Home Theater Wireless Systems

HTIBs are turning out to be more popular than ever, yet these systems are often associated with trailing cables across the room. Surely, this applies to any multi-channel surround sound irrespective of whether it is a home-theater-in-a-box or a 'separates' component-based set-up.

Yet the prospective HTIB owner is often less prepared than the enthusiast who opts for a separates-based setup to face the challenges associated with hiding speaker cables. In particular, this applies to cables crossing the room from front to the back to reach the rear surrounds and back speakers (in the case of a 7.1 speaker set-up.)

For this reason, rear speakers often find themselves incorrectly placed along the fronts, or even discarded altogether. In either case, one would be losing on that immersive sound field that proper speaker placement yields in a home theater sound system.

Of course, you could always opt for one of the single speaker surround systems. These use either virtual surround sound algorithms as the Polk Audio SurroundBar 50 single speaker surround sound system, or make use of sound projection techniques as is the case with the Yamaha YSP-4000BL, to produce an immersive soundstage.

But these often have a restricted listening zone and seldom deliver a truly convincing surround sound unless the room is perfectly rectangular and your listening position is at just the right spot.

Wouldn't therefore be nice if one could get real convincing surround sound without having to face the nightmare associated with running cables across the room to wire those rear and back speakers?

It is here that home theater wireless systems come into play; these can help reduce the cable clutter by unwiring the rear speakers.

If you are planning to buy a new home-theater-in-a-box solution as a replacement to your older stereo system, or possibly as a new installation, then it is time to stop and think...

This is the right time to consider whether a home theater wireless system would represent a possible option to your needs.

It is true that as things stand today, home theater wireless systems almost always implies a wireless connection for the rear speakers only. All other channel speakers in a surround sound setup would still be wired.

But even this in itself represents a big improvement over a full wired setup. Wireless speaker systems designed for use with rear surround channels may represent a cheaper alternative to in-wall wiring. This being especially so if you have to ask for professional assistance in this respect.

And if the wireless speakers option represents a convenient solution, then a fully integrated home theater wireless system with wireless rear-speakers is even better. Why?

An integrated wireless speaker solution will surely represent a cheaper and more convenient alternative than having to install a separate add-on unit in the form of a wireless speaker amplifier for your rear surround sound.

Integrated home theater wireless systems include a wireless setup for the rear surround channels. No wires crossing the room between the main HTiB receiver and the rear speakers. The only wired connections to your rear speakers are a power feed for the wireless receiver/amplifier, and the speaker cables between the rear speakers and the wireless receiver unit at the back of the room. Some systems would even incorporate an independent wireless receiver and integrated amplifier for each of the rear speakers. While this brings about a higher price tag, yet it has the advantage of further reducing the cable clutter at the back of your home entertainment room.

The main advantage of an integrated system is that these wireless-home-theater-in-a-box solutions would normally come with interesting control features for the rear channel that are well integrated within the overall system menu. In particular, integrated systems do a very good job in taking into account the additional delay on the rear channels introduced by the wireless setup, as well as the amplification level of the wireless receiver.

However... Wireless sound solutions tend to deliver a slightly lower quality sound in comparison to a wired sound system; this is especially so with early integrated home theater wireless systems. The superior performance of a wired system is inevitable due to the extra processing that the original audio signal has to go through in a wireless setup.

But do not let this hold you back from opting for a home theater wireless system if this represents a possible alternative. As indicated earlier on, the only real wireless connection is that for the rear speakers.  In addition, the sound quality of the rear channels is not that critical for the overall sound performance in a surround sound setup.

In addition, wireless audio systems have moved a long way in this respect, particularly those using 2.4/5.8GHz wireless technology. Audio quality with most home theater wireless systems from major brands is such that it would be extremely hard to notice any appreciable difference in quality between a wired and a wireless setup. In other words, you can expect to enjoy more than just decent quality sound and sufficient power levels for a mid-sized home theater.

Rather, the real limitations associated with a home theater wireless system are not much related to the wireless feature in itself but to it being a home-theater-in-a-box solution. The same limitations that apply to a standard HTiB apply also to any home theater wireless system that comes in an HTiB package.

 So it is only logical to ask: An HTiB, or a component-based system?

Many expect that their new HTiB would deliver the same high-end features and conveniences found on a 'separates' component-based solution. You will surely get more than just enough power and decent sound quality from an HTiB. And if your HTiB do not include an active sub-woofer as part of its speaker package, there is no reason why you cannot enhance your sound experience during movie watching by simply adding one. Furthermore, if you are after simple installation and ease of use, nothing beats an HTiB - even more so a wireless home theater in-a-box system!

But there are quite a few limitations - with respect to a separates-based system incorporating the typical AV receiver - one should be well aware of prior to moving ahead with an HTiB solution irrespective of whether this being a home theater wireless system or otherwise.

Connectivity Support: Do not expect to get the same connectivity support as you would get with an AV receiver. In fact, one of the main limitations associated with an HTiB is that while these systems do often support a number of audio inputs, and would probably include an HDMI output as well, yet they would hardly take any video input. And if there is a video input, this would often support standard video only even if the HTiB includes a DVD drive with full 1080p upscaling capabilities. In other words, do not expect most HTiBs to enable you to switch between different video sources, e.g. cable or satellite TV set-top-box, games console, etc. For this purpose, you will need to use your HDTV or an external video switcher.

Similarly, while you will be able to connect various audio sources to an HTiB, it is very likely that your box-type home theater wireless system would not enable you to output line-level audio from any of its internal components - radio, CD/DVD, etc., should you require so to connect to an external device.

Lack of User Control: Another limitation associated with most home-theater-in-a-box solutions is the lack of user control both when choosing between the different surround sound modes and also when applying equalization. Most often, these systems just support a few pre-set modes and the user can just cycle through these few pre-programmed modes. Even the simple act of adjusting the treble or bass independently would turn out to be an unsupported feature in the case of most HTiB.

Manufactures would argue that HTiBs are designed with ease-of-use and the non-technical user in mind. It is true that an HTiB is not an AV receiver - so one cannot expect to enjoy the same level of conveniences as found on the more expensive component-based solutions. At the same time, cutting on these conveniences when it comes to designing HTiBs is a way of lowering the costs to compete better with the competition while making a product that would still appeal to most users.

Mind you, you would normally become aware of these limitations only if for some reason or another you are downsizing; in these circumstances, you will surely end up comparing the features on your old AV receiver with those present on your new home-theater-in-a-box system. Most probably, these limitations would not matter for anyone just starting in home theater with a limited budget. For the latter, ease of use and decent sound would often matter more than just having the trills and frills associated with an AV receiver.

And let's face it; with most of today box-type home theater wireless systems, you will get more than just decent sound. Rather sound quality is very good for the capital outlay, and ease of installation is assured thanks to a wireless rear speaker set-up.

Home Theater Wireless Systems: It is more a matter of choice

Unfortunately, you do not have much of a choice when it comes to home theater wireless systems - in particular if what you are after is an affordable solution which still provides good performance.

Furthermore, some systems come as 'wireless-ready' rather than 'wireless'. 'Wireless' systems include all necessary hardware to setup a wireless connection between the main system and the rear speakers. One such system is the Sony BDV-HZ970W featuring the much-touted Sony's S-AIR wireless technology. It is a great product and wireless support comes as an integral part of the main system.

On the other hand, 'wireless-ready' systems would require you to purchase a separate additional wireless module to remove those trailing cables to the rear speakers.

Wireless-ready systems are mainly designed to leave your future options open while minimizing initial costs. Whether it is worth moving in this direction depends on your requirements and available budget. What is really important here is to check carefully the system description during your selection process to avoid some unpleasant surprise later.