We were positively bowled over by the impressive WiiM Pro Plus budget music streamer, so much so that we recently crowned it a 2023 What Hi-Fi? Award-winner for its efforts. The news that WiiM is back, this time with its first-ever streaming amplifier, has us quietly hoping it can repeat a similar feat once more.
Billed as another budget product with plenty of performance, the new WiiM Amp teases an "impeccable audio experience" at a very affordable price, and boasts a bevvy of features including hi-res audio, multi-room functionality and support for various streaming platforms and services. As a combined streamer and amplifier, this is a just-add-speakers product that you can connect a pair of speakers to directly. You can stream music directly from the unit via a Bluetooth 5.0, wi-fi or wired ethernet connection.
The WiiM Amp sports a Class D amplifier with 60 watts of power per channel (at 8 ohms), and packs in an ESS Sabre DAC that's capable of handling hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz. WiiM claims it uses ESS's 32-bit HyperStream DAC architecture to deliver "industry-leading low distortion and wide dynamic range". Bold claims for a product the size of a small paperback. Users can adjust the system's onboard EQ options, featuring 24 preset profiles, to tweak their sonic experience accordingly.
The list of features and supported platforms is certainly eye-catching at this affordable price. WiiM boasts support for Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Alexa Music Cast, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect to name but a few, and works with Siri, Alexa, and Google voice assistants. There's also support for DLNA-enabled products. Additionally, you can use the same WiiM Home App that we enjoyed using so much during our Pro Plus review to control the new Amp.
As for physical connections, this streaming amp offers an analogue (RCA) input, a digital optical input and an HDMI ARC for elevating your TV's sound performance, along with a pair of speaker terminals and a subwoofer output for additional bass depth if required. You can even connect to a USB port for playback from your personal library of stored tunes.
The amp you get through the post or on the shelves won't even be the same at the end as it is at the beginning. WiiM promises that the new model constantly learns and improves via frequent software updates, while a Roon Ready certification is "expected soon".
The WiiM Amp is available now in silver or space grey colours for £299 / $299. That's a terrifically affordable price point for a versatile product such as this. The other just-add-speakers streaming amplifiers we've encountered in the hi-fi realm so far (from the likes of Marantz, Cambridge Audio, Audiolab and more) have been priced at more mid to premium price levels, with the Technics SA-C600 the 'cheapest' so far at £899 (the others are £1000 and above). WiiM has shown how competitive and capable it can be with its Pro Plus at £219 (more than half the price of traditional music streamers), so we're curious – and excited – to see just how the new model with amplification built-in will perform.
MORE:
Read our five-star WiiM Pro Plus review
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