🎉 Introducing the Vibelink Amp – Unleash the Power of Pure Sound 🎉

Hello WiiM community! We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our latest innovation: the Vibelink Amp! Designed with your needs in mind, this 100W per channel amplifier brings high-fidelity sound and unmatched versatility to your audio setup. Perfect for passive speakers, the Vibelink Amp ensures a premium listening experience when paired with one of our streamers, with a footprint designed to match the WiiM Ultra. By leveraging its premium DAC, Vibelink Amp is also a perfect match for WiiM Mini and WiiM Pro or WiiM Pro Plus via digital input for superior sound quality.

Why Choose the Vibelink Amp?​

• 100W per channel at 8 ohms, 200W at 4 ohms: Experience powerful, distortion-free amplification for room-filling sound.
• Premium unibody aluminum design: Sleek, durable, and thermally optimized for efficient heat dissipation during prolonged use.
• High-fidelity audio with premium components: Premium DAC, amplifier, and op-amps
• Post filter feedback technology (PFFB): Overcomes speaker's load-dependency
• Bit-perfect playback (192kHz/24-bit): Achieve true audiophile performance with every note.
• Anti-Pop Noise Design: Enjoy smooth transitions across variable sample rates and bit depths without interruptions.
• Auto Standby & 12V Trigger In: Smart energy-saving features that fit modern setups.
• Pure analog input (no ADC conversion): Savor uncompromised sound quality for your favorite analog devices.
• Seamless integration with WiiM streamers: Effortlessly pairs with devices like the Ultra, Pro Plus, Pro, and Mini for high-resolution audio.

Key Features You’ll Love:​

• Hi-Res Audio Excellence: Packed with a high-quality built-in DAC ESS ES9039Q2M, one TI PCM9211 digital and analog front end, six TI OPA1612 Op-amps, and a TI TPA3255 Amp Chip, the Vibelink Amp supports up to 24-bit/192kHz high-res music allows you to optimize beloved, decades-old, high-quality audio systems or connect current speakers with your favorite platforms effortlessly.
• Versatile Connectivity: Easily connect your favorite devices with analog (RCA) or digital (optical, coaxial) inputs.
• Compact & Efficient: With a sleek, stackable design and cutting-edge thermal management, the Vibelink Amp fits right into your setup and stays cool even during marathon listening sessions.
• Easy, Secure Connections: Standard stereo banana plug output ensures a solid connection to speakers, delivering high-quality sound without signal loss or dropouts.

Why We’re Excited:

Compact Yet Powerful – A well-built, high-performance amplifier that delivers exceptional power in a sleek, space-saving design.
True Hi-Res Audio Support – Supports up to 192kHz/24-bit, ensuring full compatibility with high-resolution music services and user libraries, unlike many amplifiers that lack this capability.
Seamless Playback with No Artifacts – Effortlessly handles variable sample rates and bit depths between tracks, eliminating unwanted pops and clicks that occur in many amplifiers when audio resolution changes.

At WiiM, we’re all about listening to our community. Many of you asked for a powerful amplifier that delivers exceptional sound quality and integrates effortlessly into existing setups and we’ve been listening! The Vibelink Amp is a dedicated solution for passive speakers, designed to pair seamlessly with all WiiM streamers or as a standalone amp for your favorite gear. Whatever your setup, this amp brings the exceptional sound quality you’ve come to expect from WiiM.

The Perfect Match for WiiM Streamers​

✔ Seamless Integration – Designed for flawless compatibility with WiiM Mini, Pro, Pro Plus, and Ultra—just plug and play.
✔ Flexible Connectivity – Choose digital (Optical/Coaxial) or analog (RCA) inputs for maximum audio fidelity.
✔ Ultra-Low Latency – Perfectly synced playback for high-resolution streaming and immersive home theater sound.
✔ Studio-Grade Sound – Experience deep bass, crisp highs, and stunning clarity with bit-perfect precision.

Pair your WiiM Mini, Pro, Pro Plus, or Ultra with the WiiM Vibelink Amp and experience pure, powerful, and immersive sound like never before. Elevate your high-fidelity streaming with crystal-clear detail, deep bass, and room-filling audio.

Your music, perfected. Upgrade your setup today!

Pricing and Availability​

The Vibelink Amp will be available starting March 18th on Amazon US for $299, with international availability on its way. Don’t miss your chance to elevate your audio experience! Find out more on our website.

Let us know what excites you most about the Vibelink Amp, and share your setups! We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

 

[mlsstl]

My point was the "24 bit" issue is completely irrelevant to the issue of how loud the Vibelink seems to some users. I've compared any number of MP3 files to CD to Hi-Rez recordings and the playback volume is always the same (assumes same master.)

I also have to say that my experience with the Vibelink amp is different as respects in-room volume. I'm sitting here right now listening to a Billy Strings album from Qobuz using my Ultra and Vibelink into a pair of Ohm 1000 speakers (this brand of speaker rather notorious for being power hungry.) The Ultra's volume control is at 72, and the Vibelink's volume knob at 3 o'clock. The average volume in my decent size room (15' X 24', vaulted ceiling and open to another room on one side) is around 80 dB with peaks several dB above that, which is comfortably loud for me. I might add another 5 or 6 dB to the average for some material, but can easily achieve that with extra volume still in reserve. (One other note, the current connection between the Ultra and Vibelink is an optical cable, but I've also tried line-out and both give the same volume.)

As such, I'm curious as to what volume others are trying to achieve. It's always surprised me that so many talk about volume in terms of "loud" or "medium" without being able to give a number. dB meters are cheap ($20 to $30 and even less on Amazon) and there are free apps for smartphones. The app on my Android matches the results from my old Radio Shack meter quite closely. It's a lot easier to talk about this issue with a number and a few details instead of with completely subjective terms.

 

[telecastermds`]

Did you get it from Amazon USA?

Amazon USA

 

[dtc]

Is it 100 watts RMS, or peak or peak to peak? I don't seem to be able find that spec. Thanks.

 

[Valentino]

Independent measurements here:

WiiM Vibelink Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Vibelink stereo class D amplifier with DAC. It was sent to me by the company and I believe will cost US $299 [original estimatews $400.]. I was relieved from the point of view of testing that is NOT a streaming product so no need to mess...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[harkpabst]

Is it 100 watts RMS, or peak or peak to peak? I don't seem to be able find that spec. Thanks.

And here:

There's no such thing as peak to peak power.

 

[dominikz]

Is it 100 watts RMS, or peak or peak to peak? I don't seem to be able find that spec. Thanks.

Power is not useful to express as RMS or peak-to-peak; voltage however can be expressed as RMS or peak-to-peak.
The RMS value of voltage is always used when calculating average power into a load, so that can be confusing. Perhaps this article can help with some examples.

That being said, we can still measure how long an amp can sustain a specific power output, and use that to determine long-term/continuous power output vs instantaneous/peak/burst/max power output.

I assume this is what you're interested in.

Class A or AB amps often have significantly higher burst power than continuous power.
Class D amps (like the Vibelink Amp) on the other hand usually have very similar burst and continuous power ratings - this is visible in the ASR review as well.
At 1% distortion continuous and burst power both came out around 180W into 4Ohm.

It is unknown, however, how long the Vibelink can maintain this maximum power output continuously - though that should be largely irrelevant in normal use.
Average levels of music requre much, much less power than the peaks, so as long as your amp is capable of handling the peaks, it will be running well below its rated output anyway.

If you're interested how to calculate amplifier power demands, perhaps this post can be useful.

Hope this helps!

 

[dtc]

Power is not useful to express as RMS or peak-to-peak; .

RMW watts have been reported for audio equipment for decades. If the manufacturer does not report it, it is assumed that they are hiding something. That is why I asked.

 

[dtc]

And here:

There's no such thing as peak to peak power.

Thanks for the reference. I still think Wiim should report their power as RMS. It is the standard in the industry.

Peak to peak power was reported by some manufacturers for years in order to make it look like their amps were more powerful than they were. So, it is definitely a term that has been used in the audio world.

By the way, reporting power at 1% distortion is not good practice. Most manufacturers report at at few hundredths to maybe .1% distortion. The video shows the power at these low distortion levels, but for some reason emphasises the 1% distortion level. The problem is that that may be 1% over the entire power range, which is not good. Hence, it is common to report the power at a much lower distortion level.

 

[harkpabst]

I still think Wiim should report their power as RMS. It is the standard in the industry.

I think so too, but marketing would have to get the term right for every market. RMS is English and not the entire world is using this abbreviation.

Peak to peak power was reported by some manufacturers for years in order to make it look like their amps were more powerful than they were. So, it is definitely a term that has been used in the audio world.

I think you are mixing up terminology here. Peak to peak power as a term is pointless and I cannot remember a single reference to it ever (except for Internet forums). And I'm not talking about the numbers being meaningless, but the term itself. Manufacturers have been using terms like peak power, burst power or maximum peak output power (the infamous PMPO), but never peak to peak power.

You can describe a broad class of signals either by their RMS voltage, peak voltage or peak to peak voltage, but in all cases they describe the same signal in different ways. The peak power output of an amplifier is completely unrelated to its RMS power output (as described in detail by @dominikz. But peak power is not related to peak voltage.

By the way, reporting power at 1% distortion is not good practice. Most manufacturers report at at few hundredths to maybe .1% distortion. The video shows the power at these low distortion levels, but for some reason emphasises the 1% distortion level. The problem is that that may be 1% over the entire power range, which is not good. Hence, it is common to report the power at a much lower distortion level.

1% is the de facto standard by now. As soon as your direct competitor starts providing these values you have to follow the same route or you will hurt your own sales.

For those really interested in the details a diagram would tell a lot more than the power rating at any other arbitrary distortion value.

 

[dominikz]

RMW watts have been reported for audio equipment for decades. If the manufacturer does not report it, it is assumed that they are hiding something. That is why I asked.

You are of course absolutely right that the term "RMS Watt" (or "RMS power") has been used in the industry for ages. This, and often also the exaggerated "Peak Music Power Output" (PMPO) or peak power. Here I assume when you say "peak to peak power" you are actually referring to peak power.

A small digression to explain my previous post: from electrical engineering perspective the terms "RMS power" and "RMS Watts" are problematic, if you're interested why, have a look at e.g. some of these articles:

• https://www.analog.com/en/resources/analog-dialogue/raqs/raq-issue-177.html
• https://www.hifi-writer.com/he/misc/rmspower.htm
• https://www.n4lcd.com/RMS.pdf

Coming back to your original question about the WiiM Vibelink Amp power: from e.g. Erin's review we see that it can generate about 75W into 8 Ohm before distortion starts to shoot up. This should be close to what might be reported as "RMS power".
From the same review we see that the power value at 1% THD (the amp's max/peak/burst power) for the Vibelink Amp is about 115W into 8 Ohm.

But note that 75W vs 115W will result in actually only about 2dB SPL difference in output - meaning that in this case there's not a lot of difference between "RMS" and peak power. However, we don't actually know for how long the amp can sustain either of these figures - but as explained in the previous post, that might not be that important in practice.

Lastly, it is good to remember that doubling of output power results in increase of only +3dB SPL (a little louder), and that we'd need 10x the power to get +10dB SPL (subjectively double as loud).

Hope this helps clarify!

 

[dtc]

I think you are mixing up terminology here. Peak to peak power as a term is pointless and I cannot remember a single reference to it ever (except for Internet forums). And I'm not talking about the numbers being meaningless, but the term itself. Manufacturers have been using terms like peak power, burst power or maximum peak output power (the infamous PMPO), but never peak to peak power.

My guess is you are not as old as I am. Back in the day all sorts of deceptive practices were used to report watts. And you still see it today although with class D amps it is less of a problem.

You used to see peak to peak watts on less quality equipment. There was a time when 100 watts was the holy grail especially for receivers. There were many amps/receivers with 100 watt peak to peak specs. I agree it has pretty much disappeared, but, back in the day, it was definitely used as a deceptive way to increase the power rating - aimed at people who did not know the difference. At least peak to peak was better than "maximum" which had no definition. But, this is why some of us old guys are sensitive to watt rating without any explanation.

And, no matter what type of watts are given they should also give a distortion level - like .02%. 1% may be the "defacto standard" in some places but if you look at mid to high end systems they typically report at a lower distortion level. For example here are the specs for the Yamaha A-S1200 stereo amplifier :

• 90 watts x 2 channels into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.07% THD
• 150 watts x 2 channels into 4 ohms

Also, if you are going to claim 4 ohm capability you should report the watts for that also. 100 watts at 8 ohms and 200 watts at 4 ohms is different than than 100 watts are 8 ohms and 120 watts at 4 ohms.

And, for receivers, it should also say how many channels are being driven. Most say "with 2 channels driven" and very few report "all channels driven".

I now see class AB amps reported as just watts and my guess is that that may peak watts even though, as dominikz point out, most AB amps cannot sustain the peak for very long. But, without a definition the number is somewhat meaningless.

I agree that some of this is a holdover from A and AB amplifiers from a different era but us old guys are sensitive to some of these distinctions.

As an aside, I built my first amp from a kit back in 1970. I took a leap of faith and picked a new fangled solid state design, which were really just becoming popular. It was state of the art at 40 watts per channel rms. And, of course, all point to point wiring. Note the wires around the capacitors to create a chokes for each channel. And potentiometers for level controls. Here is an Internet photo. Mine is long gone.

 

[dtc]

You are of course absolutely right that the term "RMS Watt" (or "RMS power") has been used in the industry for ages. This, and often also the exaggerated "Peak Music Power Output" (PMPO) or peak power. Here I assume when you say "peak to peak power" you are actually referring to peak power.

A small digression to explain my previous post: from electrical engineering perspective the terms "RMS power" and "RMS Watts" are problematic, if you're interested why, have a look at e.g. some of these articles:

• https://www.analog.com/en/resources/analog-dialogue/raqs/raq-issue-177.html
• https://www.hifi-writer.com/he/misc/rmspower.htm
• https://www.n4lcd.com/RMS.pdf

Coming back to your original question about the WiiM Vibelink Amp power: from e.g. Erin's review we see that it can generate about 75W into 8 Ohm before distortion starts to shoot up. This should be close to what might be reported as "RMS power".
From the same review we see that the power value at 1% THD (the amp's max/peak/burst power) for the Vibelink Amp is about 115W into 8 Ohm.

But note that 75W vs 115W will result in actually only about 2dB SPL difference in output - meaning that in this case there's not a lot of difference between "RMS" and peak power. However, we don't actually know for how long the amp can sustain either of these figures - but as explained in the previous post, that might not be that important in practice.

Lastly, it is good to remember that doubling of output power results in increase of only +3dB SPL (a little louder), and that we'd need 10x the power to get +10dB SPL (subjectively double as loud).

Hope this helps clarify!

Actually, peak to peak is just that - twice peak. It was sometimes used in the old days by unscrupulous companies.

I know what you are referring to. I am an old college physics professor.

 

[dominikz]

Actually, peak to peak is just that - twice peak. It was sometimes used in the old days by unscrupulous companies.

I know what you are referring to. I am an old college physics professor.

Just read your previous post and thought we were probably on the same page all along.

But perhaps the discussion will still benefit other readers!

 

[Dude]

I have an AVR set to a 5.1.2 confguration. I use a Pro Plus on it. But I'd like to send a line level feed from the AVR (it can do that) to a separate amp for the front stereo speakers. I successfully tested this on an Emotiva amp on sale but, it did not improve the stereo from just letting the AVR handle them. So I sent it back.
My question is how to do this with a Vibelink Amp? I know I can move the stereo speaker cable to the Vibelink but, it is all the rest I am confused about. If it works at all. I also run an Airport Express into the Pro Plus for Airplay version 1 lossless 16/44 since, Apple won't play with the rest of the streaming crowd and just let us play Apple Music on the streamer itself from our couches. So Toslink in is used.
It is getting confusing… if, the Vibelink can perform better than the Emotiva I tested and the AVR for the stereo fronts. (The Emotiva had another big issue with sub detection and I returned it for that as well.) Maybe the AVR is fine but, I cannot resist asking about this.