Bluesound died - is Wiim a good alternative?
I have been using a BlueSound Vault as my streamer for many years, but it finally died, and my resuscitation attempts have failed. I want to replace it with another low-cost streamer, and the Wiim Pro looks like an interesting possibility for $150.
The rest of my system is:
- McCormack DNA-1, fully refurbished (gold, love it):
- Bel Canto 2.7 DAC, Which I also use as my pre;
- Usher Mini Dancer 2 speakers
I like the Bel Canto DAC pretty well, So I doubt the DAC in a Node 2i would be any better. Aside from that, is there any other reason to spend more for the Node?
The flexibility of the WiiM with the parametric eq and much more of your use it as a preamp. The DAC is not great in the Ultra I have. It’s not terrible but not great. Used as a streamer into a better DAC I find it pretty damn transparent and the eq pretty damn transparent as well. I would say it’s prob just as good as the node in that regard with way more functionality. Doesn’t even suck as a preamp, although I’m not using it that way at the moment. I’ve tried 2 other dacs as a preamp with not good results. |
@lanx0003 That sounds fine -- has it been used? Did you have any issues? |
@ga_audio Thanks for your input - I will be feeding the digital output from the WiiM to my Bel Canto 2.7 DAC, similar to your application. You said Qobuz Connect was flaky, but the WiiM app can be used instead, and is solid. I'll probably be using Tidal, not Qobuz. Please confirm that, if I use the WiiM app (presumbly on my iPhone), with ethernet from my router into the box, I will still be streaming the music from Tidal thru the ethernet connection, and not from my phone (ie via Bluetooth). |
Op, this is a used item (new for $219), and I’ve had no issues using it. It comes with a remote, and I tested it once and made sure it works. I’ve been using it in my second and third systems for streaming Qobuz on my iphone. In addition to the WiiM app, you can also stream via Qobuz Connect, which, in my opinion, sounds slightly better than the native app. I’m not sure if Tidal Connect behaves the same way. I haven’t experienced any issues with it. I’ll put together a YT demo and send it to you. When you use things like Qobuz Connect, TIDAL Connect, or native apps, the phone is just sending commands (play, pause, select track). The actual audio stream goes directly from the internet to the streamer thru ethernet or wi-fi, not through your phone. Once again, as an owner of the WiiM Pro+, Ultra, and the newcomer Node Nano, I can say the Nano sounds noticeably better. There are used Nanos selling for less than twice the price I’m offering for the Pro+, but I can tell you it’s worth the “upgrade. I don’t need to sell you my WiiM unit—I just want to be honest with you. |
