WiiM Pro Plus - now ROON ready and certified

[bernard23]

Depend on what else your after. For me it’s not locked to a specific device and can be used across many more bits of equipment. I have many different makes and models and I have Roon manage them all. The interface is far superior no different looks to each service one unified layout, source agnostic for your library, better music management (Wiim has none), more DSP options over all and all applied at 64bit, upsampling, ability to use convolution filters for better Eq results, adjustable volume levelling, can build complex layers of DSP using procedural eq. Its multiroom is one of the best in class imo.

If you don’t care for managing your music collection in a specific way or you don’t need or use this stuff then there are other things around.

I'm aware of all of those features, probably should have been more clear, is there any sonic advantage of using RAAT over wiim dsp? I suspect I know the answer, but I don't know if there are any technical differences.
Personally I don't wish to pay for slick library management, nice UI or even knowing the signal path as thats a use once and forget feature unless as you say are connecting multiple devices and changing settings. I'm planning on adding a Yamaha receiver with built in room correction so will have no further need for upstream DSP

 

[canard]

I'm aware of all of those features, probably should have been more clear, is there any sonic advantage of using RAAT over wiim dsp? I suspect I know the answer, but I don't know if there are any technical differences.
Personally I don't wish to pay for slick library management, nice UI or even knowing the signal path as thats a use once and forget feature unless as you say are connecting multiple devices and changing settings. I'm planning on adding a Yamaha receiver with built in room correction so will have no further need for upstream DSP

what bothers me about the peq is that the wiim teams have never taken the time to give us some explanations on the quality-depth of calculation-resolution etc. of this mode... (nor for that matter why since this one is released it remained frozen on a 4 band even on pro and "plus"? if a serious problem which makes evolution not possible? you might as well enlighten us honestly)

 

[bernard23]

I guess I'm making a big assumption that the execution of the PEQ is OK, and done in 64 float etc. The numbers of channels will be limited by the processor - FWIW I can't run my Roon core on an old but once top spec Asus laptop (Intel i7 ivybridge processor) using DSP, it's simply not fast enough.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I’m not sure why would you want software managements on your music when the app on tidal and qoboz just do ok job while paying monthly subscription and computer running 24/7 plus the electricity that the computer consume.

One their apps suck and don’t curate anything properly, you can’t sort a collection into any meaningful ways other than playlists which suck. Albums disappear at a rate of knots so not permanent. And I have a large library of my own cd rips and purchase.

I like to buy and play my own music and support the artists more and not rent it. The cost of running my server 24/7 is hardly breaking any bank it’s not exactly high drain device.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I guess I'm making a big assumption that the execution of the PEQ is OK, and done in 64 float etc. The numbers of channels will be limited by the processor - FWIW I can't run my Roon core on an old but once top spec Asus laptop (Intel i7 ivybridge processor) using DSP, it's simply not fast enough.

At minimum would hope it’s 32bit as the DAC is 32bit, but what depth it actually does its calculations at is a mystery as they don’t seem keen to say what it is. I feel it’s likely not as high as we would like. I know to me Roons peq sounded better as does the peq in my RME dac. I still use the Wiims PEQ in the system it now resides in, but it’s not really my goto zone.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I'm aware of all of those features, probably should have been more clear, is there any sonic advantage of using RAAT over wiim dsp? I suspect I know the answer, but I don't know if there are any technical differences.
Personally I don't wish to pay for slick library management, nice UI or even knowing the signal path as thats a use once and forget feature unless as you say are connecting multiple devices and changing settings. I'm planning on adding a Yamaha receiver with built in room correction so will have no further need for upstream DSP

See below for me in my systems Roon is far better. Good luck with Room correction not found automatic stuff very good so far, needs a human touch to nail it in and don’t correct above 300hz.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

One their apps suck and don’t curate anything properly, you can’t sort a collection into any meaningful ways other than playlists which suck. Albums disappear at a rate of knots so not permanent. And I have a large library of my own cd rips and purchase.

I like to buy and play my own music and support the artists more and not rent it. The cost of running my server 24/7 is hardly breaking any bank it’s not exactly high drain device.

One more important thing for me that you can’t do in Wiim app. Find recordings that people have contributed to rather than be their own recording/album. I like to explore the work of engineers, producers. session musicians that appear on albums or just members of the bands other projects. I can do that very easily via Roon as it links all this together and I can search for say Daniel Lanois and I will see not just his own recorded output but those with other artists, all compilations, albums he produced etc. Try doing that in the Wiim app. It’s not having to jump out and search the internet to find this info and be able to play and sample this music in seconds that is another reason to pay for Roon and makes it worth paying for.

 

[castalla]

One more important thing for me that you can’t do in Wiim app. Find recordings that people have contributed to rather than be their own recording/album. I like to explore the work of engineers, producers. session musicians that appear on albums or just members of the bands other projects. I can do that very easily via Roon as it links all this together and I can search for say Daniel Lanois and I will see not just his own recorded output but those with other artists, all compilations, albums he produced etc. Try doing that in the Wiim app. It’s not having to jump out and search the internet to find this info and be able to play and sample this music in seconds that is another reason to pay for Roon and makes it worth paying for.

I have to admit that Roon does this artist information metadata display in an attractive format. Whether this is worth the cost of a subscription is a personal choice. I'd just mention that LMS (free) does something similar via a plugin (free).

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I have to admit that Roon does this artist information metadata display in an attractive format. Whether this is worth the cost of a subscription is a personal choice. I'd just mention that LMS (free) does something similar via a plugin (free).

What I refer to here is more than just the Allmusic look up. Roon will group all the recorded output they have been involved in under the Discography section and then further broken into relevant sections. So you get main releases, singles/eps, then collaborations with other artists, compilation albums, production, engineering and so on. This isn’t something LMS can do to my knowledge.It doesn’t use this additional metadata to organise your library and present it to you, it just static pages from the website.

Roon uses all its metadata sources to build a comprehensive database, linking relevant artists and material together.

You question if it’s worth subscribing to?. I was dubious about it until I discovered how enriching it became and a joy to use. 6+ years later still here. Add in all the other great features it has , support for more Hifi components, it just became a no brainer. I dip back to LMS and try other apps every now and then but they don’t do it for me. It’s all horses for courses.

 

[castalla]

I appreciate your reply. Very informative. I can see how such a wealth of information could be attractive to some users. Cheers.

 

[moonw5]

When Roon came out, there was nothing available software(app) wise that could approach it's level of simplicity and capability/feature set. This has grown over time, although I have to admit, sometimes bugs do creep in(just like Microsoft and Apple software does). I took the plunge and purchased the software vs. going with a subscription model. To this day, nothing comes close to it. The App is what you as a user, interface with each time you play your music. I also like to research the artists within the app too. Hence it's superior ability. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is Roon Radio, which works amazingly well based on your current song or playlist. Great way to discover music. Before streaming became mainstream, I had ripped all of my music CD's in lossless FLAC and also purchased Hi-Rez music from the various sites. To have access of your personal files is also of benefit to Me.
The cost is substantial, but so is all the gear we purchase/sell and purchase again. This is a one time buy once, cry once affair if you choose to.
If JRiver ever brings in streaming of services to their platform, then Roon would really have to worry. That piece of software is exceptional.

 

[bernard23]

Another question, if streaming from Roon (with DSP enabled) using the Wiim as an endpoint (with DSP activated) then effectively your doubling up on the dsp? Or does the Wiim dsp only work on a stream controlled via its app?

 

[bernard23]

When Roon came out, there was nothing available software(app) wise that could approach it's level of simplicity and capability/feature set. This has grown over time, although I have to admit, sometimes bugs do creep in(just like Microsoft and Apple software does). I took the plunge and purchased the software vs. going with a subscription model. To this day, nothing comes close to it. The App is what you as a user, interface with each time you play your music. I also like to research the artists within the app too. Hence it's superior ability. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is Roon Radio, which works amazingly well based on your current song or playlist. Great way to discover music. Before streaming became mainstream, I had ripped all of my music CD's in lossless FLAC and also purchased Hi-Rez music from the various sites. To have access of your personal files is also of benefit to Me.
The cost is substantial, but so is all the gear we purchase/sell and purchase again. This is a one time buy once, cry once affair if you choose to.
If JRiver ever brings in streaming of services to their platform, then Roon would really have to worry. That piece of software is exceptional.

Spotify has a similar radio function, it's similarly useful for discovery of new music as you say.
I have no problem accessing my own flac files stored on my NAS via the Wiim app. The interface is a bit meh but it works. That said, I still haven't cancelled my Roon sub yet, which I was always going to do once I found an alternative method of EQ

 

[Brantome]

Another question, if streaming from Roon (with DSP enabled) using the Wiim as an endpoint (with DSP activated) then effectively your doubling up on the dsp? Or does the Wiim dsp only work on a stream controlled via its app?

I haven’t seen anything that states the WiiM’s EQ/PEQ is ignored when it’s being used as a Roon endpoint, so if you don’t see those features automatically turned off in the WiiM app then I’d presume they’re still in use.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

Another question, if streaming from Roon (with DSP enabled) using the Wiim as an endpoint (with DSP activated) then effectively your doubling up on the dsp? Or does the Wiim dsp only work on a stream controlled via its app?

Wiims DSP is active on any input, Roon included so yes you would be doubling up.