Oh, I tried using my Dell MFF PC, i7-13K-Win 11 Pro.
Also installed WiiM home in it ( they claim it's a "beta" version for WIndows...).
So, when playing Tidal I see the Tidal Connect option for the WiiM and I can run WiiM Home.
Bit perfect...
Hmm... I got the WiiM on the wrong side of the room so I kept it on WiFi. I bought another one the other night but that's gonna take a week to get here from China. That one I plan on plugging into an Ethernet switch.
It works great.
Also installed WiiM home in it ( they claim it's a "beta" version for WIndows...).
So, when playing Tidal I see the Tidal Connect option for the WiiM and I can run WiiM Home.
Bit perfect...
Hmm... I got the WiiM on the wrong side of the room so I kept it on WiFi. I bought another one the other night but that's gonna take a week to get here from China. That one I plan on plugging into an Ethernet switch.
It works great.
If bit-perfect outcomes then shouldn’t make any difference whichever way it is streamed? Look forward to your experience, very interesting 🙂
I think the issue is with how Chromebook and the Android tablets handle their own USB interfaces. There is a bit perfect driver for Android.
I am curious how Windows handles USB... so far it seems to work fine... but I haven't plugged in the D90. That one tells you the bit rate on its front panel. I need to plug it in and see what it looks like. That means I'll have to replace the Nuforce DDA100 with the D90 and an amp... so I need to make sure I got room on my desk for that.
Seems like the WiFi interface under Android is not reclocked.
I'll keep you all posted.
I am curious how Windows handles USB... so far it seems to work fine... but I haven't plugged in the D90. That one tells you the bit rate on its front panel. I need to plug it in and see what it looks like. That means I'll have to replace the Nuforce DDA100 with the D90 and an amp... so I need to make sure I got room on my desk for that.
Seems like the WiFi interface under Android is not reclocked.
I'll keep you all posted.
Looks like Tidal needs reconnecting if remote link is lost somehow but WiiM plays on. The confusion is the Tidal App screen seems stuck on the previous session giving the impression all fine but does not respond. So just go back to the casting icon to reconnect and all good now🙂
Yes.... I did noticed that if I stop playing Tidal while outputting to Tidal Connect for a while, it loses connection to the WiiM... and when I start play again I need to reconnect to Tidal Connect in the Tablet/Chromebook.
Another item... make sure your Chromebook and Android tablet are not set to "sleep" under battery power. Just set them to shut down the screen but not sleep, otherwise it shuts down the connection.
Another item... make sure your Chromebook and Android tablet are not set to "sleep" under battery power. Just set them to shut down the screen but not sleep, otherwise it shuts down the connection.
Oh, it's back on sale at Amazon for 275.
A comment.... the Tidal Connect and Chromecast stream output connection keeps dropping off when I run Tidal HiFi in my PC. I comes back and forth... At one point I even got a bunch of Python errors.
The Tidal Connect is solid in the Android Tablet and Chromebook when I run Tidal in there...
The PC connection over WiFi to the WiiM seems to be come up and down.....
But WiiM Home is solid...
It's kind of flakey over the PC. I can see the Tidal Connect option come up and down in the PC.... I should search for the 20 foot ethernet cable and drag it around the room to see if its a WiFi issue ( mind you I got an access point right in the room -God know what its radiation is doing to my gonads).
A comment.... the Tidal Connect and Chromecast stream output connection keeps dropping off when I run Tidal HiFi in my PC. I comes back and forth... At one point I even got a bunch of Python errors.
The Tidal Connect is solid in the Android Tablet and Chromebook when I run Tidal in there...
The PC connection over WiFi to the WiiM seems to be come up and down.....
But WiiM Home is solid...
It's kind of flakey over the PC. I can see the Tidal Connect option come up and down in the PC.... I should search for the 20 foot ethernet cable and drag it around the room to see if its a WiFi issue ( mind you I got an access point right in the room -God know what its radiation is doing to my gonads).
I have got rather weak WiFi by the time it reaches where the WiiM is placed. warning messages appearing but connection is still rock solid, no dropouts or micro-cuts just beautiful sound always 🙂
Using iPhone remote only, I am done with PCs for music streaming unless there is evidence of better SQ?
Also interested to find out if wired network or even optical types any better than modern wifi ones? At one point wanted to rip up the walls to install wired network but then wifi technology kept improving, just as well…
Using iPhone remote only, I am done with PCs for music streaming unless there is evidence of better SQ?
Also interested to find out if wired network or even optical types any better than modern wifi ones? At one point wanted to rip up the walls to install wired network but then wifi technology kept improving, just as well…
I had the PC doing both wired and wireless network... so I disabled the wireless....
Then I played with the WiiM home. It seems like toggling the "Preferred DNS Server" setting forces the WiiM to issue some kind of a query that is received by Tidal and it reconnects to Tidal Connect.
Some of the forums noted to drive with a static IP address...
Also, my Android phone is not finding the WiiM... it's an old version of Android... 9. So that might be the issue. It's no big deal really as I have three running Tablets... and the Chromebooks..
BTW, we have 1600 linear feet of Cat5E. Three managed backbone switches in a Spanning Tree configuration with link aggregation. 10GigE front to back, 2 GigE to the side where the cable modem is located. Each room in the house has at least one drop and an unmanaged GigE switch in the room. For WiFi we got three access points set up to roam (same SSID, different channels).
I find the wired to be the most robust for the file servers. They're also the most secure. Remember that WiFi is shared bandwidth, wired is dedicated. Each of my rooms gets at least 1GigE.
I'm planning on getting Starlink.
Then I played with the WiiM home. It seems like toggling the "Preferred DNS Server" setting forces the WiiM to issue some kind of a query that is received by Tidal and it reconnects to Tidal Connect.
Some of the forums noted to drive with a static IP address...
Also, my Android phone is not finding the WiiM... it's an old version of Android... 9. So that might be the issue. It's no big deal really as I have three running Tablets... and the Chromebooks..
BTW, we have 1600 linear feet of Cat5E. Three managed backbone switches in a Spanning Tree configuration with link aggregation. 10GigE front to back, 2 GigE to the side where the cable modem is located. Each room in the house has at least one drop and an unmanaged GigE switch in the room. For WiFi we got three access points set up to roam (same SSID, different channels).
I find the wired to be the most robust for the file servers. They're also the most secure. Remember that WiFi is shared bandwidth, wired is dedicated. Each of my rooms gets at least 1GigE.
I'm planning on getting Starlink.
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I guess bandwidth requirements for up to Fs 192k streaming is relatively small and wifi has the capacity to handle for typical cases…
If quality is the driving factor one should not use wireless at all and ban RF as much as possible from the near vicinity. It is a device to playback audio, not an IT testbed to test IR acronyms and networking. Reverse thinking: how can I use my audio with as least IT stuff and RF interference as possible?
It IS a stand alone audio device not a server cluster in a datacenter. Probably working just as well with a 100 mbit LAN.
It IS a stand alone audio device not a server cluster in a datacenter. Probably working just as well with a 100 mbit LAN.
How to tell if there is some sort of rf interference when using wifi with WiiM? Playing music on my system sounds really great, make heads turn so the sound quality is there. Just to check, I stopped play and turned volume up max with DAC and Amp unmuted - absolute silence even when ears right close to speakers, no mains hum or noise of any kind.
Acko, I thought you are a DAC designer? DACs can be chock full of generated RF (certainly those beauties by ESS with 100 MHz clocks) but of course never if you don't measure that 😀
You use your ears to detect RF? Never encountered an amplifier that reacted to cell phone signals or a nearby cheap SMPS? Of course it should be measured but the given examples are the ones where it clearly can be heard.
If you lack the equipment to measure such the famous cell phone test can be handy but that is a crude way. Any serious newly designed device should be checked for radiated pollution.
You use your ears to detect RF? Never encountered an amplifier that reacted to cell phone signals or a nearby cheap SMPS? Of course it should be measured but the given examples are the ones where it clearly can be heard.
If you lack the equipment to measure such the famous cell phone test can be handy but that is a crude way. Any serious newly designed device should be checked for radiated pollution.
No, you can’t hear RF as such but from what I heard from others that there is this modulation effect that causes spurious downbeat noise in the audio band. So I am curious how this sounds like. Some say like mosquitoes or bees buzzing 🐝🤔
That is a fact not needing any further explanation. Always someone clever will show up saying human ears can not hear RF 🙂 Duh, it are the effects of that RF often leading to a metallic like sound. In general difficult to describe but when suspected nearly always turning out to be the cause. In fact I think it is enemy number one in good audio. That is why I advocate to add as least superfluous stuff to a setup as possible as it is a sum of things where less = more. Unless one sees an audio setup as a necessary pile of as much as possible material stuff where having as much material stuff is to please ones character. Then mentioning all the stuff one owns with all the added accessories and their price is the subject and not the highest possible sonical results nor to listen relaxed to favorite music. A different point of view not common in the usual audio circles where best audio quality is cherished and IT just a tool.
You never measured any of your creations for radiated RF/EMI? I happen to know a few designers of stuff and can tell they definitely measure every single device.
You never measured any of your creations for radiated RF/EMI? I happen to know a few designers of stuff and can tell they definitely measure every single device.
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Planned for next steps… for now, I have to make sure the design is right and SQ is up there. There is a fair bit of complexity on the DAC side and other tweaks to consider. Also should be robust against external interference even at board level
BTW, I've noticed that when play Tidal on my PC.... often times it doesn't show Tidal Connect.
In order to get it to come up I need to go to the WiiM Home page and toggle "Preferred DNS Server". I guess Tidal in the PC is aging the IP address of the WiiM Utlra ( it's a dynamic address ).
I don't see this behavior in the Chromecast of Android devices.
One of the recommend fixes is to run a static IP address. I think I'll do that, but first I need to go change my /etc/hosts file.
Yes.... I wonder if Tidal is using TCP/IP for the connection?
In order to get it to come up I need to go to the WiiM Home page and toggle "Preferred DNS Server". I guess Tidal in the PC is aging the IP address of the WiiM Utlra ( it's a dynamic address ).
I don't see this behavior in the Chromecast of Android devices.
One of the recommend fixes is to run a static IP address. I think I'll do that, but first I need to go change my /etc/hosts file.
Yes.... I wonder if Tidal is using TCP/IP for the connection?
Hmm... in my day when I was doing RF work.... 100 Mhz was considered a "video" signal...... RF started at 1Ghz or higher.
Do you really hear the impact of 1Ghz on some device that is bandwidth limited to 60 Khz like a stereo amp with big output traces? How do you listen to digital since all those DACs are running high bit clocks. You could try to shield them -have done it in the lab- but I can't think of any consumer electronics doing that.
How about the interconnects?
Anyhow, I'm playing the WiiM Ultra to the Nitsch DAC and it sounds really good. RF or not. I suppose I could try to connect the WiiM to the network directly, but that circuitry is running very high clocks ( my LAN runs GigE ) so honestly I guess I will never hear the difference.