This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Dominique Lingruen, vice president of sales for Linkplay Technology Inc., parent company of WiiM—a fast-growing hi-fi brand whose expanding lineup includes streamers, amplifiers, wireless speakers, subwoofers, and other products designed for the modern connected audio system.

Topics of conversation include Dominique’s personal history in hi-fi, WiiM’s meteoric rise, the importance of personalization, how the company is reaching a younger and more female audience, what happened with AirPlay, and—perhaps most importantly—the best recipe for banana pancakes.

Plus, what does WiiM even mean? Jorden finds out.

Sources:

WiiM Amp Ultra Streaming Integrated Amplifier review by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1358-wiim-amp-ultra-streaming-integrated-amplifier

“The WiiM Amp Ultra—What’s Happened to Me?” by Jason Thorpe: https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/opinion-menu/1297-the-wiim-amp-ultra-whats-happened-to-me

Chapters: 00:00:00 Announcement 00:00:36 Introductions 00:03:22 Manifesting Beckham 00:06:23 It’s pronounced “WiiM” 00:08:20 The pieces of the Linkplay puzzle 00:13:56 Taking a big bet 00:18:31 Appealing to different demographics 00:21:28 From hi-fi to home theater 00:24:32 What happened with AirPlay 00:28:30 The future 00:30:47 The headphone hook and the vinyl fad 00:35:39 My-fi? 00:40:14 What would a WiiM AVR look like? 00:41:23 Outro music: “Four Leaf Clover” by Louis Island