WiiM Amp

[Smartplug]

Anyone else care to weigh in on this, please do
In your opinion would the WiiM Amp give me a better result than my current WiiM Pro Plus connected to my Denon DRA-F107?

Do side by side comparison and what does your ears tells you?

 

[canard]

the question could be asked differently if or could think that one of the amplifier options would be uncomfortable on this load of speakers..but it does not seem that these dali are so complicated and we can imagine that if this set denon (more complete than the wiim and a historic brand) is in place... it means that there are no problems with these speakers (no?)
but a direct comparison at home will be interesting.. it remains in both cases a minisystem approach...

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

For me the simple fact that the Denon has a complete and reliable remote would be the first point. The second one would point to the reasonable good DAC in the Pro Plus. My third point would be that the amplifying part of the Denon is at least as good as the WiiM Amp. The fourth, an of course again my very own bias, is that all the components in the WiiM Amp are very basic, avoiding the word "cheap" (and it's Class D ).
So, as long as your amp works without technical issues stay with it and your Pro Plus. Do not expect listenable improvements from a 350 € box.
Pro, Pro Plus and the Mini are in my eyes beautiful devices which perform clearly above its price ranges. The Amp is in my eyes a lifestyle product. Overloaded with features targeting on those who want all for nothing.
But of course this all is purely subjective

I’m not sure the addition of a sub out and bass management is a step towards a ‘lifestyle product’ and away from serious hi-fi.

Having everything in one box is great, and yes a bit ‘lifestyle’, but not in any way which precludes quality.

You could stick a world class streamer, a Topping D90 III DAC and a Topping LA90 amp in one box, doing so wouldn’t make them poor.

 

[musig]

These posts touch many of the reasons why I am still a bit uncertain whether to keep the WiiM Amp or move to a WiiM Pro Plus and return to my previous amplification (Mission Cyrus 2). In my case it is quite evident that the Cyrus is able to drive the loudspeakers better than the WiiM Amp, the sound gets much more body especially in the low range and when the volume goes up. On the other side, the WiiM Amp allows me to get rid of the boxes and cables proliferation and offers a whealth of functions in one box. Still a few more days to decide...

 

[canard]

I’m not sure the addition of a sub out and bass management is a step towards a ‘lifestyle product’ and away from serious hi-fi.

Having everything in one box is great, and yes a bit ‘lifestyle’, but not in any way which precludes quality.

You could stick a world class streamer, a Topping D90 III DAC and a Topping LA90 amp in one box, doing so wouldn’t make them poor.

are you serious? you want to talk about quality? Manufacturing? performance? the presence of a sub output which will be the ultimate functionality (for the moment very modest in functionality)?... a peq mode for the time being rather limited, and moreover present on mini pro and more? we must still stop functionalities and quality of these... and it seems to me, I hope, that no one imagines that modest amplification are particularly hq etc. this does not take away anything from product which will certainly end up as a product concerning a general public market and good value for money... and will be very respectable with a choice of well-adapted speakers...

 

[Giro413]

Thanks, All. That was a lot of response in a short amount of time (and great and diverse responses too ). I will continue listening to my WiiM Pro Plus - Denon setup, since it seems that “upgrading” to the WiiM Amp might actually be a downgrade sonically. Can’t say that I am unimpressed with my sound as is, either. Just was curious if I was missing out. Back to enjoying what I already have

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

It is not about one box, it’s solely about sound and build quality.

But my post was in response to you saying the Amp was a ‘lifestyle product’.

In what way is it a lifestyle product, if not for it being an all-in-one?

Comparing the price of the items I listed completely misses the point of my post.

In general, I’ll wait for a proper, professional review with measurements before making any decision on its quality.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

are you serious? you want to talk about quality? Manufacturing? performance? the presence of a sub output which will be the ultimate functionality (for the moment very modest in functionality)?... a peq mode for the time being rather limited, and moreover present on mini pro and more? we must still stop functionalities and quality of these... and it seems to me, I hope, that no one imagines that modest amplification are particularly hq etc. this does not take away anything from product which will certainly end up as a product concerning a general public market and good value for money... and will be very respectable with a choice of well-adapted speakers...

Not only am I serious, but I know how to punctuate, construct a sentence, and make a coherent point.

But hey, it’s just how I roll…

 

[canard]

Not only am I serious, but I know how to punctuate, construct a sentence, and make a coherent point.

But hey, it’s just how I roll…

thank you...
but only answers one of my questions, the "serious" aspect... ;-))

 

[Brantome]

Not only am I serious, but I know how to punctuate, construct a sentence, and make a coherent point.

But hey, it’s just how I roll…

Let's not get personal please - no need to criticise punctuation etc particularly for non-native English speakers. Thanks

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Let's not get personal please - no need to criticise punctuation etc particularly for non-native English speakers. Thanks

Fair enough. I’d rather the focus be on the lack of a coherent point.

 

[Smartplug]

When it comes to gears, it’s all personal choice and subjective. What sound good to you may not satisfy others, in essence there’s no gear fit one all listeners. Let’s say you purchase top brand like naim or hifi rose and compare them to wiim of course there’s advantage on the expensive side but the question is the cost justify for its asking price just to get the last 5 percent performance? Unless your die hard hardcore audiophile then it matters.

 

[Smartplug]

Let's not get personal please - no need to criticise punctuation etc particularly for non-native English speakers. Thanks

I like when brantome intervene he is the wiim law enforcement. Good job rock star!

 

[Smartplug]

thank you...
but only answers one of my questions, the "serious" aspect... ;-))

Just like morillon write exact sentences that is out of this world.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Best wishes to all forum members.

I sincerely believe people should not be ‘using their own ears’ in any arbitrary way.

Any of us can believe we hear a difference where none exists. That’s not a criticism of anyone personally, we’re all capable of that error.

The only way to say for sure whether you can hear a difference or not is with a proper, double blind test.

A great video here, both on the importance of such tests, and how to perform them.

 

[Smartplug]

Best wishes to all forum members.

I sincerely believe people should not be ‘using their own ears’ in any arbitrary way.

Any of us can believe we hear a difference where none exists. That’s not a criticism of anyone personally, we’re all capable of that error.

The only way to say for sure whether you can hear a difference or not is with a proper, double blind test.

A great video here, both on the importance of such tests, and how to perform them.

Every person translate what they hear subjectively. I rather see the measurements and decide if clean measurements is what I want or the distortion of the tube.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

When it comes to gears, it’s all personal choice and subjective. What sound good to you may not satisfy others, in essence there’s no gear fit one all listeners. Let’s say you purchase top brand like naim or hifi rose and compare them to wiim of course there’s advantage on the expensive side but the question is the cost justify for its asking price just to get the last 5 percent performance? Unless your die hard hardcore audiophile then it matters.

You’re not totally wrong, but I believe you’re partially in error.

We know certain things as fact. For example, we know what the limits of human hearing are, these have been demonstrated and measured, tested and retested, many times; they’re accepted as scientific fact. And we can measure DACs to see if their reproduction has errors or not within those limits. We can then deduce that two DACs measured as transparent will sound the same (all else being equal, of course).

Now the science is clear on this. If someone wants to challenge that science, that’s fine. But they must use the scientific method.

In this case, if someone says “DAC A is better than DAC B”, and yet both measure as transparent, than the onus is on that person to demonstrate that they can hear a difference - a double blind test, replicable by others, is the only way to demonstrate this.

If someone can’t be bothered, or is too unsure of their opinion, and refuses to carry out such a test, then why should anyone else listen?

If someone can’t hear a difference, then it’s not a matter of taste.

Is it?

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Every person translate what they hear subjectively. I rather see the measurements and decide if clean measurements is what I want or the distortion of the tube.

Totally agree. But there’s a difference between a product being more accurate and someone preferring a sound which is less accurate.

Tubes are a great example.

 

[canard]

Totally agree. But there’s a difference between a product being more accurate and someone preferring a sound which is less accurate.

Tubes are a great example.

wanting to import what is essentially the subject revolving around dacs at asr is surprising..
here we are talking about a linkplay streamer followed by a small class d amp on a well-known chip tpa3255..
it doesn't seem to me that people participating in the long discussions on asr on small fosi aiyima etc
they have never claimed or thought that these are HQ approaches, especially since these approaches are known to have quite particular behavior in the face of certain loads etc...
we are not talking about more ambitious approaches in class d...

 

[Smartplug]

You’re not totally wrong, but I believe you’re partially in error.

We know certain things as fact. For example, we know what the limits of human hearing are, these have been demonstrated and measured, tested and retested, many times; they’re accepted as scientific fact. And we can measure DACs to see if their reproduction has errors or not within those limits. We can then deduce that two DACs measured as transparent will sound the same (all else being equal, of course).

Now the science is clear on this. If someone wants to challenge that science, that’s fine. But they must use the scientific method.

In this case, if someone says “DAC A is better than DAC B”, and yet both measure as transparent, than the onus is on that person to demonstrate that they can hear a difference - a double blind test, replicable by others, is the only way to demonstrate this.

If someone can’t be bothered, or is too unsure of their opinion, and refuses to carry out such a test, then why should anyone else listen?

If someone can’t hear a difference, then it’s not a matter of taste.

Is it?

If someone can’t hear it while others can hear it effortlessly then that person has hearing problem. Aging is one factor of hearing lose. Let say you like transparent sound and to me that’s too honest of a sound and I want tube because it’s soothing to my ear knowing it has worst measurement. This is what I say what sound good to you will not be a cup of tea to others ear.