Popping/Clucking Sound in Rear Speakers on Kenwood Wireless System (1 Viewer)

[Mark Abrams]

Anybody know why I occasionally get this annoying, loud "popping" or "clucking" sound in the rear speakers on a Kenwood Wireless Rear Speaker system? I acquired this some years back, and the receiver is a Kenwood RFU-R6100.... there is a transmitter attached by wire to my sound system receiver, and teh Kenwood receiver is connected by speaker wire to the 2 rear speakers. It doesn't seem to happen all the time, just occasionally when I'm playing Dolby Digital 5.1 material (or DTS-HD in the case of Blu-Ray) ..... not quite sure what could be causing this? There are a LOT of wires in the area where the Kenwood receiver connects to the speakers, none of them really related to my stereo system - but that was always the case, even when I first acquired the wireless rear speaker system. This "popping" sound from the rear speakers has only been occurring for about a year or so ..... Any input on how to correct this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mark Abrams]

Does ANYBODY have any idea why this occurs?? I'm not an electronics expert, and it's very annoying... Please help!

 

[Jason Charlton]

Specifically? No. Generally speaking, wireless speaker systems have a bad reputation for overall spotty and inconsistent performance. They are almost never recommended for these reasons.


There are many parts in the chain that could affect the performance. The problem could be in the wireless transmission/reception, or in the speakers themselves. Is the Kenwood receiver set up to treat the surrounds as "small" rather than "full range"? This would be in the audio setup menus of the Kenwood (sorry, don't have a manual here to know the precise terminology used by Kenwood).


Does it only happen at certain volumes? Or do the same audio passages in 5.1 soundtracks always produce the popping sound regardless of volume?


Sorry I don't have any other suggestions for fixing the problem short of "replace the wireless system". Depending on your situation, hiding wires from the front of the room to the back (or sides, really, which is where the speakers should be placed) may run from "easy" to "tricky", though chances are it can be done.


Again, sorry I can't offer any other suggestions.

 

[Mark Abrams]

Jason - it doesn't happen all the time but I'm finding that sometimes I just get *nothing* from the rear speakers at all - when that happens you can hear, if you put your ear close to the speakers, a faint, rapid "tick, tick, tick, tick, tick" sound - I'm not sure what the issue is. I know there's no output when I do the test tone function on my receiver (a Sony receiver). I should probably check the settings for the rear speaker in the Sony receiver; it's just difficult because the receiver has no on-screen interface. The wireless thing wasn't my first choice, but I live in an apartment where it would be difficult to hard-wire rear speakers. The wireless system works by radio signal, not infrared, and the wires connected from the speakers to the "receiving" unit are around a lot of electrical cords on the floor - maybe I need to isolate the speaker wire from those?

 

[Jason Charlton]

I would tend to think that if there are situations where you're getting absolutely NO sound from the wireless speakers, then the problem is likely more severe than just EM interference with nearby cables.


For troubleshooting purposes, it might be worthwhile to simply bypass the wireless system altogether - get some cheap speaker wire (16 or 20 gauge would work, even) and hook something up temporarily just to make sure the wireless system is the culprit. Then at least you know which part of the system needs to be fixed or replaced.


There are other wireless systems out there, but again, none are "5 star" products. Rocketfish makes one system that at least some people have found works OK and can be found at Amazon, I believe.