The Integrated HiFi Amp that does it all for $299. WIIM Amp Review.

The Integrated HiFi Amp that does it all for $299. WIIM Amp Review.

By Steve Huff 

Video Review! This video is sponsored by Crutchfield who is celebrating their 50th Anniversary!

When I saw that WIIM released an all in one integrated amp not so long ago for $299 I was certain it was going to be a pile of crap. In my over three decades of building HIFi systems and listening to music on them I have never seen an integrated amp that sounded great and included all you needed to get started. With this WIIM, all you need to do is add speakers and you are in business.

Usually, in my experience, these types of products are made to make a quick buck. Selling polished garbage for what seems like a deal. Again, this has been most of my experience in the past with these kind of products. 

I have had the WIIM amp here for quite a while, several weeks, ever since it came out. I have waited to do my review as it seems everyone else has already made a review about the little WIIM amp. I decided I would wait until the smoke cleared and give my own honest opinion on this little wonder box.

Well, the time is now as I have over 100 hours of pure listening time on this HiFi piece and am ready to spill the beans on the WIIM AMP. What you will read here and see in the video above are my honest thoughts from a guy who has heard and owned  (in my homes) integrated amps ranging from $79 to $27,000.

It’s not what you think 

This little $299 Integrated amp is not bad in any way, shape or form. In. fact it’s better than “very good” and borderlines on excellent, especially considering the extreme value here. I have been blessed and lucky in life to be able to hear a ton of integrated amplifiers. Back in the day, all were 100% analog. These days, more and more are making these types of amps much more digital oriented. Class D power, built in DAC and even streamers can reside in small compact boxes these days. I have been waiting for someone to do “Affordable Audio” the right way.

Not so long ago I reviewed a Yamaha that was gorgeous to look at and listen to. It came in at $4k and I felt it was worth every cent. It also had a streamer, a DAC and the amp section which was Class A/B. The Yamaha also had room correction which for me didn’t do too much but for others this feature may be a godsend. I still have this amp, and it has become one I have bonded with. Meaning, it will be here for a long time to come. No, the WIIM can not best the Yamaha in any way but I’ll be darned if it didn’t give me a taste of that experience.

This WIIM amp is not $4k but rather a measly $299 and there is even a feature in the WIIM app that allows you to customize the sound to your speakers. Yes, it has an EQ built in that you can turn on or off. It also has a parametric EQ which can be useful for dialing it in to your room and speakers.

The WIIM amp is also built better than I expected. I thought it was going to feel hollow, much like the WIIM Pro + Streamer. Nope, its feels like a Mac Mini from a decade ago. Solid, a little hefty and the volume/power dial even feels pretty solid. Nothing really cheap feeling here. It even ships with a remote (but doesn’t include the AAA batteries).

I will just say that this little amp exceeded my expectations for the cost.

THE FIRST LISTEN

When I first put the WIIM amp in my system with the Closer Acoustics OGY Speakers and the four BOB bass units I did notice a change in sound from the amps I have been listening to which are the high end Audio Group Denmark Axxess Forte 1, the very high end Daniel Hertz Maria and the Yamaha RN-2000 I still have here. Was the change good or bad??

Before I get started on the sound let me address something. You will notice I am comparing a $299 integrated amp to those that cost several thousands of dollars. Why would I do this? Well, why not? No, the WIIM amp can not compare to pieces that cost thousands, it is not meant to. With that said, these are pieces I have here as I normally review mid to high end gear. I have also owned something very similar for many years, a PS Audio Sprout 100. The Sprout is about double the cost of the WIIM.

I will also be using speakers that are on the more pricey side to test this amp with the lowest cost set being around $1200. The top hits $11k speakers. I feel if this little amp can power all of these speakers very well then it will surely be pretty excellent for lower end speakers. Speakers are the heart of a system (after the room they are in) and I have found that lower end speakers in the $300-$500 range will sound decent with the WIIM. Mid priced speakers such as KEF R3 Meta, Galion Voyager TL, etc will sound better with the WIIM.

No one on earth will buy this WIIM for $299 and buy $10k speakers but it will be nice to know how it does with speakers such as this. So how did it sound next to the more pricey integrated amps?

It was different. I did not hear any offending noise or buzzing from the amp. It may have been making a little noise inside, but nothing to worry about. Most cheaper amps have some internal noise, sometimes clicks, sometimes just a cloudy type of sound.

With the WIIM Amp….

When music started the sound was thinner and flatter than what I was used to with my higher dollar amps and streamers. With that said it was so much better than I had ever imagined. Once I used the EQ (that I normally never use) I was very impressed as those frequencies that were missing in action were now here, and it was sounding very good.

I felt I was able to get this little $299 box to sound 70% as good as the big money amps just by tweaking the EQ.

I set the EQ to where it sounded best in my space. I then started to hear what the potential of this piece really was. I spent an entire day swapping amps from the Hertz to the Axxess to the Yamaha and back to the WIIM. While the WIIM looks more generic and has no display the sound was really making me scratch my head. It is rather excellent and musical and when tuned with the EQ I noticed the soundstage which was presented in a nice semi wide way, was actually there. The imaging was subdued but again, it was there, allowing me to experience a nice taste of what the bigger amps bring. Yes, vocals were dead center after adjusting the speakers for the amp.

The tone was a touch darker than the Forte and Hertz, a hair warmer with a more subdued top end. Compared to the Yamaha it was not as punchy or beefy but it had its own pleasing kind of vibe and sound. Musical? Yes indeed. Audiophile Quality? No.

There is nothing analytical or overcooked about the WIIM Amp. There is nothing that sounds raggedy nor is there grunge that slips in. None of the usual suspects that come from budget amps can be found in the WIIM amp and this is absolutely amazing for what this costs.

I have to say it again and again to myself … “This is a THREE HUNDRED DOLLAR AMP”. 

I still own the PS Audio Sprout which I almost forgot about as it’s been tucked away for about 2 years now. This WIIM for me destroys the sprout in sound. No, the WIIM doesn’t have a phono stage but the amp and DAC section is superior to the PS Audio starter piece for my ears. So much so that today I could not recommend the Sprout as the WIIM for me, sounds better and costs much less. Also, the WIIM can be set up within 5-10 minutes. Download the app, connect and away you go. It’s really simple.

WIIM really created a product here that can deliver the goods but the problem is there are too many out there like me. Those who think the price of $299 means it could never be a good amp. Well, it’s a superb amp and just a few years ago to get this function and sound from an amp would have meant a $1500 – 3000 investment.

Other amps I have here? I have a two year old Emotiva amp with DAC, phono, remote, etc. The WIIM bests it for sound, noise levels (the Emotiva has a slight buzz) and it costs much less than the Emotiva did when new.

Bottom Line 

I am keeping this short as there is nothing else I can really say. It is what it is. The Wiim amp is a very effective, smart and easy to use HiFi product for such little money. No, it’s not quite as refined sounding as my $5-$15k amps but it gets 70% there when using the EQ. No, it’s not as three dimensional as my big money amps, but it does offer up a taste of this experience. Yes, it may sound a tad flat out of the box but do not be afraid of the EQ in the WIIM amp as it works very well. Once I tweaked the EQ to my room and speakers (all by ear) the sound blossomed and became very musical and fluid. Even so, it still had an almost slight veil over the music. So again, this is not meant as a $5k amp giant killer. It’s supposed to be a starter amp for someone getting into audio and I see no netter option today than this WIIM.

It has a capable streamer built in that works with apps like M Connect, WIIM’s own app or even using Spotify and Tidal connect.

The amp is not a powerhouse when it comes to watts as it only delivers 60 WPC. When comparing to the 100 WPC Forte 1 it sounds almost as powerful. So much so I could not hear a power difference with any of my speakers. Whether I listened with the Closer Acoustics OGY and BOB’s or the Daniel Hertz Ambers I was treated to a very beautiful musical performance that touched my heart.

That’s $7500 speakers with $300 worth of DAC, AMP and Streamer behind them. They can sound better, yes indeed, but they sounded very good with the WIIM Amp. I also tested them with the new Galion TS Voyager TL Speakers and this was almost a perfect fit. These speakers are $1200 and sound very warm, very meaty and very smooth. A perfect mate to the Wiim amp as these speakers are music makers with any amp I have plugged them into. This means you can set yourself up with a full HiFi system with streamer, DAC, AMP and speakers for under $1500. Crazy!

Again, there is nothing here that will alert your ears or brains that this is only a $299 amp. None of the usual suspects like shoddy build, digital hash/noise or buzzes or hums are here. It’s silent, nice to look at, feels solid, has a remote and just works. The DAC inside is very capable and perfect for the price point of the amp.

If you are looking for an excellent buy on an integrated amp and you have a $1-2k budget, DO NOT buy any other amp until you hear this one.

I paid for mine in full  so this is not a review unit that I was sent for free to say good things about. In all honesty, I expected 100% to be sending this back for a refund without a review. What happened was the opposite. The WIIM amp taught me a lesson about what can be had today within audio for under $300. The value here is the most insane I have ever seen in an audio product.

WIIM is going to shake up things and has already started to do so with the Wiim Pro + Streamer and now the WIIM Amp.

CRAZY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, even as a back up amp! 

You can buy the WIIM amp HERE at Amazon via Prime.

You can also buy at Crutchfield!