---
title: Every Wireless Turntable Is Late
description: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turntables add delay even in their own room.
image: https://willcurran.com/hubfs/will-curran-brand/every-wireless-turntable-is-late-cover-nolane.png
---

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Music

# Every Wireless Turntable Is Late

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Will Curran Jul 29, 2026 · 6 min read

<https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwillcurran.com%2Fblog%2Fevery-wireless-turntable-is-late>

On this page

![An abstract dark scene: an outline turntable with an orange tonearm, and a sound wave leaving it that arrives late at a speaker shape, next to the title Every wireless turntable is late.](https://willcurran.com/hs-fs/hubfs/will-curran-brand/every-wireless-turntable-is-late-cover-nolane.png?width=1600&height=900&name=every-wireless-turntable-is-late-cover-nolane.png)

I set out to answer a small question: can a Wi-Fi turntable send records to a WiiM multiroom system? On paper, yes. The catch is that a wireless turntable is late in every room, including the one it sits in. Bluetooth adds somewhere between 34 and 300 ms, by one turntable maker's own support page. A UPnP stream can take a few seconds just to start, by another's.

This is research and a recommendation. Nothing here was measured: every number below is a manufacturer's published figure, with a link.

## Compatible was the easy part

I had been looking at the Pro-Ject T2 W, a Wi-Fi turntable. Then I noticed the Victrola Stream Onyx lists UPnP and Roon, and wondered if it would work with WiiM amps.

It should. In March 2025, Victrola pushed a software update to its Stream turntables that added UPnP streaming, which it calls VINYLSTREAM Wi-Fi, plus Bluetooth output and Roon Ready. [Victrola's announcement](https://www.victrola.com/blogs/news/victrola-expands-wireless-streaming-capabilities) names WiiM in its list of UPnP brands. At the other end, the [WiiM Amp manual](https://www.wiimhome.com/langPdf/en/WiiM%20Amp%20UM.pdf) lists DLNA support. Both ends say yes.

Victrola's Roon feature sends the record into Roon, as a source for any Roon endpoint. That suits a system already built on Roon. For a system that already speaks UPnP, plain UPnP covers the same job.

The [Pro-Ject T2 W](https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/t2w/) works the same basic way. It turns the record into an MP3 or FLAC live stream and hands it to any UPnP receiver that can play one.

## Where the delay comes from

A live stream has to be buffered at the far end, and the buffer is the lag. Pro-Ject's FAQ explains it. Each UPnP receiver buffers the stream by itself, the buffer times aren't standardized, and so latency varies with the receiver in ways Pro-Ject says it can't control. The same FAQ says a stream may start a few seconds after you pick the speaker, because of that buffering.

Bluetooth has its own delay. [ION Audio's support page](https://support.ionaudio.com/en/support/solutions/articles/69000834361-ion-audio-why-is-there-a-delay-when-i-use-a-bluetooth-speaker-with-my-turntable-) puts a Bluetooth hop at 34 to 300 ms, and suggests sitting further from the turntable so the speaker drowns out the sound of the needle.

That last tip is the whole problem. With a turntable you watch the needle land and expect the sound right then. In the room where you drop the needle, any delay is the thing you notice.

![Diagram comparing two paths for a record. Top, wireless: turntable to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth stream to a receiver buffer to every speaker, so every speaker is late. Published figures: Bluetooth 34 to 300 ms (ION Audio); a UPnP stream can take a few seconds to start (Pro-Ject). Bottom, wired: turntable to a phono preamp if needed to one streaming amp's line input over a cable, then that amp's group broadcast. Published figure: about 100 ms group delay over Wi-Fi in WiiM's low-latency mode. A note says these are manufacturers' figures, not measurements.](https://willcurran.com/hs-fs/hubfs/will-curran-brand/every-wireless-turntable-is-late-two-paths.png?width=1440&height=886&name=every-wireless-turntable-is-late-two-paths.png)

## Run a cable to one amp, and let it share

The WiiM Amp has an analog line input. The manual says it's meant for a CD player, a PC, or a turntable with a built-in preamp; a turntable without one needs an external phono preamp in between. The manual also describes this exact use: plug in the turntable, then stream it to other WiiM devices in sync.

The mechanism is grouping. In the WiiM app, one device becomes the group lead and the others follow. [WiiM's help center](https://faq.wiimhome.com/en/support/solutions/articles/72000644202-how-to-use-wiim-multi-room-music-to-enhance-your-listening-experience) says the lead takes audio from its input and broadcasts it to the followers, and that this works for every input, Line In included. A [Group Audio Delay](https://faq.wiimhome.com/en/support/solutions/articles/72000638653-using-the-group-audio-delay-setting-for-wiim-multi-room-audio) setting on the lead trades lower delay against stability, per input.

So the recommendation was a wired turntable, a phono preamp if it needs one, and an RCA cable into the line input of one streaming amp. The turntable doesn't need any network features at all.

## The parts I couldn't settle

The wired path isn't zero delay, and I didn't want to pretend it was.

- **The line input is digitized.** The WiiM Amp converts it with an ADC. I didn't find a published delay for that step on its own.
- **The broadcast is late too.** In a [November 2024 forum post](https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/multi-room-low-latency-mode-for-line-in-optical-in-phono-in-tv-and-bluetooth-inputs.5420/), the WiiM team described a low-latency mode for line, optical, phono, TV and Bluetooth inputs at around 100 ms of group delay over Wi-Fi. Their support team said the old figure was over 1,000 ms. Those are WiiM's own figures. WiiM also says every speaker in a group stays in sync, so while the group is on, the room with the turntable hears that delay too.
- **A Wi-Fi turntable can be wired too.** Pro-Ject's FAQ says the T2 W's analog output is fully separate from the Wi-Fi side and isn't delayed.

## When wireless still wins

One case: the turntable has to sit somewhere with no amp input in reach. Then a Wi-Fi turntable is the cleaner answer.

## A free test before you buy

If you're still weighing a UPnP turntable, check discovery first. [BubbleUPnP](https://bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnp) is a free Android app that acts as a UPnP control point. Install it, and see whether your speakers or amps show up as places to play to. If a phone app can find them over UPnP, a UPnP turntable should find them the same way. If they don't show up, you've learned that for free.

## If you are about to try this

- **Ask where the delay lands.** A lag in a far room barely matters. A lag where the needle is matters most.
- **Check for a preamp.** A line input expects line level. If the turntable has no built-in preamp, add a phono preamp.
- **Read the buffer settings before you buy.** A wireless audio delay or group delay setting tells you the maker knows there is a trade.
- **Treat published latency as a range.** UPnP buffering depends on the receiver, so the same turntable can be quicker into one speaker than another.
- **Run the free discovery test** before you spend anything on network features.

## Build it yourself

What it does: plays a record over a cable where the turntable is, and shares it with the rest of a multiroom system. The parts:

- **A turntable**, with a built-in preamp or a separate phono preamp.
- **A streaming amp with a line input** that can share that input with a group, such as a WiiM Amp.
- **Other speakers or amps from the same multiroom system** to follow it.
- **An RCA cable.**

How the pieces fit: turntable to preamp to the amp's line input. In the app, make that amp the group lead and add the followers. Tune the group delay on the lead, lower for less lag and higher if you hear dropouts.

Give this to your AIHelp me get records playing on my multiroom speaker system. My system is \[brand and models\], and my turntable is \[model, or "not chosen yet"\]. First, compare two paths: a wireless turntable (Bluetooth or UPnP/Wi-Fi) and a wired turntable plugged into the line input of one streaming amp that broadcasts to the others. For each, find the manufacturer's published latency or buffering notes and link them; don't guess numbers. Check whether my amp's line input needs a phono preamp, whether it can share that input with a group, and whether the group lead's own output is delayed to match the group. Tell me where any delay lands: at the turntable itself or only on the other speakers. If wireless still looks right for me, give me a free discovery test with a UPnP control-point app first. End with a parts list and setup steps, with no shopping links.

If you have found a way to share a record around the house without the lag, I would like to hear about it.

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Will Curran

I spent sixteen years building one company, and I have been in the event industry since 2007. These days I write about the technology I actually use — trucks, radios, home infrastructure, and the tools that survive past the first invoice.

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