WiiM Amp Pro – Good things made better again

There is no doubt that Linkplay Technology Inc. has caused quite a stir in the streaming market. The company’s solutions are characterised above all by a remarkable price-performance ratio, enabling streaming in remarkable quality at a very affordable price, which makes WiiM brand solutions appear extremely attractive to many consumers.

This also applies, for example, to the device designed by Linkplay Technology Inc. as a classic solution in the field of just-add speakers, the WiiM Amp, which was first announced in December 2023. It is noteworthy that Linkplay Technology Inc. is now presenting the WiiM Amp Pro, an improved version of the extremely successful WiiM Amp, just one year later.

Continuing success at a new level of quality

According to Linkplay Technology Inc., the WiiM Amp has proved to be a very popular solution since its market launch, and it is now time to continue this success by improving the WiiM Amp even further in order to achieve this goal. This will make it possible to continue the success at an even higher quality level.

The company speaks of new high-performance components and advanced signal processing, of new functions that are now intended to provide an even more intense sound experience in the new WiiM Amp Pro and can appeal to even the most demanding HiFi enthusiasts.

Just add speakers

Of course, it must be emphasised that the new WiiM Amp Pro is also primarily designed for all those who value very good quality but are looking for a solution for smaller rooms. Here, the WiiM Amp Pro is exactly the right solution, which can be clearly assigned to the Just add Speakers category, because you don’t need more than a pair of compact speaker systems to realise a complete HiFi solution that fits perfectly with a TV system, for example, and can of course also be used as part of your Multirooom streaming system.

The WiiM Amp thought further…

At first glance, the new WiiM Amp Pro resembles the WiiM Amp, with a compact, elegant aluminium housing in a modern industrial design. And in fact, there are only small things that distinguish the WiiM Amp Pro from the WiiM Amp, such as minor cosmetic changes to the buttons, the status LED and the volume LEDs.

The most important innovations, however, can of course be found in the technical features of the new WiiM Amp Pro because, according to the manufacturer, optimised circuits and components have been used to give this solution an even better sound.

Foto © Linkplay Technology Inc. | WiiM Amp Pro

Foto © Linkplay Technology Inc. | WiiM Amp Pro

Foto © Linkplay Technology Inc. | WiiM Amp Pro

Foto © Linkplay Technology Inc. | WiiM Amp Pro

Powerful platform

As with the WiiM Amp, the new WiIM Amp is based on a platform centred around a Quad Core A53 ARM processor, which is supported by 512 MB of DRAM and a further 512 MB of flash RAM and ultimately uses Linux as its operating system. However, it should be expressly mentioned that the user does not notice any of this in any way; instead, the WiiM Amp Pro presents itself as a HiFi solution that perfectly conceals the underlying IT.

High-quality converter and effective Class D amplifier

An ESS ES9038 Q2M Sabre DAC from ESS Technology Inc. is used here, which processes signals with up to 32 bits and 384 kHz. A TI TPA3255 from Texas Instruments acts as a particularly effective Class D amplifier, which is based on Post-Filter Feedback Amplifier Technology (PFFB) and is designed to provide two outputs of 60 watts for speaker systems with an impedance of 8 ohms or even two outputs of 120 watts with an impedance of just 4 ohms.

An optimised design should now ensure that heat is always dissipated effectively; the manufacturer refers to an advanced thermal design based on heat sinks made of copper, aluminium and graphene.

Optimised WiFi module and latest Bluetooth module

When it comes to streaming, the first step is of course to integrate the system into the network, which can now be done via an RJ45 Ethernet interface or a modern WiFi 6E module. Streaming directly from a smartphone is now possible via a Bluetooth module that complies with the Bluetooth 5.3 standard and is designed as a transceiver for sending and receiving.

The new WiiM Amp Pro now has two antennas, one for WiFI and one for Bluetooth, to ensure reliably high data rates and therefore secure, stable signal transmission at all times.

Flexible streaming despite the lack of Apple AirPlay or Apple AirPlay 2 support

The new WiiM Amp Pro is of course also primarily designed as a particularly flexible streaming system, is a dlna-certified solution for UPnP as well as Google Chromecast, TIDAL Connect and Spotify Connect and will be Roon Ready certified, but, like the WiiM Ultra, does not support Apple AirPlay or even Apple AirPlay 2.

The WiiM Home app also provides direct access to a wide range of music services, such as TIDAL, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and SoundCloud. Furthermore, this app for Apple iOS and Google Android naturally guarantees use in a multi-room network with other WiiM brand solutions from Linkplay Technology Inc.

Of course, integration into the smart home is also possible, although in this case only Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are available as voice control, but not Apple Siri due to the lack of Apple AirPlay 2 support.

Other interfaces

It goes without saying that the new WiiM Amp Pro also has digital inputs for other sources, first and foremost an HDMI port with ARC and HDMI CEC support for integrating a TV set. There is also an optical and coaxial S/PDIF interface as well as a USB port and a pair of RCA sockets for analogue sources. A subwoofer can be integrated via a corresponding RCA socket.

Room correction included

Previously, the WiiM Amp offered a flexible equaliser to adapt the performance to individual preferences. These DSP algorithms are also available on the new WiiM Amp Pro, i.e. a 10-band graphic equaliser plus a 4-band parametric equaliser.

In addition, there is now also a room correction function, which takes precise acoustic measurements of the individual room and can use this data to make individual corrections for speakers and subwoofers.

Prices and availability

The new WiiM Amp Pro should be available from specialist retailers within the next few days, whereby you can choose between Space Grey and Silver in the usual way. The manufacturer’s recommended retail price is € 459,-.

Getting to the point

The company Linkplay Technology Inc., which has really shaken up the streaming systems market in recent months with a wide variety of WiiM brand solutions, has promised to make good things even better by improving the WiiM Amp and developing it into the WiiM Amp Pro. The new WiiM Amp Pro will probably also be able to contribute to the success of the WiiM brand, as it once again delivers impeccable features at a particularly attractive price, although in addition to various significant improvements compared to the WiiM Amp, the new WiiM Amp Pro also has one disadvantage, namely the lack of support for Apple AirPlay or even Apple AirPlay 2.