Move over the HomePod: I was blown away by this new touch-enabled smart speaker

For many years, smart speakers have focused on “360-degree” sound, designs designed to fill an entire room with music. But the latest offer Wim’s voiceit impressed me more than almost any speaker I’ve tested. It’s a great device for music streaming fans, and offers sound that rivals Apple’s expensive price tag Homepod It offers more audio customization than anything else Smart speaker available.

This is what you get when you step into an audio brand Smart home world With a standalone model you can place it anywhere, not just near the TV. Wiim (as in beam, not whim) is the product of Linkplay, an audio venture that has partnered with brands like Harman, Yamaha, and Anker before launching its own brand of audio technology.

The latest hit is Wiim Sound, and while it’s expensive at $300, it’s also quite impressive, especially for streamers on Spotify and Alexa users. If you’re looking for a high-end smart speaker with amazing capabilities, your search is over.

Wiim Sound Design: Like the upgraded HomePod with touch screen

You could be forgiven for thinking about Wiim’s voice It seems HomePod at first glance. The size and drum shape are quite similar, and even the touch controls on the top of the speaker are reminiscent of that The big, powerful Apple model.

However, the Wiim’s speaker — which is slightly squarer than the HomePod — has key differences, almost all of which are improvements. On the front is a circular touchscreen that you can set to different watch shapes and colors, then swipe to choose from preset broadcast stations or EQ settings. Play music, and the album artwork will be displayed instead.

The speaker also includes a remote control, with push-to-talk connectivity for voice assistants. It has ports that other smart speakers don’t have, including an additional audio cable, giving you more setup possibilities.

Inside the speaker are dual independently tuned silk-dome woofers and a 4-inch paper cone tweeter. I’ll talk more about their performance below, but the results are of very high quality compared to the usual sound of standalone speakers, even the HomePod.

Setup is simple once you download the app. Wiim walks you through the basic steps and walks you through the RoomFit calibration process, helping the speaker optimize itself for where you typically are in the room. With a choice between the built-in touchscreen, app and remote control, you can choose your preferred control option – or tap the voice assistant. This brings me to all the smarts in this speaker.

In-app controls, smart support, live streaming – lots of streaming

Wiim Sound is designed for streaming from your favorite platform, including Tidal, Qobuz, Roon, Soundtrack, and many more. But it has more than others Native support for Spotify And the sound is lost. As a Spotify user (its lists and stations work better for me), this was a welcome option, but you can still get high-res audio from other sources if you want an alternative.

The app settings offer more options than you’d normally see on a smart speaker. This includes not only alarms and standby modes, but also Dynamic Bass, EQ settings, and presets. These presets are one of my favorite add-ons, a way to set a song or station from your streaming service to play instantly. You can access your presets either on the app or on the audio touchscreen, which saves a lot of time. Wiim walks you through how to set presets using Spotify, but the same rules apply to most streaming stations.

Otherwise, it’s usually quicker to open the streaming app and make sure the music is sent to Wiim Sound after you connect it. Wiim supports voice assistants for the smart home Like Alexa and Google Homewith a slight preference for Alexa. However, this is one case where I wouldn’t really recommend using a voice assistant, even with the useful remote microphone option. Alexa and its ilk don’t do well at recognizing specific band names and songs, especially if you’re also asking them to play from Spotify to a specific home speaker. Instead of trying these jumbled commands, I usually prefer to head to the app.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a voice assistant yet, you can use it for other purposes, such as controlling smart home devices, setting reminders, And other various household tasksso it’s still a good deal for those who don’t have a current smart speaker.

What about sound? It’s Wiim’s strong suit (especially if you use Spotify)

Wiim Audio supports up to 24-bit/192kHz audio with 100W peak output and a 50Hz-20kHz response range. You’re unlikely to reach maximum audio improvement while streaming over Wi-Fi, but the results are still noticeable compared to other smart speakers.

In my testing, I got slightly better performance on the HomePod — the leader in smart speaker sound quality — when playing directly from Apple Music. However, in everything else, I was most impressed with the range and quality of the Wiim speaker playing Lossless Spotify audio.

Audio also offers more detailed audio customization and preset options, which really pushed it over the top for me. There’s nothing like spending time tweaking individual audio settings or dipping into your equalizer to enhance a particular favorite song. The treble and bass results were very strong for a speaker of this size.

Final thoughts on Wiim’s voice

the Voice Wim $300 It does an excellent job of combining smart home features with its audio experience, resulting in one of the best smart speakers I’ve ever tested. The sound quality is definitely not up to the mark Sonos speaker setupbut nothing can really.

For those who want a standalone, app-controlled speaker with a voice assistant and high-quality, highly customizable audio, Wiim offers an affordable option. The speaker also works well with a variety of streaming services like Spotify and alternatives that people may prefer, like Qobuz or Tidal.

You’ll still have to pay HomePod-level prices to nab this smart speaker, which can be a tough ask if you already own a reliable speaker. But non-Apple users looking for a real audio upgrade won’t be disappointed.