No company has done more to make wireless audio ubiquitous thanSonos . Its compendium of wireless speakers — which just received a major update with theEra 100andEra 300 — has realize praise from critics and customers alike , not just for how they sound , but also for how they look . But I ’d argue thatwhat really makes Sonos , well , Sonos , is its software . The Sonos app and the code that runs on its product have served as the gold standard for menage sound because they ’re easy to practice — and they work with just about every medicine author you’re able to name , from people ’s personal iTunes euphony collections to the most obscure cyclosis military service . As the saying goes , it ’s been often imitated but never equaled . Until now .

Wiim — a comparatively fresh steel from a company called LinkPlay — has just establish its 2nd ware , the $ 149Wiim Pro . It ’s a direct competitor to the $ 449Sonos Port . Both devices are designed to give your existing , non - wireless audio organization a impudent raise , so you’re able to still enjoy the sound scheme you love while giving it access to the full range of features and cyclosis sources that a wireless verbalizer offers .

The Wiim Pro is n’t just interchangeable to the Sonos Port — it ’s practically a carbon written matter .

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While mass of companionship have copied Sonos , likeDenon , Bose , andBluesound , none have carry off to do so at a importantly lower cost or been capable to develop a truly free-enterprise app - based experience . The Wiim Pro does both . And if it ’s a sign of LinkPlay ’s ultimate ambitions in the whole - rest home wireless audio space , Sonos has every reason to be worried .

A little black box

Physically , the Wiim Pro is n’t just alike to the Sonos Port — it ’s practically a carbon copy , right down to the fact that both “ WIIM ” and “ SONOS ” are ambigrams ( they face the same ripe - side up , or upside down ) . They ’re both made from dim charge plate , their property are within a mm or two of each other , and even their circle - in - a - satisfying bottom panels bear a strong resemblance to one another . Both machine number with a power adapter and a Seth of RCA cable for analog connections , but the Wiim go a step further with an includedoptical cable .

To be fair , the Port feels more substantial in your hand , and it uses high - tone plastic than the Wiim Pro . But these are n’t smartphones . Once you plug it into your sound system , there ’s almost no ground to match it again .

That leads us to the difference . Both gadget have indicant lights on the front for power , but the Wiim Pro also feature touch controls for volume ( which can be swap for track skipping ) , playback , and presets . I ’m sure that Sonos image most folks will favor using the app for these mathematical function , but it ’s still a bit ironic that the company offers fantabulous skin senses controls on its other products , but not on the Port .

The Wiim Pro is festoon with wireless pick .

A glance at the back panel reveals more similarities ( and differences ) , with the biggest being the Wiim Pro ’s digital larboard selection . You get an opthalmic input , plus an opthalmic and coaxial digital set of outputs . The Port only has a exclusive coaxial digital output — a curious choice given that optical comment incline to be more common on a assortment of speaker , TVs , andAV pass catcher .

Sonos has been somewhat resistant to providing inputs on its ware — specially digital ones . Only itssoundbarsoffer this option , so this gives the Wiim Pro another reward .

All of the wireless connections

Since the Sonos One , Sonos has been includingApple ’s AirPlayon all of its ware , admit the Port . This gives Apple equipment owner a way to play music on a Sonos twist without using the Sonos app . There ’s also support for Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect , which let you control your Sonos intersection flat from within these third - party apps . Only the ship’s company ’s two portable speaker unit ( the Move and the Roam ) and its newest wired model ( the Era 100 and 300 ) let in Bluetooth .

The Wiim Pro , by direct contrast , is festooned with wireless options . you could use the Wiim app to access a variety of streaming services , or AirPlay , Bluetooth , andChromecast Audio — the latter two options will be especially useful to Android drug user — as well as Spotify Connect / Tidal Connect .

The Wiim Pro does n’t quite ticktock all of the audiophile box , but it comes very close .

Sonos has been knock for not offer any kind of earpiece hearing experience , which produce the Wiim Pro all the more impressive . It supports Bluetooth as an output — a feature that ’s very rarified in the wireless multiroom universe — letting you pipe euphony from the Wiim Pro to a set ofwireless phone , earbuds , or literally anyBluetooth speakeryou may own .

All of the formats

Sonos supports a wide miscellanea of both lossy and lossless data formatting , but it has a hard terminal point on result that cash in one’s chips - surd audiophiles may find annoying : audio tone ca n’t exceed 24 - bit/48kHz . If a music stream service has a matching version of a cart track — that ’s what you ’ll get . But if your chosen service only maintains higher lineament versions e.g. 24 - bit/96kHz , and does n’t have the ability to adapt that to a 24/48 version ( which is sometimes the case withQobuz ) , it must mail Sonos the well version that Sonos can trifle — typically 16 - bit/44.1kHz .

Sonos ’ reign as the undisputed Billie Jean Moffitt King of the wireless audio frequency experience has encounter its first genuine contender .

This is inauspicious yield that the Port is specifically designed to deliver analog and digital audio recording to a third - party sound system . If you ’ve take nuisance to make that arrangement the best that it can be , it feels odd that the Port ca n’t equal your enthusiasm all the way up to the highest possible stratum .

The Wiim Pro does n’t quite tick all of the audiophile boxes ( it does n’t decipher DSD ) , but it comes very nigh , with support forhi - reslossless ALAC , APE , FLAC , and WAV , up to 24 - bit/192kHz , in increase to the common lossy suspects , MP3 , AAC , WMA , and OGG . There ’s even genus Beta - level support for theMQA data formatting , which Tidal uses to present its top - tierMasters track , something that   Sonos does not support .

A killer app

As I mentioned in the introduction , building capable hardware is one thing — and there are several excellent alternatives to the Sonos Port from a hardware point of persuasion . But making that hardware a cinch to set up and a joy to use ? That ’s a lot harder to do , and no one does it as well as Sonos . But its sovereignty as the undisputed Billie Jean King of the wireless sound experience has receive its first genuine challenger : the Wiim app is the closest match to Sonos I ’ve ever find out .

It begins with an effortless , 2 - minute - or - less setup operation that includes a apt audio latency measurement . Using a built - in mic , the Wiim Pro evaluates the lag between when it post audio to your system and when your arrangement produces sound . This is unneeded for a exclusive way or verbaliser , but if you want to boom your Wiim system , it ’s vital to get perfectly synchronize sound between all loudspeaker system .

you may then ( optionally ) enable Chromecast Audio ( which also enables Google Assistant voice control ) and Amazon Alexa memory access , and there ’s also a shortcut to the Apple Home app ( iOS only ) so you may bestow the Wiim Pro to Apple ’s smart family arrangement .

Once you ’re up and running , the app interface will be immediately conversant to Sonos users , and it ’s simple to sail even if you ’ve never used a wireless medicine organization before .

Four tabs along the bottom unionize the app ’s main functions — browse , machine , search , and setting — though on a day - to - twenty-four hour period basis , you ’ll probably stick to the first three .

Browse is an all - in - one tilt of all the music sources the Wiim app supports . The My Library section is devoted to your personal music ( on your earpiece and on your web ) , while the Music Services segment shows you whichstreaming servicesare available . It ’s an impressive list with lots of choices , but you ’ll notice two very conspicuous omission : Apple MusicandYouTube Music .

It would be nice if these services were included — the path they are on Sonos — but thanks to the Wiim Pro ’s brilliant wireless options , you may still play euphony from these services straight from within their several apps , using Bluetooth , AirPlay , or Chromecast Audio .

The gimmick check is where you ’ll receive all of your LinkPlay - compatible players like the Wiim Pro . Each equipment is number concord to the elbow room name you gave them during the frame-up , and an comfortable - to - read card for each room point what ’s currently playing , along with a volume control , a speaker system group function , and entree to the player ’s scope .

Speaker ( or streamer ) aggroup bring much like it does on Sonos . Bring up the devices tab and select the chain icon on the card belonging to the machine you need to apply as the primary quill in the group . A pop - up will then let you add as many other Wiim devices on your internet as you like , to the group . I tried it with a Wiim Pro and a Wiim Mini , and synchronisation between the two sound bang on to me .

Cleverly , once group , the Wiim app let you determine if you desire each twist to play the full stereoscopic photograph current , or if each twist should play just one television channel . Sonos only lets you create these kinds of two-channel pairs if both devices are identical for instance two Era 100s or two Era 300s .

It ’s the app ’s third tab that I require to call your attention to . Unless you ’ve try on Sonos ’ competitor — and noted the feature article ’s absence — you may not realize how powerful a true ecumenical search can be . The headstone to getting the most out of your digital music , whether it ’s your private library of albums and playlists or your subscription to a streaming music military service , is being able to line up what you ’re look for .

Without a universal search , you have to more or less bonk where to bet for your music before you start search . You must then tiresomely go about the labor of searching again and again within each source . With ecumenical search , you just ask for anything , and the resultant are grouped by source . And if you want to restrict a search to just one of your reservoir , there ’s a secondary search selection in the top - proper corner to do just that .

Of all the Sonos have the Wiim Pro provide , this one is my favorite .

A tiny gap

On some streaming servicing , like Amazon Music , there ’s no way to designate favourite tracks , albums , playlists , or artist . In this scenario , you ca n’t progress your own Wiim - based playlists from the content either . Wiim says this is a limit with the current execution of the Amazon Music service and that it should be fix with a future update .

It ’s not a total deal breaker , because you may still access any favourite or playlists you have created within your subscription services . For instance , when browse Amazon Music , you may see your My Music favorites .

Settings galore

At a basic level , the Wiim Pro is quick to play your music the consequence you polish off the apparatus . But in keeping with the gadget ’s audiophile predilection , if you need to take a deeper dive and get into the weeds , the app lets you access a across-the-board variety of preferences .

you could decide which of the three output to apply ( analog , coax , or optical ) , choose the input , set music warning signal , choose to correct your own EQ using a 10 - band equalizer , or pick from a huge list of EQ presets . There ’s even the ability to take the try out second - deepness and frequency for the digital outputs , in casing your audio gear might be on the older side and exploit better with low time value .

There ’s also good news for fan of theRoon euphony control system : the Wiim Pro is undergoing Roon certification and is expect to be fully compliant before the end of June 2023 .

This is just the beginning

As an affordable , feature film - filled wireless audio arranger , the Wiim Pro is incredibly easy to urge . But its brilliant app - driven interface mean that the Wiim Pro does n’t just calculate like a Sonos Port , but it pretty much work like one too — and that ’s say a lot .

Sonos set about its wireless music journey in 2004 with the amplified ZonePlayer , which still lives on today as theSonos Amp . It followed that with the non - amplified ZP80 ( today ’s Sonos Port ) .

Presumably , LinkPlay is embark on the same journey with the Wiim Pro and its more affordable sibling , theWiim Mini . I think we can expect to see the company debut wireless speakers next , and if their quality and Mary Leontyne Price are reflective of what I ’ve seen in the Wiim Pro , I predict more than a few watchful night for the team at Sonos .