KEF Q350 + Yamaha WXA-50 v KEF Q350 + Wiim Amp
I'm not a trained or someone with a lot of experience. I've have been looking at replacing my
Yamaha WXA-50 for a few years and was looking at
Bluesound Powernode N330 for a year or two but cannot justify spending 3 times as much as my WXA-50, was very excited when
Wiim Amp provided all the the things I needed (expecially HDMI ARC) for the same price of a brand new WXA-50. I couldn't find any reviews similar to mine from WXA-50 to Wiim Amp with
KEF Q350 speakers, so if there's anyone other there who liked to know, I just like to share some of my experience for those that might find this useful.
Background & Setup
I do have some specific Spotify playlists of various genres just for own EQ adjustments. Some classical, opera, Electronic, Jazz and Pop songs. Listening distance is approx. 2.5 meters, speakers are placed just in front of wall and sofa is in the middle of the room (back wall is also approx. 2.5 meters). Products should always be reviewed as a whole experience but I'm excluding a lot of the features and various things as I consider them least important for my use case and subjective opinion. I listened/tested mainly via Spotify Connect on both setup.
Key points
- The WXA-50 sound is much cleaner/clearer than that the WIIM Amp from my subjective opinion especially in the mids. With the Wiim Amp, it sounded a bit muddy especially when there are lots of elements in songs and particularly noticeable when listening to EDM/Electronica (perhaps it's exposing the issues as Amir mentioned in his tests).
- The WXA-50 sounds great as it complements the shortcomings with muddy mids of Q350 while retaining the clarity with the highs, yet have to make some adjustments as it can be quite fatiguing after a while. As Yamaha sound signature (based on what I read), it's normally very clinical or neutral sounding.
- Both support all the main streaming services and integrates with them as good as Wiim App that most people will ever need. At the time of writing, the WXA-50 Google Home automation integration have much more control of the device comparing to Wiim Amp; especially with the ability to switch Input sources. (I used this to ensure my custom "TV On" routine will always change the input to Toslink/Optical which is my amp's main use-case and yes I'm lazy without changing input after finishing listening without manually sources before switching off the amp.)
- The biggest issue with the WXA-50 is the only digital input is Toslink/Optical without HDMI ARC. This is the reason why I sold it and bought Wiim AMP. Hate using a smart remote just so that I can control the TV volume and/or switch the amp on/off.
- The low frequencies with the WXA-50 with the lacklustre EQ adjustability (Low/Mid/High) plus "Bass extension" toggle, the low/bass sounded quite anaemic. Might be the so called Yamaha's signature "clinical" sound?! Just lack the oomph when comparing to Wiim Amp. I did have to EQ Wiim Amp (see attachment) to make it sound a bit less congested in the mids while suiting my own listening preference for both music and watching TV. I based the EQ off the "Hip Hop" preset and made some minor adjustments for added depth and punch in the low end.
- The WXA-50 have subwoofer output that is more like a pre-out (without crossover options). For most people this is not good and a bit silly as most people will be using their amp for bookshelf speakers rather than floor stand speakers. But for my use case, I prefer this as I like to control the cutover using external component as I used the subwoofer output for a pair of Dayton Audio BST-300EX bass transducers mounted at the bottom of the sofa's wooden frame rather than a traditional subwoofer. The Wiim Amp forces you to set crossover frequency. I did submit a request via Wiim Amp as a feature request to have an option for full frequency output.
* Note: The WXA-50 auto switches input when the it detects signal on other inputs other than you currently are using. This a nice feature that is also quite subjective and good/bad depending on individual. I'll wrap it here as it's has nothing to do with the KEF Q350 as starting to focus on WXA-50/Wiim amp.
Overall, I'm still happy with my KEF Q350 purchase. It's a great pair of speakers just lack a bit of bass for my liking when listening to music genres that needed it. Again, I'm not an audiophile or have lots of Hi-fi equipment for reference. The highs are just amazing for the price (I got them almost less than twice its current selling price now).
At the same time I'm happy with both amps as combination with the speakers but bought the Wiim Amp mostly because of HDMI ARC in addition of more EQ control. I sold my WXA-50 half the price I paid for after owning it for over 6 years. I consider this as exceptional value. The WXA-50 costs much more now and the hardware hasn't been updated since it came to market over 8 years ago. Yamaha (and other manufacturers) really need to revise their products. Perhaps the WXA-50 is more targeted towards in-ceiling speakers setup (retailers usually bundle them in such packages). The WXA-50's WIFI b/g/n and bi-directional bluetooth 2.1 is based on 10 year old spec. A revision is long overdue and definitely needed for their Yamaha's nifty amp.
And as for my Wiim amp, thankfully no issues that most people reported so far like device noise/coil-whine, HDMI ARC related issues reported mostly by European owners on Wiim/ASR forums. Either amp paired with KEF Q350 is a fantastic combo. Both have it's own pros and cons depending on use-case.
I would highly recommend that anyone with the KEF Q350 to consider a subwoofer regardless of whatever amp you'll use; I would if not living in an apartment. Whoever tells you that bookshelf speakers don't need a subwoofer is like boring people buying/wearing checkered pattern shirts lol!
