A Guide to Wireless Speakers Systems

True wireless home theater is still the unattained ideal many home theater owners would love to achieve.

However, thanks to advancement in new wireless technology, things are changing fast, and wireless systems are becoming better, cheaper, faster, and easier to use and install. However...

As things stand today, the term 'wireless' in the audio and video world does not mean 'wireless' - rather all it means is less wires. And this applies to any wireless speaker system presently available on the market.

Still, this in itself can turn out to be a great advantage. Home theater systems are synonymous with a huge mass of home theater cables that are not only unsightly, but also difficult to troubleshoot should problems arise.

Concealing this mass of cables is surely not a straightforward job. This being especially so if you do not have pre-wired walls and ceilings for an in-wall home entertainment wiring solution.

Professionals can do the job for you but it will surely turn out to be expensive to retrofit a house, or in that case even a single room with an in-wall wiring solution for your audio and video systems. And this apart from that fact that such projects are often difficult to mange.

Unfortunately, eliminating the mass of cables and interconnects between system components is still not a completely viable option, but... reducing the clutter, yes... especially when it comes to home audio and surround sound.

In particular, today's wireless home theater systems focus mainly around the use of wireless speakers systems to eliminate trailing speaker wires around the room perimeter when installing rear speakers in a surround sound setup.

Sending audio across rooms in the home through a wireless link is also starting to emerge as a do-able inexpensive and straightforward option for most consumers.

...but this is as far as today's mass-market wireless solutions go.

Mind you, the technology is there and relatively inexpensive off-the-shelf solutions are readily available to help you expand say your wireless networking from a simple home office to a fully integrated home entertainment system.

Yet, even though there are already several products on the market with wireless support - including set-top boxes, wireless speakers systems, media players, and the like - a full wireless home entertainment solution is still not a true mass-market proposition. In particular, replacing HDMI cables so common with today's AV systems, with a wireless alternative to carry your HD video is still relatively expensive with respect to a wired option.

Admittedly, things are changing fast, and what was unattainable and unaffordable up to the recent past, is becoming attainable, affordable and better than ever.

Of particular interest in wireless home entertainment is the effort by a few manufacturers like Linksys, D-Link, Creative Labs, etc., with their Wireless Digital Media Players.

Wireless digital media players represent a great solution in home entertainment. For less than $300, it is possible to get access to video, photo and music files from anywhere within the home network, whether it being your home PC, internet, etc. Just set up a wireless digital media player and you will be able to use your existing TV or home entertainment system to play digital audio and video files. Media players come with a remote control and an intuitive on-screen menu for easy access of digital content through your TV screen.

But even if you have a computer with Windows XP Media Center, Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate edition, you can use your Xbox 360 or a Media Center Extender to stream TV, digital audio and video, photos, and more.

Yet... while it is true that wireless media players provide ease of integration of audio and video data accessible via your home network, there is still no complete wireless home theater solution many dream of where all audio and video systems are interlinked through a wireless setup.

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Under this section, we take a closer look at wireless speakers systems, the technology in use behind these systems, and available solutions from major manufacturers. We also present a few audio installation tips to help you better integrate your new wireless speaker system with the rest of your audio gear.

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Wireless Home Entertainment ...the hard facts

As already indicated in our introduction, the use of audio and video interconnects will remain for several years to come. Quality, security, and pricing, are among the main issues which manufactures of wireless home entertainment systems have to work out before this technology can be delivered at a price that appeals to the mass-market.

This does not mean that wireless technology is not already providing a helping hand in the home theater and home entertainment. Full PC/home theater integration through a wireless solution is already easily achieved.

And there is more...

Technology has evolved to the point where, setting up say a wireless speaker system for the rear channel or a multiroom installation, is often as simple as taking the wireless speaker kit out of the box and power it on. Some affordable wireless systems like the Rocketfish RF-WHTIB reviewed on our site, are so good that once installed, you would soon forget there are no wires!

We still say that as yet, wired sound quality is superior. But the gap between wired and wireless speakers systems has diminished to a point where with certain sound mixes, it is hard to perceive any difference in sound quality.

Wireless Speakers Systems ...understanding the technology

To understand the technology behind wireless speakers systems, first one must realize there is truly no complete wireless speaker system. These systems still require at least some connectivity to a power source. Wireless speakers systems require amplification either through an integrated amplifier or through an external unit; and there is no way you will amplify an audio signal without power!

It is true that there exists various battery-powered wireless speakers systems. However, these would normally be more suitable for multiroom audio or for external use rather than for home theater. Battery power simply cannot provide sufficient audio power for home theater use in a viable manner.

Therefore, the key factor with any wireless speaker setup is not a total wireless solution. Rather, it is the added flexibility and convenience of not having to wire the speakers all the way across the room or home. This applies irrespective of whether it is a rear surround speaker setup, or some remote speaker system in a multiroom audio environment.

When it comes to home theater wireless speakers systems, you have two main options: Add-on Units and Integrated Wireless Systems.

Normally, these make use of RF wireless transmission over the 900Mhz or 2.4GHz bands to transmit audio signals using digital technology to the remote speakers.

There are also a few units operating in the 5.8GHz band. These units are less likely to suffer interference from mobile phones, microwave ovens, and other household appliances operating in the 900Mhz or 2.4Ghz bands. In addition, most WLANs operate in the 2.4GHz range, which means that wireless speaker systems operating in the 5.8GHz band are not prone to interference from yours or neighboring wireless networks. At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that 5.8GHz systems often support shorted distances.

A few other systems use infra-red instead of RF, but there again these are limited to short distances within the same room since infra-red based wireless speakers systems require line of site between the transmitter and the receiver.

Add-on Wireless Speakers Systems

Add-on units consist of a small sender unit that connects either to the rear-channel speaker out on the A/V receiver, or to the line-level out on your source. These units use wireless digital technology to transmit the audio signal to a powered audio receiver unit at the back of the room.

The remote rear unit includes built-in power amplifiers to drive the rear speakers. Ideally, these should be the same rear surround speakers that came with your home theater system, though any appropriate set of matched rear speakers will do.

Connection between the rear receiver unit and the surround speakers is achieved through normal speaker wire. All that remains to have a functional wireless speaker system setup is to plug the wireless sender and receiver units into convenient mains power outlets.

These add-on units represent the ideal solution if you already own a home theater receiver complete with all the necessary speakers, and all you are looking for is a way to remove those unsightly rear speaker wires crossing the room.

Add-on units with integrated power amplifiers in a wireless speakers system setup designed for home theater surround would typically deliver anything between 25W and 50W RMS per channel. This renders these systems compatible with entry to mid-level home theater systems. In fact, a 25W per channel wireless rear speaker system can easily match a surround audio setup with typical 60W to 80W per channel on the main front speakers.

If you want more power for your rear wireless speakers, you can always hook up your add-on wireless speakers systems into a suitable external stereo amplifier placed at the far end, to driver the surround speakers.

But the role of add-on wireless speaker systems is not limited only to their use as a rear wireless speaker solution in the home theater. These units may very well serve as a convenient - possibly cheaper alternative to in-wall wiring - in a multiroom audio installation.

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For reviews of available add-on wireless speakers systems, please check our wireless speaker reviews here.

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Integrated Home Theater Wireless Speakers Solutions

If you are in the process of purchasing a new home-theater-in-a-box solution, a fully integrated home theater system with wireless rear-speakers would often represents a cheaper and more convenient alternative.

These integrated solutions include an audio wireless set-up for the rear channel speakers. Integrated wireless home-theater-in-a-box solutions would normally support some interesting control features for the rear channel - in particular with respect to the delay settings, that are well integrated within the overall system menu.

Do not expect to find a large selection of wireless home theater systems. Your choice is still somehow limited - in particular if what you are after is an affordable solution that provides good performance for an HTIB system.

However, you can still find a few interesting products from major players such as Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony that are worth considering if a wireless rear speakers option is essential for your needs.

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For our home theater wireless speakers systems reviews, please check here.

A wireless HTiB, or a component-based solution? Click here to learn more.

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Wireless Speakers Systems Installation Tips

Installing wireless speakers systems is often a straightforward process... at least that is the way it should be! All it takes is often to power up the wireless system and connect the wireless transmitter end to your audio source.

But things are not always so simple. We often receive various queries from our site visitors with a few common difficulties many encounter when installing an add-on wireless speakers system to existing audio gear. We therefore thought of presenting a few installation tips to help make the whole installation process a bit easier. 

Just follow through this link to discover how best to deal with the most common difficulties many encounter when installing wireless speaker systems: Wireless Speakers Installation Tips

A final recommendation...

Wireless speaker technology has evolved to the point that setting up a wireless speaker system is often a simple straightforward solution. Yet we cannot say that it has matured to the point of representing the perfect cable-free solution. Therefore...

If all that you are after is an add-on wireless speaker system to help manage the cable clutter, do not spend more than is needed for the purpose. Keep in mind that technology will surely be more refined in the near future, so if you cannot wait, just go for an inexpensive system that covers only your minimum requirements.

There are quite a few robust wireless speakers systems on the market for under $200 that are worth considering. The Rocketfish RF-WHTIB referred to earlier on in this article is selling at Best Buy for around $100, and is capable of delivering up to 25W (RMS) per channel of high quality audio.  Other similar products are also available that can deliver anything up to 50W per channel, so just check out at your favorite retail or online store.

Anything costing more will most probably be an overspent unless you are opting for a complete home theater system with integrated DVD/Blu-ray player, etc.