WiiM Amp Pro Streaming Stereo Amplifier Review

[MyCuriosity]

I am really confused. If the performance is so good why then it sounded so bright and without authority compared to my big Yamaha integrated amplifier? I had to return mine, but thanks to amazon it was not a big drama. It is cheap but not what I was expecting for.

 

[amper42]

If you can't hear anything over 5K this amp is fabulous.
It's too bad, distortion rapidly increases with frequencies over 5K.

 

[ehabheikal]

If you can't hear anything over 5K this amp is fabulous.
It's too bad, distortion rapidly increases with frequencies over 5K.

My sentiments exactly

 

[Billy Budapest]

My sentiments exactly

Harmonic distortion is going to be inaudible at these measured levels.

 

[Billy Budapest]

between Topping, SMSL, Wiim, Eversolo and company now when you click on the purchase button, you are sure that you are buying well!

Add Aiyima and Fosi to that list.

 

[elmoe420]

WiiM isn’t “Chi-Fi.” Rather, it’s a brand of Linkplay Technologies, a U.S. company based in Silicon Valley.

In fairness the founder and all C-levels are Chinese and all the public investors are Chinese VCs. Not passing judgement just helping explain why it would be assumed to be a Chinese company.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I am really confused. If the performance is so good why then it sounded so bright and without authority compared to my big Yamaha integrated amplifier? I had to return mine, but thanks to amazon it was not a big drama. It is cheap but not what I was expecting for.

Do you have a time machine?

 

[Burnside]

I am really confused. If the performance is so good why then it sounded so bright and without authority compared to my big Yamaha integrated amplifier? I had to return mine, but thanks to amazon it was not a big drama. It is cheap but not what I was expecting for.

We’re discussing the WiiM Amp Pro here - I don’t believe you bought one from Amazon but its predecessor the basic WiiM Amp.

 

[TimW]

This is the most excited I have been about an audio product for a while now. Very good measured performance, maybe not great but I doubt I can hear the less than stellar high frequency distortions. I love using my Wiim mini in the garage and Wiim pro in the living room and this will work great on the desk in my bedroom. The bass management feature is awesome for dialing in a sub connection and from what I understand it can be toggled on and off in case you want to turn off the sub when listening late. Speaking of listening late, the Wiim app has a sleep timer function which I have used to fall asleep to quiet music, and it can also function as a music alarm clock! I'm excited to try out the automated room correction but I've heard it's not super thorough so I may end up just measuring with REW and entering in PEQ filters manually. It's so nice to get all of these features and performance in a relatively affordable product with constant updates and support from the manufacturer. It's no wonder that Wiim is becoming so popular IMHO.

 

[kyuu]

I am really confused. If the performance is so good why then it sounded so bright and without authority compared to my big Yamaha integrated amplifier?

One, as pointed out, this is the Wiim Amp Pro that isn't in the sales channel yet. You must've had the Wiim Amp (not pro).

Two, even with the Wiim Amp, it's unlikely there was any real difference assuming you were using it with the same speakers in the same environment with everything in the same position.

The only way a difference may have actually been there is if your speakers have >8 ohms impedance above 5000Hz or so, where they could interact with the amp's load dependency to elevate the treble a bit. But since the Wiim Amp has built-in parametric EQ, you could just use a shelving filter to compensate.

 

[ahofer]

One, as pointed out, this is the Wiim Amp Pro that isn't in the sales channel yet. You must've had the Wiim Amp (not pro).

Two, even with the Wiim Amp, it's unlikely there was any real difference assuming you were using it with the same speakers in the same environment with everything in the same position.

The only way a difference may have actually been there is if your speakers have >8 ohms impedance above 5000Hz or so, where they could interact with the amp's load dependency to elevate the treble a bit. But since the Wiim Amp has built-in parametric EQ, you could just use a shelving filter to compensate.

I wouldn’t want to drive a pair of Apogees or Thiels with this either. It would lack authority, but it certainly wouldn’t be bright.

 

[jbrown]

How on earth does this have so many good votes? That Intermodulation test is a huge red flag. I know 19k & 20k are high, but why would anyone expect it to behave any differently at lower frequencies? Say 9.5k & 10k?

 

[kyuu]

It would lack authority

What does this even mean?

 

[EXIF68]

The WIIM Amp pro is not available, only the WIIM Amp.
Question: What’s the difference?

 

[shuppatsu]

The WIIM Amp pro is not available, only the WIIM Amp.
Question: What’s the difference?

PFFB eliminating load dependency is the main thing. About 10dB better SINAD in the sensitive frequencies.

 

[kyuu]

The WIIM Amp pro is not available, only the WIIM Amp.
Question: What’s the difference?

Read the review of the Wiim Amp and compare it to this one and you'll have your answer really. TL;DR: Improved DAC, PFFB in the amp stage to reduce load dependency. Only thing you're losing is a few bucks and Apple Airplay/Siri support.

 

[Burnside]

The WIIM Amp pro is not available, only the WIIM Amp.
Question: What’s the difference?

See here with updates/corrections in comments

Thread 'WiiM Amp Pro - TPA3255 PFFB | WiFi 6e | Bluetooth 5.3 vs WiiM Amp'
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...pffb-wifi-6e-bluetooth-5-3-vs-wiim-amp.54319/

 

[shuppatsu]

Looks like a great product, especially for those who don't like the load dependency of the OG.

An actual, non-rhetorical question: if one were to use the room correction and/or REW+PEQ, does PFFB matter at all? Seems like any differences in frequency response would be corrected as a matter of course. Or is load dependency effect "unstable" outside of pure tones?

 

[morillon]

PFFB eliminating load dependency is the main thing. About 10dB better SINAD in the sensitive frequencies.

sorry but that s not a "elimination"....attenuation...

 

[joostdh]

Airplay, to my knowledge, is plain BT without any of the near-lossless codecs so rather worthless anyway

This is painful wrong.

Re the difference with the WiiM Amp (regular); I would have upgraded for the better dac and pffb, the difference is worth it imo. Loss of Airplay on both the Ultra and this one is why I’m keeping my WiiM Amp and going to upgrade that with an external dac and amp.