It’s by no means been simpler to hook your iPhone as much as a music participant — be {that a} Bluetooth speaker, a wise speaker, and even an AirPlay-supported amplifier or AV receiver. For these with older {hardware}, or extra targeted audio gadgets, nevertheless, it’d look like there are fewer choices past the costly Hello-Fi separates that may price upwards of $500.
There are literally a great deal of choices, not least the Wiim Professional which I’ve already had the privilege of testing. There’s actually just one choice that you must select now, nevertheless, with the Wiim Professional Plus. You needn’t look additional than Wiim’s newest if you wish to get your iPhone to play music over your older audio {hardware}.
Wiim Professional Plus: Worth and availability
The Wiim Professional Plus is obtainable from all of your favourite retailers, together with Amazon, the Wiim retailer, and anyplace else you would possibly store on your dwelling Hello-Fi wants. It’s going to price you $219 — and whereas that may initially sound like loads, it really works out to be a Hello-Fi cut price.
The Wiim Professional, the non-plus variant that we’ve checked out earlier than, does are available barely cheaper, but it surely doesn’t have the snazzy distant within the field that comes with the Plus.
Wiim Professional Plus: Options and construct
Upon first inspection, the Wiim Professional Plus seems nearly similar to the earlier model, the Wiim Professional. It’s obtained the identical form, plastic construct, touch-sensitive buttons on the entrance, and clear, angular type. It’s no downside — the Wiim Professional regarded easy, delicate, and enticing, and now the Professional Plus does too.
It does deviate in a few methods to inform you that it’s the costlier variant, nevertheless. For one, the contact buttons at the moment are a darkish shade of yellow moderately than silver, and the plastic of the unit is barely darker than the older mannequin. It’s on the within, nevertheless, that the actual variations have been made to the Wiim Professional Plus.
The audio aspect of issues has been given an enormous enhance with the Wiim Professional Plus. Moderately than the 48k, 16-bit sound that the Professional was able to pumping out, the Professional Plus can now deal with 192Khz 24-bit sound for some true hi-res assist. That’s enabled by way of a elaborate new DAC, or digital-to-analog converter — the outcomes of which we’ll uncover later (spoiler alert, it’s good).
Moderately than the 48k, 16-bit sound that the Professional was able to pumping out, the Professional Plus can now deal with 192Khz 24-bit sound for some true hi-res assist.
Apart from that, there’s not a lot that’s totally different right here, aside from the inclusion of a distant management. It’s the identical controller that you simply’ll discover within the field with the Wiim Amp, and whereas it doesn’t want the entire buttons this time, it’s nonetheless a superb inclusion that makes controlling the Wiim Professional Plus less complicated.
On the again of the Wiim Professional Plus, there are a few totally different outputs to be able to hook it as much as your gear. There’s a pair of RCA connectors to be able to plug it into an amplifier, an optical port to be able to hook it as much as one thing like a soundbar, and a Coax connector to be able to use your personal DAC.
The inputs are the attention-grabbing a part of the bundle — there’s a line-in and an optical-in to be able to join your Wiim Professional Plus to a TV, report participant, or related, after which play the sound that comes from that over one other Wiim streamer, or a related amplifier. It’s intelligent, and provides some extra flexibility to your streaming setup. For instance: I would wish to play a report in my bed room, however I’ve solely obtained one participant that lives within the lounge. With the Wiim Professional Plus, I can hook the participant as much as my related system, after which play the output over one other Wiim streaming gadget elsewhere in the home — on this case, my bed room. Ingenious, and extra importantly, hitch-free.
Wiim Professional Plus: Ease of use
The Wiim Professional Plus is very simple to make use of. Merely plug in an influence provide (there’s one within the field) to the USB-C port on the again, hook up your chosen audio output, and you then’re only a journey to the Wiim app away from streaming your music.
The Wiim App is, as all the time, wonderful, and following the prompts to attach the Wiim Professional Plus to your system is tremendous easy. As soon as it is all arrange, you join some music streaming providers to the app, and also you’re good to go.
The on-device controls are easy — a play/pause button, a pair of quantity buttons, after which a fourth button that conjures pre-made presets. You’ll be able to create presets as effectively by urgent and holding the button, so you may simply entry your favourite content material.
The controller is helpful as effectively. You’ll be able to play/pause, skip ahead and backward tracks, and manipulate the quantity. You may as well select totally different numbered presets with the distant, so you may soar rapidly between totally different related content material that you simply’ve chosen within the Wiim app.
Wiim Professional Plus: Sound high quality
Okay, so a part of that is going to rely upon the remainder of your setup — in my case, that’s a Hello-Fi amplifier from Technics and a pair of KEF LS50 Metas. That offers a stable base for the Wiim Professional Plus to play with, in order that it may well wow extra with its top-quality DAC. The Wiim Professional was wonderful whereas related, so I hoped this could be much more spectacular.
And it’s — because of that improved DAC, there’s better depth, motion, and element on provide. It’s not a weighty sound, opting as an alternative for vitality and dynamism, however the EQ settings could be performed with if you would like one thing with a bit of extra grunt and low-end. It’s obtained loads of physique within the mids, permitting vocals to take middle stage, and when paired with a stable audio output, it sings.
Wiim Professional Plus: Competitors
So there’s the already talked about Wiim Professional which, in case you don’t wish to spend an excessive amount of, is a superb choice. It doesn’t have fairly the sonic prowess, but it surely’s an absolute cut price at $159. There’s the Eve streamer as effectively, however that may solely deal with AirPlay — which implies no true lossless audio.
There are all the time the Hello-Fi separates streamers, made to enter a system with a single connection, however they’re usually not as versatile and much more costly than the Wiim Professional Plus. They’ll, nevertheless, sound higher total and work seamlessly when paired with an amplifier from the identical model.
Wiim Professional Plus: Do you have to purchase this?
You can purchase this if…
- You will have an older audio system and wish to stream to it
- You don’t wish to spend masses on streaming gear
- You have already got a Wiim setup
You shouldn’t purchase this if…
- You need one thing that matches in immaculately along with your Hello-Fi
Wiim Professional Plus: Verdict
The Wiim Professional Plus may not be low-cost, however for a tool of it’s sort and suppleness it’s nearly a sort of Hello-Fi cut price. It’s an especially proficient streamer, crammed with some extremely potent internals, and encompasses a easy design that can mix seamlessly with any music setup.
The app is great, it connects with out challenge, setup is straightforward, and enjoying music over it is so simple as utilizing the ‘AirPlay’ button in your favourite music app. If there’s one thing you possibly can desire a streamer to do, the Wiim Professional Plus will do it, and do it very very effectively.
Streaming has by no means been less complicated
With one of many easiest setups and consumer interfaces, the Wiim Professional Plus is a superb streamer that plugs in and simply works. It is effectively priced, works nice, and slips seamlessly into an present Wiim dwelling.