WiiM Vibelink Amp Review

[Oldson]

i am considering swapping out my Rega Elex-r for a Vibelink (although i really wanted a compact power amp).
reason is mainly due to the need to get my amp on my desk and compact my system down.
current system is pc to ADI-2 dac to Elex-r and i am using Dynaudio M10's as nearfield desk monitors.
not expecting much difference in sound quality, but i would bet the Vibelink would measure better than my Rega.

anyone got any advice on this?

i did consider a NC252mp from someone like Nord, but the case size is a little large to accomodate, although not impossible.
Vibelink's biggest appeal is form factor for me.

 

[Audionaut]

did consider a NC252mp from someone like Nord, but the case size is a little large to accomodate

The IOM Ultra is special designed for the Wiim® Ultra

The IOM Ultra is a high-end stereo power amplifier. It's housed in a compact full aluminium chassis with trigger on/off control.

internetofmusic.nl

 

[Oldson]

The IOM Ultra is special designed for the Wiim® Ultra

The IOM Ultra is a high-end stereo power amplifier. It's housed in a compact full aluminium chassis with trigger on/off control.

internetofmusic.nl

that unit would be ideal, but there is a "BUT" for me...... price.

its already more expensive than Wiim/Nord, plus i would get stung for 20% vat as i'm UK based.
if Nord, UK based, did a unit in this size i would probably jump on it.

part of me was hoping Wiim may produce a power amp model, but i dont think that is in the pipeline.
thnks for posting though

 

[SoySalsaPicante]

that unit would be ideal, but there is a "BUT" for me...... price.

its already more expensive than Wiim/Nord, plus i would get stung for 20% vat as i'm UK based.
if Nord, UK based, did a unit in this size i would probably jump on it.

part of me was hoping Wiim may produce a power amp model, but i dont think that is in the pipeline.
thnks for posting though

If the VibeLink isn't a power amp, what is it? Or did you mean, "pure," power amp, sans volume attenuator and DAC?

 

[Oldson]

If the VibeLink isn't a power amp, what it is? Or did you mean, "pure," power amp, sans volume attenuator and DAC?

yeah, a pure power amp would be ideal for me

 

[Audionaut]

yeah, a pure power amp would be ideal for me

You could test another TPA3255 Amp with PFFB like this little thing.
Good and cheap.

Douk A5 Budget Stereo Amplifier Review

no issue with stereo vs. mono ? I mean: the Douk A5 obviously has a stereo 3.5mm out; the REL "expects" on single RCA both channels; in good case first the 2 channels of the stereo must be properly (!) unified, like through Single Stereo auf Mono Konverter I am not convinced what...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[JeremyFife]

yeah, a pure power amp would be ideal for me

The 3e amps look nice: A5 should be plenty (also more powerful A7). No DAC, by-passable volume control. Some commentary about the auto-off behaviour but I understand that 3e have made some changes since the release.

3e Audio A5 Stereo Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the 3e Audio A5 Stereo class D amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $229.99. Despite its simplicity, the A5 has very well thought out features. Clipping indicators are provided for each channel. And selection of inputs is made...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Oldson]

i have only just realised the Topping amps pa5/7 have volume bypass!
this definitely opens up my options, just need to research their reliability

 

[JeremyFife]

i have only just realised the Topping amps pa5/7 have volume bypass!
this definitely opens up my options, just need to research their reliability

The original PA5 had a shocking design fault and that has coloured many people's opinion of Topping reliability.
The PA5II and the PA7 do not have the same fault and appear to be perfectly fine, reliability wise.

 

[dwwjr56]

Question about Vibelink connection. I am kind of new to the audio game having been out of it for a long while. I have the Wiim ultra and just got the vibelink. I am using criton 1-TDX speakers I built with the superior crossovers. The sound is great but I have a Fosi Audio ZD3 dac that I would like to try. How would I connect this and not use the dac in the vibelink? Thanks for any help! I attached picture of the back of the Fosi.

 

[SoySalsaPicante]

Question about Vibelink connection. I am kind of new to the audio game having been out of it for a long while. I have the Wiim ultra and just got the vibelink. I am using criton 1-TDX speakers I built with the superior crossovers. The sound is great but I have a Fosi Audio ZD3 dac that I would like to try. How would I connect this and not use the dac in the vibelink? Thanks for any help! I attached picture of the back of the Fosi.

Just connect a pair of RCA cables between the RCA outputs on the ZD3 to the RCA inputs in the VibeLink and set the VibeLink to the RCA input setting.

 

[dwwjr56]

Thanks for the quick response. I wasn’t sure if I would be using the dac in the Fosi using the rca out. I thought I had to use one of the digital outs to be using the dac. This gets a bit confusing for me. I guess I need to study and read more.

 

[dwwjr56]

Looking at my own picture it seems that is the only way to connect the Fosi anyways. I will use ultra optical out to Fosi optical in and then rca to vibelink.

 

[harkpabst]

Looking at my own picture it seems that is the only way to connect the Fosi anyways. I will use ultra optical out to Fosi optical in and then rca to vibelink.

The ZD3 uses the same DAC chip as the WiiM Vibelink amp (and its implementation is obviously very good).

Plug the optical cable right from the WiiM Ultra into the Vibelink Amp and there will be no difference, at least no improvement.

Just increasing the number of boxes does not improve the sound quality.

 

[dwwjr56]

Thank you. Obviously no need for redundancy. I was also looking at the denafrips ares 2 and wondered if that may be a better dac. But I’m going to live with this setup for a while.

 

[Mike_Trueman]

This is a nice comparison between the Vibelink and the Eversolo Play.

 

[Abovebeyond]

Driving the Buchardt s400 mk2 with the Vibelink for over a month, a great amp with plenty of power.

 

[Kaakberg]

Crown Audio - Professional Power Amplifiers | English (US)

www.crownaudio.com

“The input sensitivity setting is a function of amplifier gain.”

Is there a scenario where different input sensitivity isn’t due to gain?

Crown drivecore is a awesome poweramp.

 

[SugeKnight]

I have a question. The amplifier is given for 100W/200W and the measurements seem to indicate a maximum power of 73W/134W. Even 1% THD, we do not reach 200W in 4 omhs. Is I misunderstood the measurements ? Doesn't it shock anyone?

 

[kyuu]

The amplifier is given for 100W/200W and the measurements seem to indicate a maximum power of 73W/134W.

The way Amir rates the power is not how any manufacturer rates power, so discrepancies are to be expected.

Even 1% THD, we do not reach 200W in 4 omhs.

1% THD is a more typical way to rate power and does seem to be how Wiim did it (although I don't believe they actually specify that anywhere). We get close enough. A miss of ~15W is negligible and amounts to 0.3dB of SPL. That small difference could be a result of different conditions/equipment/procedures/samples.

Is I misunderstood the measurements ? Doesn't it shock anyone?

Nope, not shocked at all.