Latest John Darko video on the Pro Plus

Not sure if he’s a member here, so please bear the group rules in mind

 

[Anglepen]

I like Johns channel, no bells and whistles and no dramas, he’s very down to earth and inmo one of the best channels out there for audio news.

 

[Brantome]

I was surprised in a side by side comparison like this that no mention was made of the prices of each device being compared, nor that part of the price difference between the Pro and Pro Plus was that the latter included the remote (although to be fair the remote was mentioned later in the video). Also, he almost never mentions Amazon Music support nor that the WiiM devices are still (as far as I know) the only devices that support bit perfect Alexacast up to 24/192, especially after his recent survey on the use of casting protocols.

 

[Wiimer]

Ihe almost never mentions Amazon Music support nor that the WiiM devices are still (as far as I know) the only devices that support bit perfect Alexacast up to 24/192, especially after his recent survey on the use of casting protocols.

As a matter of fact, I've hardly seen a reviewer mention it.

 

[d6jg]

As a matter of fact, I've hardly seen a reviewer mention it.

I'd say that is because Amazon missed the boat and most of the HiFi Reviewers are already wedded to either Qobuz (or perhaps Tidal) due to Roon.

 

[Hiphiman]

The video confirms the suspicion that my WiiM Mini and Mojo 2 combo is unlikely to be beaten for sound quality without a 4 or 5 figure outlay. Of course, if you need the extra functionality of the Pro/Pro Plus (I don’t currently) then that may be the way to go.

 

[Brantome]

The video confirms the suspicion that my WiiM Mini and Mojo 2 combo is unlikely to be beaten for sound quality without a 4 or 5 figure outlay. Of course, if you need the extra functionality of the Pro/Pro Plus (I don’t currently) then that may be the way to go.

Yeah, it was a bit strange that he was using the Pro Plus with an external DAC after talking up its internal DAC

 

[DRC]

A positive review, but the Pro Plus is currently unavailable on Amazon UK.

 

[Brantome]

Yeah, I noticed they only had a handful available the other day. Hopefully they’ll get stock soon.

 

[Tacty]

i really don't know why people treating wiim pro internal dac as something which is barely usable? it is far from truth...i was using mine pro through the analogue outputs for several days until i found coax cable somewhere in my house, and it sounded very good...i can live with that without problems...maybe it is slightly better with my external dac, but it's not night and day...

and what is worse everybody repeat that mantra like parrots around...future owners would think it can't even produce any sound... don't even bother to try, just buy an external dac, like, yesterday...ffs, just stop repeating youtubers nonsense like blind sheep...

sorry if it sounded like a rant

 

[canard]

Do we have the right not to share your opinion?
;-)
I abandoned the idea of using the analog part of a mini (which is essentially the same thing as the pro) finding it really not great for my use, on my system and my musical tastes...
and I really have nothing of a reviewer..really nothing...hihi

 

[Brantome]

As I’ve said before, I’m probably in the camp that says most improvement in sound will be gained by your amp, speakers, room acoustics and your hearing, with the DAC maybe contributing the last few percent. I find it hard to hear differences between DACs in the terms many reviewers use - for me, if I get tired listening to one DAC after a period, but not to another, then that second one would be the one I prefer.

 

[canard]

but I don't forget its cost... its many available functions , that she offered many things still expected by many.... etc (and that there is toslink)

;-)
(but there is a huge contradiction...it is to point to very high resolution services, very hifi, like amazon etc. as justifying the purchase of a mini (or pro) for use on analog output... it's just stupid.. but with toslink...ok)

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I was surprised in a side by side comparison like this that no mention was made of the prices of each device being compared, nor that part of the price difference between the Pro and Pro Plus was that the latter included the remote (although to be fair the remote was mentioned later in the video). Also, he almost never mentions Amazon Music support nor that the WiiM devices are still (as far as I know) the only devices that support bit perfect Alexacast up to 24/192, especially after his recent survey on the use of casting protocols.

Because he doesn’t use Amazon , he tests what he has which is why he choose Tidal connect as all the devices supported it. Tbh I hardly know anyone that uses AM at all. It’s pretty bad as a music app and as it’s got very limited hardware support it’s not exactly the Hifi enthusiasts choice.

 

[Brantome]

Because he doesn’t use Amazon , he tests what he has which is why he choose Tidal connect as all the devices supported it. Tbh I hardly know anyone that uses AM at all. It’s pretty bad as a music app and as it’s got very limited hardware support it’s not exactly the Hifi enthusiasts choice.

I use it. I mustn’t be a hifi enthusiast then

 

[Deleted member 925]

I use it. I mustn’t be a hifi enthusiast then

Yeah so do many many millions of other people. Tidal and especially Qobuz subscriber counts are so small that most benchmarking sites don't seem to consider them significant enough to even count them

I'll add that focusing on the best support for services the majority of their potential customers actually use coupled with very affordable prices is likely why WiiM is doing so well.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

You have a wiim so it’s fine. For most they can’t get it at all. Their api is dreadful too. I tried it again last week to try out Alexacast which works well, but what’s the point of making a protocol that requires your device to have Alexa built in, this limitation is why you don’t see it on most Hifi as they won’t want to add this bit of bloatware for good reasons. As Wiim do home automation stuff as well I guess they’re used to stuff for Alexa so it made sense for them.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

Yeah so do many many millions of other people. Tidal and especially Qobuz subscriber counts are so small that most benchmarking sites don't seem to consider them significant enough to even count them

I'll add that focusing on the best support for services the majority of their potential customers actually use coupled with very affordable prices is likely why WiiM is doing so well.

But does that include the free tier which any Amazon prime customer gets or is that pure unlimited?

 

[Deleted member 925]

But does that include the free tier which any Amazon prime customer gets or is that pure unlimited?

Prime costs money so technically those are still paid subscribers. I think your question is just what's the split between Prime and Unlimited and I haven't seen that breakdown on the free benchmarking sites. Maybe you can find out with better Google skills than me though.

 

[Brantome]

Amazon Music Free is available to any Amazon customer - it’s Amazon Music Prime which Prime customers get access to. I don’t know if Amazon include those in their numbers, or just those who subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited.

Despite them not having their own hardware which fully exploits their own hi res music output, support for Amazon Music has been available on mainstream manufacturers like Denon/Marantz/Heos, Yamaha, Sonos etc for a good few years, albeit mainly their lossy service until relatively recently.

You can’t discount its use on the millions of echo devices out there either - that must account for a large proportion of its subscriber base.

What attracted many users to the WiiM Mini and later models was its bit perfect support of hi res Amazon Music up to 24/192 , even when casting from the Amazon Music app which I think is still unique in the market. That itself might boost Amazon Music use even further.

I use it because I had it since it first came out, originally on a range of echo devices, then my amp via an echo input, followed by an Echo Link (which I returned), a Heos Link HS2 (despite its execrable app), several fire tv devices and ultimately my WiiM devices either via the WiiM or Amazon Music apps, or using Alexa. And I find it very useful in the car to operate hands free playback using my echo auto, which I couldn’t do with Tidal or Qobuz. Plus the price of the family plan per capita over the five users who use it (me on my WiiMs and other family members who primarily use it on their echos) works out at only £3 per head per month for access to 100m tracks in CD quality or better.