Receiver for Wireless Surrounds and Sub - Best Technology and Brand (1 Viewer)

[lewis727]

Hi All,
New to the forum, did a quick scan to see if this had been posted before and didn't see it. I apologize if it's already been answered. I would like the set up a 5.1 or 6.1 home theater system. I would like to use wires for my front l/r and center speaker, and I would like to use wireless technology for my two (or three) surrounds and my sub. My questions are:

• Any recommendations on receivers that would support this setup? Cost is not irrelevant, but I do not mind spending for quality
• Any recommendations for speaker brand for the wireless surrounds and sub?
• Any wireless technology in particular you recommend? I would think that Bluetooth A2DP would do just fine, but maybe there is a technology out there that I'm not aware of.
• Any known audio quality issues withe the surrounds in particular? I am pretty confident that the sub can faithfully reproduce it's frequency sounds when the source is wireless, but I'm worried about the surrounds.
• Does anyone have this setup up and working? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Thanks in advance for any input, it's greatly appreciated!
Lewis

 

[Robert_J]

1. If there were any ones that worked as well as wired models, you would have found them here.
2. Hsu Research for the sub.
3. Don't know.
4. It's the amp that suffers. With a quality receiver and a wired setup you will have about 100w/channel to the surrounds. With a home theater in a box or an aftermarket wireless surround setup you have 10w to 30w / channel.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Lewis,

Another thing to keep in mind with wireless surround systems is that most of them aren't really "wireless". In fact, they can be as much of a challenge to connect as a non-wireless speaker setup.

Yes, there is a wireless transmission from your receiver, but that transmission is usually picked up by a "wireless receiver" unit, which in turn, is connected to the surround speakers by.... you guessed it... speaker wire! The "wireless receiver" needs to be plugged into a wall outlet to power the internal amplifier, so it's placement will be dictated by the available outlets in your room.

When you also consider that for a 5.1 system the surround speakers should be placed to the sides of the listening position (not behind, like many people assume - check out this placement guide from Dolby), then the "wireless" solution actually becomes even more troublesome.

You wind up having to run speaker wires either from the back of the room to each side (if you plug in the wireless receiver on the back wall) or worse yet, you locate the wireless receiver on one side wall, and wind up with a short (and easy) speaker wire run to the surround speaker on the same side, but need a long (and possibly difficult) speaker wire run to go all the way around to the other side of the room for the second speaker.

The only true "wireless" solution would be battery-powered self-amplified speakers. But how much wattage do you really think you'll get from a few "C" or "D" batteries, and how frequently are you willing to change the batteries.

Of course, do a search for such speakers, and you really won't find any because they simply don't work.

There are many ways to hide/run speaker wire. If you can tell us more about the room, and maybe provide some pictures we can hopefully offer suggestions on how you could properly set up wired speakers for a 5.1 setup (6.1 won't really be much of a benefit unless you have a large room with a good bit of distance between the seating and the rear wall).

 

[ajr432]

Hey Lewis,
Do you remember what you ended up doing to solve your problem?
I'm in the same place where I can't run speaker wires under the flooring and I don't want to have cords going all the way around the room. There is an outlet behind the couch so I could plug in the speakers its just receiving the audio piece that I need to be wireless and I'm not sure if I can use any AV receiver or if I need a specific unit.
Any help would be great.
Thanks!
AJ

 

[schan1269]

Hey Lewis,Do you remember what you ended up doing to solve your problem?I'm in the same place where I can't run speaker wires under the flooring and I don't want to have cords going all the way around the room. There is an outlet behind the couch so I could plug in the speakers its just receiving the audio piece that I need to be wireless and I'm not sure if I can use any AV receiver or if I need a specific unit. Any help would be great. Thanks!AJ

Nobody has come up with wireless surround. WiSa(wireless standard) might change that eventually. Until it does. There is nothing.