A new trend is the appearance of an increasing number of home theater systems with cordless speakers or a separate wireless surround sound kit. As multi-channel audio still is a fairly new phenomenon, older homes are not prewired for surround sound, especially with the most recent trend of 7.1 surround systems. As such a wireless option appears to seem like the logical choice. But are these wireless surround sound kits reliable enough for real-world applications and do they get rid of the dreaded cable clutter?
Looking at some of the available options for wireless surround sound kits, you'll notice that most of these systems, such as the products from LG or Rocketfish, will connect two speakers to a wireless receiver unit. Thus while these systems eliminate the speaker cable from the front of the room to the back, there still is a significant amount of speaker cable to run. A better choice would be a product, such as the wireless surround sound kit from Amphony, which offers separate wireless receivers for each speaker thus offering a much cleaner installation.
The big question is: do these wireless systems have any impact on audio quality? When choosing a wireless surround sound kit, one should prefer a system where the audio is transmitted digitally. This will ensure that the signal does not pick up noise during the transmission. Another consideration is the quality of the audio amplifier inside the wireless receiver. A good-quality amplifier will have minimum audio distortion and high efficiency. Also, picking a small-size wireless receiver will help hide it from view.
In a home theater setting, the sound from all surround speakers should be in sync with the video and each other. Some wireless surround sound kits, such as the product from Rocketfish, will introduce a noticeable delay. As such you should look at how much of a delay or latency the wireless will introduce to the signal travelling to the wireless speakers. The product from Amphony introduces a delay of a little less than 1 ms which should be low enough for pretty much any application.
The final consideration is how reliable are these wireless speakers and wireless surround sound kits in a real-world scenario. A problem facing any wireless device is interference from other wireless devices. Especially consumer devices in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands, such as WiFi or Bluetooth devices, have become more and more widespread and cause an increasing challenge for any wireless device. Choosing a product that works in a less crowded frequency band, such as the 5.8 GHz frequency band, reduces the impact of interference.
In addition to connecting rear speakers in a home theater setting, another useful application of a wireless surround sound kit is setting up speakers wirelessly in another room in cases where installing speaker wire between different rooms presents a challenge or for setting up speakers in your backyard within minutes. The applications are endless.
Looking at some of the available options for wireless surround sound kits, you'll notice that most of these systems, such as the products from LG or Rocketfish, will connect two speakers to a wireless receiver unit. Thus while these systems eliminate the speaker cable from the front of the room to the back, there still is a significant amount of speaker cable to run. A better choice would be a product, such as the wireless surround sound kit from Amphony, which offers separate wireless receivers for each speaker thus offering a much cleaner installation.
The big question is: do these wireless systems have any impact on audio quality? When choosing a wireless surround sound kit, one should prefer a system where the audio is transmitted digitally. This will ensure that the signal does not pick up noise during the transmission. Another consideration is the quality of the audio amplifier inside the wireless receiver. A good-quality amplifier will have minimum audio distortion and high efficiency. Also, picking a small-size wireless receiver will help hide it from view.
In a home theater setting, the sound from all surround speakers should be in sync with the video and each other. Some wireless surround sound kits, such as the product from Rocketfish, will introduce a noticeable delay. As such you should look at how much of a delay or latency the wireless will introduce to the signal travelling to the wireless speakers. The product from Amphony introduces a delay of a little less than 1 ms which should be low enough for pretty much any application.
The final consideration is how reliable are these wireless speakers and wireless surround sound kits in a real-world scenario. A problem facing any wireless device is interference from other wireless devices. Especially consumer devices in the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency bands, such as WiFi or Bluetooth devices, have become more and more widespread and cause an increasing challenge for any wireless device. Choosing a product that works in a less crowded frequency band, such as the 5.8 GHz frequency band, reduces the impact of interference.
In addition to connecting rear speakers in a home theater setting, another useful application of a wireless surround sound kit is setting up speakers wirelessly in another room in cases where installing speaker wire between different rooms presents a challenge or for setting up speakers in your backyard within minutes. The applications are endless.
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You can get further information concerning outdoor wireless speakers from Amphony's website.
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