WiiM and TIDAL connect

[LBe]

Just got me a WiiM pro. Can I still use TIDAL connect or is the WiiM app the only option?

 

[Brantome]

Tidal Connect is still available and perhaps the better means as it then allows the first MQA unfold

 

[Mr Ee]

Mostly better as you can use the native tidal app!

 

[Brantome]

I’ll throw in a question - is Tidal Connect gapless with WiiM devices? Are there other streamer implementations that aren’t?

 

[Hulle Sack]

Hi, yes, the reason I left Spotify after years was the availability of the WiiM Minis (two in use) and later the availability of the PRO (one in use). I use Tidal with Flac 16/44.1 - Gapless works fine. In the WiiM app, with Bubble UPnP as well as when connected to Tidal with Connect.
Previously I had Arylic devices in use (S50 Pro+, S10), Connect with Tidal not possible, only with 4Stream app.... before that Panasonic Qualcomm AllPlay, Connect with Tidal also not possible, only with Panasonic app.

 

[Mr Ee]

is Tidal Connect gapless with WiiM devices

Yes

 

[Balthazar B]

Sorry to raise an old thread from the dead, but this is the most appropriate place.

I tested Tidal using all the gapless tracks in Abbey Road (yeah, different recordings may or may not behave differently, but I wasn't testing for that variable). In this case, I'm using a WiiM Pro as the Tidal Connect target with Tidal Hi-Fi -- which I assume will still be separate from Tidal Premium until April. As you know, the WiiM Pro supports Tidal Connect, and in addition supports Tidal running at full resolution within the WiiM Home app. I'm running the Tidal and WiiM apps on an Android Pixel phone on the latest OS build. Oh, and I'm also running the latest Tidal beta. And I'm feeding the digital signal from the WiiM over coax to a downstream DAC. Here's what I found:

• Tidal Connect to the WiiM: Fail. Pretty annoying.
• Tidal within the WiiM app: Pass. Works flawlessly. Full resolution.

So what is WiiM doing with the Pro that its own app plays gaplessly but it's not supporting Tidal Connect gapless, which from plenty of reports works fine on some other streamers/endpoints? My hunch is that the WiiM OS appears to Tidal like a native app, and so it's just sending a gapless stream. Maybe the WiiM is not supporting the full functionality of Tidal Connect, not loading a Tidal Connect module, or isn't operating as it has to with proper buffering? Anybody know? Can others replicate what I'm seeing (well, hearing)? Further tests anyone would suggest to further pinpoint the issue? Unfortunately there's work going on in our house such that it's challenging to run Wireshark to see if the network packets reveal anything...but I know there are at least a couple of people hereabouts who'd be able to do that.

Cheers!

 

[merifon]

What exactly mean with "fail"? No connection at all or no gapless?
My WiiM mini works perfectly with both Tidal connect and WiiM app, in gapless way at full resolution, disregard I'm using android 14 or iOS to control.

 

[Balthazar B]

What exactly mean with "fail"? No connection at all or no gapless?
My WiiM mini works perfectly with both Tidal connect and WiiM app, in gapless way at full resolution, disregard I'm using android 14 or iOS to control.

No gapless. I'm getting almost a second between tracks.

I'm going to bypass the downstream DAC and just feed a preamp directly to see if anything changes.

Speaking of which, are you using the inbuilt WiiM DAC or something external?

 

[Mr Ee]

Can't be a coincidence that I've had the same non-gapless behaviour with tidal connect to a mini in the last few days...

 

[Balthazar B]

OK, this is interesting.

My usual chain is WiiM Pro -> coax -> DAC -> preamp -> monoblocks -> speakers. Or preamp -> headphone amp -> headphones.

My earlier testing was with the above. Tidal Connect failed on this setup.

So as part of the process of isolating the problem, I sidetracked the external DAC, so the chain was WiiM Pro -> RCA line out -> preamp -> monoblocks -> speakers. In this configuration, Tidal Connect gapless absolutely worked with the same test content.

So something odd is happening with the digital outs (or at least coax; didn't test Toslink but they're both S/PDIF). I have the WiiM set to fixed volume and no equalization, so as pure and unencumbered a bitflow as possible. So now the question is are we going to see Tidal Connect gapless failures with all downstream DACs or only some of them, and if the latter, why? If the former, I'd surmise WiiM is doing something odd that disables gapless on digital connections to downstream devices. Unfortunately my only unused DAC is buried in my garage storage so can't do a quick test. And frankly, I'd want to test with 5-10 of different types and from different manufacturers to isolate the problem further.

Thoughts, anyone?

P.S. The WiiM Pro's DAC sounds pretty crappy compared with a modern external DAC. Reminds me of how yucky the DACs sounded in early-2000's AVRs. Thin and fatiguing. The phrase "AM radio" crossed my mind while I was listening.

P.P.S. This would be a good thing to figure out quickly since Tidal, with its pretty significant announced price drop, could be seeing a pretty good influx of new subscribers after April 10th. And many of them could be using WiiM devices as streamers.

 

[Balthazar B]

OK, now I'm really scratching my head.

I decided to rerun the tests just to confirm settings, etc. And this time around, gapless is working with the external DAC in the change. I also tested some additional tracks I hadn't earlier.

There was one change, though. Between my last post and this one, Tidal pushed a new beta version of their app to my phone.

So either using WiiM's line outs "reminded" it about gapless and Tidal Connect, and it's loading a bit of code it neglected to load before. Or Tidal fixed something. Or in effect deleting and reinstalling the Tidal app fixed something. Logic would lead me to think the latter, but because I don't understand the root cause(s) of the problem in the first place, I don't want to jump to a conclusion.

I really don't want to factory reset the WiiM right now, but I'll keep testing Tidal Connect with content that must be gapless, and if the problem rears up its ugly head again, I'll see if a FS fixes it, or a deinstall/reinstall.

 

[merifon]

I forgot to say that WiiM mini it's now toslink connected to Nad 3050LE amp and works gapless. Up to a couple of months ago, it was hooked to a SMSL DO100 dac and it worked well also.
As far I remember, I didn't checked in between so I can't say if the recent bunch of updates of Tidal (iOS and Android) did something in the meantime.