WiiM Amp Streaming Amplifier Review

[harkpabst]

As noted by "Marfes' earlier today, Linkplay is now selling a 'refurbished' WiiM Amp for $199 at their outlet store on Ebay:

Master "deals" (massdrop, ebay, Amazon, etc.) Thread on Audio Product Sales

Revel C563DT Black 6.5 inch ceiling speakers are currently $99.99 each at Harman's website (list supposedly $440 but Crutchfield has it for $330) Shipping is free. It's a bit of a strange bird, being a single "stereo" speaker with both R & L channel terminals. Per Crutchfield's description...

audiosciencereview.com

And the pictures clearly show the AirPlay 2 logo, so this should be different from the "Essential Edition" offering, that's been on Amazon for a while.

I'd take pictures of the entire ebay offer.

 

[fragzone]

~$500 AUD For the wiim amp and ~$700 for the wiim amp pro. Is it worth that much more money for the pro? I am not in an environment conducive to the be all and end all of fidelity so I think the technical fidelity gains would probably be lost on me until I can get my dream-setup many years down the track from now.

Looking to pair them with Wharfedale 12.2s

 

[Limopard]

~$500 AUD For the wiim amp and ~$700 for the wiim amp pro. Is it worth that much more money for the pro? I am not in an environment conducive to the be all and end all of fidelity so I think the technical fidelity gains would probably be lost on me until I can get my dream-setup many years down the track from now.

Looking to pair them with Wharfedale 12.2s

An impedance chart of the 12.2s would be nice to give a prognosis, which influence the load dependancy of the Wiim amp has.

 

[kyuu]

An impedance chart of the 12.2s would be nice to give a prognosis, which influence the load dependancy of the Wiim amp has.

Well if it's similar to the 12.1:

From ~4k and up, where the load dependency kicks in, it seems to waver a hair above and below 6 ohms. In my decidedly non-expert opinion, I'd say there'd be a very small change in the treble response at the highest frequencies that's almost certainly inaudible. Someone do correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[somebodyelse]

Well if it's similar to the 12.1:

From ~4k and up, where the load dependency kicks in, it seems to waver a hair above and below 6 ohms. In my decidedly non-expert opinion, I'd say there'd be a very small change in the treble response at the highest frequencies that's almost certainly inaudible. Someone do correct me if I'm wrong.

Erin's dummy load showed load dependency boost of ~0.5dB from a ~20R peak a bit over 2kHz. How audible that would be is another matter, and the Wiim can correct with PEQ. I wouldn't assume the impedance curves would be similar between models.

 

[fragzone]

Well if it's similar to the 12.1:

From ~4k and up, where the load dependency kicks in, it seems to waver a hair above and below 6 ohms. In my decidedly non-expert opinion, I'd say there'd be a very small change in the treble response at the highest frequencies that's almost certainly inaudible. Someone do correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi thankyou for taking the time to help answer my question.

I have never taken the time to learn about impedance graphs I just know that is a determining factor on amp suitability for a given set up speakers. I know the wharfedale 12.2 have a min/nominal impedance of 4/8. In regards to your statement concerning a drop below 6 ohms above 4khz for the 12.1's, what chart/info should I be comparing that too in Amir's review of the wiim amp that determines that not being an ideal metric?

 

[kyuu]

Hi thankyou for taking the time to help answer my question.

I have never taken the time to learn about impedance graphs I just know that is a determining factor on amp suitability for a given set up speakers. I know the wharfedale 12.2 have a min/nominal impedance of 4/8. In regards to your statement concerning a drop below 6 ohms above 4khz for the 12.1's, what chart/info should I be comparing that too in Amir's review of the wiim amp that determines that not being an ideal metric?

Amir didn't test at 6 ohms, only 4 and 8. You can see that at 4 ohms, the frequency response is flat (neglecting the inconsequential 0.5dB droop by 20kHz). At 8 ohms, though, you can see there's peaking that starts at roughly 4kHz until it hits 1dB at 20kHz. Others more knowledgeable on this might chime in to correct me, but my assumption would be that the response at 6 ohms would be somewhere in-between, so the worst-case is less than 1dB of elevated response in the upper treble range.

 

[Sokel]

Hi thankyou for taking the time to help answer my question.

I have never taken the time to learn about impedance graphs I just know that is a determining factor on amp suitability for a given set up speakers. I know the wharfedale 12.2 have a min/nominal impedance of 4/8. In regards to your statement concerning a drop below 6 ohms above 4khz for the 12.1's, what chart/info should I be comparing that too in Amir's review of the wiim amp that determines that not being an ideal metric?

Have a look here:

Complex impedance load amp FR influence - WiiM Amp review by Erin

Was pleasantly surprised today when I read the review of the WiiM Amp on Erin's website. Erin will be using two complex impedance profiles in all of his amplifier reviews in the future to measure their impact on the frequency response of the tested amplifiers. My only criticism is that the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Now,if the effect is audible or not,there's also couple of ABX tests who shows that it is (at the specific loads) .
Others may differ and that's the thing with load dependency,you need to know beforehand.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Whether these smaller variations are audible or not would also strongly depend on the span (Q value).

 

[Limopard]

Amir didn't test at 6 ohms, only 4 and 8. You can see that at 4 ohms, the frequency response is flat (neglecting the inconsequential 0.5dB droop by 20kHz). At 8 ohms, though, you can see there's peaking that starts at roughly 4kHz until it hits 1dB at 20kHz. Others more knowledgeable on this might chime in to correct me, but my assumption would be that the response at 6 ohms would be somewhere in-between, so the worst-case is less than 1dB of elevated response in the upper treble range.

Sounds legit. A lot of music has very little energy above 15k (if any at all). And I'd be surprised if anyone above the age of 40 could hear it.

 

[fragzone]

Amir didn't test at 6 ohms, only 4 and 8. You can see that at 4 ohms, the frequency response is flat (neglecting the inconsequential 0.5dB droop by 20kHz). At 8 ohms, though, you can see there's peaking that starts at roughly 4kHz until it hits 1dB at 20kHz. Others more knowledgeable on this might chime in to correct me, but my assumption would be that the response at 6 ohms would be somewhere in-between, so the worst-case is less than 1dB of elevated response in the upper treble range.

Ah okay very interesting that is very informative. If the top end of a speaker hangs in the balance between grating and detailed, then I could see negating impedance being potentially very important. Always happy to EQ and therefore less worried about it and am relieved to see it occurring only within the audible range of upper frequencies, for which it's unlikely to make the 12.2's bright in any case which I am predominately concerned with.

I'm still thinking the Wiiim amp combines the best of all my needs at a reasonable price point based on the comparative cost of going for a standalone streamer, given the constraints inherent therein of each of wiim's alternative products. Although the power potential in such a small and well measuring device in the Fosi V3 is very tempting too, so I will need to get a realistic expectation somehow on what I need.

For example if I go the wiim mini or wiim pro, they still have sub-par dacs that will require an additional ~$150 AUD at least for a decent topping DAC etc. The wiim pro plus fares much better in everything short of AD conversion which I would rarely use, and works out better value given an external DAC wouldn't be required.

wiim mini/wiim pro + fosi v3 + 48v psu + topping e30ii

140/220+ 120 + 70 + 170

= $500/580 AUD

wiim pro plus + fosiv3 + 48v psu

330 + 120 + 70
=$520 AUD

wiim amp

=$500 AUD

I guess the question is....

$500 for a cute all in one setup. Or $520 for double the power output (with the 48v adapter). Impedance charts look more or less identical. These speakers will be used in small to medium rooms with listeniing distance not more than 3m away. I wonder what I can get away with in regards to power.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[staticV3]

I wonder what I can get away with in regards to power.

If you decide to give the WiiM Amp a try, I'd recommend you enable its Sub output, even if no sub is being used.

Then set the crossover frequency to the lowest setting and slowly increase it while you listen for any changes.

Once you hear the 12.2's bass decreasing, back the crossover setting off one step and leave it there.

That way, you're getting the most out of the Amp's power reserves and not wasting any where the 12.2 can't produce meaningful SPL anyway.

It's basically the active studio monitor advantage, but in an integrated Amp for passive speakers

 

[morillon]

If you decide to give the WiiM Amp a try, I'd recommend you enable its Sub output, even if no sub is being used.

Then set the crossover frequency to the lowest setting and slowly increase it while you listen for any changes.

Once you hear the 12.2's bass decreasing, back the crossover setting off one step and leave it there.

That way, you're getting the most out of the Amp's power reserves and not wasting any where the 12.2 can't produce meaningful SPL anyway.

It's basically the active studio monitor advantage, but in an integrated Amp for passive speakers

nice idea-approach...!!!!

 

[morillon]

nice idea-approach...!!!!

can I allow me to follow it on the wiim forum in link?

 

[staticV3]

can I allow me to follow it on the wiim forum in link?

You can definitely link to my post on the WiiM forum
(if that's what you mean)

 

[morillon]

You can definitely link to my post on the WiiM forum
(if that's what you mean)

yes
requires a bit of reflection-testing to achieve an interesting result but the approach is interesting...

 

[morillon]

but in " closed " would be a bit of a shame for example ,-)

 

[staticV3]

but in " closed " would be a bit of a shame for example ,-)

No harm in trying it anyway

 

[JeremyFife]

If you decide to give the WiiM Amp a try, I'd recommend you enable its Sub output, even if no sub is being used.

Then set the crossover frequency to the lowest setting and slowly increase it while you listen for any changes.

Once you hear the 12.2's bass decreasing, back the crossover setting off one step and leave it there.

That way, you're getting the most out of the Amp's power reserves and not wasting any where the 12.2 can't produce meaningful SPL anyway.

It's basically the active studio monitor advantage, but in an integrated Amp for passive speakers

Interesting - and this has crystallised a question that has been nagging at me - I've raised a new thread to avoid cluttering this one. https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ow-frequencies-crossover-subwoofer-lpf.57374/

 

[Sokel]

Interesting - and this has crystallised a question that has been nagging at me - I've raised a new thread to avoid cluttering this one. https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ow-frequencies-crossover-subwoofer-lpf.57374/

Subs is one thing,woofers is a whole other one.
Even companies that make pro-bass guitar drivers state a hi-pass at 30Hz or so as mandatory.
It benefits both the amps and the drivers.