Actual hi-fi for less than three monkeys and a dozen ponies*
By Roy Gregory
The times are definitely a changin’. While at one end of the price scale the audiophile community are going hoopla over just how ‘affordable’ the €40K Wadax Studio Player is, at the other, the diminutive WiiM amp does everything that the Wadax does (except disc replay) but throws in an analog input, HDMI connectivity and an 80 W/ch amplifier – all for €380! Talk about two different perspectives on the same problem…
Of course, nobody is suggesting that the WiiM and the Wadax are qualitatively equivalent, although both in their own way challenge the value proposition of far more expensive products. But playing with the WiiM forces you to confront the reality of leveraging Class D operation, digital processing and Chinese manufacturing. To shoe-horn the versatility and capabilities of the WiiM into a box that’s both beautifully finished and little bigger than a budget box of chocolates is impressive enough. To do it at such a modest price is astonishing – and begs the question, where does ‘real hi-fi’ actually start these days? But before you can hope to answer that question, you first need to consider just what an entry level audio system has to do these days. Here too, the WiiM provides a few pointers.
In any audio system, speakers (or headphones) are pretty much a given. The real issue revolves around input and source compatibility. The WiiM pares that back to the absolute bare minimum – offering a network connection (for streaming music), an S/PDIF for external digital sources (a disc player) an HDMI input (for integration with TV or games consoles) and a single analogue input for your reel-to-reel (just kidding). That covers the bases and points up the priorities, but leaves absolutely no room for manoeuvre.
The other weakness in the WiiM’s claim to hi-fi fame is its Class D amplifier. Impressive enough, especially at the price, it’s not hard to better its performance if you are prepared to spend more, or outrun its capabilities depending on what’s hooked up to the outputs and how loud you play it. I’m not knocking the WiiM and it is a genuinely astonishing solution where space or money are really tight – but you can do better. How much better and how much it will cost? That’s the point of this article. Where does ‘real h-fi’ start these days and what does it need to do?
Two steps forward…
There is no shortage of budget audio contenders, from the likes of traditional names such as Cambridge and Audiolab, to new, emerging brands that seem to pop up almost daily. Nearly all of them offer all-in-one units at prices well below the €1000 mark, but virtually all of those offerings are severely compromised when it comes to the quality and capacity of their amplification, sacrificing performance on the altar of ultimate flexibility. I quickly came to the conclusion that I needed to choose an amplifier first and then worry about its available input options.
Surveying the market, the unit I eventually settled on was the A10 Classic from Advance Paris, a newish French concern that offers a broad range of high-value electronics, boasting not just surprising capacity for the price, but more than a few ‘audiophile’ tweaks into the bargain. As the title of the article suggests, it weighs in at a not-insubstantial €1,790 (including sales tax), which isn’t exactly pocket money. But for that you get a big and beautifully finished box, that’s both genuinely capable and versatile. In fact, first impressions are that the packaging and presentation of the A10 Classic put many a serious high-end product to shame. A double-skin cardboard carton, internal edge AND corner reinforcements and a branded, anti-abrasion ‘pillow-case for the product certainly gives a reassuring impression of quality and care.
