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The best audio brand you've never heard of just reduced the prices on all of its stuff — save big on Wiim streaming gear this Prime Day
The best audio brand you've never heard of just reduced the prices on all of its stuff — save big on Wiim streaming gear this Prime Day

Tom's Guide

time09-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Tom's Guide

The best audio brand you've never heard of just reduced the prices on all of its stuff — save big on Wiim streaming gear this Prime Day

As much as I love the physical formats my stereo system can play, I still like the convenience of streamed music. Just grab my phone, queue some Kpop, and away I go to musical Nirvana — and Wiim has made some of the devices that have helped me get there. Wiim makes streaming devices and streaming amps that connect to the internet and play your tunes from the likes of Tidal and Qobuz. In the Prime Day sales, the prices on a bunch of these devices just dropped to all-time lows. How about the beginner Wiim Amp for $239 at Amazon? Just add speakers for some of the best sound you've ever heard. Want to add something extra to your older system? Pick up the Wiim Pro for $119 at Amazon. The whole family is in on the action: Here are the best Wiim Prime Day deals. The Wiim Pro is the core of the Wiim line. It's a simple device, lacking a screen, but it's super simple to use. You hook it up to your chosen device with RCA, and it lends your speakers or even a compatible soundbar streaming capabilities. It's all controlled with the excellent Wiim home app and the good remote control that comes in the box. It sounds great and offers very stable streaming for even the highest resolution tracks and streaming services. The Wiim Ultra is my favorite Wiim device at the moment. It offers great streaming quality for connected devices and packs in extras like a phono pre-amp and sub out if your system lacks them. The little touch screen on the front is the icing on the cake. This is the lowest price we've seen the Wiim Ultra land. Wiim's latest device is an amplifier that lacks any kind of streaming skills, but makes up for it in sheer power. This is the first amp on the list, and thanks to its peak 100W of power, it will power almost any pair of speakers you might throw at it. There are three inputs on the back, ready to receive a CD player, streamer, and more. This is the lowest price we've ever seen on the Vibelink Amp. The Wiim Amp is the beginner streaming amp in the line. It has a peak power of 60W per channel for speakers that need some extra oomph, and the streaming capabilities of the Wiim Pro are ready for some hi-res streaming. As with all other Wiim streaming devices, this is controlled with the Wiim home app or the included remote control. This is the largest discount I've seen for the Wiim Amp. Housed in a similar shell to the Wiim Amp, the Amp Pro adds in some extra power and a more potent amplification circuit. That means better sound and more power for larger speakers. This is also a streaming amplifier, so you can stream music from your favorite streaming services with a WiFi connection. This is the lowest price the Amp Pro has ever been. The Wiim Mini is the baby of the family — just plug into your speakers or HiFi with the included RCA to 3.5mm wire, and you're streaming music in Hi-Res. It works through the Wiim Home app, and doesn't include the Wiim Remote. This is the lowest price we've seen for the Wiim Mini. There are plenty more deals to be had this Prime Day — make sure you check out our Prime Day live blog to make sure you're staying on top of all the latest sales and offers.

This audio device is my favourite way to listen to music - and it's dropped to its lowest ever price for Prime Day
This audio device is my favourite way to listen to music - and it's dropped to its lowest ever price for Prime Day

Tom's Guide

time08-07-2025

  • Business
  • Tom's Guide

This audio device is my favourite way to listen to music - and it's dropped to its lowest ever price for Prime Day

Over Prime Day I like to keep watch to see which of my favorite devices gets reduced during the sale. And, this year, we're in for a treat — my most adored device of the last year or so, the Wiim Ultra streamer, just reached a brand new lowest price in the sale. The Wiim Ultra is now just $263 at Amazon, thanks to a massive $70 discount. That's the lowest I've ever seen the device — now let me tell you why I love it so much, and why you need to add one to your whole home streaming environment. The Wiim Ultra is a relatively inexpensive way of getting music streamed over some powered speakers or an older stereo system. I loved testing the Wiim Ultra, and this new lowest price makes it a whole lot easier to slip one into your listening center. I know I'll be buying another. Or maybe another two... or three... Wiim has long made some of my favorite devices. The first devices that let me stream music to my then aging HiFi system were Wiim units, connecting up to the WiFi and then playing my streams directly to my speakers. The Wiim Ultra does all this and more. There's a very powerful DAC inside for one, so those digital tracks from the best music streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz sound extra good when I play them. Then there's the extra features on top. There's a subwoofer out if your amp doesn't have one for some extra low-end, a mode which lets you tune the sound of your HiFi system to your room, and even a phono pre-amp in case neither your turntable or your speakers have one. You can even plug your TV into it, so that you can play your movies over an older pair of speakers that lack eARC compatibility. It's my absolute favorite device of the year — and it looks like only the upcoming Wiim Amp Ultra is going to dethrone it from the top spot. This deal makes it a whole lot more tempting as well — if you want to add streaming to an older audio device that has an RCA connector or even a 3.5 input, this is the device to pick up. There are plenty more deals to be had this Prime Day — make sure you check out our Prime Day live blog to make sure you're staying on top of all the latest sales and offers.

Wiim's new Amp Ultra goes above and beyond its amplified streamers
Wiim's new Amp Ultra goes above and beyond its amplified streamers

Digital Trends

time14-05-2025

  • Digital Trends

Wiim's new Amp Ultra goes above and beyond its amplified streamers

Table of Contents Table of Contents No AirPlay Wiim Voice Remote 2 For those seeking the ultimate all-in-one network music streamer and two-channel stereo amplifier, Wiim might just have exactly what you want. Its new Wiim Amp Ultra, which debuts at the High End Munich 2025 show alongside its first wireless speaker (Wiim Sound) and Wiim Sub Pro wireless subwoofer, appears to be the company's award-winning Wiim Ultra, but packed with 100 watts of amplification and internal components that exceed the capabilities of Wiim's current Wiim Amp, Amp Pro, and Vibelink Amp, plus Dolby Digital decoding — a first for the Wiim lineup. Much like the Wiim Sound and Wiim Sub Pro, the company hasn't released pricing or availability for the Amp Ultra, saying only that it will be available in Q3 2025 through Amazon and select retail partners. However, given that the Wiim Amp Pro and Vibelink Amp both sell for $299, it's likely that the Amp Ultra will be more expensive, but by how much is hard to say — especially when tariffs are factored in. As you can see in these images, the Wiim Amp Ultra bears a very strong resemblance to the Wiim Ultra streamer, with a full color, 3.5-inch touchscreen, oversized volume knob/playback button, and a sleek aluminum chassis. Recommended Videos Around the back, the available ports look like a mashup of the Ultra's digital inputs (HDMI-ARC, optical, USB, and Ethernet), analog inputs (stereo RCA) and the Vibelink Amp's hybrid speaker terminals. Unlike the Vibelink Amp, the Amp Ultra picks up an analog subwoofer output, but sadly, it loses one of the Wiim Ultra's handiest features — the front-facing 3.5mm headphone jack. There's also no dedicated input for turntables. I guess you can't quite have it all yet. Inside, the Amp Ultra is nearly a carbon copy of the Vibelink Amp. It uses Post-Filter Feedback Technology (PFFT) with a 32-bit/384kHz ESS ES9039Q2M Sabre DAC and six TI OPA1612 op-amps. However the Amp Ultra get dual TI TPA3255 Class-D amp chips, compared to the Vibelink's single TPA3255. Like the Vibelink, the Amp Ultra can power a set of 8-ohm speakers with up to 100 watts per channel, and a pair of 4-ohm units with up to 200 watts. In both cases, you can wire up to two speakers per channel. On the streamer side of the equation, the Amp Ultra offers up all of the usual Wiim goodies, including: Google Cast Alexa Cast DLNA Spotify Connect Tidal Connect In-app access (via the Wiim Home app) to Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Qobuz, and more Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility Wi-Fi 6E, two-way Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio Built-in room calibration Support for hi-res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz Parametric and graphic EQs No AirPlay It's notable that the Wiim Amp Ultra is now the fourth streaming music product from Wiim that lacks Apple AirPlay support. Neither Wiim nor Apple have offered any explanation, leaving us to guess as to what may have happened since the debut of the Wiim Amp, the last of the company's streamers to include Apple's wireless music protocol. For diehard audiophiles, the absence of AirPlay won't be a deal-breaker. AirPlay currently uses lossy compression, which deletes some information from audio sources to keep file sizes small. Those who care will choose Google Cast, Tidal Connect, DLNA, or Qobuz and Amazon Music from within the Wiim Home app to get truly lossless audio. Wiim Voice Remote 2 The Wiim Amp Pro will include Wiim's new Voice Remote 2, which debuted earlier in 2025. The Apple Sir remote clone, with its all aluminum construtcion is the perfect complement to the Amp Ultra and turns the streamer into an Amazon Alexa speaker via the built-in mic.

Rotel's new headphone DAC/amp is a sleek desktop companion
Rotel's new headphone DAC/amp is a sleek desktop companion

Yahoo

time07-03-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Rotel's new headphone DAC/amp is a sleek desktop companion

If you've decided to invest in an audiophile-grade set of wired headphones or IEMs, you should definitely consider acquiring a headphone amp to power them. Perhaps something like Rotel's slick new DX-3. It's the company's first headphone amp and it combines premium amplification circuitry with state-of-the-art digital-to-analog conversion. It will be available in Europe and the U.K. in March in either black or silver colors, and it's expected to arrive in the U.S. soon after, for $1,499. Granted, that's not exactly an impulse buy for most people, but a headphone amp with the DX-3's specs will likely last for decades and can grow with you as your needs (and your system) change. The most striking thing about the DX-3 is its size and design. At 8.5 inches wide, 3 inches tall, and 9.75 inches deep, it's only slightly larger than the Wiim Ultra network music streamer — another device that's perfectly proportioned for desktop use. Clad in aluminum, the DX-3 has a full color display, two headphone outputs (4.4mm balanced, 6.35mm unbalanced), a three-setting gain switch, a source selection button, and an oversized, diamond-knurled volume knob. Inside, however, is where you'll find the DX-3's critical components. Digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) is handled by an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO chip — an 8-channel DAC with four dedicated channels per side (left/right). There's almost nothing that DAC can't handle. It will decode PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz and has native DSD support up to DSD256. You can choose to supply digital audio via optical, PC-USB, coaxial, or wirelessly via Bluetooth, with AAC, aptX, and aptX-HD codec compatibility. If you want to bypass the DAC, there's a dedicated analog amplification path that's serviced by a set of stereo RCA jacks. Rotel says that amplification is courtesy of an 'ultra-low noise, custom in-house manufactured, toroidal transformer with high current drivers and high-quality capacitors,' and that power is controlled via an audiophile grade NJW1195A fully differential analog controller delivering precise steps as refined as 0.5dB. The three-step gain control lets you fine-tune output power to match the specific impedance and sensitivity of your headphones. Want to use the DX-3 as standalone DAC or pre-amp? You can do that too, with your choice of unbalanced RCA or XLR balanced analog outputs. Finally, Rotel includes an aluminum-body remote so you can control the DX-3 from as far away as your headphone cables will let you sit (or further). The only thing missing is networking — there's no Ethernet or Wi-Fi. However, Roon users can nonetheless stream all of their favorite sources to the DX-3 if you use the PC-USB input, which is recognized as a Roon endpoint.

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