A place for AUDIO enthusiast to share, discuss and listen to others people setups
It shouldn't make a difference which USB version you use, but A to A sounds like a no-go to me. A to C should work but looking at the interface I wonder if that USB port is for pc connecting at all.
What you could try is to connect it to an HDMI port on your pc and use the High def audio sound device in Windows.
What does the manual specify the USB port is for? It seems to be this box is more used to connect speakers to a TV, so that's why I think the USB port is used for storage.
The manual says its USB audio out. I just wanted to eule the cable out... The manual says it is a USB 2 "UAC2" whatever that means
HDMI doesn't support bidrectional audio does it? So if I plug it in my display out HDMI on my laptop then only audio from may laptop to the wiim would work (I think) which is not the direction I want
If I see it properly it says ARC which means audio return channel which means it can return audio from an external source to the receiver.
Like I said, the use case for this device is most likely between speakers and a tv where usually you would have this box in between your tv and, say, a bluray player. The ARC would make it possible for audio from your tv to go to your box and thus, your speakers while also making it possible for video to travel from your box to your tv.
Assuming you have hooked up your record player to the in RCA ports, technically you could let its entire signal travel through HDMI. Your 'tv', in this case your laptop, would then separate the video, play that, and send audio back to your box. But since a laptop is much smarter than a tv you can isolate the audio with either a DAW or e.g. Audacity before it gets sent back.
That's the theory though. I'd say it's worth a try before getting a new audio interface.
Oh I wasn't thinking about a new audio interface 😁 And yes of course that is the use case, but the manual suggests to me that it can output via usb to another dac for example and that is what other people are doing so it should be possible to do it with a PC too imo. I'll try with a strictly USB A to USBA 2.0 cable in the future... Maybe that works... HDMI will not work because I can only use it as an input not an output for the wiim.
I assume what they mean is you can use the USB port to connect it to another interface with a B to A cable but then I really don't see how it can be USB out on the wiim end.
I don't know what to tell you here.
There are cheap interfaces available with RCA in and USB ASIO out that will do exactly what you need. You might even get a simple DJ controller with RCA in.
Or maybe just get a turntable with USB.
FYI UAC2 means USB audio class 2. I still find it very odd that it would be A to A since most interfaces use B to A.
Have you tried installing an USB ASIO driver?
No I have not... But it wouldbe odd if I had too...
Ok Here is my conversation with their support:
My request:
The FAQ and the USB out page both state that I can connect a PC and a smartphone over USB. How would I do that? It would be super convenient if it worked that way.
From the FAQ:
Compatibility with Modern Digital Devices: Many contemporary audio sources, such as computers, smartphones, and digital audio players, come equipped with USB ports. This makes it seamless to connect these devices directly to the audio receiver.
Alternatively the FAQ states that I can record my vinyls onto a USB stick That would fit my usecase as well, but it wasn't explained how to do that only that "it is possible".
From the FAQ:
If I use line(phono) input from the turntable, can we record the song to a digital music file, i.e., as a flac, wav, etc. file format, on USB storage? It's possible.
Their answer:
The USB port on the WiiM Ultra supports two functions: connecting a USB DAC for USB audio output or connecting a USB drive/HDD to access and play music files. However, it does not currently support a direct connection to a computer or mobile phone for audio output. We apologize for the incorrect information in our FAQ article and will correct it as soon as possible.
So it is just not possible to do what I wanted. What I am probably going to do is buy a coaxial to usb interface for digitizing my records