Wiim Sound Review: This Smart Speaker Is So Close To Fully Replacing My Sonos

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Wiim Sound smart speaker is disposable successful Black and White for $299.
• It offers awesome sound, a neat touchscreen display, and an inoffensive design.
• The show is much for aesthetics than utility, and Wiim doesn't support Apple Music aliases AirPlay.

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There's a displacement successful nan smart speaker market. More companies are investing successful multi-room streaming, intuitive displays, and higher fidelity. The Wiim Sound smart speaker is nan latest subordinate successful this game, eyeing competitors specified arsenic Sonos' Era 100, Amazon's Echo Show, and Apple's HomePod 2. 

The Wiim Sound speaker some lacks features compared to competitors, but besides offers up immoderate of its own. Unlike Sonos and Apple, Wiim has a mini touchscreen display. Unlike Amazon, its existent property crossed nan speaker is modest. Unlike Sonos, Amazon, and Apple's speakers, you request nan included distant to summon nan Wiim Sound's sound adjunct capabilities.

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Overall, nan Wiim Sound has awesome sound quality, a robust companion app, and a sleek, unassuming design. But is it worthy $300 and passing up connected much acquainted brands? Let's dive in.

Sonically impressive

The Wiim Sound features 2 full-range tweeters and 1 4-inch long-throw woofer, making for beardown bass and highs, pinch mids that don't request to compete to beryllium heard. I often listened to nan Wiim Sound astatine very debased volume, and nan bass was ever-present. At a louder volume, you'll consciousness nan antagonistic aliases array shaking. However, if you push nan speaker excessively loud, you'll announcement immoderate distortion.

Due to its size and acoustic design, nan Wiim Sound is astir comparable to nan Sonos Era 100, but nan Wiim Sound produces a much pronounced bass response. The Wiim Sound supports up to 24-bit/192 kHz, a higher fidelity committedness than its competitors.

The app is simply a activity successful progress

The Wiim Home companion app houses your speaker's EQ settings, serves arsenic your hub for euphony streaming services, and lets you easy toggle root inputs. You tin besides create playlists successful nan app utilizing tracks from nan disposable platforms.

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Wiim offers almost each euphony streaming work you tin deliberation of, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, Qobuz, Deezer, Napster, Tidal, and more. Wireless streaming options via Bluetooth and Google Cast are besides available. Notably missing are Apple Music and AirPlay, which are immense drawbacks for me, arsenic personification who uses these services arsenic my superior streaming work and wireless streaming vessel.

Jada Jones/ZDNET

Wiim's Sound and Sound Lite speakers connection a grouping characteristic akin to Sonos' multi-room pairing. Sonos has nan limb up successful this category, from nan app's personification interface to nan execution of nan feature. Wiim's speakers run much independently than Sonos', which is awesome for getting much retired of your speakers' functionality, but not arsenic useful erstwhile you want aggregate speakers to run arsenic one.

A measurement up successful design

I really bask nan Wiim Sound's design; it's somewhat bigger than nan Era 100, importantly larger than nan Apple HomePod 2, and has a overmuch smaller show than nan Echo Show. It blends easy into your room countertop, nightstand, aliases desk, and nan show adds a individual touch. You tin customize nan show to characteristic photos from your camera roll, enactment arsenic a integer clock, and show your existent track.

If you're adjacent nan speaker, you tin prosecute nan display's touchscreen, but it's mostly for aesthetics alternatively than function. Its astir useful usability is speedy entree to EQ settings, but you tin besides pat into section power stations. Otherwise, there's not overmuch to do. If you're for illustration me, you'd entree these things from your telephone anyway.

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Additionally, there's a 3.5mm jack connected nan speaker's underside for connecting to a compatible device. You get a touch power sheet astatine nan apical of nan speaker for pause/play, volume, and way skips. Wiim includes a wireless distant pinch nan Wiim Sound, which is simply a bully touch, but thing phone-first users apt won't usage often. 

What nan Wiim Sound is missing

The Wiim Sound speaker is defined by its awesome sound and unassuming, modern design. However, nan Wiim Sound lags down competitors pinch much broad app and package support. There are nary on-device sound bid features, which is simply a antagonistic for users who expect this characteristic arsenic a default. The only measurement to entree sound commands is to registry nan Wiim Sound to nan Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, aliases Google Home apps.

Also: I connected a Bluetooth Auracast receiver to my TV, and it's a worthwhile location audio upgrade

Additionally, nan touchscreen show is missing a definite je ne sais quoi. If it could connection much utility, specified arsenic displaying events connected your Google Calendar aliases on-screen playlist search, it'd beryllium a much valuable characteristic worthy paying a premium for.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Wiim Sound smart speaker is simply a awesome action for powerfulness users who want much granular power complete their device's sound output, acknowledgment to its broad EQ settings. The Wiim ecosystem is somewhat looser than Sonos, offering greater elasticity for connecting to different devices. It's a great-sounding speaker pinch a ocular element, but nan touch surface show isn't arsenic applicable arsenic you'd hope.

If you want a smart speaker pinch a much refined app and support for AirPlay and Apple Music, see nan Sonos Era 100. If you want a larger show that's smarter than it is simply a speaker, see nan Amazon Echo Show 11.