WiiM PRO PLUS REVIEW 

Wiim stormed the streaming market last year with the release of their Wiim Mini and Pro; in this review we will look at their £219 Pro Plus model which has a few additional features over the regular Pro, whilst still retaining an accessible price.

 

Coming in at £219 it is very affordable and promises excellent sound quality and a neat home streaming setup with a wide array of features. Is this another flavour of the month budget streamer, or can it hold its own in this competitive market, let’s find out. 

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF THE NAME OF PRODUCT

Keeping costs down, the Wiim Pro Plus housing is made of plastic yet it feels well put together and once in place isn’t really something you’re going to be moving about much. The inputs on the back feel tight, the touch buttons on the front are responsive and it doesn’t “feel” cheap. The remote also feels great, with a bit of weight to it and responsive buttons it works very well if you wish to use the Wiim Pro Plus with variable volume.

Feature wise, the Pro Plus model comes with a remote that has 4 assignable buttons, you can link these to radio stations or pretty much anything you want to have as a pre-set to quickly access. Pro Plus also comes with the AKM4493SEQ DAC chip over the TI chip in the standard Pro version, promising superior audio quality. The analogue input also supports up to 24bit/192KHz vs the fixed 16bit/48KHz of the Pro and Mini, this does mean, though, that analogue sources are converted to digital, then back to analogue. On the rear of the Wiim Pro Plus you will find the USB-C power input, RCA Analogue input, RCA analogue output, Optical digital input and output, and finally coaxial digital output. This means you can either use the internal DAC of the Pro Plus, or you can hook it up to an external DAC via optical or coaxial. 

There’s an accompanying app for the Wiim streamers and it gives you access to all the settings, firmware updates, and control over various devices. The app is clean and easy to navigate and I really like the way the app is laid out. You can control multiple devices via the app, and the Wiim Pro Plus is fully compatible with Nest and Echo speakers, as well as allowing you to group with other Wiim devices. It is also Alexa / Google / Siri compatible so you can say commands into the remote to play your favourite tracks should you wish. 

Streaming-wise you can use Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Airplay 2, Chromecast and DLNA. You can also login to your streaming services within the app to facilitate playing back your favourite tracks. It’s Roon Ready and shows up without fuss in Roon. If you want to EQ the sound, you can do so within the Wiim app – it features a 10-band EQ. You get gapless playback along with variable or fixed volume output, there are balance settings as well as fade-in/fade-out settings. I’m really impressed by the functionality as well as user experience in the app, the Wiim Pro Plus is a very flexible device yet all the settings are easy to find and change.

It didn’t take long to set the device up and figure it out following the quick start guide included, it’s nice to see that a lot of attention has been paid to making sure the setup and overall usability of the streamer are as good as they can be.

SOUND QUALITY

It’s no secret that I’m mostly a Roon user – once you are in that ecosystem it’s so easy to set up and test new devices. However, I did make sure to use the Wiim app and stream via the app using my Qobuz account. As this is the Pro Plus version, I tried to use the analogue line output as much as possible to get a feel for the sound quality of the internal DAC.

The Wiim Pro Plus is a streamer that blends seamlessly into many a HiFi setup, either via an analogue input or digital and it will give you hassle-free streaming from your favourite sources. Sound quality from the analogue output is generally very impressive with a good amount of linearity and detail. It always sounds controlled and tries its best to get out of the way of the music. It really doesn’t put a foot wrong in terms of functionality and I experienced no drop-outs and it streamed flawlessly during its time in my setup. 

It is a stunning streamer for the size and price, it’s a great entry into the world of streamers and one that can hold its own against pricier models. The sound is well-balanced and provides good insight into the recording and the great thing about the Wiim is that you can hook it up to an external DAC and improve the sound quality that way, without sacrificing the user interface and features. 

Leaving the Wiim on its standard fast roll-off filter I sat down to give it a proper listen. Von by Sigur Ros was one of the first tracks I put on and the scale of the sound was impressive. There was great definition to the instruments, impactful and deep bass, along with clean vocals. The separation of the mix is excellent and there is a wide and accurate soundstage too. The Wiim Pro Plus does a brilliant job at creating a wide stereo image, it does, however, not have as good depth as some other streamers out there.

Buena Vista Social Club – Dos Gardenias sounds fantastic through the Wiim Pro Plus, with well-placed instruments and perfect extension on each end. This is a streamer that doesn’t miss a beat in terms of the sound quality from the internal DAC, with plenty of detail and separation paired with a wide soundstage and linear sound. Vocals are well-centred, trumpets have great tonality, the piano sets itself nicely in the corner and there is a very real portrayal of where each instrument is coming from. Textures are there to be heard, small details are not masked, and you get an honest yet clean sound from this streamer. 

You can change the DAC filter to your liking, I found the standard fast roll-off to be very accurate whilst the slow-delay, fast roll-off one added a hint of body. These are small differences and what works for you will come down to personal preference. 

I have played a lot of music through the Wiim Pro Plus since it has been in my system and not once did I feel I was missing out on anything! It genuinely surprised me at how close this gets in sound to some of the higher-priced streamers out there. Playing some reference tracks like Diana Krall – The Girl in the Other Room didn’t highlight any shortcomings and even when pushed with heavier metal songs the sound never fell apart. 

The optical and coaxial outputs give you the flexibility to hook the Wiim Pro Plus up to an external DAC too, so if you need a basic streamer to act as a bridge between source and DAC it would fulfil that duty very well. Much like the iFi NEO Stream, though, you would need quite a good external DAC to really improve on the one that is in the Pro Plus and treating it as a streamer/DAC is a good place to start when first using this. Don’t be fooled, the internal DAC is impressively transparent and capable. 

The analogue input works well for its intended purpose, to allow you to hook up an analogue source such as a turntable (though you will need a phonostage) or CD player. However, even though the ADC and DAC stages don’t aim to alter the signal and can handle the dynamic range and detail of a good turntable setup, I still prefer my vinyl to be analogue from end to end. Not everyone is worried about this though, and for convenience it is good to find an analogue input on a device such as this. 

QUIBBLES

Analogue input isn’t analogue from input to output (a minor issue that won’t bother most).

CONCLUSION

I must admit that I was rather surprised at the performance of this little streamer. From ease of setup to the fully featured app, it really has a lot going for it before you even consider the sound quality. That is the part that I found most surprising – Wiim have not cut corners in terms of the sound path and the internal DAC/analogue output stage is exceptionally clean and detailed. 

In a high-end system, differences between streamers may be slightly more exaggerated, but in most moderate home systems it was very difficult to find any downsides to the sound quality. It simply gets on with the job at hand with great separation and a natural sound – it never missed a beat and I never found myself craving more of anything.

It’s got plenty of features and will easily fit into most systems and I consider the Wiim Pro Plus to be the perfect entry point to the world of streaming and it supports most of the popular streaming solutions within its own app whilst being Roon Ready too. 

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

The main body may be plastic but it feels solid and well put together

The sockets all seem to be of good quality and the remote is great

Sound Quality:

Open and wide soundstage with a detailed and linear sound

The separation is excellent and it comes across as balanced yet natural

Value For Money:

This is one of the best value-for-money products I’ve tried in a while, it does a lot for relatively little outlay and doesn’t show itself up in the sound department compared to some costlier streamers

We Loved:

Price to performance is superb

Easy to set up, use and navigate the app

We Didn’t Love So Much:

Analogue isn’t analogue from end to end

Elevator Pitch Review: If you are looking to dip your toe into the world of streamers the Wiim Pro Plus is probably the best place to start, it offers excellent performance for a relatively low price. The internal DAC/output stage easily competes with some more budget external DACs making this a logical choice if you plan to use the analogue outputs. It’s easy to use, has enough features for most users out there, and most of all it sounds great and has a clean, linear sound that doesn’t mask the finer details in your music. 

Price: £219 / $219

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY HENLEY AUDIO

SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION

Dimensions	140mm x 42mm x 140mm
Audio Input	1 x Analog RCA Line input 2 Vrms 192 kHz/24-bit SNR 106dB 1 x SPDIF in Optical, up to 192kHz/24-bit
Analog Audio Output	1 x Analog RCA Line output, 1 x Digital optical (SPDIF) output, 1 x Digital Coaxial output, up to 768kHz/32-bit DSD512
Internal DAC IC	AKM4493SEQ
SNR (built-in DAC)	120dB
THD+N (built-in DAC)	0.00032% (-110dB)
Network	802.11 b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual bands Wi-Fi
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.1
Digital Audio Output	Bit-perfect output, up to 192 kHz, 24-bit with digital optical or coaxial output.
Audio Codec	MP3, AAC, ALAC, APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, OGG
Protocol	AirPlay 2, Chromecast Audio, DLNA, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Amazon Music Casting, Qplay 2.0, Roon
Streaming Services in App	Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tunein, Tidal, Qobuz, SoundCloud, Pandora, iHeartRadio, vTuner, Napster, Sound machine, etc.
Power Input	USB Type-C, requires 5V, 1.5A or higher Bundled adapter: 5V, 2A
LED	Three color status LED — Red, Green and White
Button	Capacitive touch buttons – Play/Pause, Volume +, Volume -, 1 x Preset
Accessory	WiiM Voice Remote Premium RCA Cable for Line Out