Is WiiM Amp Pro sufficient to power Elac DB63 speakers?

[wordsum]

I've seen a couple reviews saying that WiiM amp was not powerful enough to drive these or similar speakers to the user's satisfaction. I will be using a subwoofer, so maybe with crossover being active and sending low frequencies to the subwoofer instead of the speakers this will not be an issue. However I would prefer to not have to use a subwoofer in order to sufficiently drive the speakers. Any thoughts?

Here are the specs for the Elac DB63:

Nominal impedance 6 Ω
Sensitivity @2.83 v/1m 87 dB
Crossover Frequency 2000 Hz
Recommended Amplifier Power 20 - 140 W
Peak Power Handling 120 W
Tweeter 1 - inch Aluminum dome
Midrange (aramid-fiber) -
Woofer (aramid-fiber) 6 1/2 “

 

[agriff79]

I have the Amp Pro connected to an old pair of Wharfdale Diamond 8.3 floorstanders with very similar specs to above and they sound fine to me.

I guess the biggest factor is how loud you intend to run them. I have poor sound proofing so keep mine pretty quiet (20-30% volume) for the benefit of my neighbours. Maybe if you really want to push them you might start to hear issues.

 

[Danny Linguini]

I have an older pair of Polk bookshelf speakers, smaller than the DB63’s in size but similar sensitivity, and I was not happy with how the Amp Pro drove them, even with a sub. They just didn’t get very loud, and overall I found them very underwhelming. I ended up going off the deep end, changing direction entirely and got a pair of Paradigm SE Monitor 6000F’s, after a search through Crutchfield for high-sensitivity floor standers, and couldn’t be happier. I kept the sub connected too, and they kick very nicely with this little amp. They don’t get ear-splitting loud, but certainly as loud as I can tolerate, and no distortion that I can hear.

If you like it loud, I don’t think you’ll be happy with your current setup. But the only way to know for sure is to try it out. The forthcoming Amp Ultra might drive them better - I know that’s on the very short list for my next upgrade, just because too much is never enough. Or there are also a number of affordable high-sensitivity bookshelf’s that would probably perform better.

This is just my own experience. I’m not what you’d call an audiophile, and I am not one who has to have the top of the line of everything, but I do think I have a discerning ear, and my current setup is to me the best sounding rig I’ve ever owned. So take that for what it’s worth.

 

[slartibartfast]

I have an older pair of Polk bookshelf speakers, smaller than the DB63’s in size but similar sensitivity, and I was not happy with how the Amp Pro drove them, even with a sub. They just didn’t get very loud, and overall I found them very underwhelming. I ended up going off the deep end, changing direction entirely and got a pair of Paradigm SE Monitor 6000F’s, after a search through Crutchfield for high-sensitivity floor standers, and couldn’t be happier. I kept the sub connected too, and they kick very nicely with this little amp. They don’t get ear-splitting loud, but certainly as loud as I can tolerate, and no distortion that I can hear.

If you like it loud, I don’t think you’ll be happy with your current setup. But the only way to know for sure is to try it out. The forthcoming Amp Ultra might drive them better - I know that’s on the very short list for my next upgrade, just because too much is never enough. Or there are also a number of affordable high-sensitivity bookshelf’s that would probably perform better.

This is just my own experience. I’m not what you’d call an audiophile, and I am not one who has to have the top of the line of everything, but I do think I have a discerning ear, and my current setup is to me the best sounding rig I’ve ever owned. So take that for what it’s worth.

Were the Polk speakers not loud enough at 100% volume?

 

[Danny Linguini]

Were the Polk speakers not loud enough at 100% volume?

Not really, not for pure alone listening time. They’d be good enough for background music, but I got this setup as a retirement gift to myself for the days when I have the house to myself and am able to rattle plaster with reckless abandon. The Polks couldn’t come close to that; the Paradigms do.

But even at ‘normal’ listening levels, the Polks weren’t dynamic at all. While that could simply be a limitation of their size, they used to sound half decent in a 5.1 setup, although that was mostly for watching movies. This last thing I put together with the Amp Pro was specifically for music - I maybe should have mentioned that earlier. In my simple brain, it’s the audio equivalent of a big block V8 vs a turbo 4. But that’s why I can’t wait to see how these Paradigms do with the Amp Ultra.

 

[wordsum]

These responses are a little disappointing. Even though I don't plan to listen to loud level music most of the time, on the occasion that I do it would be nice to know that I could power them properly using a $380 amp. They couldn't add a little more watts to it? When is the Amp Ultra supposed to be released? I've heard between July and October. Guessing it will probably be selling for a pretty penny...

 

[harkpabst]

It's not a matter of the WiiM Amp Pro lacking power. 90 Watts are 90 Watts (into 6 Ω).

The WiiM Amp and WiiM Amp Pro are designed to never allow the power section to clip. If you connect very quiet sources, the output power might never reach those 90 Watts. This is usually not an issue with streaming sources, but TVs and even more so analogue RCA sources can be on the quiet side.

If the source is low in level, the WiiM Home app will allow you to add up to 10 dB of digital pre-gain. Also, don't be afraid of using the full range of the volume control if you need it. Setting it to 100% does not mean that the amp has no power reserve left. It will not sound congested.

Listening distance and room size also play a role.

If you want it loud, speaker sensitivity is just as important as amplifier power. A difference in speaker sensitivity of 3 dB (at the same voltage) means the same difference in loudness as twice the amplifier power.

 

[Mr Ee]

I can’t wait to see how these Paradigms do with the Amp Ultra.

I've mentioned it elsewhere, but the amp pro with my paradigm founders sounded flat and lacking dynamics, as you noted with your other speakers.
The vibelink was another story entirely; really very good. (Also, imo, substantially better than the amp pro in my other setups with significantly cheaper / smaller speakers.)
I'd expect the amp ultra to be similar to the vibelink, but I guess we'l have to wait and see.

 

[dominikz]

I've seen a couple reviews saying that WiiM amp was not powerful enough to drive these or similar speakers to the user's satisfaction. I will be using a subwoofer, so maybe with crossover being active and sending low frequencies to the subwoofer instead of the speakers this will not be an issue. However I would prefer to not have to use a subwoofer in order to sufficiently drive the speakers. Any thoughts?

Here are the specs for the Elac DB63:

Nominal impedance 6 Ω
Sensitivity @2.83 v/1m 87 dB
Crossover Frequency 2000 Hz
Recommended Amplifier Power 20 - 140 W
Peak Power Handling 120 W
Tweeter 1 - inch Aluminum dome
Midrange (aramid-fiber) -
Woofer (aramid-fiber) 6 1/2 “

For what it's worth, WiiM Amp Pro drives my Revel M16 speakers (6 Ohm nominal, 86dB [2.83V@1M] sensitivity) to very uncomfortably loud levels.
This is at approx. 2,3m listening distance in a 18m2 living room in a concrete apartment building, used with a subwoofer. The sound is great - WiiM Amp Pro doesn't introduce any coloration that I can identify - except of course if you add some intentionally with EQ.

Also note that if you replace an amplifier for another one with double the power you will only get 3dB more maximum output - which is a very minor increase in perceived loudness.
You need 10x the amplifier power to get 10dB more output (which would be perceived double as loud).

Note that the WiiM Amp Ultra will not be much more powerful than the Amp Pro in practice. Going from 60W@8Ohm to 100W@8Ohm only gives you a little more than 2dB of extra output.

For analog sources, how loud an amplifier 'plays' will also be impacted by its voltage gain. Amplifiers with more gain will play louder for the same volume level.

Unfortunately whether or not any amp will drive your speakers adequately loud for you is a question no one here can really answer, as it depends on several factors, and some of them subjective:

• What level do you consider 'loud enough'?
• What is the average vs peak level of the media you want to reproduce - i.e. what kind of headroom do you need?
• Amplifier max power rating
• Loudspeaker sensitivity rating
• Your listening distance
• Will you be using a subwoofer?
• How close are your speakers to walls?
• How reflective your room is?

As an example, let's use the Benchmark Amplifier + Speaker Output Calculator to see what kind of level you could expect from WiiM Amp Pro driving a pair of Elac DB63 loudspeaker at 3m in a typical room:


So we see you should be able to get approx. 101 dB SPL peak at 3m distance with this combination.

If we now assume 14dB of headroom (I'm taking this value because most streaming services are normalized to -14 LUFS) you get approx. 87dB SPL average level at the listening position (but being able to handle peaks up to 101 dB SPL).

If we instead assume a closer 2m listening distance the numbers change and you now get 91dB SPL average (with 105dB SPL peak, assuming the same 14dB of headroom).

As you can see, there's a lot of assumptions involved here but hopefully it illustrates the principles and might help you decide what you need. Good luck in your search and have fun!