Wiim Amp vs Class AB Amplifier

[Dragos05azs]

Hi guys! Does anyone tried to compare Wiim Amp vs an entry level class AB Amplifier ?
I can return my wiim amp and I can buy a sealed Yamaha R-N600a for just 100€ difference.But ... I like the compact form of Wiim and sound wise it's very ok for my taste/ears.Wiim app is much much better than MusicCast app from Yamaha ,but if sound on ab class it's far more complete, I'll make an compromise.
I guess sound on Yamaha it's comparable with 400-500€ AB Class amplifier.
I'm not looking for small difference in sound, for that , I'll keep Wiim , I'm searching for big difference in soundstage , dynamics, bass response ...
I run my amp with Wharfedale Evo 4.4.
Thx

 

[Fender]

Eventually putting together best of the two worlds? Adding an idea only.
It is the way I use WiiM.

 

[Dragos05azs]

no... I'm looking for one box (new), and USB input . That man gives an bad example , a 15 years old receiver ...And I'm not sure that it gives me big difference in sound. Why can he search for an contemporany solution if he thinks Wiim Amp it's not ok?! Because at this price point it isn't one!

 

[Fender]

Never mind. Just an idea. From him and from me. A 15 year old amp for sure is a bit weird. Was only meant showing another way to get WiiMs superior software performance. And entry level modern amps can also do well for little money.

 

[Dragos05azs]

Yes , I know that a 15 years receiver/amplifier can sound very good, but it's 15 years old. In my country that receiver is 150-200€ , that puck is 100€ .

 

[Fender]

Didn't notice enough you insist on USB and one box. In this price range it will be very difficult to beat the WiiM.

 

[Dragos05azs]

Yes and it's a insanely good amp for easy listening, but I notice that when I past the 75% volume (rock, heavy metal) it needs more power , my lows are gone . I understand that my speaker are a little to much for Wiim , that's why I'm looking for solution .

 

[wunderkind]

If you need an AiO solution, the Wiim Amp sounds like a good fit. For many of us that already invested in separates, the Wiim streamers (mini, pro, pro+) works well. Will anyone hear a difference? Not sure.

Options are great!

 

[Smartplug]

Yes and it's an insanely good amp for easy listening, but I notice that when I past the 75% volume (rock, heavy metal) it needs more power , my lows are gone . I understand that my speaker are a little to much for Wiim , that's why I'm looking for solution .

It has 60 watt at 8 ohms plus if your speaker is low sensitivity you won’t get much of a volume. The size of your listening and level of your preference is vital if wiim can produce volume on your desire. Other solution get Klipsch since those are high sensitivity and required low watt to play loud.

 

[Dragos05azs]

I don't like the Klipsch design , I tried Polk Audio ES55 and Evo 4.4 on Wiim amp and it sound great on bouth of them (89/90db sensitivity) and pretty loud on 70-75% volume . Over that volume , Wiim is showing his limitations . I don't think I will go over this volume , but I'm curious if an entry AB amp will improve the overall sound (I'm looking for big improvement). I found a good priced Yamaha R-N600a , but I can't test it , and I don't have an AB amp for comparison with Wiim.

 

[Dragos05azs]

If you need an AiO solution, the Wiim Amp sounds like a good fit. For many of us that already invested in separates, the Wiim streamers (mini, pro, pro+) works well. Will anyone hear a difference? Not sure.

Options are great!

Thx

 

[Smartplug]

I don't like the Klipsch design , I tried Polk Audio ES55 and Evo 4.4 on Wiim amp and it sound great on bouth of them (89/90db sensitivity) and pretty loud on 70-75% volume . Over that volume , Wiim is showing his limitations . I don't think I will go over this volume , but I'm curious if an entry AB amp will improve the overall sound (I'm looking for big improvement). I found a good priced Yamaha R-N600a , but I can't test it , and I don't have an AB amp for comparison with Wiim.

I have top tier polk legend. It’s best speaker Polk ever design. I don’t listen to high volume just low and moderate. If you want to push those speakers to stratosphere get separate amp. I have 450 mono block but the problem the output on my pre amp was low that even the volume control set high it’s just as loud as wiim amp.

 

[toxicated]

Non audiophile experience here. I had and still have in my closet harman/kardon avr2000, now I am using Wiim Amp for more than a month I didn't notice any difference in sound, unless probably I should pause the same music on one and resume on another to feel it. Anyway Wiim Amp is just ease of use it detects tv stuff automatically, it plays thing from spotify with smarpthones I have google home mini it can just play things with voice it is very easy to adjust subwoofer things from sofa, so you can hear difference live without needing to adjust knobs on subwoofer, then go to sofa and see if it suits you or you need to stand again and play with it more. It consumes much less energy it is very small, now I have extra space under my tv, because previous monster was 14kg and is big. At the end of the day you just listen to music and enjoy it, not sitting in front of it and looking for some kind of difference in one or another artist creations. Unless you probably invest thousands in AB amp to really feel the difference. It has plenty of power unless you want to shake the ground without subwoofer and your speakers are more capable than 60W.

 

[Fender]

My personal preference is still AB. No real reason for that today. Eventually only because I never looked for class D. My belief in clearly audible differences in lower price category is very small. For what @Dragos05azs asked I think the WiiM amp is most reasonable solution. In my workshop I have a Pro Plus and a Rotel A10 MK 2 with aged Elac floorstands. Sounds great, but I can not imagine a big difference if I would replace it with the WiiM amp.

 

[harkpabst]

I don't like the Klipsch design , I tried Polk Audio ES55 and Evo 4.4 on Wiim amp and it sound great on bouth of them (89/90db sensitivity) and pretty loud on 70-75% volume . Over that volume , Wiim is showing his limitations .

This doesn't comply with my personal experience, so far.

I've been playing stuff like Arrested for driving while blind from ZZ Top's wonderful album Tejas at 100% volume setting on the WiiM through my LS50 BE and didn't notice any sort of compression.

Admittedly, these files were ripped.from a rather old CD, so it is far from 0 dBFS, as typical for that time. 100% volume setting doesn't mean full power from the WiiM's power amplifier section.

 

[Dragos05azs]

Thx guys, I'll stick with the Wiim , today I tried an old mini Yamaha amp , AB class , 2*30W 6ohm , very well made ...I'm still impressed with Wiim.

 

[Dragos05azs]

This doesn't comply with my personal experience, so far.

I've been playing stuff like Arrested for driving while blind from ZZ Top's wonderful album Tejas at 100% volume setting on the WiiM through my LS50 BE and didn't notice any sort of compression.

Admittedly, these files were ripped.from a rather old CD, so it is far from 0 dBFS, as typical for that time. 100% volume setting doesn't mean full power from the WiiM's power amplifier section.

Perhaps Tidal version was a poor mastering in my case. I didn't notice any flows with blues/rock/jazz albums.

 

[harkpabst]

Perhaps Tidal version was a poor mastering in my case. I didn't notice any flows with blues/rock/jazz albums.

This can be an issue, indeed.

Just for fun I compared my own ZZ Top Tejas CD rip to FLAC (played from USB) to Spotify. I had hoped for me being instantly able to spot the inferior quality of Spotify's lossy MP3 stream to pamper my ego ...

... and I was absolutely shocked about how awful that album sounded on Spotify. I was very pleased with my golden ears ... at least for a couple of hours.

Only then it occurred to me that I don't actually own an individual CD release of Tejas. I do own the infamous ZZ Top Sixpack, where Tejas and El Loco had been squeezed onto a single CD! The original releases had been remastered (and songs even shortened in some cases) for this very ambiguous release. In most cases I like the original LP release much better than what can be heard on the Sixpack.

But at least in the case of Tejas the remastered version is clearly a lot better than what's been used for the Spotify release (where the vocals are distorted to the point it becomes unlistenable).

Watch out for what you are comparing, golden ears!

 

[Dragos05azs]

Plus..my speakers are new , only 5-10 hours of listening.

 

[cooky560]

The WiiM amp is a wonderful device for convenience. If you want more power / sound then buy a proper receiver and the wiim pro plus.