An increasing number of vendors has started to offer wireless speakers for home theater systems or a separate wireless surround sound kit. Multi-channel audio is still a relatively new phenomenon. As such in older homes which are not prewired for rear speakers, not to mention 7.1 speakers, a wireless option seems like the logical conclusion. But how reliable are these wireless speaker kits and do they really eliminate the dreaded cable clutter?
Looking at available wireless speaker kits, you will notice that most of them will connect two speakers to a wireless receiver unit. As a result, such systems, while eliminating the speaker cable from the front of the room to the rear, do not really eliminate speaker cable but only reduce it. As such products with separate wireless receivers for each speakers offer a much cleaner solution since each receiver can be attached directly to the speaker of choice.
When using a wireless option, probably the most important consideration is whether or not the audio quality is affected, i.e. does the audio pick up any noise or distortion during the transmission. A good rule of thumb when picking a wireless system is to use a system where the audio is transmitted in a digital format which will avoid noise common to analog systems. Further, the amplifier inside the wireless receiver unit should be of good quality and introduce minimal distortion. Finally, the size of the wireless unit is worth considering as this unit should be hidden 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 speaker kits 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. Other products introduce a delay of a little less than 1 ms which should be low enough for pretty much any application.
But how well do these wireless kits work in a real-world scenario? One of the biggest concerns should be interference from other wireless devices. In the US, wireless devices are restricted to a limited number of frequency bands. Especially the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency band are increasingly crowded by WiFi, Bluetooth and an array of other devices making interference more of a concern. Picking a system working at an alternate frequency band such as the 5.8 GHz band would naturally reduce the impact from competing devices.
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.
