Wiim Amp vs Wiim Amp Pro - Sound Quality Differences Noticeable?

[DigitalJackson]

Researching audio quality differences between the Wiim Amp and Wiim Amp Pro but have found very little information. I thought there would at least be several YouTube videos comparing the two considering how popular the Wiim Amp is.

For anyone here who has compared the two, do the improvements (SNR and DAC) for the Pro model result in a noticeable audio quality difference?

 

[bherren]

The PFFB would make a difference with hard to drive speakers I think. The rest, well... maybe ? The differences in measurements are close to the edge of the audible range, but they are there...

 

[DigitalJackson]

The PFFB would make a difference with hard to drive speakers I think. The rest, well... maybe ? The differences in measurements are close to the edge of the audible range, but they are there...

I have a pair of Polk R100 bookshelf speakers with a sensitivity of 86 dB. Not the most efficient but definitely better than the L100s which I avoided for that reason. I already have the Wiim amp... got it as a Xmas present. Sounds good for my use of nearfield listening at my desk, but seeing the pro specs has me wondering...

 

[bherren]

By hard to drive I don't mean so much the sensitivity but the impedance curve. I think the Pro might also distort less at high power

 

[DigitalJackson]

By hard to drive I don't mean so much the sensitivity but the impedance curve. I think the Pro might also distort less at high power

Gotcha, its actually the impedance curve for the Polk L100s that makes them hard to drive... dips below 3Ω between 4 and 7kHz.
The R100's I own don't have that issue.

Curiosity has gotten me, so will probably be ordering the Pro model to compare.

 

[DigitalJackson]

Going further down the rabbit hole, I'm also now looking at the Wiim Pro Plus + a Fosi ZA3 vs the Wiim Pro amp.

What I like about the Wiim Pro Plus/Fosi ZA3 combo is the ability to upgrade the ops amp in the Fosi to something like a Sparkos Labs SS3602, but unsure what the downsides are vs the Wiim Pro amp. With the Fosi, there's also the flexibility to add another later and run them as mono amps for L and R speakers.

 

[harkpabst]

Going further down the rabbit hole, I'm also now looking at the Wiim Pro Plus + a Fosi ZA3 vs the Wiim Pro amp.

What I like about the Wiim Pro Plus/Fosi ZA3 combo is the ability to upgrade the ops amp in the Fosi to something like a Sparkos Labs SS3602, but unsure what the downsides are vs the Wiim Pro amp. With the Fosi, there's also the flexibility to add another later and run them as mono amps for L and R speakers.

The ZA3 also shows load dependency because it's lacking PFFB.

 

[stefan65]

For whom it may be of interest - I did compare Wiim Amp and Wiim Amp Pro the other week.

Well, how come? I did decide on a sound setup for our new second home. On the upper floor we will have a kitchen / living area, on the lower a TV and music relax space.

So I did buy us two setups based on Wiim Products:
- for the kitchen/living room a Wiim Amp with Dali Spektor II speakers (amp+speakers=480€) for background music
- for the TV and music space a Wiim Amp Pro with B&W 607S3 (amp+speakers=790€) more for listening to music and watching TV

I don´t believe in the cable-vodoo, so I am using standard copper cabling for both.

And - you might be, I definitely was curious what the differences are in regards to sound.

So I did set up the test, both setups side to side in our living room. I used room correction on both setups, using my Samsung S20 which turned out good. I also tried the flat linear EQ setup and the bass booster EQ.

I did combine the amps to a multiroom setup to ensure that both amps get the same source - and did then mute either of the amps to compare.

As a source I used hi res audio from Amazon music, music I listen to and some "specials".
In detail: I started with contemporary pop music, then old school Hip-hop, some classic stuff (orchestra and a bit of Chopin piano) then some Jazz (Diana Krall). Finally news on TV via HDMI coming from our Sony TV.

In fact I can conclude after two days of testing: both setups sound really great, I would have been happy with two times the WiimAmp and Dali setup - but the WiimAmp Pro and B&W 607S3 setup gives more clarity overall (better spoken word), also more punch in the base.

In other words: for background type of setups the WiimAmp+Dali Spektor II is a good choice and an incredible bang for the buck, for more clarity (music and spoken word) you may want to level up.

So I am extremely happy and I am sure now that I have the right setups for both purposes.

Ciao,
Stefan

 

[jxrxme]

Interesting and appreciated comparison. But I would argue you are comparing the speakers and not the amps.

 

[stefan65]

Yeah, argue ;-)
For sure I did switch the amps, easy as they were side by side. And it is an improvement path - WiimAmp+Dali --> WiimAmp+B&W --> WiimAmpPro Dali --> WiimAmp Pro B&W. I should have mentioned that.

 

[slartibartfast]

Yeah, argue ;-)
For sure I did switch the amps, easy as they were side by side. And it is an improvement path - WiimAmp+Dali --> WiimAmp+B&W --> WiimAmpPro Dali --> WiimAmp Pro B&W. I should have mentioned that.

Did you also run room correction on all combinations of amp and speaker?

 

[stefan65]

No, I am not running a lab but I did compare the linear EQs