Sound Quality
The WiiM Pro Plus uses the ESS ES9038Q2M, a DAC chip found in components costing two to five times its price, and the analog output quality reflects that. Through its balanced XLR outputs, the Pro Plus delivers a clean, detailed, and spacious presentation that genuinely competes with streaming players in the $500+ range. The noise floor is impressively low, high-frequency detail is resolved without harshness, and the bass is tight and linear. For the price, the sonic performance is shocking in the most positive sense.
Streaming quality via Tidal Connect, Qobuz, and Amazon Music HD is excellent. The Pro Plus streams at full resolution without downsampling, and hi-res Qobuz albums arrive bit-perfect at 192kHz/24-bit. Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, and Google Chromecast built-in are all present, meaning every streaming service and ecosystem is covered. The optical and coaxial inputs allow it to serve double duty as a DAC for other digital sources in your system.
Using the balanced XLR output into a balanced preamplifier or integrated amplifier produces the best results — the common-mode noise rejection of balanced connection cleans up any remaining noise from the digital processing chain and the result is a presentation that is difficult to fault at the price.
Software & Features
The WiiM Home app has improved considerably since the platform launched and now handles the basics well: streaming service integration, local network library browsing, internet radio, and multi-room grouping. It is not as refined as BluOS — the library management tools are less mature and the UI is occasionally inconsistent — but it is functional and receives regular updates.
The 4-inch color touchscreen is a genuine differentiator at this price. Displaying album art in full color during playback makes the Pro Plus feel like a complete device rather than a dongle, and direct playback control from the unit itself removes the app dependency for simple operations. The touchscreen implementation is responsive and adds a premium quality to an otherwise modestly designed product.
WiiM supports Roon Ready (RAAT) certification, meaning Roon subscribers get the full Roon experience through the Pro Plus hardware. Combined with Tidal Connect and AirPlay 2, the streaming ecosystem coverage is comprehensive.
Value Proposition
There is no honest way to describe the WiiM Pro Plus as anything other than exceptional value. The ES9038Q2M DAC chip alone would cost more to implement correctly in a DIY build than the Pro Plus’s entire retail price. The balanced XLR output is a feature absent from many $600–800 streamers. The touchscreen, the hi-res support, the Roon certification — at $219, the Pro Plus makes its competition look overpriced.
The legitimate reasons to spend more are software ecosystem maturity (BluOS on the Bluesound NODE remains more polished), multi-room reliability (Bluesound wins here), and build quality (the Pro Plus feels lighter and less premium than Bluesound hardware). But if your priority is maximum audio performance per dollar spent, the WiiM Pro Plus is the answer.
