at least in theory).

 

[d6jg]

The issue is the analog input chain on an AVR. It typically goes like this.

Analog -> ADC -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers

Add a WiiM in front

WiiM DAC -> Analog -> ADC -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers
OR
WiiM -> Optical/Coax -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers

Even if your Pure Direct or whatever disables any DSP it can be converting from Analog to Digital and back to Analog if you use the WiiM's onboard DAC which normally you would want to do as it is usually better than the one in your AVR.

 

[ABAstroUK]

The issue is the analog input chain on an AVR. It typically goes like this.

Analog -> ADC -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers

Add a WiiM in front

WiiM DAC -> Analog -> ADC -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers
OR
WiiM -> Optical/Coax -> DSP -> DAC -> Amp -> Speakers

Even if your Pure Direct or whatever disables any DSP it can be converting from Analog to Digital and back to Analog if you use the WiiM's onboard DAC which normally you would want to do as it is usually better than the one in your AVR.

This is exactly what I expect is the case so there's no point running analog from (any) Wiim to the AVR. The other (minor) issue is my AVR has no trigger in and I'm not sure if feeding a signal from the WiiM to either Digital or Analog inputs will wake up the AVR. I need to test this at some point but need to wait until I get my Ultra