If you’ve been thinking we need more soundbar options, you’ll be pleased to know the folks at WiiM have obliged with the WiiM Bar. The company has positioned this soundbar, which it calls a “display-first” soundbar, as the solution for audiophiles who are also cinephiles, and vice versa.
The company says it is “designed to bring powerful home theater sound, deep WiiM control, and at-a-glance playback visibility into one elegant living room device.”
A WiiM away from great audio
One thing that sets this soundbar apart from others is the 2.1in circular full-colour touch display in its centre. You can set it to display album art, track info, EQ, smart presets, recently played content, clock faces, dynamic wallpapers, audio visualisations, and playback/source controls.
Giving this display touch abilities probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but if all of those features can’t also be done with the remote, we’re not sure what all the lazy people are going to do. They won’t get up to touch their soundbar, that’s for sure. Also, sorry if you don’t see well.
The Bar sports a 3.0.2-channel configuration with eight drivers blasting audio at you, including three front mid-woofers, three front tweeters, two top-firing full-range height drivers, and four passive radiators. WiiM says you’re getting 135W of total system power.
As far as supported formats go, both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound formats are supported, along with LPCM, Dolby TrueHD and Digital Plus, AC3, and regular DTS via the HDMI eARC port. You also get optical and line-in options.
When you connect the WiiM Bar with other WiiM products via the companion app, you can expand your setup up to 5.1.2. In the app, you’ll also find EQ settings and access pretty much any streaming platform. You also have the option to bypass the app and stream music directly to the Bar using Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, and Roon.
All that’s left is confirmation that a) it will be available here, and b) how much it will cost. Considering you can get other WiiM devices here, we don’t see why we’d miss out. We’ve reached out for confirmation anyway. If the local price is anywhere close to the US price of $480 (about R7,800 directly converted), this could be just what mid-range soundbar buyers are looking for.
