I'm just jumping in here real quick to address a question or critique I'm seeing a few of you make about our use of the Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers in this review. I fully understand that it is unlikely that anyone in their right mind would willingly go out and pair a $300 streaming amp with roughly $6,000 speakers. Still, you need to separate price from performance in this instance to understand the why. For starters, we used a few more pairs of speakers than the three mentioned in this video, as we've had the WiiM for months now. The Cornwall IVs were actually the LAST speaker I used with the amp, and I only used them because I was routinely running into power and dynamic issues with the WiiM. I used the Cornwalls because they are the most efficient loudspeakers I own. They can be successfully driven to peaks above 90-95dB in our listening room using a 2 WPC Decware SET amp without a hint of strain, yet the WiiM and its reported 60 WPC struggled to crest 80dB in some cases. If I did manage to get peaks in the upper 80s the amp often shut down soon after hitting such volumes. If the WiiM struggles with a speaker like the Cornwall, you can imagine how much more difficult it was for the Q Acoustics Concept 50 (90.5dB at 4 Ohms) or the KLH Kendall 2F (96dB at 8 Ohms). In this instance, the price or quality of the speaker is irrelevant; the WiiM's dynamic capability is the problem you should be focused on. While numerous tests show the WiiM can produce 60 WPC, it would appear that when forced to playback non-test signals, the resulting power or potential headroom of the Amp is a different story. This is something I've noticed with a number of these cheaper TI-based chip amps. I get that it's not a popular opinion to go against the grain and say that while these amps may be a "value" in one or two ways, they are NOT --I repeat, NOT --outright giant killers regarding amplifier and sound quality. Feature-wise, the WiiM, and others are an absolute embarrassment of riches, but software is not the same as hardware. The truth is these are built around amp chips that were never (really) designed for the type of work they're being forced to do. Can these TI amps sound good? Sure, but I believe it is misleading to say they're as good, in the same ballpark, or even better than even a modest Class D, AB or A amp --nevermind amplifiers that cost thousands more and that have had to hold up to scrutiny beyond a couple of forums and weekend measurement warriors. I am not trying to hate WiiM; like I say in the video, I'm trying to give you the clearest picture of what to expect. As I said in the review, if you adhere to a few general rules (which are stated in the video), you stand to have the best chance for success. But if you try and go toe-to-toe with a better, more capable amp with the wrong speakers or source, you may be in for a rude awakening in more ways than one.
Your job is always well done because it prepares potential buyers with what to expect. As for me” I wasn’t expecting much from it based on the price, and from what I have learned from your channel” I decided that for my small listening space couple with a subwoofer takeover the heavy lifting” it should be just fine and It is. My only thing now is even though It has a built in DAC plus EQ/ PEQ there is no good stereo separation and spaciousness. So I am going to see if I can get a use B&W or ML bookshelves speakers to see if I can squeeze some more life out of it 🥸
Andrew sounds apologetic and he really shouldn’t be. He stated in the video why the Cornwalls made more technical sense than others in their review stack of speakers to use for the Wiim Amp review. Getting on their case about that decision and the disappointing results helps frame that budget product better in its strengths and weaknesses. I’m now better informed about the Amp and have a clearer outlook for its best use case which is appropriately nearfield or small room with lower volume setting. Don’t expect 11 when you should be dialing in 7.
That makes sense to me. A super sensitive speaker is just the ticket to test an amplifier’s dynamic capabilities without involving excessive power needs. If you’re not going to use Klipsch then whose?
This is NOT the review I expected - The first review I've heard that didn't just "praise" this amp. I own 3 Wiim mini's, and love them. Great products with ever improving updates. I'm sure this company will go a long way. That said, Thank you for your assessment and honest opinion on this piece. I don't own one and it isn't really on my radar, but it's nice to hear a different opinion for once.
I think it would be a better mactch with a pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub if necessary. Wish to hear how it sounds when pairing with some quality bookshelf spearkers from martin logan, polk, etc.
The input gain on most of the 3255 amps isn’t very high. Some of them have 48V 5A power supply option(like the Fosi V3, Ayima A07 and Max and the new Fosi za3) This makes them way more capable with dynamics but definitely doesn’t solve the signal gain issue. The solution is to boost the input voltage and use the high current/voltage power supply. The problem with that is that you don’t get the awesome dsp and hdmi features of the Wiim(which has an anemic power supply inside) The way I like to use TPA3255 amps is to use them to directly drive an individual driver with a dsp acting as crossover. Using a 4ohm driver and 48v power supply on every amp except the tweeter, you can get some pretty impressive volume levels and dynamic range. Let’s face it though, that’s way too complicated for most people. If you want to try TPA3255 for cheap, I’d recommend getting the Ayima A07 max with the 48v power supply. It has the highest input gain and can be converted to mono if you want to upgrade later by getting a second one. The ZA3 has a mono subwoofer out which actually tracks with the volume pot but it doesn’t filter the main channels so I don’t find that to be very useful. The most impressive thing actually about these tpa3255 amps is actually the 48v 5A power supply that fosi and Ayima are using. That thing is amazingly clean as a power supply and it costs $50 is which is pretty impressive considering how it measures (especially the fosi unit which Works on all of the 3255 amps). I would like to see Andrew revisit the 3255 amps with the 48v 5A supply, he might be surprised. In a previous video he mentioned that he didn’t like the idea of someone having to pay extra for that but you can buy these with that power supply from the start and it’s pretty affordable. The 3255 really does need that voltage and current to pull off good dynamics. That being said, there are way better amps out there, these are just fun to play with especially if you need 6 channels of amplification for a 3 or 4way pair of speakers running active. I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone else doing this with these amps.
I’ve chased the chi-fi craze. Mostly disappointed. Thin. Lean. Soulless. Wiim has it together on the streamer/app gig. They’ve won that battle, to me. I’m always going back to class AB or the hard to find, and hot, class A. Also, the AKM chips are crazy good. 4491 with 4499ex. That’s just perfection. But, for those on a tighter budget, happy listening and enjoy!
Bought the WiiM Amp after Christmas and using it for over a month in a 'smaller' livingroom in a 2.1 setup. First tested it with Mission LX-2 speakers and then with the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 in combination with a SVS SB-1000 Sub. Because of the neighbours, I never could turn the volume up a 100%. For the average Joe (like me) the WiiM Amp is more then sufficient and gives you a great bang for the buck. You're right that the WiiM Amp is not the right choice for a 'big' room or 'big' speakers, but that is not what it pretend to be. I would like to give one suggestion, try to test the speakers with and without a subwoofer and give us a report about the difference it makes in performance. PS. Sorry for my Englisch, it's only my 3e langues and I don't use it everyday. Thank you for your effort!
Adding or subtracting a subwoofer, at least in our room, didn't solve or completely do away with the WiiM's apparent power/dynamic limitations when playing back at volumes of about 60-70dB + in room.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Thanks for your reaction. Because I've to rely on my hearing and have no professional equipment to support my 'feeling', it felt like the addition of the sub, took away some 'pressure' from the speakers and made the total sound picture better. But that is probably my wishful thinking. Thank you again.
Thanks Andrew and Kristi, the Wiim Amp really is a gateway product to Hi fi and for the price and right setting it’s a direct punch to Sonos and Bluesound. The streamers are still the best value proposition in audio. In Australia, audio equipment and the hobby generally is expensive, and everyone is always looking out of the latest, greatest, slick looking device, wiim does fit the bill for masses. Looking at yours and your colleagues reviews, from what I’ve seen Wiim does seem to pay attention to reviews so good chance they will refine this.
Andrew and Kristi. I'm late to the party with my comments. However, I'm glad that i waited. It gave me time read through the viewer comments. So, I'd like to thank you for providing an objective review of this device, highlighting the good and the bad; best use cases and worst use cases. I also appreciate the fact that you used super sensitive speakers to test the amplifier, since they are so efficient. You essentially gave the amplifier the best opportunity to shine by using super sensitive speakers. I think it's important to listen, first to the entire review to get the facts and the full picture, and then ask follow-up questions. 😉
wiim are really interesting to me because they seem to be one of the only companies meeting me where I'm at, Sonos and arylic are intent on building their own ecosystem and they're just.... wrong about it. i have an Android phone, i am going to use chromecast, I have a Mac, I'm going to use airplay. i HATE closing my music app and opening a separate speaker app, it drives me nuts that every company is desperate to drive me to their own, universally worse, app, its ridiculous hubris to think you're better at this than tidal, or whoever. it's a bummer that this amp isn't quite there, but at least we know the wiim amp pro 2 S Max will be out 6 months and probably address at least half of these complaints.
For me, it's a minor concern. At least it's on the back. Maybe you all have forgotten our Leak stereo amp review. People lost their minds over the crooked button on the front and that product cost far more than this one.
You set it up for failure. It should be set up as bedroom set up with mini monitors and powered sub that fills in lows and punch . This is not living room amp
In a way WiiM themselves set this amp up for failure. It's not a true 60w amp, as Erin's review will confirm - in peak loads it loses half its power, which is not common in good amplifiers. It's a great amp for small to medium rooms with efficient speakers.
@@MohsinWadee Even 30 watts per channel will be enough to power efficient book shelf speakers when lows are directed to the sub , such set up can play plenty loud and clean for smaller rooms
@@kdomster9141this is not the first review to suggest that this amp does not behave like it truly outputs 60w. Gist of the matter is temper your expectations, other reviews reported clipping.
We told you as much in the review and couldn't have been able to provide you with that information without testing the WiiM to its limits. I wish people would hold the product up to the same standard as this or any review rather than continue to make excuses for a limited-use, poorly-designed product.
To me, amps like this are aimed at bookshelf systems with powered subwoofers, for small to medium sized rooms. Given this, I find your choice of speakers baffling.
The WIM's crappy power supply doesn't provide enough power - there are a few TI 3255 based amps that get it right, like the offerings from Ayima or Fosi Audio.
You may have a point that more voltage and current in the power supply might help. But the WiiM's power supply is internal and operates from AC input. There is no "upgrade" path as there is with some Chi-Fi amps based on the TI (ne Tripath)'s TPA3255 IC. What you bought is all you will ever get. 2. The class-D amp chip used so widely in these Chi-Fi amplifiers are rated so misleadingly that it's arguably dishonest. 315 Watts output into 4 ohms at 10% THD? 10% THD will sound horrible and might blow your tweeters. 10% THD is not a usable output. The rating at 1% is still audible. At age 60, I can still reliably detect distortion at -45 dB/0.5% THD so even the 1% power rating is at a point that people with normal hearing will likely detect and cause fatigue. The TI device is capable of at MOST 100 W/ch RMS into 8 ohms with the highest voltage supply the chip can take, before distortion rapidly becomes apparent. 200 Watts into 4 ohms, maybe, with the same very rapid climb into gross distortion once you increase the volume even a small amount above that level. 300W, never ever. Can't happen. With hyper-efficient Klipsch speakers (maybe a two way KP-300m II would be a more realistic pairing, but Andrew's point was that at this level of efficiency, it should play louder than it did, and that would likely be true of any efficient speaker). So why didn't it play louder? Perhaps the internal power supply is under-designed to meet a price or size objective. Perhaps it was a QC flaw in the particular unit and a re-test with a different unit would deliver much better performance at high output levels. For long-term expandability, what I did was buy the WiiM Pro streamer. It feeds an outboard integrated amp. There is nothing missing from the streamer than I feel would drive me to replace it, and the 160W/ch (0.1% THD) amplifier has no trouble lighting up a pair of UF52 towers to silly volumes. For a desktop system or a small bedroom 2.1, it may be hard to find better for $300. The HDMI input especially makes it a great value proposition. But if you want hi-fi in a large room, thanks to this review, you way want to go with a separate streamer and amplifier. WiiM still holds the value champion crown IMHO.
Finally, some light being shed on what I have experienced with the Wiim amp. It's always the case - the hype train always glosses over the whole truth with regard to what really lies behind the facade.
This was a really great review. It’s refreshing to see a reviewer cover all aspects of the product and not just the positives. Did anyone else notice the hdmi input being cockeyed, definitely speaks to quality.
brooooooo! I miss the beard :(, but yeah no surprise on this review, sadly many of these little asian amps rate wattage at 10% THD which does mislead many consumers. Your review is about what I was expecting. But man that thing certainly does look beautiful!!
The issue with these TPA3255 based amps is their power rating is linear with the voltage (at lower volumes) or the current (at higher volumes) coming from the power supply. It sounds like the DC voltage of the WiiM Amp is plenty (32V) but the current might be limited to < 5 A. Thanks for testing it with the Cornwalls, it really shows the limit of this affordable amp.
The wiim would probably perform better with some high efficiency bookshelves and a sub since the bass management would take some load off the amp by removing lower frequencies from the speaker outputs.
I'm kind of surprised you never re-ran your listening tests with a subwoofer hooked up to the LFE out and engaging the app's internal bass management you briefly mentioned. I would imagine the amp would gain quite a bit of headroom by allocating bass amplification to an external sub. I'm curious to see if it would make a huge difference it its tonality as well.
I use the wiim amp in my garage where I have a small home office. It is fantastic for that situation but I wouldn't want it upstairs where I do most of my listening and movie watching.
This is the type of review that sets this channel apart from the pack of "BEST HIFI VALUE AMP" hype machine. Thank you both! I think it was a very fair review considering you tested it with and without a sub, and with and without highly efficient speakers. Unfortunate to see the amplifier section is not quite there yet. I pre-ordered mine from Crutchfield 3 months ago (thank you Lord for a generous return policy in cases like this) but it still hasn't arrived yet. They are supposedly working out software issues. But for myself, its for a small 10x12 secondary room. Hoping it'll have enough headroom in a small room like that but we will see once it arrives. Thanks again for this review!
I've owned the WiiM amp for about six weeks. This review meshes almost exactly with my experiences, so it's validating to have what I hear backed up. The dynamics really are noticeably lacking, and that's by far its biggest shortcoming. If it sounded like 60wpc of goodness, this would be one of the best audio products in years. It sounds like an underpowered kit amp. That's not to say it sounds BAD, it just doesn't take a song you love and shake you loose from your day. I disagree with the built-in power supply being a bonus - outboarding it would allow for a much beefier power supply and perhaps swappable options. Integrating it seems like it turned into too severe of a compromise. Adding a sub makes matters a little better in my experience so far, which is the wildest part. A relatively high crossover point (~70-80Hz) appears to free up some headroom. What would make this thing significantly better? Pre-outs. If a software update can turn the analog ins to analog outs, I'd be thrillled. 😂 I've noticed a lot fewer updates than Andrew, though.
Obviously (to me), the most common appplication would be a sub satt set up crossed over around 80 hz. Not testing it with a sub which would drop the power load on the amp is a big miss.
No Andrew you are not a snob. What has happened is that you have tested the champagne and caviar of music equipment and your ears and vision will never be the same. Yes it’s only £299 but issues are issues and if they are there thank you for pointing them out. Still a lot of people will put up with it because of the price.
I’m buying the WiiM for its lightweight & portability, not as a focal point for a critical listening setup. It will be in my back patio or my garage powering an old pair of Klipsch R-51Ms or Energy micros w/sub when enjoying the outdoors or working on my car or bikes. So the WiiM amp really is the perfect solution for my use case. I also really love the clean Applesque design of the WiiM.
Chip based amps have changed the audio landscape, there are some good ones out there. I’ll still take a class ab 100% call me old school (or just old.) Thanks for the honest review.
Hmm, this is interesting. I have an Aiyima A07 on my desk and a CA AXR100 running my 2.1 system in the living room. After watching this, I decided to try my A07(same amp chip as Wiim amp) with my towers. My Jamo Concert 11s are nowhere near as sensitive as those cornwalls, and the little amp drove them easily to eardrum slaughtering levels with a 36V 6A PSU. Phone was showing about 90dB average and peaks in triple digits. I don’t know if it sounded “good” as I was plugging my ears, but the volume was there, and I played through some bass heavy tracks and it was rattling cabinets. Noise floor is excellent as well. Wonder if something is wrong with this unit.
The review was pretty good. One peeve. "if you are willing to spend a little more" on what planet is a little more over 3 times the price? What about the LOXJIE A40? Any better?
I do not recommend any of these cheaper Texas Instruments-based amplifiers as they all have the same issues I discuss here and in other videos I've made about them. The TI chip was never intended for hifi use, it was designed initially for small, portable electronics, think laptops etc. It simply does not do nor produce the sound the manufacturers claim (many of which are all subsidiaries of one another producing the same product under different names). Additionally the amp's struggle with speakers who's impedances may dip to 4 Ohms, or whose impedances fluctuate, which is all speakers by the way. For small-small spaces or on a desktop these amps MAY work fine for 90% of users, but these are NOT giant killers who's sound and performance outdoes amps costing 2,3,4 or 5x more.
I think hdmi capability is glossed over too much with this amp. The ability to pair this with bookshelf speakers and a sub for a TV in a bedroom or small to average sized living room is pretty awesome. Most other amps getting compared to the Wiim are either analog only or 5x the price. There is definitely a niche for this thing, but I at least think the niche is pretty awesome.
A very balanced review, many other reviews raved how this is a giant killer. These small affordable amps have a proper use case scenario. Appreciate the fact you show it wont work in most larger rooms and is primarily a near field solution.
It's absolutely clear that there are no alternatives with same functionality, sound quality and price bellow three c-notes. In moment it's the best solution for your home universal system (TV and music) with total budget bellow one grand.
I got the amp back in November 2023 and I am using as a 2.1, a pair of 5inc bookshelf speakers and 8inch powered subwoofer and it’s sound very loud and great, I think this is the best way to use this amp by handing off the heavy lifting to a powered subwoofer 🎉😊
I’m going to have to disagree on this one Andrew, but perhaps my use case is just vastly different from yours. I recently switched from a pair of Klipsch The Fives (that you reviewed favourably) to the Wiim Amp and Klipsch RP500M IIs. For me this is a small living room setup and the new passive speakers + Wiim amp cost slightly less than what I originally payed for the Fives. I played them side by side while I still had both and I was far more impressed by the sound coming from the new setup. I was fully prepared to return my new purchases if the sound wasn’t better and made sure to buy from retailers that were easy to work with. However, it was no contest in the end. I understand my comparison point is between two class-D amps rather than more premium Class A or Class A/B but I was looking for a compact unit. The Fives were a great solution, just didn’t impress in sound clarity. Beyond the base sound though, the feature set is what really impressed me with the Wiim. Even if you don’t like the out-of-the-box sound from your setup, you have a great EQ and PEQ to work with. The Klipsch only had a basic EQ with “Low”, “Mid” and “High”. You couldn’t even change the subwoofer crossover on the Fives. I also considered the Bluesound, they also give you just a basic 2-band EQ. I personally don’t like being “locked-in” to a type of sound and being forced to find hardware solutions (different speakers, room treatment etc.) to fix a software problem. I also have not faced any of the issues you have with noise from the Amp and it shutting off when you drive them harder. Admittedly, it seems they have had some quality control issues with the first few batches (as reported on their forums) but I seem to have been lucky. I’m wondering if you received a unit that has some of those issues? All in all, my personal experience with the Wiim amp has been very positive. I did have slightly lower expectations knowing it is a D-class budget amp but I think this is a better sounding alternative than something like The Fives (HDMI-enabled all in one powered speakers). Even if the sound was even, much better control and connectivity.
I know he has a bad early sample because the RCA inputs on the back are the wrong way around - they swapped them in the corrected versions. Mine has been great for me, powering a pair of floor standers and making the old huge Yamaha amp redundant. Plenty of volume always below 50% in a medium sized room.
My experience as well. I wanted something small with the WAF and was concerned this would sound too thin and lifeless. Replaced a vintage 70's Pioneer amp and honestly am quite impressed. No volume issues, plays loud enough and I have heard details in some familiar songs I hadn't noticed before. I purchased an Aiyima 07 Max with 48 watt power supply to compare and there is no comparison. My opinion is the Wiim is better...much better . For the price, I couldn't be happier.
@robinsonbrand | Perhaps I missed something? If not, why the heck did not try unloading the amp by offloading low frequencies from it using the built-in sub-out/base-management functionality? It might have helped the higher-SPL problems...
Agreed…where is the sun out bass management discussion? Thats a significant feature you ignored…pls update this review with a suitable sub using the BM and would think the top end issues should/may resolve?
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Hi Andrew, i should say i was really waiting for review on this. I would request you to do a video on KEF T205 5.0 speaker system. Which would help i vesting on that system for people who are picky on the interiod design for living room setup. Thanks in advance.
the integrated power supply is weak i suppose as 32v should do 60w but a large room like yours needs a bigger amp. Id like to see more cheaper amps like fosi audio V3 with a 48v power supply. emotiva basx series looks promising for a home theatre
Watched to the 1:20 minute mark, where you draw a yellow box around a hilariously misaligned HDMI port. If that is any indication of the quality control at WiiM, I don't need to watch any more.
I'm inclined to agree with your findings. I have two setups - a near-field one at my workstation and a living room setup. While I thoroughly enjoy the Class D amps in my near-field setup - they fail to deliver to the level of even basic Class A/B amps from Denon/Marantz when I move them to the living room
I have been waiting to hear your take on this product launch. Direct and candid- appreciate that Andrew and Kristi.I am a Wiim owner and supporter but will wait for this product to evolve before buying. Was hoping it might handle a somewhat larger room- thank you for clarifying.
For a secondary TV/Music location, hard to find anything that competes? What else has 1) Hi-Res Streaming, 2) HDMI input, 3) a decent app to control it all, 4) compact, attractive design and 5) is less than even double what the Wiim Amp runs?. I do wish the wiim amp had a capability to drive an outboard amp (pre-amp out), and the TI based amp does have limitations, but other than going with an old school "AV receiver" that is huge and has tons of completely unneeded functions, what else is there out there? If Wiim either added pre-out to the Wiim Amp or HDMI input to the Wiim Pro +, it would take it to the next level...
Update on my problem with the Wiim Amp: I posted earlier that my unit had an audible hum with the use of the subwoofer and also would not trigger the shutdown of the subwoofer. Wiim filed a ticket and immediately sent me a new unit within 48 hours. Happy ending.
"Texas Instruments based amps", the problem is the power supply they are given. Thats not from google seach.. im a pro design engineer (audio is easy).
To be frank, Wiim does not need to pursue amplification. They need to focus on a well-measuring all-in one streamer preamp that includes the most prominent digital connections. HDMI ARC, Coax/Tos/USB for both Ins&Outs. Add a Amp with Digital In & done.
I would say those speakers are not the real match to the WiiM Amp. It should have been tested with some bookshelf speakers as most of the potential buyers will use something like that
I would expect the target market is for desktop and bookshelves with a subwoofer. Or for my kid in his room. Had zero expectations of using it in my main system.
I got one of the cheap digital amps recommended by another channel when i first got into quality music equipment, but I immediately replaced it with a Cambridge AXR100 for the reasons Andrew described.
I did not have the same experience with music, far different. For 299 the WIIM is a game changer for us regular folks. Strange, because we normally agree.
absolutly agree! 2 years ago till mid last year the Bluesound was the way to go. But this is half price do the same and sound great, no need for normal folks (I am too) to pay more. If you can get one! I get the WiiM pro plus instead and connect to my 1997 Marantz AMP
@@chotafallen8390 WiiM pro plus + 1997 Marantz AMP will sound much better because the problem with the WIIM amp is the TI amplifier chip and the week power supply. The rest is fine.
I've had my WiiM Amp since early Jan hooked up with my secondary TV/Listening area to a set of KEF q350s. It performs great in the smaller room and the integration features that makes the second area sooo much easier to setup. I would never use this in my primary listening area but, for a smaller system its perfect. Happy Listening folks!
Thank you for adding some perspective to the many cheap amps that are hitting the market. The attention grabbing headlines of many reviewers are things like: "game changer, giant killer, market disrupter, audiophile quality" etc. It makes me sometimes wonder if I can really put together a streamer, amp, and dac for $300 to $500 as my foundation and call it a day. When I put my own system together I followed many of your suggestions and invested in a quality amp, dac/ preamp, and speakers. It sounds so quiet, clean, and neutral (at any volume) that the only thing I look forward to purchasing periodically are better or different styles of speakers. I think if your foundation is good, upgrading your speakers will bring the most sonic improvements one can make. The dac and amp upgrades aren't nearly as important. Now I'm talking about having spent $1-2k on a well respected amp and the same for the dac/preamp. Perhaps in today's world of advancement (sometimes) that might even be a tad high. I did buy a Wiim streamer starting with a mini and upgrading to a pro for better computing power. Even though I bypass the Wiim dac, the mini does affect the quality of the sound. It's only apparent in a moderately revealing system, but it's definitely there. So even though I concede some budget items can fit into a real audiophile system, there is a jumping on point that one should consider which I think speaks to your video. $300 isn't much in the audiophile world, but it's a lot to some folks. I've been there. How frustrating would it be to spend your hard earned money only to hear it thin out and distort when you crank it up? Manufacturers and even at times, complicit reviewers know darn well that it's gonna fall apart in real world use. Yet they justify their over endorsement by saying to themselves "Well hey it's only $300. What do people expect?" They expect you to tell them the whole truth about the product with realistic expectation. Based on misleading reviews, purchasers are expecting sonic nirvana. Thanks for the video Andrew!
I think almost every half decent 20 - 40 year old amp or receiver will outperform this amp. Now add just a streamer like the WIIM mini and a 100$ DAC and you have the same features but much better sound.
I paired the WiiM amp with the leaf b6.2 and sound really nice. It replaces my older svs sound base. I will say in my opinion this sounds so much better than the sound base for half the price but I know it’s newer. Plus the WiiM interface is top tier.
Another great video Andrew! Always excited to hear your opinion. Although, I’m a big Schitt fan, currently. I’ve bought almost all of their products. And I’m having fun. But, I’ve got an itch to find a new audio relationship….maybe Hegel…audiolab?
Watching this while listening through my new WiiM amp. Thanks for sharing the good/bad. It’s not being used in my critical listening setup or where high volume is needed. So far I’m happy with the product.
Great review! Definitely not my product, but I can totally see the value for some people. It’s good to see more value products come up and somewhat shake up things in this hobby. It’s pretty long overdue. *cough hdmi arc cough* Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and day overall!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews what I really don’t understand about it, is that even from a business prospective, it makes no sense to keep hdmi arc out, as all you’re doing is putting your own product at a competitive disadvantage. Regardless of your customer based whether they want it in or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s a future proofing tiny port that sure, half your customer base will never touch, but guess what, the other half will look at all the brands around you and realize you’re the only one left without. I understand even in super high end products not including it, where it all analog system, but even then, McIntosh put it in as well in their integrated amps for 12K. You’re losing money by being “purist” but the reality is you’re just being stubborn and destructive towards your own brand.. kind of sad to see at this point.
Unfortunately, seems like many of the first unit appeared on the market weren’t really great. In wiim forum founded that right now this amp is already at revision 5 of its PCB version where distortion and hum seems to be not a problem anymore (with the problem that you faced, most likely you have rev 2). Probably wiim rushed a bit to join in the market with this new product before Christmas and, considering its price, was a smart move. Would be great to see an update of your review with an updated unit hardware and software side
@franciariano5118 I appreciate you weighing in and offering a little backstory about the issues and revisions this product has gone through. If what is being said in the forums is accurate, the issues we ran into should have been more widely reported in the press rather than a product being universally promoted. We were sent a PR sample directly from the brand's marketing team. If this is the sample they chose to send a reviewer, it calls into question the brand's entire QC process. To my knowledge, we were among the last reviewers to be sent this product, and in that instance, I don't know what is worse. A product that's had to go through 5 revisions in such short time and still has issues or WiiM is now suggesting poor QC. Neither are confidence building. Not only have they wasted our time but yours and possibly your money. How are WiiM owners being compensated for faulty hardware? This product and the craze surrounding it becomes more confusing by the minute.
Just a question please. I have a pm700n Marantz amp. Would getting a streamer like wiim pro plus improve sound and be better than heos? I don't like Heos because it transmits tidal at 16 bit 41khz and of all streaming companies only Amazon is streamed up to 24bit 192khz
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Fair enough, but with inexpensive products you may want to take a risk anyway if you know newer revisions are much better. Would be a really good data point for your viewers if you got a different unit and see if you run into the same issues. Impressions I get is that WIIM's after sales service is pretty good, so presumably you'd be able to swap out a dud if you happened to receive one.
Hi Andrew - I want to ask that you review on wall (not in wall) speakers. I realize these are never considered high quality. However, I live in a very small home, as I am sure many others do. I looked for a long time and stumbled into a Swedish brand DLS that sound great. Dali makes an on wall, as does KEF and Totem. I really want to upgrade my wall hangers - but would love to see reviews focused on on walls. Thanks in advance.
It's not an audiophile amp, its for people who only ever listen a moderate levels. You're better of getting a WIIM streamer and something like a Fosi ZA3 (x2) if you have a larger room and more difficult speakers. Still cheap but a lot more oomph.
Hi Andrew , give another chance to Wiim using Cornwall’s again, but with Subwoofer… With will use all the power in other frequencies better… please try that. Thanks from Portugal .
Luckily for Wiim people don't usually pair 4000 usd speakers with 300 usd amps, but sure, this amp can't truly compete with amps that cost 3x more like some peolple out there want us to believe. i think this amp is great for a desktop or maybe bedroom enviroment.
So, one important question: Did you test the Wiim Amp using a subwoofer, with the mains crossed over at 80Hz, 100Hz and 120Hz? Doing so would significantly reduce the demands on the internal amp which might result in performance improvements. Would you give that a try and let us know if makes a difference? Thanks a ton. Love your vids.
Adding a subwoofer to this amp and tweaking the in-app bass management doesn't fix or make the WiiM's power/dynamic woes magically disappear. Adding a sub also increases the noise floor for some reason and increases the humming from the amp itself. A recent firmware update was released to combat this issue; however, the update did not totally fix it, though it did lessen it.
Sometimes you have to take it all the way down after weeks of playing with different styles. It's not my favorite look and you'll likely NEVER see it again 😂
In my opinion, the WiiM is a great example of how measurements and one's personal experience don't always align and why you can entirely base your judgment, good or bad, on just one perspective.
Love the honesty here. Nobody can argue with the features offered here, but man, if there was just an option to use this as a preamp to pair with some of the other great, inexpensive amps that are around these days, it'd be a formidable setup.
Good Lord! Can you imagine the disruption a Wiim Preamp Streamer with the same feature set (especially with the same subwoofer out) would have on the budget hifi section of the market? Especially when considering budget audio fans can pretty much kit build power amps using ICEPower AS-series amp modules (the ones with integrated power supplies) with nothing but a screwdriver and a couple hours of time?
Thx for your honest review and lowering too high expectations. At this price its actually great for smaller rooms I think, I am very happy with my Wiim pro+ as a streamer which is just a bit cheaper. But I still prefer having dedicated parts for more flexibility in my chain and trying out / upgrading from time to time. But not everybody cares about that and dont want to spend much money.
I thought your review was well presented and thoughtful and reasonably comphensive. Would the A50 not be the competitor from Ayclic? The B50 doesn't do Wifi.
Thank you for the honest review Andrew and Kristi! I think what I love the most about the $300 WiiM Amp is how much of a wake-up call this creates with the competition. There is less and less excuse for higher priced products to not include the features this "cheap amp" has such as HDMI ARC input, decent supporting apps, network ability, etc. While this first generation WiiM Amp isn't for me...I can't wait to see what they come out with next.
You hit the nail on the head Bryan. Why is it that those of us who did our homework and invested in a quality amp often find ourselves with a "purist" amp regardless of the topography? The sound is amazing, but tone controls, sub outs, eq, tone control, remote (in my case 😂), probably not. Why? I know it's always BEEN that way, but to your point can't we keep the quality sound and even pay for it, but have these features that are showing up everywhere? It's not cheap to add stand alone units to a great amp. I had to use active high pass for my mains and an Rme ADI 2 dac to get a surprisingly good preamp (dead quiet autobiasing), dac, eq, remote and loudness. I thought I did it the cheapest way possible without making sonic compromises but dang! If Crown added more software to their XLS series, my oh my!
I feel that many small footprint/large power output Class-D amps tend to suffer from fatigue after playing music continuously for some time. Is that something that my overactive imagination is tricking me with or does it actually happen?
I'm just jumping in here real quick to address a question or critique I'm seeing a few of you make about our use of the Klipsch Cornwall IV speakers in this review. I fully understand that it is unlikely that anyone in their right mind would willingly go out and pair a $300 streaming amp with roughly $6,000 speakers. Still, you need to separate price from performance in this instance to understand the why. For starters, we used a few more pairs of speakers than the three mentioned in this video, as we've had the WiiM for months now. The Cornwall IVs were actually the LAST speaker I used with the amp, and I only used them because I was routinely running into power and dynamic issues with the WiiM.
I used the Cornwalls because they are the most efficient loudspeakers I own. They can be successfully driven to peaks above 90-95dB in our listening room using a 2 WPC Decware SET amp without a hint of strain, yet the WiiM and its reported 60 WPC struggled to crest 80dB in some cases. If I did manage to get peaks in the upper 80s the amp often shut down soon after hitting such volumes. If the WiiM struggles with a speaker like the Cornwall, you can imagine how much more difficult it was for the Q Acoustics Concept 50 (90.5dB at 4 Ohms) or the KLH Kendall 2F (96dB at 8 Ohms).
In this instance, the price or quality of the speaker is irrelevant; the WiiM's dynamic capability is the problem you should be focused on. While numerous tests show the WiiM can produce 60 WPC, it would appear that when forced to playback non-test signals, the resulting power or potential headroom of the Amp is a different story. This is something I've noticed with a number of these cheaper TI-based chip amps. I get that it's not a popular opinion to go against the grain and say that while these amps may be a "value" in one or two ways, they are NOT --I repeat, NOT --outright giant killers regarding amplifier and sound quality.
Feature-wise, the WiiM, and others are an absolute embarrassment of riches, but software is not the same as hardware. The truth is these are built around amp chips that were never (really) designed for the type of work they're being forced to do. Can these TI amps sound good? Sure, but I believe it is misleading to say they're as good, in the same ballpark, or even better than even a modest Class D, AB or A amp --nevermind amplifiers that cost thousands more and that have had to hold up to scrutiny beyond a couple of forums and weekend measurement warriors.
I am not trying to hate WiiM; like I say in the video, I'm trying to give you the clearest picture of what to expect. As I said in the review, if you adhere to a few general rules (which are stated in the video), you stand to have the best chance for success. But if you try and go toe-to-toe with a better, more capable amp with the wrong speakers or source, you may be in for a rude awakening in more ways than one.
Your job is always well done because it prepares potential buyers with what to expect. As for me” I wasn’t expecting much from it based on the price, and from what I have learned from your channel” I decided that for my small listening space couple with a subwoofer takeover the heavy lifting” it should be just fine and It is. My only thing now is even though It has a built in DAC plus EQ/ PEQ there is no good stereo separation and spaciousness. So I am going to see if I can get a use B&W or ML bookshelves speakers to see if I can squeeze some more life out of it 🥸
I don't care what you a pairing them with....you could be reviewing broccoli but as long as you show me those Cornwall's, I am a happy man.
Andrew sounds apologetic and he really shouldn’t be.
He stated in the video why the Cornwalls made more technical sense than others in their review stack of speakers to use for the Wiim Amp review. Getting on their case about that decision and the disappointing results helps frame that budget product better in its strengths and weaknesses. I’m now better informed about the Amp and have a clearer outlook for its best use case which is appropriately nearfield or small room with lower volume setting. Don’t expect 11 when you should be dialing in 7.
That makes sense to me. A super sensitive speaker is just the ticket to test an amplifier’s dynamic capabilities without involving excessive power needs. If you’re not going to use Klipsch then whose?
Could you a bad unit? If it's as bad as you say I would expect this in other reviews. 80 db is not that loud.
This is NOT the review I expected - The first review I've heard that didn't just "praise" this amp. I own 3 Wiim mini's, and love them. Great products with ever improving updates. I'm sure this company will go a long way. That said, Thank you for your assessment and honest opinion on this piece. I don't own one and it isn't really on my radar, but it's nice to hear a different opinion for once.
IS IT JUST ME OR IS THE HDMI-ARC PORT SO CROOKED TILTED TO THE LEFT AND NOT AT SEA LEVEL?
I think it would be a better mactch with a pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub if necessary. Wish to hear how it sounds when pairing with some quality bookshelf spearkers from martin logan, polk, etc.
The input gain on most of the 3255 amps isn’t very high. Some of them have 48V 5A power supply option(like the Fosi V3, Ayima A07 and Max and the new Fosi za3)
This makes them way more capable with dynamics but definitely doesn’t solve the signal gain issue. The solution is to boost the input voltage and use the high current/voltage power supply. The problem with that is that you don’t get the awesome dsp and hdmi features of the Wiim(which has an anemic power supply inside)
The way I like to use TPA3255 amps is to use them to directly drive an individual driver with a dsp acting as crossover. Using a 4ohm driver and 48v power supply on every amp except the tweeter, you can get some pretty impressive volume levels and dynamic range. Let’s face it though, that’s way too complicated for most people.
If you want to try TPA3255 for cheap, I’d recommend getting the Ayima A07 max with the 48v power supply. It has the highest input gain and can be converted to mono if you want to upgrade later by getting a second one.
The ZA3 has a mono subwoofer out which actually tracks with the volume pot but it doesn’t filter the main channels so I don’t find that to be very useful.
The most impressive thing actually about these tpa3255 amps is actually the 48v 5A power supply that fosi and Ayima are using. That thing is amazingly clean as a power supply and it costs $50 is which is pretty impressive considering how it measures (especially the fosi unit which Works on all of the 3255 amps).
I would like to see Andrew revisit the 3255 amps with the 48v 5A supply, he might be surprised. In a previous video he mentioned that he didn’t like the idea of someone having to pay extra for that but you can buy these with that power supply from the start and it’s pretty affordable. The 3255 really does need that voltage and current to pull off good dynamics.
That being said, there are way better amps out there, these are just fun to play with especially if you need 6 channels of amplification for a 3 or 4way pair of speakers running active. I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone else doing this with these amps.
I’ve chased the chi-fi craze. Mostly disappointed. Thin. Lean. Soulless. Wiim has it together on the streamer/app gig. They’ve won that battle, to me. I’m always going back to class AB or the hard to find, and hot, class A. Also, the AKM chips are crazy good. 4491 with 4499ex. That’s just perfection. But, for those on a tighter budget, happy listening and enjoy!
Bought the WiiM Amp after Christmas and using it for over a month in a 'smaller' livingroom in a 2.1 setup. First tested it with Mission LX-2 speakers and then with the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 in combination with a SVS SB-1000 Sub. Because of the neighbours, I never could turn the volume up a 100%. For the average Joe (like me) the WiiM Amp is more then sufficient and gives you a great bang for the buck. You're right that the WiiM Amp is not the right choice for a 'big' room or 'big' speakers, but that is not what it pretend to be. I would like to give one suggestion, try to test the speakers with and without a subwoofer and give us a report about the difference it makes in performance. PS. Sorry for my Englisch, it's only my 3e langues and I don't use it everyday. Thank you for your effort!
Adding or subtracting a subwoofer, at least in our room, didn't solve or completely do away with the WiiM's apparent power/dynamic limitations when playing back at volumes of about 60-70dB + in room.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Thanks for your reaction. Because I've to rely on my hearing and have no professional equipment to support my 'feeling', it felt like the addition of the sub, took away some 'pressure' from the speakers and made the total sound picture better. But that is probably my wishful thinking. Thank you again.
Is that HDMI port… crooked?
The whole back panel looks poorly machined even at this price point
Savage. That ruined it right from the start 😂
Yes
It looks so cheap
Sure looks like it
Thanks Andrew and Kristi, the Wiim Amp really is a gateway product to Hi fi and for the price and right setting it’s a direct punch to Sonos and Bluesound. The streamers are still the best value proposition in audio.
In Australia, audio equipment and the hobby generally is expensive, and everyone is always looking out of the latest, greatest, slick looking device, wiim does fit the bill for masses.
Looking at yours and your colleagues reviews, from what I’ve seen Wiim does seem to pay attention to reviews so good chance they will refine this.
Bookshelf speakers & sub, smaller listening area....
This is the best review of this product I've heard yet. We'll done Mr. Robertson
Andrew and Kristi. I'm late to the party with my comments. However, I'm glad that i waited. It gave me time read through the viewer comments. So, I'd like to thank you for providing an objective review of this device, highlighting the good and the bad; best use cases and worst use cases. I also appreciate the fact that you used super sensitive speakers to test the amplifier, since they are so efficient. You essentially gave the amplifier the best opportunity to shine by using super sensitive speakers. I think it's important to listen, first to the entire review to get the facts and the full picture, and then ask follow-up questions. 😉
wiim are really interesting to me because they seem to be one of the only companies meeting me where I'm at, Sonos and arylic are intent on building their own ecosystem and they're just.... wrong about it. i have an Android phone, i am going to use chromecast, I have a Mac, I'm going to use airplay. i HATE closing my music app and opening a separate speaker app, it drives me nuts that every company is desperate to drive me to their own, universally worse, app, its ridiculous hubris to think you're better at this than tidal, or whoever. it's a bummer that this amp isn't quite there, but at least we know the wiim amp pro 2 S Max will be out 6 months and probably address at least half of these complaints.
What's the deal with that mis-aligned HDMI port?
That's definitely an OCD trigger.
Thank you. I couldn't stop looking at that. Had to even pause the video to confirm I wasn't mis-seeing something.
Same, so much for build quality.@@iamnatis
For me, it's a minor concern. At least it's on the back. Maybe you all have forgotten our Leak stereo amp review. People lost their minds over the crooked button on the front and that product cost far more than this one.
You set it up for failure.
It should be set up as bedroom set up with mini monitors and powered sub that fills in lows and punch .
This is not living room amp
In a way WiiM themselves set this amp up for failure. It's not a true 60w amp, as Erin's review will confirm - in peak loads it loses half its power, which is not common in good amplifiers. It's a great amp for small to medium rooms with efficient speakers.
@@MohsinWadee Even 30 watts per channel will be enough to power efficient book shelf speakers when lows are directed to the sub , such set up can play plenty loud and clean for smaller rooms
@@kdomster9141this is not the first review to suggest that this amp does not behave like it truly outputs 60w. Gist of the matter is temper your expectations, other reviews reported clipping.
We told you as much in the review and couldn't have been able to provide you with that information without testing the WiiM to its limits. I wish people would hold the product up to the same standard as this or any review rather than continue to make excuses for a limited-use, poorly-designed product.
The crooked HDMI port, is curious.... Anyone know if that is soldered to a board or somehow wired to a board?
To me, amps like this are aimed at bookshelf systems with powered subwoofers, for small to medium sized rooms. Given this, I find your choice of speakers baffling.
The misalignment of the HDMI port is pretty telling.
If I had $300 + $200 for speakers, I’d be looking at a heavily discounted Klipsch Five.
That would be a potentially nice alternative!
I own a pair and they go louder than the WIIM amp. Because of that, I'm returning the W A
The WIM's crappy power supply doesn't provide enough power - there are a few TI 3255 based amps that get it right, like the offerings from Ayima or Fosi Audio.
You may have a point that more voltage and current in the power supply might help. But the WiiM's power supply is internal and operates from AC input. There is no "upgrade" path as there is with some Chi-Fi amps based on the TI (ne Tripath)'s TPA3255 IC. What you bought is all you will ever get.
2. The class-D amp chip used so widely in these Chi-Fi amplifiers are rated so misleadingly that it's arguably dishonest. 315 Watts output into 4 ohms at 10% THD? 10% THD will sound horrible and might blow your tweeters. 10% THD is not a usable output. The rating at 1% is still audible. At age 60, I can still reliably detect distortion at -45 dB/0.5% THD so even the 1% power rating is at a point that people with normal hearing will likely detect and cause fatigue.
The TI device is capable of at MOST 100 W/ch RMS into 8 ohms with the highest voltage supply the chip can take, before distortion rapidly becomes apparent. 200 Watts into 4 ohms, maybe, with the same very rapid climb into gross distortion once you increase the volume even a small amount above that level. 300W, never ever. Can't happen.
With hyper-efficient Klipsch speakers (maybe a two way KP-300m II would be a more realistic pairing, but Andrew's point was that at this level of efficiency, it should play louder than it did, and that would likely be true of any efficient speaker). So why didn't it play louder?
Perhaps the internal power supply is under-designed to meet a price or size objective. Perhaps it was a QC flaw in the particular unit and a re-test with a different unit would deliver much better performance at high output levels.
For long-term expandability, what I did was buy the WiiM Pro streamer. It feeds an outboard integrated amp. There is nothing missing from the streamer than I feel would drive me to replace it, and the 160W/ch (0.1% THD) amplifier has no trouble lighting up a pair of UF52 towers to silly volumes.
For a desktop system or a small bedroom 2.1, it may be hard to find better for $300. The HDMI input especially makes it a great value proposition.
But if you want hi-fi in a large room, thanks to this review, you way want to go with a separate streamer and amplifier. WiiM still holds the value champion crown IMHO.
Finally, some light being shed on what I have experienced with the Wiim amp. It's always the case - the hype train always glosses over the whole truth with regard to what really lies behind the facade.
This was a really great review. It’s refreshing to see a reviewer cover all aspects of the product and not just the positives. Did anyone else notice the hdmi input being cockeyed, definitely speaks to quality.
Yeah the HDMI port is crooked for sure. Stuck out to me right away.
I immediately noticed that as well.
Am I wrong to think when I see 60wpc @ 8 double @ 4, plus a sub out, the brand is screaming "this is for a Bookie/Sub setup" !?!?
brooooooo! I miss the beard :(, but yeah no surprise on this review, sadly many of these little asian amps rate wattage at 10% THD which does mislead many consumers. Your review is about what I was expecting. But man that thing certainly does look beautiful!!
RADIO SHACK SOUND METER! RADIO SHACK AHHHH GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN 😊
The issue with these TPA3255 based amps is their power rating is linear with the voltage (at lower volumes) or the current (at higher volumes) coming from the power supply. It sounds like the DC voltage of the WiiM Amp is plenty (32V) but the current might be limited to < 5 A. Thanks for testing it with the Cornwalls, it really shows the limit of this affordable amp.
Honestly I would consider this unit as more of a small place product. Bedroom, office,study. Anything bigger than that I would look elsewhere.
The wiim would probably perform better with some high efficiency bookshelves and a sub since the bass management would take some load off the amp by removing lower frequencies from the speaker outputs.
Adding a sub does not solve this product’s power woes. It also results in more noise from the chassis and speakers being audible.
I'm kind of surprised you never re-ran your listening tests with a subwoofer hooked up to the LFE out and engaging the app's internal bass management you briefly mentioned. I would imagine the amp would gain quite a bit of headroom by allocating bass amplification to an external sub. I'm curious to see if it would make a huge difference it its tonality as well.
I use the wiim amp in my garage where I have a small home office. It is fantastic for that situation but I wouldn't want it upstairs where I do most of my listening and movie watching.
This is the type of review that sets this channel apart from the pack of "BEST HIFI VALUE AMP" hype machine. Thank you both! I think it was a very fair review considering you tested it with and without a sub, and with and without highly efficient speakers. Unfortunate to see the amplifier section is not quite there yet. I pre-ordered mine from Crutchfield 3 months ago (thank you Lord for a generous return policy in cases like this) but it still hasn't arrived yet. They are supposedly working out software issues. But for myself, its for a small 10x12 secondary room. Hoping it'll have enough headroom in a small room like that but we will see once it arrives. Thanks again for this review!
I have the Wiim Pro streamer. The things great. I run it into my DAC and it sounds great.
I've owned the WiiM amp for about six weeks. This review meshes almost exactly with my experiences, so it's validating to have what I hear backed up. The dynamics really are noticeably lacking, and that's by far its biggest shortcoming. If it sounded like 60wpc of goodness, this would be one of the best audio products in years. It sounds like an underpowered kit amp. That's not to say it sounds BAD, it just doesn't take a song you love and shake you loose from your day.
I disagree with the built-in power supply being a bonus - outboarding it would allow for a much beefier power supply and perhaps swappable options. Integrating it seems like it turned into too severe of a compromise. Adding a sub makes matters a little better in my experience so far, which is the wildest part. A relatively high crossover point (~70-80Hz) appears to free up some headroom.
What would make this thing significantly better? Pre-outs. If a software update can turn the analog ins to analog outs, I'd be thrillled. 😂
I've noticed a lot fewer updates than Andrew, though.
Obviously (to me), the most common appplication would be a sub satt set up crossed over around 80 hz. Not testing it with a sub which would drop the power load on the amp is a big miss.
No Andrew you are not a snob. What has happened is that you have tested the champagne and caviar of music equipment and your ears and vision will never be the same. Yes it’s only £299 but issues are issues and if they are there thank you for pointing them out. Still a lot of people will put up with it because of the price.
I’m buying the WiiM for its lightweight & portability, not as a focal point for a critical listening setup. It will be in my back patio or my garage powering an old pair of Klipsch R-51Ms or Energy micros w/sub when enjoying the outdoors or working on my car or bikes. So the WiiM amp really is the perfect solution for my use case. I also really love the clean Applesque design of the WiiM.
Chip based amps have changed the audio landscape, there are some good ones out there. I’ll still take a class ab 100% call me old school (or just old.) Thanks for the honest review.
Hmm, this is interesting. I have an Aiyima A07 on my desk and a CA AXR100 running my 2.1 system in the living room. After watching this, I decided to try my A07(same amp chip as Wiim amp) with my towers. My Jamo Concert 11s are nowhere near as sensitive as those cornwalls, and the little amp drove them easily to eardrum slaughtering levels with a 36V 6A PSU. Phone was showing about 90dB average and peaks in triple digits. I don’t know if it sounded “good” as I was plugging my ears, but the volume was there, and I played through some bass heavy tracks and it was rattling cabinets. Noise floor is excellent as well. Wonder if something is wrong with this unit.
The review was pretty good. One peeve. "if you are willing to spend a little more" on what planet is a little more over 3 times the price? What about the LOXJIE A40? Any better?
I do not recommend any of these cheaper Texas Instruments-based amplifiers as they all have the same issues I discuss here and in other videos I've made about them. The TI chip was never intended for hifi use, it was designed initially for small, portable electronics, think laptops etc. It simply does not do nor produce the sound the manufacturers claim (many of which are all subsidiaries of one another producing the same product under different names). Additionally the amp's struggle with speakers who's impedances may dip to 4 Ohms, or whose impedances fluctuate, which is all speakers by the way. For small-small spaces or on a desktop these amps MAY work fine for 90% of users, but these are NOT giant killers who's sound and performance outdoes amps costing 2,3,4 or 5x more.
I think hdmi capability is glossed over too much with this amp. The ability to pair this with bookshelf speakers and a sub for a TV in a bedroom or small to average sized living room is pretty awesome. Most other amps getting compared to the Wiim are either analog only or 5x the price. There is definitely a niche for this thing, but I at least think the niche is pretty awesome.
A very balanced review, many other reviews raved how this is a giant killer. These small affordable amps have a proper use case scenario. Appreciate the fact you show it wont work in most larger rooms and is primarily a near field solution.
It's absolutely clear that there are no alternatives with same functionality, sound quality and price bellow three c-notes. In moment it's the best solution for your home universal system (TV and music) with total budget bellow one grand.
Why HDMI port on it is so crooked? 😂
I was thinking the same thing 😅. All of the inputs seem a little off.
I got the amp back in November 2023 and I am using as a 2.1, a pair of 5inc bookshelf speakers and 8inch powered subwoofer and it’s sound very loud and great, I think this is the best way to use this amp by handing off the heavy lifting to a powered subwoofer 🎉😊
I’m going to have to disagree on this one Andrew, but perhaps my use case is just vastly different from yours.
I recently switched from a pair of Klipsch The Fives (that you reviewed favourably) to the Wiim Amp and Klipsch RP500M IIs. For me this is a small living room setup and the new passive speakers + Wiim amp cost slightly less than what I originally payed for the Fives.
I played them side by side while I still had both and I was far more impressed by the sound coming from the new setup. I was fully prepared to return my new purchases if the sound wasn’t better and made sure to buy from retailers that were easy to work with. However, it was no contest in the end.
I understand my comparison point is between two class-D amps rather than more premium Class A or Class A/B but I was looking for a compact unit. The Fives were a great solution, just didn’t impress in sound clarity.
Beyond the base sound though, the feature set is what really impressed me with the Wiim. Even if you don’t like the out-of-the-box sound from your setup, you have a great EQ and PEQ to work with. The Klipsch only had a basic EQ with “Low”, “Mid” and “High”. You couldn’t even change the subwoofer crossover on the Fives. I also considered the Bluesound, they also give you just a basic 2-band EQ. I personally don’t like being “locked-in” to a type of sound and being forced to find hardware solutions (different speakers, room treatment etc.) to fix a software problem.
I also have not faced any of the issues you have with noise from the Amp and it shutting off when you drive them harder. Admittedly, it seems they have had some quality control issues with the first few batches (as reported on their forums) but I seem to have been lucky. I’m wondering if you received a unit that has some of those issues?
All in all, my personal experience with the Wiim amp has been very positive. I did have slightly lower expectations knowing it is a D-class budget amp but I think this is a better sounding alternative than something like The Fives (HDMI-enabled all in one powered speakers). Even if the sound was even, much better control and connectivity.
I know he has a bad early sample because the RCA inputs on the back are the wrong way around - they swapped them in the corrected versions. Mine has been great for me, powering a pair of floor standers and making the old huge Yamaha amp redundant. Plenty of volume always below 50% in a medium sized room.
My experience as well. I wanted something small with the WAF and was concerned this would sound too thin and lifeless. Replaced a vintage 70's Pioneer amp and honestly am quite impressed. No volume issues, plays loud enough and I have heard details in some familiar songs I hadn't noticed before. I purchased an Aiyima 07 Max with 48 watt power supply to compare and there is no comparison. My opinion is the Wiim is better...much better . For the price, I couldn't be happier.
@robinsonbrand | Perhaps I missed something? If not, why the heck did not try unloading the amp by offloading low frequencies from it using the built-in sub-out/base-management functionality? It might have helped the higher-SPL problems...
Agreed…where is the sun out bass management discussion?
Thats a significant feature you ignored…pls update this review with a suitable sub using the BM and would think the top end issues should/may resolve?
Well made ....that HDMI input is 🤪
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Hi Andrew, i should say i was really waiting for review on this. I would request you to do a video on KEF T205 5.0 speaker system. Which would help i vesting on that system for people who are picky on the interiod design for living room setup. Thanks in advance.
the integrated power supply is weak i suppose as 32v should do 60w but a large room like yours needs a bigger amp. Id like to see more cheaper amps like fosi audio V3 with a 48v power supply. emotiva basx series looks promising for a home theatre
Topping LA90 discrete also id recommend for a review
Watched to the 1:20 minute mark, where you draw a yellow box around a hilariously misaligned HDMI port. If that is any indication of the quality control at WiiM, I don't need to watch any more.
I'm inclined to agree with your findings. I have two setups - a near-field one at my workstation and a living room setup. While I thoroughly enjoy the Class D amps in my near-field setup - they fail to deliver to the level of even basic Class A/B amps from Denon/Marantz when I move them to the living room
My Wiim amp is powering my 30K Harbeths just fine. I moved these to my vacation home and it's the perfect solution.
Morning all!
Good morning!
I have been waiting to hear your take on this product launch. Direct and candid- appreciate that Andrew and Kristi.I am a Wiim owner and supporter but will wait for this product to evolve before buying. Was hoping it might handle a somewhat larger room- thank you for clarifying.
Please review the Sonos Amp!
This review is spot on. Bought the Wiim Amp to see what the hype was about and was left disappointed.
Cool. Another sunday. Coffee in hand
Hope you enjoy the video!
Morning!
If you already have an amp, you can get the Wiim Pro Plus.
For a secondary TV/Music location, hard to find anything that competes? What else has 1) Hi-Res Streaming, 2) HDMI input, 3) a decent app to control it all, 4) compact, attractive design and 5) is less than even double what the Wiim Amp runs?. I do wish the wiim amp had a capability to drive an outboard amp (pre-amp out), and the TI based amp does have limitations, but other than going with an old school "AV receiver" that is huge and has tons of completely unneeded functions, what else is there out there?
If Wiim either added pre-out to the Wiim Amp or HDMI input to the Wiim Pro +, it would take it to the next level...
Good morning, friends! I hope that everyone has a wonderful Sunday.
Same to you!
Definitely interested in Kristi’s opinion on this one. Ive never been on board w these mini amps. Just not for me
She's got you covered this week!
Update on my problem with the Wiim Amp: I posted earlier that my unit had an audible hum with the use of the subwoofer and also would not trigger the shutdown of the subwoofer. Wiim filed a ticket and immediately sent me a new unit within 48 hours. Happy ending.
I'm happy to hear they replaced your unit.
"Texas Instruments based amps", the problem is the power supply they are given. Thats not from google seach.. im a pro design engineer (audio is easy).
My fav part of this amp is the bass management. I’d rather have bass management in my amp than hdmi (or any DAC for that matter).
To be frank, Wiim does not need to pursue amplification. They need to focus on a well-measuring all-in one streamer preamp that includes the most prominent digital connections. HDMI ARC, Coax/Tos/USB for both Ins&Outs. Add a Amp with Digital In & done.
They have that, it’s called the wiim pro plus.
No HDMI ARC
I would say those speakers are not the real match to the WiiM Amp. It should have been tested with some bookshelf speakers as most of the potential buyers will use something like that
Please see my pinned comment.
Yikes. Where did the beard go?
Just bought this to pair with my Dali Zensor 1 for my near field desk setup. First impressions are it's bloody brilliant.
Thank you, you saved me 300 bucks! This is the best review about this overhyped product!
I would expect the target market is for desktop and bookshelves with a subwoofer. Or for my kid in his room. Had zero expectations of using it in my main system.
Seems to me, for $300 it's best to go with a WiiM Pro Plus streamer feeding a Fosi ZA3 with swappable op amps which has been given high praise lately.
I got one of the cheap digital amps recommended by another channel when i first got into quality music equipment, but I immediately replaced it with a Cambridge AXR100 for the reasons Andrew described.
I did not have the same experience with music, far different. For 299 the WIIM is a game changer for us regular folks. Strange, because we normally agree.
absolutly agree! 2 years ago till mid last year the Bluesound was the way to go. But this is half price do the same and sound great, no need for normal folks (I am too) to pay more.
If you can get one! I get the WiiM pro plus instead and connect to my 1997 Marantz AMP
@@chotafallen8390 WiiM pro plus + 1997 Marantz AMP will sound much better because the problem with the WIIM amp is the TI amplifier chip and the week power supply. The rest is fine.
I've had my WiiM Amp since early Jan hooked up with my secondary TV/Listening area to a set of KEF q350s. It performs great in the smaller room and the integration features that makes the second area sooo much easier to setup.
I would never use this in my primary listening area but, for a smaller system its perfect.
Happy Listening folks!
I would also like to use it with the Q350, is it a good match?
Thank you for adding some perspective to the many cheap amps that are hitting the market. The attention grabbing headlines of many reviewers are things like: "game changer, giant killer, market disrupter, audiophile quality" etc. It makes me sometimes wonder if I can really put together a streamer, amp, and dac for $300 to $500 as my foundation and call it a day.
When I put my own system together I followed many of your suggestions and invested in a quality amp, dac/ preamp, and speakers. It sounds so quiet, clean, and neutral (at any volume) that the only thing I look forward to purchasing periodically are better or different styles of speakers. I think if your foundation is good, upgrading your speakers will bring the most sonic improvements one can make. The dac and amp upgrades aren't nearly as important. Now I'm talking about having spent $1-2k on a well respected amp and the same for the dac/preamp. Perhaps in today's world of advancement (sometimes) that might even be a tad high.
I did buy a Wiim streamer starting with a mini and upgrading to a pro for better computing power. Even though I bypass the Wiim dac, the mini does affect the quality of the sound. It's only apparent in a moderately revealing system, but it's definitely there. So even though I concede some budget items can fit into a real audiophile system, there is a jumping on point that one should consider which I think speaks to your video. $300 isn't much in the audiophile world, but it's a lot to some folks. I've been there. How frustrating would it be to spend your hard earned money only to hear it thin out and distort when you crank it up? Manufacturers and even at times, complicit reviewers know darn well that it's gonna fall apart in real world use. Yet they justify their over endorsement by saying to themselves "Well hey it's only $300. What do people expect?" They expect you to tell them the whole truth about the product with realistic expectation. Based on misleading reviews, purchasers are expecting sonic nirvana. Thanks for the video Andrew!
I think almost every half decent 20 - 40 year old amp or receiver will outperform this amp. Now add just a streamer like the WIIM mini and a 100$ DAC and you have the same features but much better sound.
I paired the WiiM amp with the leaf b6.2 and sound really nice. It replaces my older svs sound base. I will say in my opinion this sounds so much better than the sound base for half the price but I know it’s newer. Plus the WiiM interface is top tier.
Another great video Andrew! Always excited to hear your opinion. Although, I’m a big Schitt fan, currently. I’ve bought almost all of their products. And I’m having fun. But, I’ve got an itch to find a new audio relationship….maybe Hegel…audiolab?
Watching this while listening through my new WiiM amp. Thanks for sharing the good/bad. It’s not being used in my critical listening setup or where high volume is needed. So far I’m happy with the product.
:) Thank you for watching.
@@KristiWright 😊
Great review! Definitely not my product, but I can totally see the value for some people. It’s good to see more value products come up and somewhat shake up things in this hobby. It’s pretty long overdue. *cough hdmi arc cough*
Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and day overall!
Thanks! Always appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts. We just got a new product for 2024 and the brand left HDMI off! Yikes!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews what I really don’t understand about it, is that even from a business prospective, it makes no sense to keep hdmi arc out, as all you’re doing is putting your own product at a competitive disadvantage. Regardless of your customer based whether they want it in or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s a future proofing tiny port that sure, half your customer base will never touch, but guess what, the other half will look at all the brands around you and realize you’re the only one left without. I understand even in super high end products not including it, where it all analog system, but even then, McIntosh put it in as well in their integrated amps for 12K. You’re losing money by being “purist” but the reality is you’re just being stubborn and destructive towards your own brand.. kind of sad to see at this point.
Thanks for an honest review Andrew and not a 'this blows so and so out the water ' one, why you and Kristi are the ones to trust.
Unfortunately, seems like many of the first unit appeared on the market weren’t really great. In wiim forum founded that right now this amp is already at revision 5 of its PCB version where distortion and hum seems to be not a problem anymore (with the problem that you faced, most likely you have rev 2). Probably wiim rushed a bit to join in the market with this new product before Christmas and, considering its price, was a smart move. Would be great to see an update of your review with an updated unit hardware and software side
Yes, sadly a well known problem with the early revision - would love to see an updated review with rev 5 or later.
10000o0000000ooo00000000000000000000000000000000000
@franciariano5118
I appreciate you weighing in and offering a little backstory about the issues and revisions this product has gone through. If what is being said in the forums is accurate, the issues we ran into should have been more widely reported in the press rather than a product being universally promoted. We were sent a PR sample directly from the brand's marketing team. If this is the sample they chose to send a reviewer, it calls into question the brand's entire QC process. To my knowledge, we were among the last reviewers to be sent this product, and in that instance, I don't know what is worse. A product that's had to go through 5 revisions in such short time and still has issues or WiiM is now suggesting poor QC. Neither are confidence building. Not only have they wasted our time but yours and possibly your money. How are WiiM owners being compensated for faulty hardware? This product and the craze surrounding it becomes more confusing by the minute.
Just a question please. I have a pm700n Marantz amp. Would getting a streamer like wiim pro plus improve sound and be better than heos? I don't like Heos because it transmits tidal at 16 bit 41khz and of all streaming companies only Amazon is streamed up to 24bit 192khz
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Fair enough, but with inexpensive products you may want to take a risk anyway if you know newer revisions are much better. Would be a really good data point for your viewers if you got a different unit and see if you run into the same issues. Impressions I get is that WIIM's after sales service is pretty good, so presumably you'd be able to swap out a dud if you happened to receive one.
Hi Andrew - I want to ask that you review on wall (not in wall) speakers. I realize these are never considered high quality. However, I live in a very small home, as I am sure many others do. I looked for a long time and stumbled into a Swedish brand DLS that sound great. Dali makes an on wall, as does KEF and Totem. I really want to upgrade my wall hangers - but would love to see reviews focused on on walls. Thanks in advance.
You guys could review potting soil and somehow you would likely draw me in and get me excited about it.
Thank you, Harry. I think reviewing potting soil sounds like fun. Surely people don't get upset about those things?
@@KristiWright I'm certain there is a terroir terrorist out there waiting to take umbrage to any wayward potting soil remarks.🤣
It's not an audiophile amp, its for people who only ever listen a moderate levels. You're better of getting a WIIM streamer and something like a Fosi ZA3 (x2) if you have a larger room and more difficult speakers. Still cheap but a lot more oomph.
Hi Andrew , give another chance to Wiim using Cornwall’s again, but with Subwoofer…
With will use all the power in other frequencies better… please try that.
Thanks from Portugal .
Its a good review, you can't make everyone happy and you're doing the work for them, so forget them!
Kristi's review comments are killing it...she's able to see who this product might be right for.
Thank you :)
Luckily for Wiim people don't usually pair 4000 usd speakers with 300 usd amps, but sure, this amp can't truly compete with amps that cost 3x more like some peolple out there want us to believe. i think this amp is great for a desktop or maybe bedroom enviroment.
Try $6,600 USD
So, one important question: Did you test the Wiim Amp using a subwoofer, with the mains crossed over at 80Hz, 100Hz and 120Hz? Doing so would significantly reduce the demands on the internal amp which might result in performance improvements. Would you give that a try and let us know if makes a difference? Thanks a ton. Love your vids.
Adding a subwoofer to this amp and tweaking the in-app bass management doesn't fix or make the WiiM's power/dynamic woes magically disappear. Adding a sub also increases the noise floor for some reason and increases the humming from the amp itself. A recent firmware update was released to combat this issue; however, the update did not totally fix it, though it did lessen it.
Isn't it pronounced "WEEM" ???
Huh. This guy kinda looks like Andrew... But... something's missing.
If all you care about is features jammed into a small box, this is your box.
Clean shave!😃 happy Sunday K&A
Sometimes you have to take it all the way down after weeks of playing with different styles. It's not my favorite look and you'll likely NEVER see it again 😂
Hello, I've been waiting for that one (your opinion)
Hopefully, this video is helpful for you! Thanks for watching!
"Test signals are not the same as music" This is the golden sentence that needs to be etched in a 2 tonne stone and then delivered to Amir at ASR.
In my opinion, the WiiM is a great example of how measurements and one's personal experience don't always align and why you can entirely base your judgment, good or bad, on just one perspective.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Agreed. A good analogy is measured and advertised MPG on a car vs what it gives in downtown Manhattan 😁
Love the honesty here. Nobody can argue with the features offered here, but man, if there was just an option to use this as a preamp to pair with some of the other great, inexpensive amps that are around these days, it'd be a formidable setup.
Good Lord! Can you imagine the disruption a Wiim Preamp Streamer with the same feature set (especially with the same subwoofer out) would have on the budget hifi section of the market? Especially when considering budget audio fans can pretty much kit build power amps using ICEPower AS-series amp modules (the ones with integrated power supplies) with nothing but a screwdriver and a couple hours of time?
Thanks for a useful review of this product. Too many "reviewers" out there representing it as the giant killer.
It's a great value if you consider all of the features you're getting for not that much money., but sound quality-wise, it is not a giant killer.
Thx for your honest review and lowering too high expectations. At this price its actually great for smaller rooms I think, I am very happy with my Wiim pro+ as a streamer which is just a bit cheaper. But I still prefer having dedicated parts for more flexibility in my chain and trying out / upgrading from time to time. But not everybody cares about that and dont want to spend much money.
I thought your review was well presented and thoughtful and reasonably comphensive. Would the A50 not be the competitor from Ayclic? The B50 doesn't do Wifi.
Thank you for the honest review Andrew and Kristi! I think what I love the most about the $300 WiiM Amp is how much of a wake-up call this creates with the competition. There is less and less excuse for higher priced products to not include the features this "cheap amp" has such as HDMI ARC input, decent supporting apps, network ability, etc. While this first generation WiiM Amp isn't for me...I can't wait to see what they come out with next.
It does make the lack of certain features in more expensive products like glaring omissions.
If they add a better Class D amp to it (enough with these TI chips that can't deliver on their own promises) I'll be first in line to scoop one up!
You hit the nail on the head Bryan. Why is it that those of us who did our homework and invested in a quality amp often find ourselves with a "purist" amp regardless of the topography? The sound is amazing, but tone controls, sub outs, eq, tone control, remote (in my case 😂), probably not. Why? I know it's always BEEN that way, but to your point can't we keep the quality sound and even pay for it, but have these features that are showing up everywhere? It's not cheap to add stand alone units to a great amp. I had to use active high pass for my mains and an Rme ADI 2 dac to get a surprisingly good preamp (dead quiet autobiasing), dac, eq, remote and loudness. I thought I did it the cheapest way possible without making sonic compromises but dang! If Crown added more software to their XLS series, my oh my!
I feel that many small footprint/large power output Class-D amps tend to suffer from fatigue after playing music continuously for some time.
Is that something that my overactive imagination is tricking me with or does it actually happen?