Wireless Home Audio
The Basics
You have a couple of options when deciding which setup is best for your situation. First, you can purchase an entire surround sound home theater system, with the rear surround speakers communicate without wires through a receiver to a transmitter connected with your audio amplifier. In this case, you can buy everything together from the same manufacturer, so there should be no compatibility issues with the components.
Option two allows you to use a transmitter/receiver combination that hooks into your existing home theater setup, but this option also lets you to place your rear speakers anywhere in the room, without running long wires from the amplifier to the speakers. The benefit here is you get to choose from a large array of vendors and products to provide the wireless communication instead of one specific manufacturer.
How Does It Work?
These systems work with very few components and are extremely simple to hook-up and begin enjoying crisp, clean surround sound. To start with, a transmitting device is plugged into the audio receiver/amplifier unit. The transmitter uses radio frequency (RF) communications to wirelessly pass the sound waves to a receiving device that is located away many feet away from the audio source. This is what produces the wireless connection.
At the receiving device, the rear speakers are connected to the receiver device via short pieces of speaker wire, which can be conspicuously covered such that they are not visible. The speakers are powered through the receiver device, which needs to be plugged into an electric wall outlet to provide power to the device and the speakers.
Performance
Early designs for wireless surround speakers and their systems were not very reliable. But as technology has advanced, the audio performance of these systems now produce very good quality sound, and it is hard to differentiate the results as compared with a hard wired system. There are some things you should be aware of though, to ensure the system you purchase produces the output that you want.
First, be sure the system specifications state the operating range that you need, based on the size and configuration of your room. These systems can transmit from as small as 2 feet, all the way up to more than 100 feet, so make sure you don’t pay for more distance than you need, but are still within your distance requirements.
Next, since the devices communicate via RF, radio wave interference may be an issue. If you have portable phones, computers and WiFi connected devices located in close proximity to your wireless surround setup, you may observe signal quality issues, interference or cracks/pops coming from the speakers. Many of the wireless system providers offer devices with several different RF channels or frequencies that can be used for the devices to communicate. Simply try one of the channels and see how it performs. If the result is not good, select the next channel and see what happens. You should be able to find a clear channel that will not interfere with your wireless surround speakers.
Lastly, designing a plan for the location of your speakers, plan for the need to conceal the rear speaker wire and power plug. This is really easy to do, and should not deter anyone from using these types of systems. Using a small bookshelf or desk against the back wall, you can set up your rear speakers and receiver module, and plug the power cord in without anyone knowing how you’ve done it. Now wires to be seen!
Next Steps…
As you can see, it is extremely easy to incorporate the concept of wireless surround speakers into your home theater. This setup does away with the major problems of running speaker wires across the floor, under the carpet or behind your baseboards. If you have a finished area that you want good quality surround sound, you should check out theses devices. Manufacturers like Bose, Samsung, JBL and Polk produce these devices, so you know they must work to give the the surround sound you desire! Check out those links and the information on this site to help you narrow down your choices and choose the best wireless surround speakers for your situation.