Christmas Day has been and gone for another year and you're probably wondering how to make the best use of any cash that Santa slipped into your stocking. Well, Boxing Day is a great time to pick up a bargain and one of our no-brainer budget recommendations is back at a fantastic price.
If you are in the market for a compact, entry-level music streamer to get you started in the wonderful world of hi-fi separates, you’re in luck. The WiiM Pro Plus – a certified What Hi-Fi? Award-winner – is back to its lowest price ever, falling from £219 to an impressively low £169 at Richer Sounds.
During our test time with the WiiM Pro Plus, we found the dinky little music streamer to be an immensely impressive performer given its price, size and relatively unknown provenance. It delivers a detailed, expressive, and organised sound that belies its relatively modest cost, all while serving up a well-defined and detailed soundstage.
Another standout feature of the Pro Plus is its versatility. It offers a range of connectivity options including dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, built-in Chromecast and Apple AirPlay 2 support. The small-scale streamer is compatible with popular services such as Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, and more, making it a flexible choice for various streaming preferences.
The WiiM also impresses with its control app – an area where budget streamers often fall short, and we find the app intuitive, stable, and well-designed, enhancing the overall user experience. Under the hood, there is an AKM 4493SEQ DAC (capable of handling files up to 32-bit/768kHz), which allows it to make the most of high-resolution audio files. It also offers a range of digital and analogue inputs and outputs, so can integrate easily with various audio setups.
During our testing, we noted that while the Pro Plus isn't the most muscular-sounding device, it handles rhythms ably and presents a unified, well-integrated frequency range. Its performance across different file types and resolutions is consistently solid, showing a forgiving nature with lower-quality sources while still shining with high-resolution files, making it suitable for most listening situations.
The WiiM Pro Plus represents superb value at its full asking price, especially for those new to streaming and looking to get a quick, cost-effective system going during the sales. As we concluded in our review, "If you want to do better than this, it's going to cost you quite a lot more money." With this £50 discount at Richer Sounds we can't think of a better budget product to kick-start your streaming journey.
MORE:
How to choose the best music streamer for you
Our pick of the best music streamers
And the best music streaming services
