You're reading this, so my clickbait style thread title worked out. Great! 
Actually I hope to provide a little more than just a catchy heading. Over the next couple of days I plan to post some of my findings comparing my original WiiM Amp (PCB_version 5), bought in February 2024, with its shiny new steptwin, the WiiM Amp Pro. For today I will (almost exclusively) focus on outer appearance, so don't expect any sound description larded with cloudy, flowery adjectives (yet).
Let me get this out of the way first, though: The WiiM Amp Pro does not support AirPlay in any form, the WiiM Amp does.
I'm sure you knew this before but in case you didn't, having said it once means I'm not going to discuss this topic any further. It's a fact and I'm not interested in any dispute about the importance of this feature. If you cannot live without AirPlay either avoid the WiiM Amp Pro or use any of the workarounds mentioned in this forum.
The Box
No unboxing here, but let's talk about the differences in the retail packaging.
Side by side they look pretty much the same except for the product name (Captain Obvious to the rescue) and the different perspective of the picture. On close inspection you might note that the feature logos (except for Hi-Res Audio) are gone. No traces of the colour green any more, it's all monochrome or silver.
But wait, what's that?
The box of the WiiM Amp Pro is actually a little longer than that of my WiiM Amp. Where did this extra length go on the inside?
The inner paperboard lining is quite a bit thicker now, increasing the strength of the packaging. And that's not all.
The box is a tad taller, too. WiiM did add some extra padding below the recess holding the actual amp. You can actually feel it flex when depressing the center with your thumb. I don't know if this new packaging is exclusive to the WiiM Amp Pro. Those luring around since the introduction of the original Amp may remember that a small number of devices had not survived shipping (and quite a number of boxes showed signs of damage to the inner lining). At least some Amazon shipping centres had not included any form of padding in the shipping boxes. This looks like WiiM's response to that and the result is actually perfect.
The Accessories
No difference at all in this section. Just in case you never had the pleasure to unbox a WiiM Amp, WiiM Ultra or WiiM Amp Pro, here's a picture of what you get.
Still loving the fact that WiiM provide a full set of connection cables with these products. All cables, HDMI, optical and RCA are of pretty decent quality, a lot better than the stuff usually found with traditional separates. I've definitely experienced more cases where the supplied cables worked better than 3rd party ones, even if some tolerances might be found in this price range.
The Bluetooth remote is exactly the same as with all other WiiM products. No batteries included, no difference here as well.
The casework
It's the same on both devices .... not.
The colour of the Amp Pro looks the same in frontal view, but slightly different at an angle. Amazon lists the Amp in either "Silver" or "Space Gray" while the Amp Pro is available in "Dark Gray" only, so maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise. If you ask me, Dark Gray does look a little different and (I might be going over the top here) a little more classy. Pick for yourself if I'm talking the left or the right unit in the above picture. Phew!
Made your pick? OK, then you're ready to discover one more difference. Something's not right in that picture ... let's get down on our knees.
The WiiM Amp Pro (yes, the classy looking one on the right side) is actually taller than the WiiM Amp? How come? No reviewer has been talking about that, I surely must be kidding, no?
... to be continued ...
Actually I hope to provide a little more than just a catchy heading. Over the next couple of days I plan to post some of my findings comparing my original WiiM Amp (PCB_version 5), bought in February 2024, with its shiny new steptwin, the WiiM Amp Pro.
For today I will (almost exclusively) focus on outer appearance, so don't expect any sound description larded with cloudy, flowery adjectives (yet). Let me get this out of the way first, though: The WiiM Amp Pro does not support AirPlay in any form, the WiiM Amp does.
I'm sure you knew this before but in case you didn't, having said it once means I'm not going to discuss this topic any further. It's a fact and I'm not interested in any dispute about the importance of this feature. If you cannot live without AirPlay either avoid the WiiM Amp Pro or use any of the workarounds mentioned in this forum.
The Box
No unboxing here, but let's talk about the differences in the retail packaging.
Side by side they look pretty much the same except for the product name (Captain Obvious to the rescue) and the different perspective of the picture. On close inspection you might note that the feature logos (except for Hi-Res Audio) are gone. No traces of the colour green any more, it's all monochrome or silver.
But wait, what's that?
The box of the WiiM Amp Pro is actually a little longer than that of my WiiM Amp. Where did this extra length go on the inside?
The inner paperboard lining is quite a bit thicker now, increasing the strength of the packaging. And that's not all.
The box is a tad taller, too. WiiM did add some extra padding below the recess holding the actual amp. You can actually feel it flex when depressing the center with your thumb. I don't know if this new packaging is exclusive to the WiiM Amp Pro. Those luring around since the introduction of the original Amp may remember that a small number of devices had not survived shipping (and quite a number of boxes showed signs of damage to the inner lining). At least some Amazon shipping centres had not included any form of padding in the shipping boxes. This looks like WiiM's response to that and the result is actually perfect.
The Accessories
No difference at all in this section. Just in case you never had the pleasure to unbox a WiiM Amp, WiiM Ultra or WiiM Amp Pro, here's a picture of what you get.
Still loving the fact that WiiM provide a full set of connection cables with these products. All cables, HDMI, optical and RCA are of pretty decent quality, a lot better than the stuff usually found with traditional separates. I've definitely experienced more cases where the supplied cables worked better than 3rd party ones, even if some tolerances might be found in this price range.
The Bluetooth remote is exactly the same as with all other WiiM products. No batteries included, no difference here as well.
The casework
It's the same on both devices .... not.
The colour of the Amp Pro looks the same in frontal view, but slightly different at an angle. Amazon lists the Amp in either "Silver" or "Space Gray" while the Amp Pro is available in "Dark Gray" only, so maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise. If you ask me, Dark Gray does look a little different and (I might be going over the top here) a little more classy. Pick for yourself if I'm talking the left or the right unit in the above picture.
Phew! Made your pick? OK, then you're ready to discover one more difference. Something's not right in that picture ... let's get down on our knees.
The WiiM Amp Pro (yes, the classy looking one on the right side) is actually taller than the WiiM Amp? How come? No reviewer has been talking about that, I surely must be kidding, no?
... to be continued ...
