It’s by no means been simpler to hook your iPhone as much as a music participant — be {that a} Bluetooth speaker, a sensible speaker, and even an AirPlay-supported amplifier or AV receiver. For these with older {hardware}, or extra centered audio units, nonetheless, it would look like there are fewer choices past the costly Hello-Fi separates that may value 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 possibility that it’s best to select now, nonetheless, 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: Value and availability
The Wiim Professional Plus is accessible from all of your favourite retailers, together with Amazon, the Wiim retailer, and wherever else you would possibly store in your residence Hello-Fi wants. It’s going to value you $219 — and whereas that may initially sound like quite a bit, 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, however it 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 an identical to the earlier model, the Wiim Professional. It’s acquired the identical form, plastic construct, touch-sensitive buttons on the entrance, and clear, angular type. It’s no downside — the Wiim Professional regarded easy, refined, and engaging, and now the Professional Plus does too.
It does deviate in a few methods to let you know that it’s the dearer variant, nonetheless. For one, the contact buttons at the moment are a darkish shade of yellow quite than silver, and the plastic of the unit is barely darker than the older mannequin. It’s on the within, nonetheless, that the actual variations have been made to the Wiim Professional Plus.
The audio aspect of issues has been given a giant increase with the Wiim Professional Plus. Reasonably 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 help. That’s enabled by way of a flowery new DAC, or digital-to-analog converter — the outcomes of which we’ll uncover later (spoiler alert, it’s good).
Reasonably 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 help.
Apart from that, there’s not a lot that’s completely different right here, other than 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 all the buttons this time, it’s nonetheless a wonderful inclusion that makes controlling the Wiim Professional Plus easier.
On the again of the Wiim Professional Plus, there are a few completely different outputs so to hook it as much as your tools. There’s a pair of RCA connectors so to plug it into an amplifier, an optical port so to hook it as much as one thing like a soundbar, and a Coax connector so to use your individual DAC.
The inputs are the fascinating a part of the bundle — there’s a line-in and an optical-in so to join your Wiim Professional Plus to a TV, file participant, or related, after which play the sound that comes from that over one other Wiim streamer, or a linked amplifier. It’s intelligent, and provides some extra flexibility to your streaming setup. For instance: I’d wish to play a file in my bed room, however I’ve solely acquired one participant that lives within the lounge. With the Wiim Professional Plus, I can hook the participant as much as my linked system, after which play the output over one other Wiim streaming system 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 then you definitely’re only a journey to the Wiim app away from streaming your music.
The Wiim App is, as at all times, glorious, 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 may create presets as nicely by urgent and holding the button, so you may simply entry your favourite content material.
The controller is beneficial as nicely. You may play/pause, skip ahead and backward tracks, and manipulate the quantity. You can even select completely different numbered presets with the distant, so you may bounce shortly between completely different linked 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 depend 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 provides a strong base for the Wiim Professional Plus to play with, in order that it might wow extra with its top-quality DAC. The Wiim Professional was glorious whereas linked, so I hoped this may be much more spectacular.
And it’s — due to that improved DAC, there’s larger depth, motion, and element on provide. It’s not a weighty sound, opting as a substitute for power and dynamism, however the EQ settings might be performed with if you’d like one thing with somewhat extra grunt and low-end. It’s acquired loads of physique within the mids, permitting vocals to take middle stage, and when paired with a strong audio output, it sings.
Wiim Professional Plus: Competitors
So there’s the already talked about Wiim Professional which, when you don’t wish to spend an excessive amount of, is a wonderful possibility. It doesn’t have fairly the sonic prowess, however it’s an absolute cut price at $159. There’s the Eve streamer as nicely, however that may solely deal with AirPlay — which implies no true lossless audio.
There are at all times 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 may, nonetheless, sound higher general 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 might have an older audio system and wish to stream to it
- You don’t wish to spend hundreds 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 won’t be low-cost, however for a tool of it’s sort and suppleness it’s nearly a type of Hello-Fi cut price. It’s a particularly proficient streamer, stuffed with some extremely potent internals, and includes a easy design that can mix seamlessly with any music setup.
The app is superb, it connects with out situation, setup is straightforward, and taking part in music over it is so simple as utilizing the ‘AirPlay’ button in your favourite music app. If there’s one thing you could possibly desire a streamer to do, the Wiim Professional Plus will do it, and do it very very nicely.
Streaming has by no means been easier
With one of many easiest setups and person interfaces, the Wiim Professional Plus is a wonderful streamer that plugs in and simply works. It is nicely priced, works nice, and slips seamlessly into an present Wiim residence.
