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- Impressive audio quality
- Useful digital display
- Superb companion app
- No in-built mics
- Lacks Apple AirPlay 2
WiiM is a new arrival on the home audio scene, having launched its debut product, the WiiM Mini music streamer, in 2021, and it has since introduced a trio of more advanced streamers and several amps to market. The WiiM Sound I’m reviewing here is its first wireless smart speaker.
As a first foray, it is highly successful. It sounds great, repeatedly demonstrating power, poise and precision during testing. The WiiM Home companion app is excellent, and the touch display adds significant value on both the visual and functionality front.
There are a couple of features missing, most notably Apple AirPlay 2 support, which is bad news for iPhone and Mac owners, but if you use any other device, the WiiM Sound should definitely be on your radar.
What do you get for the money?
The WiiM Sound is available in black or white and costs £299, which is pricier than similar options from more established competitors. The Sonos Era 100 is available for £199 these days, while the latest iteration of Amazon’s Echo Studio can be picked up for £219 and supports Dolby Atmos.
The Sonos Play I reviewed recently shares the same £299 price tag, but is designed with portability in mind, with its built-in battery and IP67 dust and water resistance providing listening freedom that the WiiM Sound lacks.
There’s also the Authentics range from JBL to consider, specifically the JBL Authentics 300, which costs £289. This is another use-me-anywhere device, thanks to its internal battery and carrying handle. We’ve not tested that one, but we enjoyed the retro design of its bigger brother, the JBL Authentics 500.
A tried and tested design with a twist
The WiiM Sound is an indoor speaker, and that means it requires constant mains power. Its cylindrical design doesn’t tread any new ground, but it doesn’t take up too much space on your desk or bookshelf, either, measuring 146 x 146 x 194mm (WDH). It’s a weighty fellow, however, at 2.5kg.
One thing that does set the WiiM Sound apart, however, is its 1.8in, glass-covered, full-colour touchscreen display. I’ll go into what this can be used for in more detail shortly. There’s also a glass panel on top of the speaker, which hosts a set of touch-sensitive controls that illuminate when your hand hovers close by.
On the underside of the speaker, you’ve got a power input, an AUX-in and an Ethernet port to complement the Sound’s wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. 24-bit 192kHz streaming is supported over Wi-Fi 6E, while the SBC, AAC and LC3 codecs are available over Bluetooth 5.3.
Specifications and smarts
Housed within the WiiM Sound are two full-range tweeters rated at 25W peak power apiece, facing in opposite directions, and a 50W 4in long-throw woofer. The frequency range is quoted at 50Hz to 20kHz; the crossover happens at 240Hz.
Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants are both supported via the included remote, but there’s no microphone in the speaker, meaning you can’t use it for voice calls.
What did we like about it?
An excellent in-app experience
The WiiM Sound’s companion app is one of the best things about the speaker. As with any great home audio platform, it serves as a hub for all your streaming needs and provides native support for most of the major services.
You can sign in to Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Roon Ready, Spotify and Tidal directly, and access TuneIn and various other radio options, including BBC Radio. However, BBC Sounds isn’t integrated; instead, you get a list of BBC stations.
You can add tracks, playlists and stations from specific services as presets and access them on the app homepage. And there’s also an in-built music library that populates with tracks and playlists once you’ve added them to “My Favourites”, and a search engine that scours the services you’ve got on your device to find relevant content.
Everything works smoothly once you’ve signed into all your accounts for the first time, and it means you won’t have to keep switching between apps to play the audio you want. This doesn’t extend to Spotify, unfortunately; you have to engage with the Spotify party app directly to do anything more than play/pause or skip tracks.
Digital display delights
Despite the quality of the app, I didn’t find myself spending that much time in it, because the touchscreen is so good. It provides fingertip access to recently played content, your presets, screen adjustment options, input switching, EQs and radio stations. I had the WiiM Sound on my work desk within easy reach, and found myself using the screen constantly.
It also doubles as a clock when in standby mode, and is highly customisable. There are several analogue, digital and “live” clock faces to choose from, and you’re free to choose a wallpaper from a selection of 12, or choose to display your own photo. I love this feature; it may not be life-changing, but it helps give the WiiM Sound a bit of personality.
Sound quality
The WiiM Sound is also a very capable sonic performer. It can go nice and loud, does so without distorting, has real breadth to its presentation, and the bass produced by its woofer is well-rounded. The pounding bassline on the Eric Prydz remix of Consciousness by Anyma & Chris Avantgarde had my desk rumbling, but every thump felt controlled and contained.
That solid bass response was equally evident on The Ghost Inside by Broken Bells and Danger Mouse. The low-end frequencies possessed a weight that was mainly muscle, with very little flab. Meanwhile, the higher-pitched vocals and harmonies were handled adeptly, the Flat EQ articulating them with precision but no shortage of detail and character.
Speaking of which, there are 19 other EQ presets to choose from, and you can switch between them on a whim, because they’re available via the touchscreen; great news for inveterate audio tweakers like me.
Plus, if you want to really get into the weeds, you can create your own custom EQs via the graphic and parametric options – and even set up a different EQ for each source; a real rarity.
I also want to note how good a pair of WiiM Sound speakers sound when set up as a stereo pair. I was already vibing with just one of them, but adding a second on the other side of my room took my enjoyment to a whole new level. Lying on my bed with a speaker on either side of me, the separation between the left and right channels had me in affordable wireless stereo speaker heaven.
What could be improved?
Missing a mic
Although the WiiM Sound supports voice commands, it doesn’t have a microphone built in, so it relies on the remote control to hail your AI helper of choice. This works fine, but it means you need the remote handy at all times. I didn’t find this a major issue due to the positioning of the speaker in my room, but the WiiM Sound would be an even more appealing prospect without this limitation.
Having a microphone on board would facilitate voice calls. Again, this isn’t the end of the world – I quickly got used to pausing my music and holding my device up to my ear (a novel idea, I know) – but the additional convenience of being able to have a conversation through the speaker would have been nice.
AirPlay 2 absent
As I mentioned in my intro, the WiiM Sound has another limitation, which will frustrate Apple ecosystem diehards and those whose go-to streaming device is an iPhone, a Mac or an iPad. The Sound doesn’t support AirPlay 2, meaning that you can’t stream from Apple Music over Wi-Fi using an iPhone, iPad or Mac, and must instead use Bluetooth, resulting in lower resolution, lossy playback.
Another omission is that of any form of spatial audio. I didn’t miss it, but if you’re looking for a speaker with designs on delivering virtualised surround sound in a bid to increase that concert-like feel, the WiiM Sound isn’t it. Instead, you’ll want to explore the Echo Studio or Denon Home 200, both of which have Dolby Atmos on board, although only the former has a dedicated up-firing driver for height effects.
Finally, I find the WiiM Sound a little uninspiring to look at when the display isn’t on. The white version has a bit more character than the black model I tested, though.
Should you buy the WiiM Sound?
I was mighty impressed by what is the first attempt at a wireless speaker from a brand I hadn’t previously tested a product from. The audio quality drew me in, while the varied streaming options and how easily things are controlled via the touchscreen kept me coming back for more.
If you don’t need the portability afforded by an internal battery, aren’t fussed about spatial audio, and aren’t an Apple diehard who lives and breathes Apple Music, the WiiM Sound is an engaging and entertaining way of enjoying high-quality audio at home. If WiiM addresses the relatively small things holding the Sound back, it’s got the potential to have Sonos et al. quaking in their boots.
