Wiim Amp Ultra Review: A Fantastic Streaming Amp With TV Input

The Wiim Amp Ultra aims to hole this issue, catering to those aft a spot much than conscionable worry-free show astatine a precise bully price. On that beforehand it proved an contiguous success, providing noticeably cleaner, much expansive stereo dependable than the Amp Pro I’ve had astatine the halfway of my surviving country for the past fewer months. The dependable isn’t perfect, and it leaves retired immoderate features I’d expect astatine this terms (like AirPlay and a dedicated phono input), but it easy won my bosom anyway. The Wiim Amp Ultra showed disconnected a beauteous premix of performance, design, and prime implicit aggregate weeks connected my TV stand.

Swift Setup

Getting going with the Amp Ultras is astir arsenic slick arsenic it gets. Opening the container reveals 2 boxes of cables, a hearty rechargeable dependable remote, and a acold aluminum cube with an obsidian solid front. It looks similar a Mac Mini connected steroids. For those caller to amplifiers, you'll request to drawback immoderate talker wire, but otherwise, Wiim includes each your accessories, including 4 banana plugs (pushable cablegram ends) for plug-and-play connection.

After plugging successful my TV via HDMI ARC and connecting my speakers, I plugged successful powerfulness to uncover a QR codification connected the 3.5-inch colour touchscreen (this has a colour touchscreen!) for the Wiim Home app, which takes the instrumentality for web setup. The app couldn’t find my portion astatine first, but aft tapping connected the measurement knob, the Amp Ultra rapidly popped on. After a five-minute update, I was disconnected to the races.

The quality of the Wiim system—like Sonos—is that determination are a ton of ways to play. From astute services to multi-room audio, you tin bash a ton successful the app to customize your location listening experience.

Loaded Little Box

Wiim makes a batch of products, including the precise similar-looking Wiim Ultra, which does not supply amplification, alternatively acting arsenic an add-on streamer to future-fy older amplifiers. The Amp Ultra packs it each successful 1 7.87 x 8.3 x 3-inch box.

Inside is simply a tiny Class-D amplifier with up to 100 watts per transmission astatine 8 ohms (200 watts astatine 4 ohms), which should powerfulness virtually immoderate speakers you’ve got, unless you're lugging astir thing precise peculiar The integer audio conversion is handled by an ESS ES9039Q2M SABRE DAC chip—the happening that converts your integer dependable to analog dependable waves—with enactment for high-resolution audio astatine up to 24-bit/192-kHz, which is amended than CD quality. At the backmost is simply a concise enactment of carnal inputs, including the aforementioned HDMI ARC TV port, integer optical, RCA analog line-in, a USB larboard for flash drives, Ethernet connection, and a subwoofer output.

Wireless transportation starts with Wi-Fi 6 and includes enactment for Google Cast, Alexa cast, and a cascade of streaming services, from the accustomed suspects similar Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, to web apps similar Plex and random services you’ve apt ne'er heard of similar SoundMachine. Spotify Connect is connected by default, portion others request to beryllium enabled to “reduce web load,” according to the brand. AirPlay 2 and Apple Music are conspicuously absent, which volition beryllium a large miss for immoderate listeners. You tin entree it via Bluetooth 5.3, but frankly, if Apple euphony is your main listening hub, I'd spell with different option, including the modular Wiim Amp.