ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Wiim Sound smart speaker is available in Black and White for $299.
- It offers great sound, a neat touchscreen display, and an inoffensive design.
- The display is more for aesthetics than utility, and Wiim doesn’t support Apple Music or AirPlay.
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There’s a shift in the smart speaker market. More companies are investing in multi-room streaming, intuitive displays, and higher fidelity. The Wiim Sound smart speaker is the latest player in this game, eyeing competitors such as Sonos’ Era 100, Amazon’s Echo Show, and Apple’s HomePod 2.
The Wiim Sound speaker both lacks features compared to competitors, but also offers up some of its own. Unlike Sonos and Apple, Wiim has a small touchscreen display. Unlike Amazon, its real estate across the speaker is modest. Unlike Sonos, Amazon, and Apple’s speakers, you need the included remote to summon the Wiim Sound’s voice assistant capabilities.
Also: Should you buy a Sonos or Samsung sound system? I compared both brands to find out
Overall, the Wiim Sound has great sound quality, a robust companion app, and a sleek, unassuming design. But is it worth $300 and passing up on more familiar brands? Let’s dive in.
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Sonically impressive
The Wiim Sound features two full-range tweeters and one 4-inch long-throw woofer, making for strong bass and highs, with mids that don’t need to compete to be heard. I often listened to the Wiim Sound at very low volume, and the bass was ever-present. At a louder volume, you’ll feel the counter or table shaking. However, if you push the speaker too loud, you’ll notice some distortion.
Due to its size and acoustic design, the Wiim Sound is most comparable to the Sonos Era 100, but the Wiim Sound produces a more pronounced bass response. The Wiim Sound supports up to 24-bit/192 kHz, a higher fidelity promise than its competitors.
The app is a work in progress
The Wiim Home companion app houses your speaker’s EQ settings, serves as your hub for music streaming services, and lets you easily toggle source inputs. You can also create playlists in the app using tracks from the available platforms.
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Wiim offers almost every music streaming service you can think of, including Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, Qobuz, Deezer, Napster, Tidal, and more. Wireless streaming options via Bluetooth and Google Cast are also available. Notably missing are Apple Music and AirPlay, which are huge drawbacks for me, as someone who uses these services as my primary streaming service and wireless streaming vessel.
Wiim’s Sound and Sound Lite speakers offer a grouping feature similar to Sonos’ multi-room pairing. Sonos has the leg up in this category, from the app’s user interface to the execution of the feature. Wiim’s speakers operate more independently than Sonos’, which is wonderful for getting more out of your speakers’ functionality, but not as useful when you want multiple speakers to operate as one.
A step up in design
I really enjoy the Wiim Sound’s design; it’s slightly bigger than the Era 100, significantly larger than the Apple HomePod 2, and has a much smaller display than the Echo Show. It blends easily into your kitchen countertop, nightstand, or desk, and the display adds a personal touch. You can customize the display to feature photos from your camera roll, act as a digital clock, and show your current track.
If you’re near the speaker, you can engage the display’s touchscreen, but it’s largely for aesthetics rather than function. Its most useful function is quick access to EQ settings, but you can also tap into local radio stations. Otherwise, there’s not much to do. If you’re like me, you’d access these things from your phone anyway.
Additionally, there’s a 3.5mm jack on the speaker’s underside for connecting to a compatible device. You get a touch control panel at the top of the speaker for pause/play, volume, and track skips. Wiim includes a wireless remote with the Wiim Sound, which is a nice touch, but something phone-first users likely won’t use often.
What the Wiim Sound is missing
The Wiim Sound speaker is defined by its impressive sound and unassuming, modern design. However, the Wiim Sound lags behind competitors with more comprehensive app and software support. There are no on-device voice command features, which is a negative for users who expect this feature as a default. The only way to access voice commands is to register the Wiim Sound to the Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, or Google Home apps.
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Additionally, the touchscreen display is missing a certain je ne sais quoi. If it could offer more utility, such as displaying events on your Google Calendar or on-screen playlist search, it’d be a more valuable feature worth paying a premium for.
ZDNET’s buying advice
The Wiim Sound smart speaker is a great option for power users who want more granular control over their device’s sound output, thanks to its comprehensive EQ settings. The Wiim ecosystem is slightly looser than Sonos, offering greater flexibility for connecting to other devices. It’s a great-sounding speaker with a visual element, but the touch screen display isn’t as practical as you’d hope.
If you want a smart speaker with a more refined app and support for AirPlay and Apple Music, consider the Sonos Era 100. If you want a larger display that’s smarter than it is a speaker, consider the Amazon Echo Show 11.
