Skip to main content

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

Wiim Amp Ultra.
Wiim

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.

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Cambridge Audio adds a retro-cool VU meter to its CXN100 streamer
The Cambridge Audio CXN100 with the VU meter update.

Digital and analog worlds continue to collide as Cambridge Audio announced that it has extended the retro-cool digital VU meter update that its Evo streaming amplifiers are getting today to its acclaimed CXN100 network music streamer as well.

In March, the renowned British audio gear maker fully embraced the iconic 1980s design of the DeLorean automobile with the launch of an Evo 150 Limited Edition integrated amplifier/network player. But as an added bonus, it also dropped the news that that amp, along with the Evo 75 and regular Evo 150 all-in-one players, would also receive a cool, analog-style digital VU meter and clock display feature that would be added as an over-the-air (OTA) update in May.

Read more
Wiim reveals Ultra streamer pricing and unleashes the Amp Pro
Wiim Ultra.

As promised, Wiim has officially taken the wraps off its new network music streamer, the Wiim Ultra -- a slick aluminum device with a color touchscreen, physical volume knob, and a dedicated, front-facing 3.5mm headphone output. We also now know the price: It will be $329 when it hits Amazon sometime between July 1 and September 30.

Wiim also promised that it would reveal another new device, and it turns out to be the Wiim Amp Pro, a beefed-up version of the highly rated Wiim Amp that launched earlier this year. It will sell for $369 when it arrives on Amazon around the same time as the Ultra.
Wiim Ultra

Read more
Wiim Ultra, a music streamer with a color touchscreen, teased ahead of May launch
Wiim Ultra.

LinkPlay, the company behind the Wiim family of wireless network media streamers and integrated amplifiers, is giving its fans a sneak peek at its next creation: the Wiim Ultra. The hi-res streaming device, which will get its official unveiling May 9 at the High End Munich 2024 Show, has an abundance of analog and digital inputs and outputs, plus a glass-covered, 3.5-inch color touchscreen on the front panel.

LinkPlay hasn't provided pricing, availability, or a detailed list of specifications for the Wiim Ultra, but it has dropped the some tidbits to whet peoples' appetites.

Read more