Pros

• Excellent sound and audio customization options for a speaker of its size

• Great streaming compatibility with many services

• Fun and functional touchscreen

• Useful preset shortcuts

• Remote control with voice assistant

• More for connections

• Especially compatible with Spotify

• Deep app controls

Cons

• As expensive as a HomePod, too

• The app settings take a little time to master

• Voice assistants aren’t the best at understanding music commands

For years, smart speakers have focused on “360-degree” sound, designs made to fill an entire room with music. But the latest offering, Wiim Voiceimpressed me more than almost any speaker I’ve tried. It’s an amazing device for music streaming fans, offering sound that rivals Apple’s price. HomePod and provides more audio customization than others smart speaker can be used.

That’s what you get when an audio brand makes the jump the world of smart home with a standalone model you can place it anywhere, not just on the TV. The Wiim (like the beam, not whim) is the product of Linkplay, an audio project that has collaborated with brands such as Harman, Yamaha and Anker before launching its own brand of audio tech.

The latest result is Wiim Sound, and while it’s on the expensive side at $300, it’s also absolutely impressive, especially for Spotify streamers and Alexa users. If you’re looking for a higher-end smart speaker with incredible potential, your search is over.

Wiim Sound Design: Like an upgraded HomePod with a touchscreen

You could be forgiven for thinking of Wiim Sound it seems a HomePod at first glance. The size and shape of the cylinder are the same, and even the touchscreen controls above the speaker are reminiscent of Big, powerful Apple model.

However, the Wiim’s speaker – which is slightly more square than the HomePod – has important differences, and they are almost all improvements. On the front is a circular touchscreen that you can set to different clock shapes and colors, then swipe to choose from preset streaming stations or EQ settings. Play music, and the album artwork will be displayed instead.

The speaker also includes a remote control, complete with a push-to-talk connection to voice assistants. And it has ports that other smart speakers don’t, including an aux audio cable, which gives you more setup possibilities.

Inside the speaker are independently tuned silk-dome dual tweeters and a 4-inch paper-cone woofer. I’ll get more into their performance below, but the results are very high quality compared to standard audio from standalone speakers, even the HomePod.

Setup is simple once you’ve downloaded the app. Wiim walks you through the basic steps and guides you through the RoomFit calibration process, which helps the speaker optimize itself for where you’re always in the room. With choices between the onboard touchscreen, the app and the remote control, you can choose your preferred control option — or tap a voice assistant. That brings me to all the wisdom of this speaker.

App controls, smart support and streaming — a lot of streaming

Wiim Sound is built for streaming from your favorite platforms, including Tidal, Qobuz, Roon, Soundtrack and more. But it has the majority native support for Spotify and its Lossless audio. As a Spotify user (its menus and stations work best for me), this is a welcome option, but you can still get Hi-Res audio from other sources if you want an alternative.

The settings app offers more options than you’d normally find on a smart speaker. That includes not only alarms and standby mode, but Dynamic Bass, EQ settings, and presets. Those presets are one of my favorite additions, a way to set a song or station from a streaming service to play right away. You can access your presets in the app or on Sound’s touchscreen, which saves a lot of time. Wiim guides you through how to set Spotify presets, but the same rules apply to most streaming stations.

If not, it’s usually faster to open your streaming app and make sure your music is casting to Wiim Sound after it’s connected. Wiim supports smart home voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Homewith a slight preference for Alexa. However, this is a case where I really don’t recommend using a voice assistant, despite the remote mic option being available. Alexa and its partners are not good at recognizing specific band names and songs, especially if you also tell them to play from Spotify to a specific speaker in the house. Instead of trying mixed commands, I usually prefer to go to an 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, making reminders and other miscellaneous household choresso this is a good deal for those who don’t have an existing smart speaker.

What about the audio? This is Wiim’s strong suit (especially if you use Spotify)

Wiim Sound supports up to 24-bit/192kHz audio with 100-watt peak output and a 50Hz–20kHz response range. You can’t hit max audio optimization while streaming over Wi-Fi, but the results still stand out compared to other smart speakers.

In my testing, I got slightly better performance on the HomePod — the leader in smart speaker audio quality — when playing directly from Apple Music. All in all, though, I’m more impressed with the size and quality of the Wiim’s speaker that plays Lossless Spotify audio.

Sound also offers more detailed audio customization and preset options, which really pushes it over the top for me. There’s nothing like taking the time to tweak individual audio settings or fiddle with your EQ to enhance a specific favorite song. Treble and bass results are both very strong for a speaker of its size.

Final thoughts on Wiim Sound

the $300 Wii Sound does an excellent job of combining smart home features with its audio expertise, resulting in one of the best smart speakers I’ve ever tried. Sure, its audio quality doesn’t quite reach the highest result of a Sonos speaker setupbut nothing can be done.

For those who want a standalone, app-controlled speaker with a voice assistant and high-quality, highly customizable audio, the Wiim offers a more reasonably priced choice. Its speaker also plays well with various streaming services such as Spotify and alternatives that people like, such as Qobuz or Tidal.

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