HiFi Money SAVER? What To Know BEFORE YOU BUY! WiiM Amp Review
Summary
TLDRThis video reviews the Wiim Mini integrated amplifier, which packs wireless streaming, analog and digital inputs, and 60W per channel into an affordably priced, compact package. The reviewer praises its sleek design and streaming capabilities but finds it has limited headroom and dynamic punch, distorting at higher volumes or with demanding material. He says it excels for background listening but sounds clinical and strained when pushed. While a good value, it may not satisfy critical listeners or compete with separates that cost just a bit more.
Takeaways
- 😀 The Wiim Mini Amp offers good value and features for its low $299 price point.
- 👍 It has a stylish, compact design similar to more expensive products.
- 🔊 The amp provides 60W per channel and includes a subwoofer output.
- 🎧 It supports various streaming services, AirPlay, Bluetooth and more.
- 💡 The HDMI ARC input allows using it with a TV for 2.1 home theater setups.
- 🎛️ There is manual EQ capability via the app, but inconsistent Bluetooth/AirPlay.
- 🔉 Sound quality is good at lower volumes, but struggles at higher volumes.
- 😕 It lacks dynamic capability for genres with wide dynamic range.
- 🎼 Overall good for smaller spaces if not listening loudly.
- 👍 Integrates well into a Google/smart home for background listening.
Q & A
What are some key features of the Wiim Mini Amp?
-The Wiim Mini Amp offers 60 watts per channel, a built-in ESS Sabre DAC, analog and digital inputs like optical and USB, the ability to connect to a TV via HDMI ARC, a dedicated subwoofer output, and integrated streaming services and protocols like Spotify, Tidal, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.1 and Chromecast.
How does the reviewer feel about the Wiim Mini Amp's sound quality at moderate volumes?
-At moderate volumes below 75% volume, the reviewer found the sound quality decent and enjoyable, though not the best he's heard. The amp sounded respectable considering its modest price.
What issues did the reviewer notice with the Wiim Mini Amp at higher volumes?
-At higher volumes, the reviewer noticed distortion, clipping, and a lack of headroom or dynamic capability to handle recordings with wide dynamic range. The sound became less natural, more sterile, and overly bright.
How did the Wiim Mini Amp perform when connected to the Cornwall speakers?
-The Cornwall speakers were the easiest for the Wiim Mini Amp to drive up to about 50% volume. But beyond 50% volume, the amp seemed to struggle and the speakers sounded strained.
What connectivity issues did the reviewer experience with EQ calibration?
-The reviewer had inconsistent Bluetooth and AirPlay performance when trying to send test tones from his smartphone for EQ calibration. An HDMI connection from his TV worked better.
What type of listener would the Wiim Mini Amp work best for?
-The Wiim Mini Amp would likely work best for listeners with smaller spaces, those new to hi-fi, or those wanting a simpler system. It integrates well with TVs and smart homes.
How did the Wiim Mini Amp perform as part of a home theater system?
-As a 2.1 system in small to medium rooms, the Wiim Mini Amp could be a great home theater solution. But in larger spaces, the amp shut off during loud movie scenes due to lack of headroom.
What alternatives does the reviewer suggest at a similar price point?
-The reviewer suggests the Aiyima A07 as the most comparable alternative. He also mentions speakers from Emotiva or other amps like the Bluesound PowerNode or AudioLab 6000A as better quality options if you can spend more.
What does the reviewer say about measurements versus real-world listening?
-The reviewer notes that lab measurements often show best case scenarios that don't reflect real-world dynamic music listening. So flaws may not show up on measurements.
What is the reviewer's overall impression of the Wiim Mini Amp?
-The reviewer finds the Wiim Mini Amp impressive for the price, but not a one-size-fits-all giant killer. It has limitations at high volumes and with hard to drive speakers that may make it unsuitable for some users.
Outlines
😀 Overview and key features of the Wiim amp
This paragraph introduces the Wiim amp, an affordable $299 all-in-one integrated streaming amplifier that has gained popularity for its features, performance and design. It highlights key details like the 60W per channel power output, built-in ESS Sabre DAC, analog and digital inputs including HDMI ARC, dedicated subwoofer output with bass management software, support for various streaming services and protocols, and sleek stylish chassis similar in size to a Mac Mini.
😕 Sound quality assessment of the Wiim amp
This paragraph evaluates the sound quality and performance characteristics of the Wiim amp across different speaker pairings and test tracks. While technically detailed in the upper mid-range and treble, the amp lacks low end weight and struggles with complex dynamic music at louder volumes, clipping and distorting before reaching desired loudness. The writer shares their experience and challenges using various connectivity options like AirPlay and Bluetooth.
😃 Best use cases and alternatives for the Wiim amp
This paragraph summarizes suitable use cases for the Wiim amp - smaller listening spaces, background audio, newer hi-fi listeners seeking simplicity. It suggests more powerful amp alternatives from Emotiva, Bluesound and Audio Analogue for larger rooms or those wanting better performance. The writer aims to provide realistic expectations regarding the amp's capabilities.
👍🏻 Performance as a home theater option in 2.1 setups
This closing paragraph briefly discusses the Wiim amp's potential as an affordable 2.1 home theater option thanks to its HDMI ARC connectivity. It works well for bedroom or smaller home theater setups but lacks needed headroom and power for more demanding movie content in larger spaces.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡dynamic range
💡distortion
💡frequency response
💡headroom
💡power
💡compression
💡clipping
💡treble
💡bass
💡EQ
Highlights
The Wiim amp has already garnered praise for its affordable price, stylish design, and small size similar to a Mac Mini.
The Wiim amp includes a built-in ESS Sabre DAC and analog inputs like optical, USB, and RCA style analog.
The Wiim amp can connect to a TV via HDMI ARC to serve as a 2.1 home theater system with dedicated subwoofer output and bass management.
Controlling the Wiim is possible via the physical controls, Bluetooth remote, smartphone app, or your TV remote if connected via HDMI.
The Wiim app integrates popular streaming services and supports streaming protocols like AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, and Chromecast.
Using room EQ software was inconsistent via Bluetooth and AirPlay, but worked when sending test tones through the TV's HDMI input first.
In everyday listening, the Wiim amp has a cool, lean sound across the frequency range regardless of speakers used or EQ applied.
At moderate volumes, the Wiim sounds impressive and detailed, but lacks bass depth, decay, and organic warmth at higher volumes.
The Wiim struggled to handle large dynamic swings at higher volumes, clipping and distorting easily during demanding passages.
Keep the Wiim's volume below 75% with peaks under 65-70 dB for respectable, enjoyable sound considering the low price.
The Wiim may not suit larger spaces or listeners wanting higher volumes, especially with inefficient speakers.
The Wiim integrates well with TVs and smart homes for background music, but can't always deliver satisfying hi-fi listening.
Alternatives like the Aiyima A04 and Sonos Amp suit certain needs better, but may lack the Wiim's slick design.
The Wiim succeeds on price and design over competitors, but sounds best kept under 75% volume to minimize distortion.
Overall the Wiim Amp provides great streaming features and design at an affordable price point.
Transcripts
[Music]
some Hi-Fi products have the ability to
gain a call likee following almost
immediately especially when they offer
features and performance at such an
affordable price combine that with a
stylish well-made design that's very
similar at least visually to some of the
more expensive products that we've seen
from say Cambridge audio and a chassis
that is no larger than a Mac Mini it is
no wonder why the wiim amp has already
garnered so much praise at only
$299 this all inclusive integrated
streaming app may look like a steel but
before you go and click buy now let's
make sure it's the right solution for
you the whims power comes from a Texas
Instruments class D amplifier chip that
produces a reported 60 watts per channel
into 8 ohms and 120 watts into four the
whim has a built-in ESS saber deck and
an analog section from one of their own
streamers it has both analog and digital
audio inputs that include an optical and
USB input as well as a set of RCA style
analog inputs what excited me me most
about the wiim app was its ability to
connect to your TV and be the
centerpiece of a 2.1 home theater thanks
to the inclusion of HDMI with Arc as
well as C and yes the 0.1 in 2.1 means
the whim has a dedicated subwoofer
output complete with base management
inside the app software which we're
going to get to in just a minute you all
know the addition of HDMI is enough for
me to stand up and take note but I know
a lot of you are no doubt fans of whim
for its streaming prowess which includes
native support for nearly all streaming
services like Spotify and title both
wired and wirelessly it can play back
locally stored music as well and coded
in popular formats such as Flack and it
also support streaming protocols like
AirPlay 2 Bluetooth 5.1 chomecast you
get the idea setting up the wiim amp is
pretty simple just make sure you have
your smartphone handy I use my iPhone 14
and download the whim home app before
you get started getting the app up and
running on our home network was super
easy Once you connect to your network
you may need to perform a series of
firmware updates and speaking of updates
while I applaud whim for making constant
improvements with updates to fix bugs
and whatnot there have been days when
the amp could not go even 24 hours
without a firmware update control over
the whim is handled in three ways you
can physically control basic functions
like play pause and volume on the unit
itself you can use the included
bluetooth remote or you can make
adjustments via the whim app on your
phone there's actually a fourth method
if you connect the amp to your HDMI
equipped Smart TV you can also control
it's on off source and volume using your
TV remote out of all of the option I
have to imagine most users are going to
opt for control via the app so let's
talk about it sure the app gives
consumers access to a variety of popular
streaming services without having to
leave it well unless of course you're an
apple music user like myself but I find
its level of user control more exciting
now for this review we use three
different sets of speakers including the
Q acoustic concept 50 Towers the new khh
Kindle 2fs and our Cornwall 4S which are
going to make sense in just just a
minute I also connected the amp to our
98 in TCL TV via HDMI as well as our
home's Wi-Fi network making the whim
visible to our Google home
devices for me one of the most important
features of this amp is peq and I was
really excited to test it because peq
can help you get the most out of your
speakers and at this price I was just oh
I was super impressed that it was here
but rather than use roomy Cube wizard I
first tried a thirdparty app called
House curve that takes a lot of the same
measurements as roomy Cube but it does
it all on your smartphone and I've been
playing with it for a while and it's
pretty reliable so I didn't expect to
have any problem sending a series of
test signals to the whim through AirPlay
and Bluetooth but despite having an
AirPlay connection between my phone and
the amp no audible test tones could be
heard with the speakers however when
house curve sent that same test tone
signal to our TCL TV first which was
then relay to the whim through HDMI
everything worked unfortunately
Bluetooth and AirPlay communication just
it remain inconsistent and well spotty
even after several firmware updates so
just be aware of that especially if
you're an iPhone user obviously if you
choose to use roomy Q wizard to generate
your peq filters you shouldn't have an
issue because that is a hardwired
solution and as for you Android users I
had fully intended on testing the whim
with a couple of Android phones but
during my evaluation they sadly went
missing so if I find them I'll be sure
to update you in the comments below
regardless of the method applying my EQ
adjustments was easy you know I love it
when products include manual peq
especially one as Sleek as this apart
from the inconsistent Bluetooth and
AirPlay performance everything else
appeared to work as advertised now
moving on to sound quality the whim amp
is very detailed from the upper
mid-range through to the treble
regardless of the speaker pairing or
whether EQ is applied or not in everyday
listening this amp has a sound that is
cool and lean and this was cemented for
me while listening to some of my regular
test tracks like The Noose by A Perfect
Circle Tubular Bells by Michael old Feld
and home by Dominic Fe am me all three
tracks had decent intelligibility and at
moderate volumes they even sounded
impressive especially when I focused on
their more midrangey and treble leaning
aspects but if I shifted my focus to the
weightier aspects of the mix even the
more tenor in baritone registers and
Dominique's own voice the depth and
control over the speakers woofers just
wasn't there unless I turned up the
volume which introduced a new problem
distortion now I know there are
measurements out there that show the
whim to be neutral with terrific signal
to noise ratio but the problem with
measurements is they tend to show you a
best worst case scenario when fed a
constant test signal I'm not surprised
that the wiim performs maybe even overd
delivers given its price but test
signals and music are not the same music
isn't constant like a test tone and as
Things become more complicated or if you
turn the volume up in order to get more
weight and dynamic impact out of the
whim the worst the amp performs for
example in the song the news the
well-recorded kick drum played back at
volumes hovering around 70 DB through
our corn walls hit with some moderate
Authority but that concussive air and
Decay as well as the sensation of the
Mallet striking the skin was just
largely glossed over as a result I had a
technically deep performance but a
two-dimensional sound the more I
listened and the more I turned it up the
less organic and more sterile the sound
became now listening to Tubular Bells it
was the same story the heartbeat that
leads up to the crescendo lacked any
surrounding air and Decay making it
sound flat and frankly unnatural however
when the bells finally let loose the
whim could not keep up the highs clipped
and distorted so much that I had to find
the remote and hit stop leaving me
pretty confused I wasn't listening that
loud I mean it was Spirited but not
concert level loud so I turned the wind
back up until the lights on the front
reflected my previous volume level and I
hit play again when the bells hit again
the max in room volume according to my
phone's SPL meter was 82 DB loud sure
but not insane but looking at the whims
amp volume control it was at
100% so what
gives I can tell you this it ain't the
corn walls they have a sensitivity of
102 DB which means that from a distance
of a meter or 3ish feet with only one
watt of power the corn walls should be
able to reach volumes of 102 DB now as
you move back from the speaker you're
obviously going to need more power to
get that same volume at all distances in
our room we sit approximately 11 ft from
our speakers but even with the added
distance the whim 60 watts should have
been more than enough to drive the corn
walls to concert or THX volume levels
but it doesn't at least not all of the
time and this is an issue I've noticed
with other Texas Instruments based amps
now let me clarify something I am not
saying the whim doesn't produce 60 watts
per Channel it likely does however it it
seems to lack the dynamic capability to
handle certain genres of music or
recordings with greater dynamic range
listening to higher quality recordings
known for having large fluctuations in
volume I'm talking albums like tubular
bells or tracks like Seville cause the
whim to struggle and resulted in audible
Distortion and clipping if I increase
the volume too much the lack of Headroom
also seemed to be somewhat input
dependent as heavily compressed signals
such as Internet radio had new issues
reaching 80 90 and even 100 DB in room
whereas sources using HDMI or the
optical input were an entirely different
story now I can already hear some of you
saying but the whim isn't meant for
rooms like yours and maybe that's true
but I can tell you this much if you do
end up sitting closer to the amp you
might hear a faint wine from the chassis
or your speaker tweeters because this
amplifier it's not completely silent if
you need more oomph and you turn the
volume up past a certain point expect
the tonality of the amp to skew even
more towards the treble making it just
sound more two-dimensional complete
completely and I mean completely
glossing over nuance and fine detail and
attempt to sound just as dynamically
Punchy as possible at high volumes the
sound is often just chouy that said if
you can keep the whims volume below 75%
with in room Peaks never and I mean
never cresting above 65 or 70 DB the
whim sounds fine it may not be the best
thing I've ever heard but it is
respectable even enjoyable considering
its modest price so how do you know if
the whim is right for you well I just
want to clarify a few more things I know
there are some people who are going to
disagree with me and even a few of you
who assume that I'm an elitist or have
some sort of Vendetta against whim or
just cheap audio in general and that's
just simply not true and it actually
bothers me that anyone has that
impression I'm just sharing my
experience and hopefully providing you
with an idea of what you can expect if
your listening habits are similar to
mine although I think the wiim amp is
impressive I don't believe that it is a
one- siiz fits-all giant killer but that
doesn't make it bad just trying to set
your expectations if you're going going
in thinking that this is going to
compete with high-end brands or that
it's going to sound as good as amps that
cost a lot more if you have a larger
space or you really like or maybe you
need to listen at higher volumes the
whim may not be the best option for you
especially if you have speakers that are
hard to drive if that sounds like you I
would consider something like the basics
A2 Flex from emotiva with one of whims
Standalone streamers if you're willing
to spend a little bit more the blue
sound power note or audio laab 6000a
play or 7000a would be a better choice
however if you have a smaller space or
you mostly listen to music in the near
field the whim will likely be enough for
your needs it's an excellent value that
offers a lot of features at an
affordable price the whim could also be
a great solution for those who are new
to Hi-Fi or who maybe want to switch to
a simpler system the fact that it can
seamlessly integrate with your TV is
just a huge bonus I personally loved how
well it integrated into our Google
powered smart home for backgrounder
whole home audio listening but when I
really wanted to listen to some of my
favorite albums I can't say the whim
always delivered what I was after so
that's enough out of me and what I think
of the whim aamp but before we get out
of here yes she's back what did you
think of it uh I think this is a really
great product for a lot of people yes uh
especially those who are on a tighter
budget and let's face it there's you
know who isn't these days I think it's
wellmade it's priced affordably but it
does have its limitations I I think you
did a really good job of covering those
in the in your part of the review and
honestly I think if if you the viewer
can live with those then I'm confident
you're going to enjoy the whim for me
the biggest downside to this amp is its
lack of hroom yeah I it really struggles
at higher volumes especially with
certain speakers and you might I know
some of you probably think we're crazy
because we put these on the corn walls
which are I don't know what the math is
20 times more expensive or something
uh uh but look those those speakers are
insanely efficient and I don't give a
crap about clip's reported frequency
response or sensitivity ratings yeah
whatever yeah I don't give those are
still very efficient yes so it is no
surprise at least for me that this amp
sounded the best with the corn walls in
my opinion oh you I can see I can see
your face what is she saying right now
that's
wrong no no I I agree of the three
speakers the corn walls did sound the
best and the whim did appear to have the
easiest time driving them up into about
say 50% volume if we're looking at the
graph in the app about 50% once you got
over that I felt that the way that these
speakers sounded kind of being pushed or
being being strained to drive was a
little less pleasing than say the klhs
although the klhs never got as loud as
the corn walls and the Q Acoustics fell
kind of somewhere in the
middle that's what I meant when I when I
said like oh I don't know if I would I
don't have a favorite I don't have a
best I know we spent the most time with
them on the corn walls just because it
was the easier um it had the easiest
time with them but I wouldn't I wouldn't
say like that's still the best pairing I
don't know what the best pairing is for
this amp to be
honest oh goodness well as far as the
Kindles Go I mean obviously I think
those are sold at a price range that
makes them more a more likely pairing
sure um the sound I didn't find the
sound was bad but when we switched over
to the Yamaha
1A with the Kindles you really um could
start start to understand the whims
weaknesses yeah um well I do think that
there is an aspect of this performance
that you and I talked about off camera
uh that wasn't brought up in the uh
review or wasn't really expanded upon
and that was um the
C performance and just the home theater
um experience your personal thoughts on
using this for um a 2.1 system because
frankly you can it has HDMI which is
something we love it's definitely being
advertised as a solution for people that
want music slash a little bit of movies
and I applaud whim for doing that that
really is the future it it works it
works I hadn't we didn't really have any
issues with that now you need to know
that just because it has HDMI that
doesn't mean that it accepts you know W
Atmos dtsx and all that surround sound
stuff it's it's Stereo Plus a subwoofer
and the subwoofer is active as soon as
you plug an RCA into the subwoofer out
and then that un locks the base
management inside the app blah blah blah
blah blah as a home theater device in
small to mediumsized Rooms a bedroom
system a den and office stuff like that
this could be a great solution it really
really could I would never recommend
using it out in a main room like hours
because movies typically have a lot of
dynamic range as well um and I was
watching deep water Horizon not 2 or
three days ago um prior to recording
this and watching the oil rig SC it's
one of my favorite scenes I love it it's
a real great torture test uh for
surround sound systems I always watch it
very familiar with it and I actually got
the amped shut off awesome I'm so glad
you went over that now I before we get
out of here I I just want to talk about
U maybe some similarly
priced uh Alternatives uh like like
let's say what about like the ailc b50
or something from ever solo maybe the
Sonos amp yeah the ailc b50 is going to
be the most comparable I'm not saying
that because they all use similar
chipsets or they all use the same Decks
that you're going to get the same
performance but these are almost kits at
this point and so like the ailc it's
another great product I happen to like
the whim better I'm not saying that the
whim sounds better than the ailc in fact
if you blindfolded me they I might not
get it statistically right each time CU
they're largely the same product
where the whim amp succeeds where the
ailc pulls up short is whim went to the
trouble to design a complete chassis
which includes the power supply in the
unit whereas the aurc still uses like a
laptop power brick that's external and
so while it may look really small and
like ooh that's cool um there's a lot of
extra cable crap that you're now going
to be like oh what do I do with this um
so yeah it's it's it's just sort of what
do you want to deal with as far as just
a Slicker looking app uh ease of use
just better overall industrial design
whim hands down and I don't believe it
even costs that much more to get it as
for ever solo now ever solo is a little
bit different but as of this recording I
don't believe that they have an entirely
integrated solution I know that they've
come out with an amplifier but they are
still very much kind of a separate thing
so you get like a preamp streamer Dack
and then I think think they now have an
amplifier or they've announced an
amplifier maybe it's not shipping yet um
so it's not really quite the same
because you would still need to add an
amplifier to an Ever Solo System to kind
of do everything that you can do at the
whim and the ever solo is more expensive
but in my opinion if you have the money
uh an Ever solo Z8 deck or the new daak
streamer whatever it's called with the
touchcreen that we also have and an
amplifier if you're choosing is going to
give you demonstrably better results and
it's going to be a system that you're
probably GNA have for a good long while
because the performance there is akin to
products that cost thousands of dollars
uh Sonos samp never heard it that is the
one thing that we now Sonos samp's our
new Sonos Arc um uh we have just about
everything else uh now officially and uh
we don't have the amp so I have no idea
how it would compare and I and the same
would be true of the Amazon Alexa amp if
they're still making that um I think a
lot of people have said the Sonos and
Alexa amp are kind of interchangeable I
don't know awesome now it's your turn to
tell us what you think or to tell tell
me what I got wrong so um do tell us
down in the comments below if you like
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is it that's it I got to get out of here
uh this is going to be fun to edit uh so
anyway the only person who has to like
the sound of their system you know the
drill it's you it's you so happy
listening everybody thank you so much
for watching and uh we'll see you on the
next video
bye
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