When a streaming amplifier shows up with a touchscreen and enough power to drive four speakers, it’s worth paying attention. The WiiM Amp Ultra costs $529. Sure, that’s not pocket change, but compared to what audiophiles usually spend? It’s basically nothing.
The WiiM Amp Ultra’s $529 price tag makes traditional audiophile gear look like highway robbery.
This aluminum brick measures just 7.9 inches square and weighs 5.4 pounds. Pack inside are dual Texas Instruments TPA3255 Class D amplifiers pumping out 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms—that doubles to 200 watts at 4 ohms. The signal-to-noise ratio hits 121dB. THD sits at 0.0005%. Numbers like these would’ve cost thousands just five years ago.
That 3.5-inch touchscreen isn’t just for show. Album art, VU meters, direct control over inputs, EQ settings, playback—it’s all there. No more fumbling with remote controls or smartphone apps. Though if you prefer them, both options exist. The included aluminum remote even has voice control and a rechargeable battery. Fancy.
Here’s where things get interesting. The SABRE ESS ES9039Q2M DAC handles 32-bit/384kHz files like they’re nothing. Six TI OPA1612 op-amps appear to keep the noise floor invisible. For wireless duties, you’ve got Wi-Fi 6 tri-band and Bluetooth 5.3. Google Cast, Alexa Cast, DLNA, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect—they’re all here. Sorry, Apple users. Still no AirPlay.
The streaming service list reads like a who’s who of digital music: Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, SoundCloud. Meanwhile, the WiiM Home App works on everything from iOS to Windows.
Twenty-four preset EQ profiles plus 10-band graphic and parametric EQ per input? You can tweak until your ears bleed. Room correction happens automatically. The system measures your space, seems to adjust for speaker placement and distance, then optimizes accordingly. Got a subwoofer? It’ll likely integrate that too, complete with crossover management. The Post-Filter Feedback technology compensates for speaker load changes in real-time—or at least that’s the claim.
Traditional amplifier manufacturers must be sweating. This thing decodes Dolby Digital through HDMI ARC. It manages multi-room audio. Uses a copper heat pipe for thermal management. The amp’s unibody chassis construction eliminates vibration and resonance issues that plague cheaper competitors. WiiM positions this squarely against Sonos competition, targeting audiophiles who want modularity without the markup. All for $529. The high-end audio industry’s pricing structure just got called out, hard.
