Description: Solid state, class-D stereo streamer/integrated amplifier outputting up to 60Wpc into 8 ohms, 120Wpc into 4 ohms (both equivalent to 17.8dBW). S/N Ratio: 98dB. THD+N: 0.002% (–92dB). Analog inputs: 1 single-ended on RCA. Digital inputs: 1 TosLink, 1 HDMI-ARC, 1 USB-C. Streaming inputs: Ethernet (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac Dual band, 10/100Mbps LAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (BT 5.1 A2DP Sink and Source, AVRCP BLE HID). Analog outputs: loudspeaker via banana/screw-terminal binding posts; mono line-level subwoofer via RCA (autodetecting cable insert, user-adjustable…
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Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player.
Preamplifier: Benchmark LA-4.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Integrated amplifier: McIntosh MA6500.
Loudspeakers: B&W 808, Amphion One18, Behringer Truth 2031P, Klipsch Heresy.—Tom Fine
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I performed a complete set of measurements on the WiiM Amp with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. Before I did so, I installed the WiiM Home app on my iPad mini and connected the amplifier to my network with a CAT-5 Ethernet cable. The app (version 2.9.5.24041612) recognized the Amp, and I performed a factory reset.
Because the amplifier has a class-D output stage, I inserted an Audio Precision AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter between the test load and the analyzer. This filter mitigates noise above 80kHz and eliminates noise above 200kHz that would…
Fig.13 WiiM Amp, optical input, impulse response (one sample at 0dBFS, 44.1kHz sampling, 4ms time window).
I examined the behavior of the WiiM's D/A conversion circuitry with Ethernet data sourced from Roon and with the optical input. The latter locked to S/PDIF data with sample rates up to 192kHz. The Amp's digital inputs preserved absolute polarity and with the volume control set to the maximum, a 1kHz digital signal at –20dBFS resulted in an output level of 2.283V from loudspeaker outputs, which is exactly 20dB below the amplifier's clipping voltage into 8 ohms. It is rare to find…
It's a truism in business—or if it isn't strictly true, it's at least a cliché—that you can't please everyone. But Mark Mawhinney sees everyone as a potential customer. He does his best to cover all customer bases, from old-school audiophiles to newcomers, from Boomers to Gen Z. "As long as they have two legs and two ears, they can be our customers," he told Stereophile in a recent phone interview.
Mawhinney owns and runs three businesses: Spin-Clean, the longstanding, inexpensive record-cleaning system; Northern Audio, a high-end audio dealership; and Music To My Ear, a record store…
Of all the albums in the Grateful Dead catalog, American Beauty is the one with the widest appeal. Its proto-Americana tunes are neither antique nor modern; instead, they are timeless. The album's sound is clean and lean, up to modern snuff even more than a half-century after its original release in November 1970.
The tunes seem to roll like a Sunday drive on a country road, in and out of dark hollows and up and down hills (footnote 1). Three of its 10 songs have become folk-rock standards: "Friend of the Devil," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Truckin'."
As you'd expect, the album has…
For 16 years, I bled jazz. Countless hours alone in my practice shed, honing technique, recording myself for brutal self-analysis, dissecting and transcribing master drummers' solos note for note. My dream was to transcend technique, to exist in a state of pure reaction among musicians in perfect communion, where improvisation flows as effortlessly as thought.
The years melted away—George Lawrence Stone's sticking variations, Benjamin Podemski's concert drum solos, dog-eared "Real Book" charts, college big band concerts, smoky jam sessions, a basement practice routine that nearly deafened…
Setup
The 2A3 EVO found a comfortable home on the lowest shelf of my Salamander rack. To optimize performance, I arranged three of Norman Varney's A/V RoomService large Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs) under the amp. I have found that the EVPs reduce noise and improve clarity without sacrificing dynamics or character; in this respect, they're better than various cork and rubber isolation options I've tried. Then I simply connected it to the rest of the system—see Associated Equipment for details—turned the system on, and started listening.
The 2A3 EVO found a comfortable home on the lowest shelf of my Salamander rack. To optimize performance, I arranged three of Norman Varney's A/V RoomService large Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVPs) under the amp. I have found that the EVPs reduce noise and improve clarity without sacrificing dynamics or character; in this respect, they're better than various cork and rubber isolation options I've tried. Then I simply connected it to the rest of the system—see Associated Equipment for details—turned the system on, and started listening.
Listening
I began…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Tube-rectified single-ended triode integrated amplifier capable of outputting 3.5Wpc into 8 ohms (5.4dBW). Tube complement: Input/preamp, one pair each: Sophia Electric 12AX7, Northern Electric 6SN7; rectifier: Sophia Electric Aqua 274; power, one pair each Electro-Harmonix 2A3 EH or KR Audio 2A3. Maximum gain: 21.7dB. Input sensitivity: 350mV for max power. Total harmonic distortion: 1% at rated power. Bandwidth at rated power: 20Hz–20kHz. Frequency range (at 1W): 20Hz–2kHz. Input impedance: 220k ohms. Output impedance: Not specified.
Dimensions…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI Avenger Direct turntable with 12" VPI FatBoy tonearm, Hana Umami Blue MC cartridge; Thorens TD 124 turntable with 9.5" The Wand Plus tonearm, Luxman LMC-5 MC cartridge.
Digital sources: HoloAudio May DAC, Sonore opticalRendu, Roon Nucleus+, Small Green Computer power supply, TRENDnet switch, Apple iPad mini.
Preamplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 100 phono, Aurorasound Viva II phono.
Integrated amplifiers: PrimaLuna EVO 400.
Loudspeakers: Heretic AD614, Volti Audio Razz, Voxativ Ampeggio 2024.
Cables: Interconnects: Agent Pur,…