At this price range, with this feature set and flexibility this seems to be an excellent preamp. Perhaps the a new class leader overall. Having parametric eq capability AND a decent MM phono stage in such a compact form factor streaming device is amazing. If one needs more analog inputs for some reason a decent switcher box could be used I suppose.
Pair this with a Buckeye ncore or similar and for less than a $1000 with tax, one could have an extremely powerful, extremely well performing amp & preamp combo that will drive any speaker, take less space and use less power than many old school preamps.
Indeed, with something like the fossi amp-speaker switch, it makes it far more feasible to have a 2 channel system running next to an avr for use with movies etc.
One could spend less on the avr than one may otherwise need to in order to have a decent DAC section and enough power (eg, denon 3700/3800) so long as it had font l/r preouts you can run to the power amp.
Or maybe this little WiiM has a pass through mode that bypasses everything so you can run the avr preouts directly into it without a switcher?
The mini dsp preamps are another option I suppose. Though no phone preamp if that matters. And then one might as well step up to the Dirac licensed versions.
I could see WiiM coming out with an AVR or at least a multi channel processor in a far more affordable and compact form factor. Dolby licensing issues, room processing licenses (audessy, Dirac) would likely be the determinant on the price.
my dream would be for some company, like WiiM, to come out with some sort of semi-modular AVR killer, with something like this preamp but with a few hdmi slots and multi channel pre outs or maybe even hdmi audio only preout to with a multi channel amp or a set of compact 1 or 2 channel amps.
The AVR as a form factor and product solution is looking very old in the tooth and is ripe for disruption. If only a company can figure out the licensing and copy protection morass.
