Wireless home theater speakers always have wires

Wireless speakers always come with lots of stuff.

It seems like every time I'm in a store that sells speakers I hear someone asking about wireless speakers.

It's a great idea, but then reality sets in: wireless speakers always have wires.

And get this: most wireless speakers have more wires than standard "wired" speakers. Think about it--a regular speaker has a wire that delivers both power and signal to the speaker. Since wireless speakers aren't "powered" by your receiver or amplifier, they have to be plugged into an AC power outlet (that, or come with built-in power amps that must be plugged into a power outlet). Another wire connects the amp to each speaker.

Affordable wireless speakers are never terribly good speakers. It seems like all of the engineering effort is directed at the wireless part, and sound quality is an afterthought.

Sure, transmitting signals to the speaker is relatively easy, but wireless receiver electronics are likely to degrade the sound compared to conventional wire. So wireless costs more and sounds worse! Nice!

A lot of folks want wireless speakers for use in surround channels, so they won't have to run wires from the front of the room to the back, where the surround speakers are. Wireless systems are good for that, but they still have to plug the "wireless" amplifier into a power outlet, and run wires to the "wireless" surround speakers.

One more catch: a lot of wireless system use 2.4GHz transmitters and receivers, which can cause interference problems with Wi-Fi networks.

So either accept that wireless speaker systems come with their own set of problems, or wire the speakers. That's a lot cheaper and a better-sounding solution.

OK, I know of one truly wireless system, the Griffin Evolve iPod dock speaker system. The battery-powered speakers can't play all that loud, have weak bass, limited dynamic range, and generally low fidelity. But they are really wireless. And no, I don't think they could be used in a home theater system.

[TimAPhillips]

My Sony all in one uses an IR blaster to transmit the signal to my surround speakers.....that are plugged into an amp, that plugs into the wall. But it's better than running wires along the edge of the walls, across hallways, under rugs, etc.

[umbrae]

I hate Sony products, but they are the only company I have found that do wireless IR. IR is the best wireless sound I have ever experienced. Sure you have a limited range of motion (must be in the visible range of the IR transmitters), but there is never any noise or interference like RF wireless. Problem was the Sony IR headphones I had snapped in two within a couple weeks. I guess Sony considers putting the headphones on your head "misuse" and they would not replace them, so I went back to wires.

[ejhayes76]

Good article, but it misses the point.

The issue with wires is not the wires at the back of the room near the surround speakers, but the wire running from the receiver to the back of the room. Everyone knows wireless speakers don't sound as good, but a lot of people can't run wires across the room easily.

Notably people who rent aren't able to do construction inside walls to hide wires. Apartments with hardwood floors are especially tough to hide wires without looking terribly ugly. I've even got a fireplace I'd have to run a wire through.

[make_or_break]

I don't think it missed the point entirely; there ARE people who simply don't want the hassle of wires, period, regardless of whether or not a wired installation would be possible or even relatively easy to do.

That said, it's a rare person who can read his or her crystal ball and anticipate what next down the road will require a new set of cables so it can be budgeted and included in the remodel.

[ejhayes76]

Good article, but it misses the point.

The issue with wires is not the wires at the back of the room near the surround speakers, but the wire running from the receiver to the back of the room. Everyone knows wireless speakers don't sound as good, but a lot of people can't run wires across the room easily.

Notably people who rent aren't able to do construction inside walls to hide wires. Apartments with hardwood floors are especially tough to hide wires without looking terribly ugly. I've even got a fireplace I'd have to run a wire through.

[aandroyd]

we are but a few years away from wireless power which could greatly enhance the "truly wireless" speaker (no power cable and no batteries)

e.g. http://www.greentechmedia.com/green-light/post/witricity-wireless-charging-for-cellphones-electric-cars/

[cromeyeller]

Another advantage of "non-wireless" speakers is they are powered by a low voltage. That makes it easier to hide wires in attics and walls because the National Electrical Code has far less stringent requirements for low voltage cabling.

A "wireless" speaker is powered by high voltage. In the case of surround speakers, you would have a wire running from your 120v receptacle, up the entire height of the wall, and then to your speaker. I guess another option would be a power supply ("wall wart") plugged into the receptacle, with a low voltage cable running to the speaker. Since the NEC prohibits receptacles inside a wall or attic, you cannot hide a plug-in power supply.

[erikotis]

This is a very important point and one people shouldn't overlook. You can run low voltage wire almost anywhere.

[demck85]

I have the Logitech z-5450 setup in my home theater system, not that many cables. The rear are a simple "plug in power" and your done. The 3 others plug in with standard speaker cable. The only extra thing would be the controlling box that all the inputs go into. The quality is good, not great...but the human hear can only hear so much range at once anyway. I wish logitech still made this set, they were good.

Wireless speaker set have come out that were good. It's my opinion that there still needs to be some improvement on the overall sound output quality, and then we can have a great set of wireless speakers on the market. Ideally, it would be nice to have all the speakers be wireless. Maybe, the FCC and manufactures can have dedicated frequency for wireless speakers...one can dream....

[Vepar_S]

Wireless speakers is a good idea, and in time it will become most common. But is depends on your environment too, if you live in a smaller apartment or a room having a cell phone, router, wireless speakers, and wireless controllers to your PS3/#60 can cause some undesirable affects. The sound is not-so-great....yet. I agree with demck85, if only......

[Vepar_S]

and wireless controllers to your PS3/360 <-----Sorry typo. LOL

[denzy_53]

i think it would really great if we can use the totally wirelesas kind but i guess they have not been perfected yet as the ones that we have commonly available in the market. it may take awhile but i guess some genius guy can get to it not very long from now. For we'll just be content with what we have for now.

[denzy_53]

i think it would really be great if we can use the totally wireless kind but i guess they have not been perfected yet like the ones that we have in the market. it may not take awhile, i guess some genius guy can be working hard on it right now. For the meantime, we'll just be content with what we have for now.