WiiM expands its whole-home ecosystem with a new soundbar

WiiM, the audio institution that’s challenged the thought that audiophile-level capacity requires a mini loan, is expanding its whole-home ecosystem pinch the WiiM Bar, which releases successful July. Much for illustration its different speakers and audio components, the WiiM Bar supports a bunch of streaming options and expandability astatine an affordable value — successful this case, $479.

The company’s first soundbar has a 3.0.2 Atmos configuration pinch a full of 8 drivers — 3 beforehand mid-woofers, 3 beforehand tweeters, and 2 up-firing full-range tallness drivers — paired pinch 4 passive radiators. That configuration tin beryllium expanded to 3.1.2 pinch the summation of a WiiM Sub Pro for $449, aliases to a 5.1.2 situation setup by besides adding 2 of the company’s wireless Sound aliases Sound Lite speakers. It’s compatible pinch some Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and includes room correction, speech enhancement, and a nighttime mode.

While astir existent soundbar designs from companies for illustration Sonos, Bose, and Samsung are sleek yet understated, the WiiM Bar stands retired pinch a 2.1-inch information touch show beforehand and center. The Bar isn’t the first WiiM instrumentality to incorporated a touchscreen; they tin besides beryllium recovered connected the WiiM Ultra streamer, WiiM Amp Ultra streaming amp, and WiiM Sound speaker. I’m each for having a show that shows things for illustration measurement level, playback information, aliases medium art, and I for illustration that it besides offers different measurement to power the soundbar. But I seldom find myself adjacent a soundbar while I’m listening to it, truthful I’m not judge really useful that portion is. There are besides illuminated capacitive buttons for volume, play and pause, and root switching.

The Bar tin merge into an existing WiiM multi-room system. It tin play audio from much than 20 services from wrong the WiiM Home app, aliases link pinch Google Cast Audio, Spotify Connect, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, and Amazon Music Cast. There’s besides section web support pinch DLNA aliases Roon. One awesome removal is Apple AirPlay, which hasn’t been supported by immoderate WiiM products since the Amp was released successful November 2023.

Connections see HDMI eARC, optical, statement in, Ethernet, and a USB-A larboard that is configurable arsenic audio in, audio out, aliases for media storage. There’s an included distant power if you for illustration 1 to the app aliases controls connected the soundbar.

I afloat expect the Bar, releasing successful July, is conscionable the beginning. If WiiM follows its erstwhile strategy, we’re judge to get a step-up action later this twelvemonth aliases early next. But moreover if we don’t, the $479 WiiM Bar looks to beryllium an awfully bully woody from a institution that knows really to make great-sounding products.