WiiM Mini AirPlay 2 Wireless Audio Streamer, Multiroom Stereo, Preamplifier, Works with Alexa and Siri Voice Assistants, Stream Hi-Res Audio from Amazon Music, TIDAL and more

I have replaced multiple Google Chromecast Audio pucks with these Wiim Minis. Whilst slightly larger than the Chromecast, they look a bit more professional and seem to be very solid. It's provided a much better multiroom sound option that supports various lossless options and the sound quality to all of the active speakers has increased as a result. They also provide me a method for streaming audio from my turntable to any of the sets of speakers in the house, which makes listening to vinyl so much more accessible, and is significantly easier to use than some of the other solutions I've tried. They'd get 5/5 for this alone. The app is also very easy to use, allowing easy set up of connectivity to appropriate mesh access points. I'd fully recommend the Wiim system to others as a great way to open up multiroom sound at a low entry price.

I got this little gem only today. I have an SMSL AD18 class D amp that has served me very well since 2019. It is connected to a pair of Q acoustics 3020i and a Presonus Eris subwoofer. The amp is connected to my PC and Mac through USB. The sound quality I have always considered excellent, at least to my non-audiophile ears. However, music through the amp's 4.2 Bluetooth connection has been acceptable but non-satisfying. I decided to upgrade the AD18 within a budget of less than £200. I settled on the Aiyima A80, based on extensive reviews and the fact that it came with Bluetooth 5.1. It turned out, very surprisingly, the Bluetooth sound quality was far worse than that through the AD18. I promptly sent the Aiyima back to Amazon. Though over my initial budget, I contemplated getting a WiiM amp but found out it cannot connect to a computer through USB like the AD18 and the only way to input sound from my PC/Mac was to use a USB A to optical adapter. I did not want to that. I lost the zeal to try other amps and decided to stick with my dependable AD18 and find another way of wirelessly streaming from my iPhone. I did more research and decided to try the AirPlay 2. I was genuinely surprised at how small it turned out to be. It came with 4 cables: a USB C to USB C, optical, 3.5mm male to RCA and 3.5 male to male. Setup was extremely easy. I downloaded the WiiM Home app through a QR code provided in the instruction booklet. The app connected the AirPlay 2 to my wi-fi with no problem. I then connected the AirPlay 2 to my AD18 amp through the optical cable. I already had Spotify on my phone and the WiiM Home app recognised this without a hitch. I apologise this is cliched - but I was very much blown away. The sound now coming out of my Q Acoustics/Presonus has been of a far better quality than that produced by my Mac through a USB A cable. It is rich and the clarity and bass revealing. I had thought that £89 for such a small product (without a remote control) that only streams audio would not be at all worth it. However, the AirPlay 2 has given a completely new life to my sound set up. It is the little thing that could, and then some! I have not tried its Alexa compatibility and at this time, I do not believe I need to purchase the separate WiiM remote control. Of course - it is early days yet and I will have to wait and see if it turns out as reliable as my trusty SMSL AD18. At this time, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase. I will update if any problems crop up!

Great product, easy to use and works exactly as expected. I have it connected via the supplied optical cable and the sound is excellent via AirPlay and the aux input. Highly recommended.

Doesn't do Chromecast, you would need the pro, pro plus or ultra for that (same with their basic room correction function)- but if that doesn't matter to you and you just want a basic puck to power off USB and stream music through, it's great and simple to use. Important to note- I thought I would miss the Chromecast functionality, but actually I've found I play music through the built in Qobuz functionality anyway- and both my partner and I can stream Spotify to it with no problems whatsoever thanks to it supporting Spotify Connect. It's solid but not top or 'enthusiast' quality, but it's also not those prices. Because of the shape, cables come out at weird angles which can look a bit messy if you want it accessible and visible. Again, the other models fix that and look a lot better in my opinion.

Having owned and loved the Chromecast Audio, I watched John Darko Audio’s review and discovered that this device is gapless, meaning there are no artificial gaps inserted between continuous tracks on say a live album or where an artist chooses to continue to play from one track to the next, a frustration for owners of the Chromecast. The reported quality is also at a higher sample rate and bit depth (up to 24 bit it’s at 192 kHz subject to source). Whilst it works brilliantly with Spotify, I chose to take out a trial for Tidal and Qobuz and while I’m at it, Roon as a layer over the top. After a small bit of confusion on my part, they all play well together through the WiiM no matter what you play from (phone, tablet, PC). If you’re like me (hopefully you are not) then this cost me more money in the end as I now have Spotify for the family and Qobuz + Roon and an extra Roon NUC server; the result? Despite being a skeptic, I can honestly say my HiFi has never sounded better. I’m using the DAC in my Audiolab 6000A, so can’t say how this sounds with its internal DAC to analogue out but it sounds great through my amp and B&W 603 S2 speakers. I’m now faced with a dilemma as Roon are putting their prices up I 2023, but that’s another story - you don’t NEED any of these services, honest! I don’t tend to use the WiiM app to control music because I get more information from the services I mentioned, but whenever I’ve used it, it is simple, clean and intuitive to using. This is a great little product and packs a lot of punch for the cost - especially when it is on a discount (I got mine for little over £70). ** Update ** This product goes from strength to strength, despite the modest price this product is continuously being updated with improvements including Roon ready due in Jan 2023, so I look forward to that. I did however make a mistake in my review above, I still use my Chromecast Audio in my office and to my surprise found that it is indeed gapless with Roon out of the box, unlike Spotify Connect, there you go you learn something new everyday.

Very easy to install and versatile usable

Davvero ottimo questo WiiM mini. Partiamo dalla confezione: 1. Nella scatola, compatta, c'è tutto quello che serve. Alimentatore, cavo usb C, cavetti di collegamento analogici e persino il cavo ottico per un DAC esterno. 2. Il dispositivo è piccolissimo, può trovare posto ovunque. Ha i controlli fisici del volume e un tasto play/pausa. Molto comodo. 3. App WiiM Home, scaricata dal Play Store. Di immediato utilizzo, con una procedura guidata consente la connessione alla rete WiFi e in due minuti il dispositivo è pronto per essere utilizzato. Dall'app si possono gestire molti settaggi, compresa l'equalizzazione; sono direttamente accessibili tutti i servizi di streaming (quando dico tutti intendo tutti, sono supportati veramente una moltitudine). Si può configurare l'uscita in maniera tale che sia bit perfect, si può abilitare il Bluetooth, si hanno le informazioni della qualità dello streaming in tempo reale. Notevole. 4. Compatibilità software. Il WiiM è abilitato Spotify connect, quindi è gestibile direttamente dall'app di Spotify. Alexa lo riconosce facilmente, per cui è molto semplice inserirlo in gruppi di altoparlanti anche insieme ai vari Echo Dot e simili, da cui si può comandarlo con controllo vocale. Interessante il fatto che l'app Amazon Music lo veda come altoparlante e consenta direttamente lo streaming. Con Airplay qualsiasi dispositivo Apple può inviare l'audio al WiiM, funzione che purtroppo non esiste su Android (l'unica alternativa è Google cast che però sul mini non c'è, bisogna andare sul WiiM pro). Non ho Tidal o Quobuz, ma dalle altre recensioni direi che funzionino bene. Ho provato dei brani ad alta risoluzione dal cellulare e sono andati perfettamente. 5. Suono ed esperienza d'uso. Ho connesso il WiiM solo con l'uscita ottica, sia al mio ampli (un buon Marantz), sia a un DAC Topping che utilizzo per l'ascolto in cuffia insieme a un ampli Atom. Tutto perfetto, connessione sempre stabilissima. Comodo il fatto che il volume sia controllabile dalle App, ma per chi vuole essere sicuro di avere un segnale bit perfect, ossia senza alcuna modifica rispetto all'originale, è possibile impostare l'uscita a volume fisso (ovviamente è anche necessario disabilitare l'equalizzatore). Il suono dipende quindi da tutta la catena, non tanto dal WiiM: il consiglio è quello di usare un DAC esterno e godersi la musica digitale. Da recensioni specializzate il DAC interno è discreto ma niente di più, quindi meglio evitare. 6. Conclusioni. Il WiiM è uno streamer ottimo, economico soprattutto se preso in offerta, molto flessibile, ben supportato (App e firmware sono in costante sviluppo), con qualità audio altissima se collegato a un buon DAC, e soprattutto divertente da utilizzare. Gli manca solo il protocollo Google cast, ma se dovesse servire i dispositivi WiiM più costosi ne sono dotati. Consiglio l'acquisto senza riserve. AGGIORNAMENTO Purtroppo, dopo l'entusiasmo iniziale, capita molto di frequente che il dispositivo non venga più rilevato, né dall'app WiiM né da Spotify. A questo punto è necessario resettare tutto, riconfigurare, e normalmente l'operazione va fatta più di una volta. Al momento non riesce più e connettersi alla rete a 5 GHz, chissà perché. La cosa è faticosa e ho voglia di restituire il dispositivo, che ha grandi potenzialità ma è inaffidabile (ho il sospetto che dipenda da qualche aggiornamento firmware, mi era capitato una volta, poi a un certo punto sembrava risolto, e adesso va ancora peggio). Peccato. Non consiglio più l'acquisto. SECONDO AGGIORNAMENTO Problema risolto, i malfunzionamenti erano dovuti all'alimentatore. Dopo averlo sostituito è magicamente tornato tutto a funzionare. Attenzione a cavo e alimentazione, il dispositivo è piuttosto sensibile, potrebbe dare problemi o riavviarsi. E sono di nuovo 5 stelle! TERZO AGGIORNAMENTO Con i continui aggiornamenti di firmware, adesso il WiiM consente anche l'ascolto di Spotify lossless. Sempre super consigliato l'acquisto.

Super produit !

Forget the built-in DAC on this device. The star of the show is competent, no-fuss streaming with or without the company's app at a good enough resolution for anyone for under $100. Use the included TOSLINK optical cable to feed that steamed digital data to a DAC or an amp/preamp/receiver with a built-in DAC, and voila, your streaming service music or music stored on a local network device has full access to your sound system. And if you really dig the freedom that comes with this kind of setup, ditch your proprietary streaming service apps too and use DLNA/UPnP (via apps like BubbleUPnP) to feed your system its digital audio. Whatever you do, do NOT convince yourself that you need a more expensive streamer. You don't. This is all you'll ever need to get streaming service music to your sound system. Also, do not convince yourself you need a more expensive TOSLINK cable than the one included with this device. Gold plating and electronic shielding aren't going to help with a fiber optic signal! My personal system? WiiM Mini -> desktop DAC -> electrostatic headphone amplifier -> electrostatic headphones. It's wonderful. One nice touch is that because the Mini requires so little power, I can save an outlet and just plug it into the USB accessory port on my DAC (Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus) and it turns on and off with the DAC. No real problems setting up the device, or maintaining a Wi-Fi connection to my consumer mesh home Wi-Fi system. Wi-Fi connects almost instantaneously. The WiiM Mini supports parametric EQ! I use a PEQ profile for my headphones from AutoEQ (which is a free website). It sounds great. The WiiM Mini Highly recommended!

Great