The vinyl revival could also be in full swing, however for most individuals, streaming is the quick and pleasurable technique to hearken to high-quality tunes. In spite of everything, digital music has come a great distance for the reason that days of Limewire, and even Spotify. And due to streamers just like the WiiM Professional, it is simpler than ever to stream your favourite music via an older system or hi-fi.
For streaming followers, Sonos makes the very best related audio system, with their built-in {hardware} and software program. However those that already personal a “dumb” stereo and audio system primarily have two wi-fi streaming choices: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. With Bluetooth, the vary is horrible and goal sound high quality is even worse. Wi-Fi is extra dependable and delivers significantly higher sound, however there aren’t lots of {hardware} choices. For probably the most half, the selection comes all the way down to the affordable-but-way-discontinued Google Chromecast Audio or rather more costly streamers just like the $449 Sonos Port or $599 Bluesound Node.
At $149, the WiiM Professional not solely offers music followers an up-to-date and reasonably priced choice, however it’s additionally extra versatile than all these gamers put collectively. WiiM, pronounced “whim,” gives just about each streaming customary you’ll be able to consider, together with Roon, whereas additionally including its personal easy-to-use app. The gadget contains loads of digital and analog connectivity choices, a few of that are even uncommon for the cash. Wish to stream vinyl on a turntable round the home, for instance? It may possibly do this — although there are some caveats.
The $449 Sonos Port (left) versus the $149 WiiM Professional (proper).
What’s within the field?
The WiiM Professional is a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth music streamer designed to hook up with present stereo programs, soundbars or audio system. Competing ecosystems like Sonos provide rock-solid efficiency, however should you’re bringing present gear into the fold, it may get very costly. For instance, in my thoughts, it is simply not price including a $449 Sonos Port to a $600 receiver just like the Onkyo TX-NR6100 — a lot much less a less expensive system. However the WiiM Professional gives a salve by supporting each single open customary I can consider, in addition to its personal streaming app in an reasonably priced field. Even including a WiiM Professional to a $200 soundbar is sensible.
The WiiM Professional is a step up from the $99 WiiM Mini and whereas it gives the identical Burr-Brown PCM5121 decoder, the Professional has extra performance, together with Chromecast built-in and analog inputs. Design-wise, the WiiM Professional is strictly the identical dimension because the Sonos Port, at 5.5 inches sq. and 1.6 inches tall. The WiiM is effectively made, and although it is not significantly heavy, it features a rubber backside to cease it from slipping round once you plug in cables.
The WiiM Professional gives loads of connections, together with analog in/out and digital in/out.
If there’s one factor the WiiM Professional gives, it is loads of connections — each bodily and of the streaming selection. The again of the unit contains analog and optical digital out and in jacks, plus a coaxial digital out. That is along with a USB-C energy enter, a microphone for multiroom audio synchronization, an Ethernet port and a 12-volt set off. The set off output is uncommon, because it’s designed to activate an exterior amplifier as soon as the WiiM Professional has detected an incoming stream. However I would not attempt to management quantity from a honking energy amp with the dinky +/- capacitive buttons on the entrance of the WiiM Professional — an excessive amount of margin for error. These buttons, which additionally embody a supply button and a Play/Pause button, may be modified from quantity to quick ahead and rewind within the settings menu, which can be extra helpful.
On the streaming facet, the WiiM Professional is simply as thorough with Bluetooth, Ethernet and Wi-Fi, which brings AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Amazon Multi-Room Music, Spotify Join, TIDAL Join and DLNA. When it comes to competitors, the WiiM Professional’s closest rival is the Chromecast Audio, however the WiiM does some issues the Audio cannot do, corresponding to gapless audio and help for extra streaming platforms.
In the meantime, Roon is a server-based music streaming system that aggregates all of your music from native storage and a number of streaming platforms in a single easy-to-use interface. The WiiM Professional has now been licensed as Roon Prepared, which makes this gadget an excellent higher buy for music followers.
Whereas the WiiM is controllable with a separate Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, the corporate does make a $20 WiiM Voice Distant (not examined) that features a devoted Alexa button and microphone. The distant may also be used to regulate the WiiM Professional with transport controls corresponding to Play/Pause and so forth.
Establishing the WiiM Professional
The gadget is designed to be arrange and used through the WiiM House app, obtainable for each Android and iOS. The app was sensible sufficient to detect the WiiM as quickly as I opened it, and it walked me via setup — all with no single button-press on the gadget.
The WiiM House app will look acquainted to anybody who’s used Sonos or different music programs. The house web page gives entry to presets, your library through the telephone and community (DLNA), plus over a dozen music streaming companies. The gadget tab collates the WiiM models in your own home, whereas the common search tab is subsequent and, based mostly on my interactions with it, is superb.
As with all gadget this subtle, it’d take some time to get it to carry out the way in which you need it through the Settings tab. For instance, when you can set the enter to auto-sense between the optical and the RCA enter, it is not doable to do the identical for the output. As a substitute, you might want to manually choose the output from the app — whether or not line out, SPDIF, coax or Bluetooth –but that is not ordinarily a giant deal. Nevertheless, if you end up troubleshooting as a result of there isn’t any audio, attempt altering the output methodology first.
Listening checks
Although some individuals might balk at paying $149 for a streamer, you may consider the WiiM Professional as a supply — like a report participant or a CD participant — and it is onerous to get both a kind of for this low cost. Following my testing of the WiiM Professional, I can affirm that it is “correct hi-fi” with the options audiophiles demand — gapless playback, digital outputs — and the seamlessness and worth for the cash that music followers need.
In my comparability of the analog output of the WiiM Professional and the Chromecast Audio on my dwelling system, each have been surprisingly achieved. I in contrast a 24-bit stream of Peter Gabriel’s Do not Give Up through Roon on the 2 streamers, with an SACD of the artist’s biggest hits as a reference. Whereas the Chromecast was completely listenable, the WiiM Professional was capable of seize extra of the element which the SACD had uncovered, in each Gabriel’s and visitor Kate Bush’s voices. The WiiM Professional had a much bigger, extra immersive sound.
Switching to CNET’s reference system of the Q Acoustics 3050i and the Onkyo TX-RZ50, the WiiM was equally pleasurable. What was expressed as element on my Klipsch system introduced itself as midrange forwardness on the 30350is, and it required a bit of 10-band EQ tweaking contained in the WiiM interface to make it extra listenable. Once I related the gadget as much as a separate DAC — an Oppo UDP-205 — it put a cease to that immediately. On each my dwelling system and the reference, I loved listening to this gadget’s digital output probably the most, although the analog output is greater than respectable.
Lastly, I examined the WiiM’s audio enter, which primarily turns this gadget into an audio swap or receiver-lite. It is purposeful, however I would not purchase it solely to distribute an analog supply round the home. In listening checks — the place I switched the output to digital and did not ship it to a different speaker — there was a scarcity of element within the higher mids, which made it sound AM-radio-like. I used to be capable of EQ that deficit out considerably, however after all, your EQ preset would should be modified manually should you modified enter once more. Additionally, the analog inputs can solely ship to a different WiiM unit and to not an AirPlay or Chromecast built-in gadget. If you wish to ship an analog gadget round your own home, I discovered via additional testing that the Sonos Port was a giant bounce when it comes to ease of use and in audio high quality.
On a WiiM and a prayer
For nearly 20 years, I’ve coated streaming music, and the WiiM Professional is the very best price range participant I’ve examined for the reason that Chromecast Audio. Although individuals corresponding to myself hope that the Chromecast Audio sticks round perpetually, its future is not in any respect assured. I am hoping that the wonderful WiiM Professional is right here to say.
My one grievance, should you may even name it that, is the WiiM Professional tries to do an excessive amount of for therefore little, and if there’s ever a WiiM Professional 2 it may jettison among the peripheral options. If you’d like a 12v set off or an audio enter, the Sonos Port and different gadgets can do this higher, although at the next worth. But, should you’re in search of a step-up when it comes to audio high quality and connectivity, the WiiM Professional does every little thing higher than the Google gadget and at a nonetheless reasonably priced worth.
