Wiim pronounces Ultra pricing and unleashes the Amp Pro
As promised, Wiim has formally taken the wraps off its new network music streamer, the Wiim Ultra — a slick aluminum machine with a colour touchscreen, bodily quantity knob, and a devoted, front-facing 3.5mm headphone output. We additionally now know the value: It shall be $329 when it hits Amazon someday between July 1 and September 30.
Wiim additionally promised that it could reveal one other new machine, and it seems to be the Wiim Amp Pro, a beefed-up model of the extremely rated Wiim Amp that launched earlier this 12 months. It will promote for $369 when it arrives on Amazon across the identical time because the Ultra.
Wiim Ultra
We already knew the broad strokes for the Ultra, Wiim’s new flagship community music streamer, together with its design, which mirrors the straightforward, aluminum-clad strains of the Wiim Amp. We additionally knew that it could boast a 3.5-inch colour touchscreen interface and a bevy of digital and analog inputs and outputs, together with HDMI ARC. Now we’ve received among the deeper specs that Wiim followers had been ready for:
- HDMI ARC, line-in, phono-in, and optical-in, USB-A (for storage-based playback)
- Line-out, optical-out, coaxial-out, subwoofer-out, and a devoted 3.5mm headphone output
- 32-bit/384kHz ES9038 Q2M Sabre DAC
- Dolby Digital Audio
- Dual-antenna Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
- 3.5-inch glass-covered touchscreen show
- Built-in room correction know-how
- Bit-perfect digital output or high-fidelity analog audio (SNR>120dB, THD+N<0.0002%)
The touchscreen can apparently show App widgets — which we imagine may be chosen from the Wiim app itself — massive album footage, playback management, play queue, presets, EQ, audio enter and output, and machine settings. It may even be used to information people by the setup course of as soon as they energy the Ultra on, and it’ll notify customers when software program updates can be found.
The display also can point out modifications in play mode, and you may customise the wallpaper and select to show the time and date throughout standby mode.
As with the Wiim Pro, Pro Plus, and Amp, the room correction characteristic makes use of a built-in mic to take acoustic measurements of your room, that are used to make corrections in your speaker and (if related) your subwoofer.
Unfortunately, Wiim hasn’t detailed the specs on the headphone amplification at work behind that 3.5mm output, however hopefully it gained’t have any hassle driving medium-to-high impedance cans.
All of the above specs are on high of the massive listing of options you’ll discover on Wiim’s downrange streamers, like Chromecast Audio, Apple AirPlay, two-way Bluetooth, Apple HomePackage, Google Assistant/Home compatibility, Amazon Alexa compatibility with Alexa Cast and multiroom, DLNA, Spotify and Tidal Connect, and Roon Ready certification.
Wiim Amp Pro
At $369, the brand new Wiim Amp Pro is $70 greater than its sibling, the Wiim Amp, however bodily, they’re equivalent. Here’s what that extra cash buys you:
- Updated DAC: the Pro shares the identical 32-bit/384kHz ES9038 Q2M Sabre DAC because the Ultra
- Dual-antenna Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
- Improved analog-out signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): 120dB versus 98dB on the Wiim Amp
- Improved analog-out complete harmonic distortion (THD+N): – 105 dB (0.0005%) versus -92 dB (0.002%) on the Wiim Amp
In different phrases, the Amp Pro is geared towards those that may need the form of high-performance audio system which may profit from these improved specs. For most people, nevertheless, the Wiim Amp will possible stay the machine of selection.
What stays the identical on the Pro are amplification energy (60 watts per channel at 8 ohms, or 120 watts per channel at 4 ohms) for both two or 4 audio system, and all the streaming options listed above for the Ultra.
