Use WiiM Pro to Play FLAC Library From MusicBee

[RobInRI2]

Over the winter I was recording all of my CDs as FLAC files, using the free MusicBee program (https://www.getmusicbee.com/downloads/). MB makes it super simple to convert CDs to this lossless format. Eight hundred CDs later, I have a formidable music library on my PC, but my old analog stereo system was gathering dust in the living room. Also, my wife was starting to complain that I was hogging all the music on my PC (after recording each CD to FLAC, I filed the plastic discs in the drawers of an empty bureau).

So I went looking for a device that could receive a high bitrate stream from my PC, over my home wifi network, and translate that digital signal into something my 30-year-old analog stereo receiver/amp could understand. The WiiM Pro is that device. It's remarkably simple and the free WiiM Home software is incredibly versatile. It's the right tool to bring your old hi-fi stereo gear into the digital age.

Last week, when my big Amazon order arrived, I was eager to set up the WiiM Pro streamer with my stereo. I was able to connect it into my old Yamaha receiver/amp with the RCA cables no problem. I was also able to set up the streamer on our home wifi network. But I couldn't find my PC with the WiiM Pro Android app.

Over the weekend, I had a look at my PC's network settings and realized that my desktop computer was NOT set up to share over our home wifi network. So I changed that, by first making my music library shareable. Here are the steps to share folders in Windows 10:

1. Open File Explorer on Windows 10.
2. Navigate to the folder you want to share.
3. Right-click the item, and select the Properties option.
4. Click on the Sharing tab.
5. Click the Share button.
6. Use the drop-down menu to select the user or group to share a file or folder.

Then go the the PC's Settings (or Control Panel) and open the Network and Sharing Center -- Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Media streaming options. Under Media Streaming Options, make a new name for your music library. Give it a memorable name like Den_Win10_box_FLACs, so that you can pick it out of a long list of sources.

Make sure you have the latest WiiM Pro app on your Android phone, or download it here: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=WiiM%20Pro&c=apps&hl=en_US&gl=US. Restart your phone, then check to see that the Android device is using the SAME home wifi network as your source PC and the WiiM Pro receiver.

Here are the last steps for connecting your WiiM Pro to your FLAC library:

1. Leaving your PC and phone on, unplug your wifi router for 30 seconds and plug it back in.
2. Once the home wifi is back up and running, open the WiiM Android app.
3. Open the Browse screen on the app. Scroll to the bottom of that screen to confirm that the input source for the WiiM Pro device is set to "Wi-Fi".
4. Scroll back up to the top of the Browse screen and tap "Home Music Share" under "My Library".
5. You should see a "ReadyDLNA" link and below that, a link for you PC and the folder name that you gave to your FLAC library.
6. Tap on your FLAC folder. Sometimes you have to tap two or three times on links in the WiiM Pro app; I guess that's network lag.
7. Below that you'll see two options: Music and Playlists.
8. Tap on the "Music" link.
9. Below the Music link you will see the familiar MusicBee folder hierarchy.
10. Make a music selection and start enjoying CD-quality sound over your old home stereo via wi-fi!
11. If you don't hear anything, press the Up Volume ( + ) button on the front of the Wiim Pro box.
12. If you're still not getting any sound, check the source selector on your old analog receiver. It should be set to Line1 or Line2, depending on where you plugged in the RCA jacks from the Wiim Pro.

At the moment, I'm streaming Chet Baker from the Riverside Profiles CDs and he's rarely sounded better. Although I see in the WiiM Home app, that the stream is capped at 16 bits, 44.1 kHz, the CD standard. Is there a way to increase the bit and sample rates in the WiiM Home App?

 

[simbun]

I'm glad you got there in the end. I believe there used to be a UPnP/DLNA plugin for MusicBee but development stopped on it years ago now.

I believe the "Sometimes you have to tap two or three times on links in the WiiM Pro app" is specific to Windows Media Sharing as it's pretty poor all round. The biggest issues are the lack of search, track ordering for multi-disc albums and the general lack of index artwork.
The free version of MinimServer should cover most of your needs and it's probably the most robust UPnP server there is, so might be worth a look if Windows media sharing fails to deliver.
If you're primarily looking at local content it'll also be worth looking at the BubbleUPnP or Hi-Fi Cast control points (for Android) that can be used instead of the WiiM Home app as they're much more functional.

I believe what you're seeing in the WiiM Home app is the resolution of the input, so that can't be changed, but the resolution of the output can be through 'Device > Audio Settings' in the WiiM Home app.

 

[Brantome]

Over the winter I was recording all of my CDs as FLAC files, using the free MusicBee program (https://www.getmusicbee.com/downloads/). MB makes it super simple to convert CDs to this lossless format. Eight hundred CDs later, I have a formidable music library on my PC, but my old analog stereo system was gathering dust in the living room. Also, my wife was starting to complain that I was hogging all the music on my PC (after recording each CD to FLAC, I filed the plastic discs in the drawers of an empty bureau).

So I went looking for a device that could receive a high bitrate stream from my PC, over my home wifi network, and translate that digital signal into something my 30-year-old analog stereo receiver/amp could understand. The WiiM Pro is that device. It's remarkably simple and the free WiiM Home software is incredibly versatile. It's the right tool to bring your old hi-fi stereo gear into the digital age.

Last week, when my big Amazon order arrived, I was eager to set up the WiiM Pro streamer with my stereo. I was able to connect it into my old Yamaha receiver/amp with the RCA cables no problem. I was also able to set up the streamer on our home wifi network. But I couldn't find my PC with the WiiM Pro Android app.

Over the weekend, I had a look at my PC's network settings and realized that my desktop computer was NOT set up to share over our home wifi network. So I changed that, by first making my music library shareable. Here are the steps to share folders in Windows 10:

1. Open File Explorer on Windows 10.
2. Navigate to the folder you want to share.
3. Right-click the item, and select the Properties option.
4. Click on the Sharing tab.
5. Click the Share button.
6. Use the drop-down menu to select the user or group to share a file or folder.

Then go the the PC's Settings (or Control Panel) and open the Network and Sharing Center -- Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Media streaming options. Under Media Streaming Options, make a new name for your music library. Give it a memorable name like Den_Win10_box_FLACs, so that you can pick it out of a long list of sources.

Make sure you have the latest WiiM Pro app on your Android phone, or download it here: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=WiiM%20Pro&c=apps&hl=en_US&gl=US. Restart your phone, then check to see that the Android device is using the SAME home wifi network as your source PC and the WiiM Pro receiver.

Here are the last steps for connecting your WiiM Pro to your FLAC library:

1. Leaving your PC and phone on, unplug your wifi router for 30 seconds and plug it back in.
2. Once the home wifi is back up and running, open the WiiM Android app.
3. Open the Browse screen on the app. Scroll to the bottom of that screen to confirm that the input source for the WiiM Pro device is set to "Wi-Fi".
4. Scroll back up to the top of the Browse screen and tap "Home Music Share" under "My Library".
5. You should see a "ReadyDLNA" link and below that, a link for you PC and the folder name that you gave to your FLAC library.
6. Tap on your FLAC folder. Sometimes you have to tap two or three times on links in the WiiM Pro app; I guess that's network lag.
7. Below that you'll see two options: Music and Playlists.
8. Tap on the "Music" link.
9. Below the Music link you will see the familiar MusicBee folder hierarchy.
10. Make a music selection and start enjoying CD-quality sound over your old home stereo via wi-fi!
11. If you don't hear anything, press the Up Volume ( + ) button on the front of the Wiim Pro box.
12. If you're still not getting any sound, check the source selector on your old analog receiver. It should be set to Line1 or Line2, depending on where you plugged in the RCA jacks from the Wiim Pro.

At the moment, I'm streaming Chet Baker from the Riverside Profiles CDs and he's rarely sounded better. Although I see in the WiiM Home app, that the stream is capped at 16 bits, 44.1 kHz, the CD standard. Is there a way to increase the bit and sample rates in the WiiM Home App?

If that’s what you ripped them at, then no.

Also, you might want to try a better UPNP server like MinimServer or AssetUPNP on your PC, or indeed LMS using its UPNPBridge plugin, the latter of which will become redundant very soon when WiiM release their Squeezelite client.

 

[Mr Ee]

...so that can't be changed, but the resolution of the output can be through 'Device > Audio Settings' in the WiiM Home app.

That's the max the wiim will output if a signal greater than that comes in. i.e. it will downsample to that if necessary, for digital output only.
Seems to me the OP is using the Pro's aux out, not digital out.

+1 for both a better music server (like minimserver) and bubbleupnp android app.