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WiiM Vibelink Amp Review
- Thread starter amirm
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the big A has the Vibelink on sale as of right now today. Still curious as to why the Ultra Amp has 2 class D TI amp chips when the Vibelink has one.
harkpabst
Addicted to Fun and Learning
This is up to speculation, WiiM never said why. It's surely puzzling why the dedicated amplifier would have only one chip in BTL configuration while the all-in-one box has two in PBTL mode (but not the PSU power to double the output power from 4 to 2 ohm).
If I had to guess I'd take the simplest possible explanation as the most likely one. And from my point of view it could be as simple as WiiM not getting the desired audio performance out of their design, initially, in PBTL configuration. Or their heatpipe based thermal management needed more work. I''d say that WiiM have a record of rather skipping features than delaying their product launches. I remember the very first Amazon listings explicitly stating dual chips and I asked WiiM about it. They confirmed this to be an error in the listing and changed the text.
These issues might have been successfully addressed in the later WiiM Amp Ultra design. Many features can be added later on through firmware updates. This does not apply to hardware changes, of course. The original WiiM Amp e.g. did not have PFFB. TI's whitepaper on PFFB had been around for years, before the first finished products hit the market. Obviously it's a bit harder to implement PFFB in a commercially viable product than just adding a few cents worth of SMD resistors ... in particular if you don't just copy the reference board.
Again, this is just a guess. If it's a wild or a sensibly educated one, I leave to you.
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This one-chip issue is what keeps me from buying the Vibelink and looking at Hypex or Purifi power amps. It might not be a huge deal but it’s just less appealing. The price is great, though, and it would probably be enough for me, but I keep worrying I’d end up buying a “better” amp eventually anyway.
somebodyelse
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Do you have speakers whose impedance drops significantly below the nominal 4 Ohms? If not then the PBTL mode (which is what you're getting with 2 chips rather than 1) has no benefit.
KEF Q Concerto Meta. Potential to dip close to 3.
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Dipping to 3-4 ohm over a small frequency range is pretty normal for modern speaker designs and not something any halfway competent amp struggles with afaik.
Yep, agreed. It’s more if I can get out of my own head about the single chip and say this $300 amp will do what I need vs. a $700 NCx252MP or a $1200 Purifi 6525.
harkpabst
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Erin measured the KEF Q Concerto Meta and the impedance plot presents no challenge for the WiiM Vibelink Amp.
Right, and the WiiM Vibelink Amp makes no exception here. It is officially specified for loads down to 2.67 ohm.
Also, Amir's measurements confirm that remains stable down to 2 ohm. It's certainly not a recommended amp for such low loads, but the KEFs should make a nice fit.
I’m sure they would. It’s borderline an ego satisfaction thing at this point, wanting something “great” rather than good enough, and stronger than my existing Naim Nait 5i2. The Vibelink probably does enough…
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Well, it's your money. Up to you if the price difference is worth the piece of mind. I myself would go with the Wiim, but I'm a bit of a cheapskate. If money were absolutely no object, I can't honestly say I wouldn't seriously consider just getting a nice Purifi amp just because I could.**
**Actually if price were no object I'd probably build out an entirely active surround setup with flush-mounted Genelecs or the like.
do you need a DAC? because you're paying for one with the Vibelink
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So? That's completely irrelevant.
harkpabst
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Always look on the bright side ...
First, the rational layer. You know that the technical differences between a WiiM Vibelink Amp and, say, a well-build Purifi Eigentakt based amp do exist. Some measurements are very similar, some are (at most) 10 dB better. Exact numbers don't matter much, because you also know that the perceivable difference will be zero, as long as the Vibelink Amp is operated within its limits. The price difference between the Vibelink Amp and such Purifi based amps almost equals the price difference between the Concerto Q Meta and the R3 Meta. Which swap would make more of a sonic difference?
Next, the emotional layer. Maybe it's just me but I know and fear the "stereo hangover". You stretched your budget and bought this incredible piece of kit you've been dreaming of for so long. You integrated it into your system and optimized that while doing so. It sounds great and you feel smart because you really nailed the price/performance sweet spot!
A couple of weeks later you notice that you listen to your stereo just as often as you did before. Yes, it sounds great, but there still is this other piece of kit, the bigger model you could have opted for. Your wife did not come running out of the kitchen, asking what you did to the stereo, because it sound so good (in real life they never do, or if so, it's just because they know how to please and prepare us for their next big wish). And ... do you remember auditioning this 250 grand horn system in that 250 m² demo room? Now, that was really something!
Your old setup was pretty good already, did you sell the old component already or should you try and swap it back in? Just one more time to make sure your original enthusiasm wasn't just going over the top? Nah, way too much effort.
Somehow there was less pressure when you had the cheaper gear ...
Looks like you did not fall into the typical Naim update spiral like I once did. You know you can avoid stereo hangover ...
That was perfectly said. Vibelink is the rational choice. I really don’t want to get pulled into a higher end amp just because it makes me feel better somehow.
To be honest, just the addition of the KEFs was such a big jump for me. As for pleasing the boss, I said, “wow, doesn’t this sound great?” She said, “oh… yeah.” Nothing I buy in hifi is going to impress her anyway.
To be honest, just the addition of the KEFs was such a big jump for me. As for pleasing the boss, I said, “wow, doesn’t this sound great?” She said, “oh… yeah.” Nothing I buy in hifi is going to impress her anyway.
harkpabst
Addicted to Fun and Learning
One thing is for sure: The WiiM Vibelink Amp does not need a warm-up period to perform at its best. Switch it on and it's right there.
The Vibelink Amp enters standby after 30 minutes and a low power sleep state after 60 minutes. Applying an input signal wakes it up from standby, but not from sleep state. You need a trigger cable for that. Alternatively you can press the power button on the back or use the WiiM Home App to manually wake it up.
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