Fresh off its successes with the Wiim Mini and Wiim Pro, streaming device maker Linkplay is back with the Wiim Pro Plus. The $219 streamer looks identical to the $169 Wiim Pro, but offers several upgrades on the inside designed to make it more appealing to audio connoisseurs. The new streamer, which comes bundled with a voice-capable remote, is available starting August 8 on Amazon.
Like the Wiim Pro, the Wiim Pro Plus is designed to give your analog-only (or even your digital-capable) receiver or powered speakers a streaming upgrade. The small black box has analog inputs and ouputs, as well as two kinds of digital outputs, but the key to its utility is its ability to play music from a huge variety of sources, including streaming music services, your own personal collection of digital music, or (via its analog inputs) older sources like turntables and cassette decks.
Where the Pro Plus differs is inside, where the components that handle these tasks have been upgraded for better performance. Linkplay says the Pro Plus has:
- A better analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that uses a Texas Instruments Burr-Brown Audio PCM1861 chip that can handle up to 192kHz/32-bit digital output. When converting sources like record players, MP3 players, or TVs into digital format, the company claims the result will be clearer, more detailed sound, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 110 decibels (dB).
- An ultra-low noise clock, power, and circuit design. Audiophiles are constantly on the prowl for components that introduce as little distortion as possible, and Linkplay says it has used an ultra-low noise clock, power supply, and a new PCB layout that achieves less than -110dB Total Harmonic Distortion Plus Noise (THD+N) for analog audio output that reduces noise and distortion.
- A new premium AKM 4493SEQ digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and TI OP Amp. These components are the ones that matter for folks who want to use their existing analog components and, once again, low distortion is the key. The new DAC uses AKM’s Velvet Sound Technology, which Linkplay says will support up to 768 kHz PCM, and DSD512, with automatic PCM/DSD switching.
As with the Pro, the Pro Plus also supports decoding of the MQA format when streamed from Tidal within the Wiim app, or via Tidal Connect. The included Bluetooth remote lets you you trigger and speak to Amazon’s Alexa, which provides many voice commands for controlling music throughout your home.
Multiple Wiim streaming devices can be controlled from the Wiim app, creating a whole-home multiroom wireless music system that works similarly to the Sonos platform.
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