Does anyone have experienced Wiim mini?
I have been using N272 + 250DR for over 2 years. And, I feel tired of NAC N272 due to its malfunctioning with Tidal.
Possibly, it could be one option, I hope, to use Wiim mini to stream digital signals into N272’s internal DAC.
Theoretically, this should not deteriorate the overall quality of sound.
What is your opinion?
This will be interesting, I’m was just about to buy a 272 but have been reading a few issues regarding tidal , can I ask if your hard wired or using WiFi?
Hard wired, of course
If you are planning to use Tidal, N272 should not be an option.
Would you recommend buying one primarily for pre amp/ streaming tidal or do you think look elsewhere in your experience, or put it this way , would you buy one now ?
Ah I see our posts crossed , thank you
I had a Wiim mini as a stop-gap when my ND5XS was back to Salisbury. I wasnt using the Naim DAC, but using Chord Qutest. For me the Wiim didnt deliver sonically. Difficult to put a finger on it, but just seemed dull and lifeless. Also found the software sluggish.
I believe a Primare NP5 or Halo Audio Red would be a much better choice than a WiiM (although more money!)
I believe either of these may actually improve on the sound quality provided by the internal streaming board.
I had a Wiim pro to feed the DAC of my SuperUniti. Not because of Tidal, which runs perfectly fine on the SU. I used it for internet radio, as the SU does not deliver more than MP3-quality here. And internet-radio through the Wiim was obviously much better that the same in the SU.
BUT: any other source, let it be Tidal or my own ripped CDs, sounded so much better when streamed through the SU not using the Wiim.
So the message is that you will get very good internet radio, but the Tidal streams will be worse than what you get from the 272. You may want to check the pre-amp for updates etc, it should work as good as a SU.
Since my 272 often freezes up on Tidal or skips or doesn’t play at all or whatever, I bought a Wiim Mini.
I now have Tidal Connect and I’m much happier! The 272 can do 96kHz/24 bit, but I’ve activated 44.1kHz/16bit because I don’t have a HiFi Plus subscription anyway.
As I don’t need analogue from the Wiim and no cinch connections, I don’t need the Pro either. Apart from the connections and RJ45, I don’t think there’s any difference anyway. And another plus point, I connected it to the USB of the 272 and it works perfectly.
I can even address Soundclound via the Wiim Home app and the thing can do 5 Ghz.
A no brainer at this price
Interesting, as the 272 USB input is not designed to work in this way and usually only works with iOS devices or memory sticks, so the usual way of connecting would be via SPDIF.
The Wiim mini will provide a ‘bit perfect’ stream via its SPDIF connection to an external DAC so it shouldn’t make a difference to the sound. I got the Wiim mini to try out Hires streaming, it’s the easiest way I could find to try hires but I have found that when using it to deliver Spotify to my Unitilite the sound is much more open and detailed than when using the Unitilite’s onboard spotify connect. I think the UL has a spotify problem:- When I listen to something I like on Radioparadise (AAC coding) then immediately listen on the UL’s spotify I’m always struck by how poor the UL Spotify sounds in comparison, like a lot of the life is sucked out of it. Is this down to the Ogg Vorbis codec?
There are interesting reviews on the AudioScienceReview site.
Alpha audio did a comparison between Primare NP5 and ND5XS. In short. I currently evalute Lindemann Limetree Bridge II replacing the streamer in my NDS. Sounds very good IMO. Similar thoughts as AA write below but cannot say I lost warmth and coherence though. More testing to do.
That looks like a comparison of the NP5 vs ND5 XS, not the ND5 XS2?
I wonder if they have made a mistake. The quote is from 2022 and they had the ND5XS2 in 2019 already (it’s part of their normal review setup).
No idea 
Nice review of the NP5 though! I like mine and it sounds excellent through a MK1 Hugo. Not sure it’s a fair fight with the Wiim mini though, it’s a lot more expensive. Even second hand I paid over £300 I think, vs £90 for the Wiim
NP5 seems to be a very high quality product. I have a new one on the way to me to compare with Lindemann Bridge II which is currently up and running with my NDS.
I’ve been wholly positive about my NP5 on here to date. I should say that it does occasionally lock up, I haven’t tried very hard to troubleshoot it, as a restart always fixes it. That’s the only issue I’ve had with mine as a streamer. Happened less that 5 times in a year I’d guess.
Ditching 272 would be mine.
Anyway, if not yet possible, some ideas could be:
innuous dig. out
sotm 200 + smsl 100 pro
iPad + camera kit +audioquest jitterbug +smsl 100 pro
Wiin the worst possible scenario
MKI or MKII?
