Ask anyone about the most frustrating part of home theater set-up, and you will likely get the same answer – the wires. Wires are found everywhere in home theater. You have wires from the tv to the receiver, wires from the dvd or bluray player, power cords to the receiver, tv, and dvd or bluray player, and wires to all of your speakers. Wires, wires and more wires. For some people it is all too much, and for those people I would recommend a wireless home theater system.

You may be a little reluctant to choose a wireless systems, and if the technology was still the way it used to be 10 years ago, I wouldn’t blame you.  Early wireless home theater systems were plagued with problems such as popping and clicking, interference and poor sound quality. This stigma is now slowly being reversed as people start to realise that the current wireless models are leaps and bounds ahead of their predecessors, and most of the major problems with wireless sound have been dealt with.

So why go wireless? Ultimately, it all comes down to one word -  simplicity.  Running wires under floorboards or carpets takes time and effort. With a wireless home theater system you have no worries – the rear speakers are powered by their own power cord so you don’t need to run speaker wire all over your home theater.

A wireless system is especially attractive for people renting an apartment. Generally hiding your rear speaker wires takes a bit of construction, something that your landlord might not be too happy with. Using a wireless system means simply finding a power plug near the back of your theater, and plugging in. When you do eventually move, packing up is much simpler as well.

Another benefit of a wireless home theater system is mobility. Having wireless speakers means it is easier to move your speakers around to find that “sweet spot”. Having a party? Then why not take your rear speakers into a second room and set that up as a different zone?

So why go wireless? With all of the positives you can get from a wireless system, and the very few negatives, the real question is why not?

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, wireless rear speakers, wireless surround sound system

The rocketfish wireless rear speaker kit is the cheapest option to get good quality wireless sound into your home theater. The wireless receiver has dual 25-watt digital power amplifiers to power your speakers.  Unfortunately, there is no remote control, so you will have to manually turn the system on and off. When you are using stereo mode instead of surround there may be noticeable buzzing and humming coming from the speakers. Overall though, this is a great entry level system to get rid of those rear surround wires.

Price: $267.99 at amazon.com

JBL WEM-1 Wireless Expansion Module

The JBL WEM-1 wireless speaker kit comes in about $100 more expensive than the rocketfish system, but with the added price comes a few extra features. You get a 50-watt per channel amplifier (compared to 25 with the rocketfish), and there is a remote which means you don’t have to manually turn the system on and off. There is also an auxiliary input, which means the system can double as a wireless speaker for your ipod.

Price: $359.00 at amazon.com

KEF Universal wireless kit

Coming in at just under $500, the KEF universal wireless kit is the most expensive add-on wireless kit available. While expensive, this system offers the best quality sound, with very minimal hissing or interference. Best of all, there are two separate receivers, each with its own 50 watt digital amplifiers. Having two receivers means that wire management will be even simpler as you won’t have to run wires to each speaker from a central amplifier. This feature alone justifies the extra money if you are looking for as little wiring as possible in your system, and makes this system the pick of the bunch if you can afford the cost.

Price: $499.77 at amazon.com

Conclusion:
Wireless speaker kits offer a cost-effective option for reducing your wire burden while still maintaining good quality surround sound. These three  systems will work with basically any home theater system as long as it doesn’t use proprietary cable connecters. If you are stuck with one of these systems, check to see if your manufacturer has its own wireless add-on option – most do.

Technorati Tags: JBL, KEF, rocketfish, wireless expansion module, Wireless home theater system, wireless rear speakers, wireless speaker kit, Wireless surround speakers

Panasonic is looking to take the wireless home theater system experience one step further with the upcoming SC-ZT1 wireless surround sound system. The system uses 2.4GHz RF transmission to send uncompressed audio to four speakers, doing away completely with speaker wires. You will still need a power cable for each speaker, but without long speaker wires everywhere  it will make for a much cleaner looking system.

The system uses just four speaker units, each consisting of four small speakers vertically aligned, with a 5 inch down-firing woofer at the base. Panasonic uses a virtual technology to give the illusion of 7.1 surround sound with only four speakers. There will probably be a noticeable difference between this and a real 7.1 system, but it will look a lot better in the home theater.

For those of us looking for a fully wireless home theater system, you can add a Panasonic VIERA Z1 TV and a DMP-BD80, BD70V or BD60 Blu-Ray player which have wireless video transmission, giving you fully wireless audio and video.

The SC-ZT1 is slated for release spring 2009 in the US, but there hasn’t been any further updates since the press release in January. For Australian consumers, it looks like it will be released in August 2009 as a 2 speaker system according to Gadget Guy.

This system is unlikely to be gentle on the hip pocket, but if you are looking for something that will look amazing without compromising too much on sound quality, then this should be on your wish list.

Press release at Panasonic USA

Technorati Tags: Panasonic, wireless home speaker system, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre

Luckily for you, Audioholics has just posted a great review article that covers how the acoustics of your listening room affects sound quality.  They will teach you about the all-important concept of critical distance, and how various acoustical phenomena occur, and what you can do to battle them.

“The ‘critical distance’, measured from the speaker, is reached when the reverberant sound level equals the direct sound level. The direct sound is the sound that comes directly from the speakers, without any reflections. So, at that distance, 50% of the sound is the result of the reflections on the room’s boundaries.“

In the typical home theater, the critical distance can be as little as 6 feet! If your listening position is further away than this, then you may be getting a sub-optimal listening experience. The best way to improve your critical distance is to modify the acoustics of the listening room, by absorbing or diffusing the reflected sound ways.  While this sounds expensive, it doesn’t have to be.

“…acoustical improvement constitutes one of the most efficient and economical ways to enhance the performance of a sound system, since all the various listening parameters can be improved in a very significant way. For the DIY, it is possible to treat a room with affordable semi-rigid fibreglass panels.”

Even if you aren’t all that DIY minded, acoustical improvement can be as simple as covering your windows with curtains, or putting a big fluffy rug on your wooden floor. It sounds simple but it can give a big boost to your wireless home theater system. Of course, you could just hire a consultant to do it all for you, but where is the fun in that?

How Does Listening Room Acoustics Affect Sound Quality? At Audioholics

Technorati Tags: acoustical improvement, room acoustics, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, wireless surround sound speakers

So, you have purchased your wireless home theater system and have the box (or boxes) sitting in your room. The first thing you want to do is start unpacking and get your system set up as quickly as possible so you can enjoy your new toy.

While this is completely understandable, if you set everything up without a plan for optimizing your speaker placement, you risk ending up with a wireless home theater system that won’t reach its full sonic potential. To help you get the maximum bang for your buck, I have found a great article at crutchfield.com that covers the basics.

Here are some points which I found especially useful:

• If your center channel speaker is on top of your TV, make sure the front edge of the speaker is precisely aligned with the front edge of the TV screen to reduce distortion from sound reflections.
• Your front left and right speakers and center speaker should form a slight arc, with all three speakers equally distant from your chosen listening position. Measure carefully – even a few inches can make a difference.
• Your rear surround speakers should be to the left and right of your listening position (between 90 and 110 degrees with respect to your TV), but not pointing directly at ear level. If this is not possible due to your room situation, then feel free to experiment with other positions as the positioning is not that critical. This is where wireless home theater systems have the advantage. You can place your wireless surround sound speakers in the best position for audio quality without having to worry about where you are going to put all the wire.
• Your subwoofer can go just about anywhere.
• Leverage your room’s acoustics. If you have a small satellite speaker that is lacking in base, mount it close to the wall. If your speakers sound a bit muddy, you might see some improvement in clarity by moving them away from the wall.

For more information and some great diagrams, check out the full article here

Technorati Tags: speaker placement, surround sound speaker placement, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, wireless surround sound speakers

Are you looking for the convenience of a wireless surround sound system, but want to stay up to date with the latest technology? The Panasonic SC-BT100 wireless home theater system might be worth checking out.  It is one of the first home theater in a box systems to come bundled with a Blu-ray player instead of a regular DVD player, and couples this 5.1 channel sound with wireless surround sound speakers.  At a price of around $1000RRP this system looks to pack in a lot of features for a very reasonable price.

Features:

• Blu-ray disc player with 5-disc changer
• 5.1 channel surround sound
• Wireless surround sound speakers using 2.4GHz transmission
• iPod dock
• SD card slot for playing back digital media

Advantages:
The Panasonic SC-BT100 system is especially well regarded by reviewers for its excellent video quality, as you would expect from a manufacturer who (in my opinion) makes some of the best HDTVs. The upscaling to 1080p is handled especially well by the system. Also handy is the iPod dock and SD card, which give the system more functionality than a basic wireless home theater system.  The system will also easily upgrade to 7.1 surround sound with the purchase of another wireless transmitter and pair of wireless surround sound speakers.

Disadvantages:
Despite excellent video and a great feature list, some reviewers think that the system is let down by its sound. It depends who you ask: at testfreaks.com and whathifi.com the reviewers claim that the sound is too harsh. At hometheatermag.com they think that the system has a “not unpleasantly warm coloration,” and remains easy to listen to even at high volumes. If they can’t all agree then in my opinion it can’t be that bad, right?

Conclusion:
If you want for a high-end wireless surround sound system that comes complete with Blu-ray player and a list of other great features, then look no further. The video quality is reportedly amazing. While the reviewers may disagree about the overall sound quality, at a price of $1000 RRP  the system is great value of money. Get it at amazon for $548.87 and the value is even better!

More information:

For more information, check out these reviews:

hometheatermag.com

whathifi.com

testfreaks.com

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, Wireless surround speakers

Words can’t even begin to describe how awesome this little device is. The small circular touchpad does a great job of finding its way around the screen, and the keyboard is the perfect size to thumb type. I barely ever use my other computer now. Whether I want to browse the web or watch a movie, this little keyboad does it all. The battery life is fantastic too, lasting up to a month in some cases.

The only complaint I have with this keyboard is that sometimes the trackpad seems to drop out for a second or two. This is only rarely, and seems to be fixed by giving the trackpad a break for a second or two before resuming. It seems to happen more often when the battery is running low.

If you have a home theater PC connected to your home theater system, I would seriously recommend getting one of these. 

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, Wireless surround speakers

Designed to be used in conjunction with a subwoofer, the ButtKicker system looks like it will add a whole new layer to your home theater experience. Imagine being able to feel what is happening in the movie as well as being able to see and hear it! The system is designed to sit underneath or inside your sofa, and appears quite easy to install.

The wireless RF transmission is a great idea. Without it, I think it would be a major pain to install without ugly wires snaking everywhere. With an RRP of $400, it won’t break the bank either. All in all, the ButtKicker BKA300 Wireless home theater kit looks like a great add-on for your wireless home theater system.

Check out the review by Chris Chiarella at www.bigpicturebigsound.com

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system

The ZVOX Z-Base 550 Single-Cabinet Surround System is, in its own way, a wireless home theater system too. Rather than have separate speakers and amplifier units, the ZVOX Z-Base 550 has everything built into a single unit. It is designed to be a pedestal for a flat panel TV and is a fully self-contained audio system.

It has a very minimalist design. There are no front controls – everything is controlled by remote, and there are only 2 audio inputs and 1 audio output at the back. With that kind of simplicity, set-up would be a breeze!

It doesn’t decode dolby digital or any other surround sound information, but it does its own kind of internal surround sound decoding. At a price of $500 it should be well within most budgets, and it has a pretty good review of sound quality. It is definitely worth checking out if you aren’t set on a full-blown surround system.

Check out the full review by  Mark Fleischmann at hometheatermag.com

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, zvox z-base 550

For many aspiring home theater owners, one of the biggest concerns is where to put all those ugly wires.  Unless you have a room or house that has been pre-built with home theater or multi-room audio in mind, you are faced with either having to put up with a bird’s nest of wires snaking their way across  the floor, or the expensive and time-consuming job of hiding the wires in your walls and crawl-spaces.

Here are three reasons to get on the wireless home theater system bandwagon.

1.  Less wires. The number one benefit of a wireless home theater system is that it will have a lot less wires. Notice I didn’t say it will have no wires – despite the name, wireless home theater systems aren’t completely wireless. In most systems, it is only the rear surround speakers that are wirelessly connected to the AV receiver. Everything else is still wired, and your rear speakers will still need wires to connect them to power. Having said that, organising and hiding the wires to the rear speakers is the worst job in home theater set-up, so having these connected wirelessly is a big improvement.

2.  Better placement of speakers. Because you are freed from having a direct connection with your AV receiver, you can place your rear surround speakers in a position that will allow you the optimal sound experience. And if your listening arrangements change for any reason (say, if you get a new sofa), it will be much easier to change your speakers’ position when they are connected wirelessly.

3.  Multi-room audio. Wireless home theater systems can send your audio to a satellite speaker that is in a different room to the rest of your system. This is a great feature: it means that when you aren’t using your home theater system for watching movies, it can play music to the rest of your house!

A wireless home theater system will save you a lot of headaches and  hours of painful set up time. Coupled with the advantages of better rear speaker placement and multi-room audio functions, you will have a home theater system that is both a pleasure to set up and to listen to.

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system