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Review: Wiim Amp

Product Reviews

Simon Wilce

September 1, 2024

Simon Wilce

September 1, 2024

Product Reviews

This article first appeared in HIFI AND MUSIC SOURCE, the publication for news, reviews and views.

_{£1000 = US$ 1322 = CA$ 1783} _{(Aug. 27, 2024)}

I was recently asked by a good friend who was setting up a family bolthole in Margate how he could create a cheap turntable setup for the apartment. I immediately suggested this latest WiiM Amp was the place to start. We could then engineer something under a thousand pounds with a pair of half-decent eBay speakers and a Rega Planar turntable. And I hadn’t even heard the WiiM Amp at that point! Such was my confidence in WiiM after I played with their stunning WiiM Pro Plus.

Design

The WiiM Amp is a streaming-integrated amplifier. The WiiM Home App that controls the Amp supports many streaming services, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Tidal, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Napster, Pandora, TuneIn, Deezer, and more. It has the additional flexibility of having Spotify and Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Bluetooth 5.1 (in and out), and Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant built-in. It is Roon Ready. The WiiM Amp has HDMI Arc, an optical and single line input, and it can accept a USB disk at the rear for completeness. A remote control manages the voice services and other basic functions, such as mute, volume, etc.

The unit’s Texas Instruments TI 3255 Class D amplifier claims 60W/channel into 8 Ohms or 120W into 4 Ohms. The WiiM Home App includes a subwoofer output between 30 and 250Hz that can be managed alongside a 10-band EQ. If you know what to do, you can also use the unit’s parametric EQ for specific frequencies or for a bit of amateur room correction via the WiiM Home App.

The WiiM Amp has a relatively old ESS Sabre ES9018 K2M DAC chip, but as we now know, the key is in its implementation. WiiM has demonstrated before that it knows what it is doing.

The unit connects via WiFi or a direct Ethernet network connection at the rear.

Quality

The WiiM Amp is finished in an aluminium case on all sides, save the base. At this price point, that is impressive, given the sister WiiM Pro Plus is a plastic box that might benefit from a bit of shielding. The WiiM logo on the top plate is a classy touch.

The volume knob on the front is smooth to turn but might benefit from a bit of a bevel; it also acts as pause and play, though the Home App or the remote can do the same and will surely be closer. The unit’s power status is indicated on the left, while volume output is indicated with a series of small LEDs to the left of the volume knob.

The WiiM Amp is available in space grey or silver, with dimensions of 190mm x 190mm x 63mm (WxDxH). It weighs 1.84 kg and is currently priced at £319 (CA$ 429).

The Amp’s full specifications are here.

Performance

Review Equipment

I had the WiiM Amp driving a pair of Podspeakers—The Drop loudspeakers. They are terrific and match the price of the WiiM (they were about £400 a pair, if I recall). They have a Kevlar midrange driver, which makes them very detailed. I’m using some excellent Kudos KS1 loudspeaker cable.

I had also hooked up my Rega Planar RP3 with an iFi Audio Zen Phono stage.

I had the WiiM Home App on both the iPad and my Android smartphone.

Physically and setting up

Setting up the WiiM Amp physically and to the network could not be easier with the WiiM Home App on the iPad. The app is very intuitive and easy to use. All (well, both) of my networked libraries appeared and were easily accessible.

There have been no connectivity or buggy issues with the App. I did have a bit of trouble with my USB flash drive seemingly freezing the Amp at one point, but a quick ‘turn it off, turn it on’ resolved matters. The EQ and the parametric room correction work easily and well (see below). As with the WiiM Pro Plus, I’ve found the App presets very simple and useful.

The Amp goes into standby mode after a selectable period. I’d personally like an ‘Off’ button, either at the front or the back of the unit, but it is not a deal breaker. The Amp runs physically warm, not hot at all, even after being on all day.

Room Correction

In the WiiM Home App, there is a ‘traditional’ graphics equaliser where you can adjust the frequency bands to your ears, and there is parametric EQ on offer, too, that allows you to adjust both gain and the frequency band itself (as I understand it). There is the option of making room corrections. On the iPad, it takes a minute. The App uses the mic on the iPad and plays a few tones. It then offers you a room-corrected EQ output that you can save and switch into easily; my room needed a 10dB boost in the bass at 51Hz. I need a subwoofer here, in any case.

Otherwise, the graphics equaliser is cool, with a load of preset EQs, including Bass Boost, Jazz, Electronic, etc.

Streaming

Let’s get into it then; what does the WiiM Amp sound like? Having mucked around with the Room EQ, I was a fraction concerned about my room’s bass response, so I played Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” (Qobuz 24-bit, 44.1kHz) to see what I had. There was no bass coming from the Podspeakers (they need a subwoofer), and the midrange wasn’t too bad. I swapped in the £9,700/pair Titan 505s—ridiculous, I know, considering the WiiM’s very low price, but if there is bass in the track, I need to see if the amplifier can deliver it.

I turned off the EQ and listened. Yes, the WiiM Amp delivers bass. It is not Moor Amps level bass, but there is some. Rerunning the room correction was worth a try, as it tuned the amp and loudspeakers to the room, offering me more: more depth, more bass, more of everything. It was impressive considering the rubbish microphone in the iPad; it just shows how effective room correction can be.

Turning from Eilish’s despair to some piano, I wanted to explore the WiiM Amp’s resolution. Nils Frahm’s “My Friend the Forest” (Qobuz 24-bit, 96kHz) has detail in rivers (to use the analogy), and the WiiM does a great job of translating the transient sound of the peddles integral to this recording. With some more angst, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” (Qobuz 24-bit, 44.1kHz) requires a degree of dynamic response in parts, which the WiiM offers rather well. Switching to Jazz and US3s live version of “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” from Birdland (Qobuz 16-bit, 44.1kHz), plenty of musicality and toe-tapping are on offer. Jordi Savall’s recording of Handel’s “The Messiah” (Qobuz 24-bit, 88.2kHz) is easily handled by the WiiM Amp, and it is apparent this is a very flexible and capable unit.

Streaming with Tidal Connect has been faultless, as has the DNLA data from two networked libraries, including a 2TB N100 Melco library with an S100 data switch and my dodgy Naim UnitiServe library. The WiiM Home App accessed both libraries without fuss, and there was little delay in accessing the music.

Addition of a Klipsch R-101SW Subwoofer

…a wholly effective and tantalising soundstage

Henley Audio, which distributes WiiM in the UK, was kind enough to ship me a subwoofer on short notice so I could fill in the blanks mentioned above. The Klipsch 101 is a relatively entry-level product, but it delivers high-end returns. I have always maintained and understood that adding a subwoofer can be the single most effective upgrade to any hi-fi system; just read any of my REL reviews.

Returning the Podspeakers to the fray with the Klipsch (and rerunning the room correction with the subwoofer) delivered a wholly effective and tantalising soundstage; it was very impressive. Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” (Qobuz 24-bit, 44.1kHz) was delivered as expected by the WiiM and the Podspeakers. The detail in the Kevlar midrange is terrific, and this WiiM Amp has all the basic building blocks needed for an effective system.

Bluetooth Out

With a pair of planar magnetic Edifier Stax Spirit S3 wireless headphones, the connection was as easy as it gets, by swapping the WiiM Amp output from Speaker Out to Bluetooth Out. Connectivity has been faultless in all testing, and the irony of using wireless headphones whilst listening to a vinyl record was not lost on me; it was fun.

Turntable

…credit to the vinyl experience and this terrific WiiM Amp

At the North West Audio Show this year, I was hugely impressed by the iFi Audio room with the beautiful walnut LINN Sondek complemented by an iFi Audio Zen Phono 3 stage. I have that Zen Phono 3 from iFi Audio now, connected to my own Rega Planar RP3 (the old one), while cabling into the WiiM Amp is served by some Vertere Redline interconnects. The presentation is wonderful, and this ‘low budget’ source setup is a credit to the vinyl experience and this terrific WiiM Amp.

Musical Interlude

Here’s the Musical Interlude Playlist.

Thoughts

This WiiM Amp, at this price, is ridiculous

This WiiM Amp, at this price, is ridiculous. I see it as a perfect unit for a second or third room, which might be a noisy room like a kitchen. Otherwise, this is a great place to begin if you want to set up your kids on a musical journey at Christmas or on a birthday. I’m not quite sure where you are left if you already have a Wiim Pro Plus, such is the quality of the streaming module in the Amp.

Recently, I have been thinking that I would prefer not to have another app on my smartphone, preferring the Ruark model of leaving the user to manage music in the native apps, like Tidal Connect or AirPlay. However, the WiiM Home App is so good in iOS or Android that I’m happy to add it to the 40-odd apps I have in my ‘Music Folder’!

Overall

This faultless unit offers excellent connectivity, response, and solid output at a price that is hard to argue against. Few competitors exist at this price level. As such, it is an Outstanding piece of equipment.