It's been awhile since I reviewed anything Hi-Fi but this summer I brought into my house what what I call budget premium audio equipment. Audio equipment designed and built better than the price suggests offering the latest in streaming, room correction, and amplification. Lately, my focus has been on WiiM, a brand brand owned by Linkplay Technology. Linkplay is a company that has been backed by teams from such companies as Google, Broadcom, InterVideo, and Harman.
A few months ago, I purchased the WiiM Ultra and I gave it a five-star rating on a recent Amazon review. Now, having owned the WiiM Amp Ultra for only a few weeks I found the hardware to be fantastic (excellent build quality, great form factor, plenty of power to drive my Klipsch RP-600M speakers, etc). However, (spoiler alert) with this still being the early days of this product's release, it does feel to me that the firmware and app itself are playing catch up to the Amp Ultra's hardware. There are so many positives I see in the WiiM Amp Ultra but until the firmware and software issues are corrected there are a few negatives that I won't overlook this in my review either.
Highlight Features and Specifications
Similar to the Ultra, the Amp Ultra brings a lot functionality in an easy to use form factor that until recently was unheard of in Hi-Fi products at this price point. This product not only includes a streamer, built-in DAC, and screen interface but also a built-in amplifier capable of 100 WPC at 8 Ohm. The ability for this product to do room correction and allow users to make EQ adjustments is a huge selling point for this product also. I don't do "gimmicks" and I'm pleased to say while WiiM's RoomFit calibration software is no near the room correction level as Dirac Live it still offered improved settings for soundstage and tone. I didn't feel compel to make any additional adjustments to what RoomFit provided.
The WiiM software along with the interface on both mobile device as well as the screen on the Amp Ultra is one of the big selling points here for why you buy something like the WiiM Amp Ultra. If you don't want to use WiiM's own app, the WiiM Amp Ultra allows you to stay in your own audio ecosystems using your music services own software. For example, while you can access Spotify from within WiiM's own app, you can still start the Spotify app itself to play music on WiiM devices via Spotify Connect. For me personally, the inclusion of Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, and Roon Ready is the reason I upgraded my previous setup with the Amp Ultra.
As far as the hardware, the Amp Ultra according to WiiM is powered by an ESS ES9039Q2M SABRE DAC, Dual TI TPA3255 Class-D amplifiers, and Six TI OPA1612 op-amps. The Amp Ultra uses Post-Filter Feedback (PFFB) tech that WiiM says is "to deliver clean, detailed sound with consistent performance—ideal for bookshelf, floor-standing, or in-wall speakers". Between the DAC and amplifier components this device provides bit-perfect playback supporting up to 192kHz/24-bit audio and a dynamic range greater or equal to 120dB for high-resolution sound.
The icing on the cake for most users is the inclusion of HDMI ARC which allows you to push audio out from your TV to the Amp Ultra via an HDMI cable. This allows you to use the Amp Ultra not only as a stand alone stereo system but also as a sound bar replacement to improve sound for your television. As I used the Amp Ultra to replace an AVR in a 3.0 setup, I did have to go without a center channel speaker. Surprisingly, I find that I'm really not missing much in this 2 channel setup with the left and right speaker adequately handing the sound stage. The Amp Ultra provided that "phantom center" channel in my living room that sounds fine even when I sit in my recliner which sits more left of the stereo speakers than our sofa does.
Additional specifications for the WiiM Amp Ultra can be found on WiiM's own product page by clicking here.
Listening to music on the WiiM Amp Ultra
Overall, I'm enjoying the sound that comes from the WiiM Amp Ultra as its DAC is a significant improvement over the one found in my previous system which included the Yamaha TSR-700 (RX-V6A). My new setup with the Amp Ultra includes for input the Samsung QN85D connected through HDMI ARC and a CD player connected through optical. Output is to a pair of Klipsch RP-600M bookshelf speakers. For network connectivity I had no issue with Wi-Fi (I'm 6E Mesh) or ethernet and also no issue with my choice of music services (Qobuz, Tidal, and Amazon Music).
As far as the quality of sound from this setup in comparison with other systems, I found the Amp Ultra's DAC to be better than any other Class D amplifier I have owned as well as better than my more budget friendly Class AB amplifiers. However, I thought the sound quality of the Wiim Ultra streamer connected to a higher-end amplifiers was better than the Amp Ultra itself. While the Amp Ultra's 100 WPC amplifier is excellent, you obviously will reach a ceiling when pairing this unit with more power demanding speakers. This isn't necessary a bad or unexpected thing, but it's a trade-off that needs to be acknowledged with all-in-one products like the Amp Ultra.
Room for Improvement
As I mentioned earlier, the WiiM Amp Ultra does have a few short comings due to firmware and software issues I experienced during setup and configuration. For example, I ran into a number of glitches with room correction where it took several times to run through the room correction process and many restarts of the Amp Ultra itself before I could actually complete the room correction process. Another example, the Amp Ultra's electronic manual is not yet available within the app (luckily a physical manual is provided in the box). Given WiiM's history with other excellent products, I don't doubt that the WiiM Amp Ultra will eventually become a five-star product once WiiM will correct the firmware and software bugs but I can only review what currently sits in my living room.
One other odd thing to me was that while at the time of this review the Amp Ultra was only available in Space Gray while the remote is Silver. This is being nit-picky but given how much WiiM has paid attention to build and design it would have been nice have the remote and the Amp Ultra match color here.
Conclusion
Overall, if you're looking for a quality streaming amplifier with this level of connectivity, functionality, and sound good sound I don't think you'll find a better product than the WiiM Amp Ultra. You will almost have to look at products twice as much as the Amp Ultra before you find something comparable. Right now, I consider the Amp Ultra a four out of five star product but given WiiM's track record of improving firmware and software quickly, I have no doubts that I'll eventually see this as a five star product. Put it this way, I plan to be using the Amp Ultra in my own living room for many years to come.
If you do plan on purchasing the WiiM Amp Ultra and like what you read here, please consider do so through our affiliate link with Amazon. At the time of this review the WiiM Amp Ultra was being sold for $529.
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Article originally published on Gen X Living.