The Vibelink Amp is WiiM's first dedicated stereo power amplifier, designed to pair with the brand's WiiM Mini, Pro, Pro Plus and Ultra streamers to create a complete music system. Unlike WiiM's other models, the Vibelink Amp does not include any networking or streaming functions; it is a pure power amplifier intended to take a signal from a streamer or other source and drive a pair of passive loudspeakers.
Amplifier Design
WiiM has built the Vibelink Amp around the Texas Instruments TPA3255 Class-D amplifier chip, paired with PFFB (Post-Filter Feedback) technology to lower distortion and noise across the audio band. Output is rated at 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 200 watts per channel into 4 ohms when fed from a digital input, with 60 watts per channel available from the analogue RCA input. Six TI OPA1612 op-amps handle the analogue stages.
Digital and Analogue Inputs
Digital sources connect via optical TOSLINK or coaxial S/PDIF, both supporting bit-perfect playback up to 192 kHz/24-bit through an ESS 9039Q2M DAC. A pair of stereo RCA analogue inputs is also provided; this path bypasses the internal analogue-to-digital conversion entirely, preserving an unaltered analogue signal from a phono stage, CD player or other source. An input selector on the front panel cycles between Coax, Optical and RCA, with status LEDs above the selector button.
Build and Operation
The chassis is a precision-machined unibody aluminium enclosure with a copper heat pipe and aluminium heatsink for thermal management. A large rotary control on the front handles volume. On the rear, gold-plated binding posts accept banana plugs or bare wire, and a 12V trigger input allows the amplifier to power on automatically with a partner streamer. An auto-standby mode powers the unit down after 30 or 60 minutes of inactivity.
Performance
WiiM quotes a signal-to-noise ratio of 120 dB and total harmonic distortion plus noise of 0.0005 percent (-105 dB), figures consistent with a well-implemented modern Class-D design. The combination of a low-noise reference DAC, the TPA3255 output stage and PFFB feedback gives the Vibelink Amp the headroom to drive most bookshelf and floorstanding speakers in real-world listening rooms.
