Over the past year or two, the new streaming hardware company Wiim has been making waves in the home audio market through its selection of affordable streaming boxes. Diversifying its product line, the company just released its Wiim Amp.

The $299 Wiim Amp is available to custom electronics professionals through Origin Acoustics, which also offers the Wiim Mini Streamer, the Wiim Pro Streamer, and the Wiim Pro Plus Streamer.

Like many of these new generation of amplifier products, the new Wiim solution bundles everything dealers and their clients need to watch TV, streaming movies, as well as streaming music, and even spinning vinyl, all from a small footprint package.

Sending me the amplifier to try for myself, I set the Wiim Amp up with a turntable and a set of Aerial Acoustics speakers—not a brand of speakers normally associated for use with affordable amplifiers.

Wiim Amp Features and Installation

Before I get into the typical specifications such as power and inputs, I’d like to emphasize the room friendliness of the amplifier. The Wiim Amp weighs just over four pounds, and it measures 7.48 inches x 7.48 inches, and just under 2.5 inches tall. Wiim offers the amplifier in a choice of space gray or silver colors, and the front panel features a simple volume control with a button for play/pause, as well as an LED indicator that communicates amplifier status and volume level.

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The rear panel of the new Wiim product offers a choice of HDMI with ARC (audio return channel), digital optical, RCA analog, and a subwoofer out. The rear panel also includes speaker terminal connections, and a 10/100 Mbps LAN input.

Wiim says the amplifier is rated to produce 60-watts-per-channel into an 8-ohm load or 120-watts-per-channel into a 4-ohm load. The Wiim Amp also provides wireless Bluetooth and 802.11 b/g/n W-Fi network compatibility, and the amp supports Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Alexa Cast, and DLNA.

CE Pro Features

• The Wiim Amp is rated to produce 60 watts into 8 ohms and 120 watts into 4 ohms
• The unit offers a choice of HDMI, digital optical, and analog RCA inputs
• The Wiim Amp also provides a subwoofer out option, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity
• Other features include Roon Ready certification, Chromecast, Apple AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth
• Wiim says the amp supports TIDAL Connect, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music
• Internally, the Wiim Amp utilizes ESS Sabre DACs and Class D TI TPA 3255 Amplifiers
• MSRP is $299

Other features the Wiim product offers include a 10-band graphic equalizer, as well as a 4-band parametric equalizer, and a choice of streaming services such as Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Napster, and Calm.

Getting into the setup of the Wiim Amp. Despite weighing just a few pounds, the unit felt well-built and sturdy lifting it from its box. I started the set up by downloading the companion Wiim app and connecting a Cat-6 cable to amp place the unit on my network.

The app immediately notified me that an update was available for the app, which I ran. I next ran a set of speaker cables terminated with banana plugs from the amp to a pair of Aerial Acoustics Model 6 loudspeakers. Finishing the physical connections, I plugged a Victrola Hi Res Carbon turntable with a built-in phono preamp into its line-in inputs, and I plugged the amp into a Torus Power unit.

Later, after my initial setup through the app, as I used the Wiim Amp more I went into the app to tweak more amp parameters, which are all accessible via “settings” or by selecting the mechanical wheel option within the device name of the app. The “mechanical wheel” provides access to graphic and parametric equalization (EQ) options, as well as preconfigured EQ curves—I chose the “flat” EQ curve. There’s also an audio settings option within the mechanical wheel that allows for volume limits, stereo, mono, left or right audio configurations, fade-ins, fade-outs, and balance.

Additionally, from within the “mechanical wheel” of the app, users can choose their source—Ethernet, Bluetooth, analog RCA, optical, or HDMI.  

Moreover, there are a host of other options available from the amp to allow for a wide range of setup scenarios and usage applications.

Performance and Final Thoughts

Using a couple of sports analogies, I thought that regardless of whether I was listening to content from my phone via Bluetooth or Apple Airplay, or spinning vinyl, I found the Wiim Amp to punch far above its weight class. Or if you’re a UFC, maybe the Wiim product is the top ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the massive home amplifier market.

Starting my listening, I was streaming 16-bit/44kHz content via Bluetooth from artists such as Alanis Morrisette and David Bowie. My initial thoughts were the soundstage driving my Aerials was smooth and expansive to throw a nice precise image. What immediately impressed me was how well the amp drove the speakers, which are 85dB sensitive with a minimum 4- ohm rating and nominal 6-ohm rating.

Continuing to use my phone as the central point of my listening, I selected the Amazon Music streaming service. Listening to the service’s 1970s station I found music from Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, and The Eagles engaging. I thought the top end provided plenty of upper frequency extension, while the midrange delivered a high level of detail, and the bottom end provided more sustain that I expected. I was once again impressed with the level of image depth and clarity the Wiim Amp produced listening to Don Henley’s drums for example.

I could hear the ego-centric singer/drummer’s hi-hat opening slightly on the upbeat of the song that was playing in my left speaker. Later for some reason the Amazon station played Rush’s Tom Sawyer (from 1981’s Moving Pictures) but listening to a 16-bit/44kHz stream with a bit rate of approximately 318kbps (not really CD level) I thought the song sounded excellent. Geddy Lee’s bass line had a nice amount of weight and Neil Peart’s drums, along with Lee’s bass pounded through the song during Alex Lifeson’s guitar solo.

Trying the line-in option, I decided to spin some vinyl. Using the Wiim Amp I played Robert Plant’s Principal of Moments solo album. I had a lot of fun with the inexpensive combination of the Victrola turntable and Wiim Amp. With this album from the early 1980s I thought the mid-bass performance was solid, and the top end was smooth.

I had to remind myself just how affordable this setup was and while it wasn’t melting my ears, I thought the amp effectively drove my inefficient speakers to volume levels that would satisfy rock music fans without clipping or strain. Moving onto the band that made Robert Plant, I decided to play what may be my most valued album—The Bob Ludwig mastered Led Zeppelin II LP. Once again—I was blown away at the clarity and authority the amp and turntable played this piece of rock history.

Not to overlook Apple AirPlay, it was more of the same: Just a fun listening experience that made me smile regardless of what artist, playlist, or album I selected.

My conclusion is that dealers should be knocking down Origin Acoustics’ doors to carry the Wiim Amp. With its ability to integrate within a whole-house system or reside within a single zone, this extremely versatile and affordable amp does everything modern AV users need and it will more than exceed their expectations.

CE Pro and Cons

Pros:

• Impressive sound quality with high levels of detail and a surprising amount of power
• The companion app provides an easy way to control the Wiim Amp
• With its combination of sound quality and features, the Wiim Amp provides a high level of value for music and AV fans

Cons:

• There are no real cons with the Wiim Amp, but it is recommended to download the app before the setup has begun to ensure the easiest setup process

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