Since building our house 10 years ago, I've been using a NUVO NV-P3100 three-zone whole house audio system. It was not very powerful (40w/channel) but did a respectable job of powering passive ceiling speakers for dinner party music and sports watching. It finally started having some reliability issues and I began my research on replacement options. Like a lot of folks I looked closely at the Sonos Amp and the Wiim Amp. I found a few decent videos and a couple helpful posts on various forums (including this one). Ultimately, I bought a lightly used Sonos Amp and a new Wiim Amp so I could hook them up and compare them back-to-back. I knew I could return or resell whichever unit I didn't need.
My goal with this post is simply to provide my basic perspective on the difference between the two. I'm admittedly no audiophile and don't consider myself to have a very discerning ear. That said, maybe a simple impression can help another average non-audiophile wrestling with the same decision.
So the main difference I saw called out in videos and threads was the power difference (125w/channel in the Sonos vs 60w/channel in the Wiim). I also found this to be the main difference to my ear, but I'll translate it in terms of volume. With the Sonos, I found I could do all my listening (from relatively quiet to as loud as I personally like it) between 50%-75% volume on the slider bar. With the Wiim, the same volume levels were found between 75%-100% on the slider. Simply put, the Sonos could drive the speakers to a louder volume. That said, for my use, I felt I could get all the sound I needed from the Wiim Amp.
When it comes to subjective sound quality, I can say is that the Sonos maybe sounded 5% better than the Wiim. I'm not sure I could even pinpoint why. Were the lows lower? Were the highs higher? Was it simply that everything was being pushed with a little more power or volume? I don't know, but it wasn't overwhelmingly different.
And finally, the subject that's probably been covered the most - value. So three brand new Wiim Amps at $300 cost me $900. The going rate on a lightly used Sonos Amp in my market is close to $500. So for me I was staring at almost $600 of difference between the two systems (and that was comparing new Wiim to used Sonos). Buy new and the difference is even bigger.
Ultimately, for my use case, specifically ceiling speakers being used for non-movie listening, the Wiim won by a landslide. I simply couldn't justify $500-ish per zone. I do wonder if someone trying to power higher quality speakers, maybe a sub, for a 2.1 movie system or higher fidelity music in a bedroom or office might perceive more benefit from the higher-powered Sonos, but I know plenty of folks using the Wiim for that as well. In any case, I am super thrilled with my decision and have been enjoying getting more familiar with the app and tweaking things to my liking. I'm excited to be a Wiim owner and see where things continue to progress with this brand and their products.
My goal with this post is simply to provide my basic perspective on the difference between the two. I'm admittedly no audiophile and don't consider myself to have a very discerning ear. That said, maybe a simple impression can help another average non-audiophile wrestling with the same decision.
So the main difference I saw called out in videos and threads was the power difference (125w/channel in the Sonos vs 60w/channel in the Wiim). I also found this to be the main difference to my ear, but I'll translate it in terms of volume. With the Sonos, I found I could do all my listening (from relatively quiet to as loud as I personally like it) between 50%-75% volume on the slider bar. With the Wiim, the same volume levels were found between 75%-100% on the slider. Simply put, the Sonos could drive the speakers to a louder volume. That said, for my use, I felt I could get all the sound I needed from the Wiim Amp.
When it comes to subjective sound quality, I can say is that the Sonos maybe sounded 5% better than the Wiim. I'm not sure I could even pinpoint why. Were the lows lower? Were the highs higher? Was it simply that everything was being pushed with a little more power or volume? I don't know, but it wasn't overwhelmingly different.
And finally, the subject that's probably been covered the most - value. So three brand new Wiim Amps at $300 cost me $900. The going rate on a lightly used Sonos Amp in my market is close to $500. So for me I was staring at almost $600 of difference between the two systems (and that was comparing new Wiim to used Sonos). Buy new and the difference is even bigger.
Ultimately, for my use case, specifically ceiling speakers being used for non-movie listening, the Wiim won by a landslide. I simply couldn't justify $500-ish per zone. I do wonder if someone trying to power higher quality speakers, maybe a sub, for a 2.1 movie system or higher fidelity music in a bedroom or office might perceive more benefit from the higher-powered Sonos, but I know plenty of folks using the Wiim for that as well. In any case, I am super thrilled with my decision and have been enjoying getting more familiar with the app and tweaking things to my liking. I'm excited to be a Wiim owner and see where things continue to progress with this brand and their products.
