Various Tips To Help Decide On A Cordless Surround Sound Package
Lately more and more wireless surround sound transmitter devices have emerged which claim to bring the ultimate freedom of sending music throughout the home. We will take a look at different products and technologies to find out in how far these products are useful for whole-house audio applications and what to look out for when purchasing a wireless system. If your residence is not wired for audio then you face quite a challenge when you want to get your music from your living room to your bed room. Frequently the audio source cannot be moved. Running speaker wires between rooms will be costly and for that reason many people are looking for alternatives. Products which resolve this challenge are commonly based on the following technologies: infrared wireless, RF wireless, wireless LAN or powerline.
Infrared products send the audio as lightwaves. Light can't go through walls. Consequently products using infrared, such as wireless surround sound kits, are limited to a single room.
RF wireless products broadcast the music as RF waves - either by utilizing FM transmission or digital transmission - and can consequently easily transmit through walls. The least expensive option is FM transmission. Products utilizing FM transmission, however, have a series of drawbacks. These include degradation of the audio quality due to static or hiss and audio distortion. In addition, FM transmitter products are also rather susceptible to interference from other wireless transmitters. Products which employ digital wireless audio transmission employ a digital protocol. Such products include transmitters from Amphony. In this protocol, prior to transmission the audio signal is converted to digital data. This conversion and transmission in the digital domain will ensure that the original audio quality is maintained. However, this is only the case of the data is sent uncompressed. Some wireless audio transmitters will apply some form of audio compression. Such products include Bluetooth audio transmitters. Audio compression will degrade the quality of the audio to some degree.
Wireless LAN (WLAN) products are practical when streaming from a PC but will add some amount of latency or delay to the signal because wireless LAN was not originally designed for real-time audio streaming. WLAN receivers usually require purchasing a separate LAN card to be plugged into each receiver.
WLAN products are useful for broadcasting audio from a PC. However, wireless LAN was never designed for real-time audio streaming. As a result, products utilizing WLAN will introduce some amount of delay to the signal. WLAN receivers ordinarily require buying a separate LAN card to be plugged into each receiver.
Now we'll give you some pointers for shopping for a wireless system: Select a system that supports multiple wireless receivers if you plan to stream audio to a number of rooms so that you don't have to purchase a separate transmitter for every receiver. Some devices have some type of error correction built in which will help guard against dropouts in case of strong wireless interference. Digital RF audio transmitters will be able to maintain the original audio quality. If you have time-critical applications where sync of the audio is important then you should get a transmitter with a low audio latency. An audio latency of smaller than 10 ms would be suitable for most scenarios.
Select a transmitter that has all of the audio inputs you need, e.g. speaker inputs, RCA inputs etc. Select a system where you can add receivers later on which provide all of the necessary outputs, e.g. amplified speaker outputs, RCA outputs etc. Because you may want to connect the transmitter to several sources, you should pick a transmitter that can be adjusted to different signal volume levels to prevent clipping of the audio signal inside the transmitter converter stage.
Pick a transmitter that has all the audio inputs you need, such as speaker inputs, line-level RCA inputs etc. Get a wireless system where you can purchase additional receivers later on. You should verify that you can get receivers for all the different applications you have. Such receivers may include amplified receivers for passive speakers or line-level receivers for active speakers. Since you may want to connect the transmitter to several sources, you should pick a transmitter that can be adjusted to different signal volume levels to prevent clipping of the audio signal inside the transmitter converter stage. Ensure that the system provides amplified receivers with a digital amplifier to ensure high power efficiency. This will help keep the receiver cool during operation. In addition, make sure the amplifier provides low audio distortion. This is vital for good sound quality. Make sure the receivers can drive speakers with your desired Ohm rating. Selecting a product where the wireless receivers have a small footprint and easy mounting options will help in the course of the installation. Devices using the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band will generally have less trouble with wireless interference than 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz products.
Lately more and more wireless surround sound transmitter devices have emerged which claim to bring the ultimate freedom of sending music throughout the home. We will take a look at different products and technologies to find out in how far these products are useful for whole-house audio applications and what to look out for when purchasing a wireless system. If your residence is not wired for audio then you face quite a challenge when you want to get your music from your living room to your bed room. Frequently the audio source cannot be moved. Running speaker wires between rooms will be costly and for that reason many people are looking for alternatives. Products which resolve this challenge are commonly based on the following technologies: infrared wireless, RF wireless, wireless LAN or powerline.
Infrared products send the audio as lightwaves. Light can't go through walls. Consequently products using infrared, such as wireless surround sound kits, are limited to a single room.
RF wireless products broadcast the music as RF waves - either by utilizing FM transmission or digital transmission - and can consequently easily transmit through walls. The least expensive option is FM transmission. Products utilizing FM transmission, however, have a series of drawbacks. These include degradation of the audio quality due to static or hiss and audio distortion. In addition, FM transmitter products are also rather susceptible to interference from other wireless transmitters. Products which employ digital wireless audio transmission employ a digital protocol. Such products include transmitters from Amphony. In this protocol, prior to transmission the audio signal is converted to digital data. This conversion and transmission in the digital domain will ensure that the original audio quality is maintained. However, this is only the case of the data is sent uncompressed. Some wireless audio transmitters will apply some form of audio compression. Such products include Bluetooth audio transmitters. Audio compression will degrade the quality of the audio to some degree.
Wireless LAN (WLAN) products are practical when streaming from a PC but will add some amount of latency or delay to the signal because wireless LAN was not originally designed for real-time audio streaming. WLAN receivers usually require purchasing a separate LAN card to be plugged into each receiver.
WLAN products are useful for broadcasting audio from a PC. However, wireless LAN was never designed for real-time audio streaming. As a result, products utilizing WLAN will introduce some amount of delay to the signal. WLAN receivers ordinarily require buying a separate LAN card to be plugged into each receiver.
Now we'll give you some pointers for shopping for a wireless system: Select a system that supports multiple wireless receivers if you plan to stream audio to a number of rooms so that you don't have to purchase a separate transmitter for every receiver. Some devices have some type of error correction built in which will help guard against dropouts in case of strong wireless interference. Digital RF audio transmitters will be able to maintain the original audio quality. If you have time-critical applications where sync of the audio is important then you should get a transmitter with a low audio latency. An audio latency of smaller than 10 ms would be suitable for most scenarios.
Select a transmitter that has all of the audio inputs you need, e.g. speaker inputs, RCA inputs etc. Select a system where you can add receivers later on which provide all of the necessary outputs, e.g. amplified speaker outputs, RCA outputs etc. Because you may want to connect the transmitter to several sources, you should pick a transmitter that can be adjusted to different signal volume levels to prevent clipping of the audio signal inside the transmitter converter stage.
Pick a transmitter that has all the audio inputs you need, such as speaker inputs, line-level RCA inputs etc. Get a wireless system where you can purchase additional receivers later on. You should verify that you can get receivers for all the different applications you have. Such receivers may include amplified receivers for passive speakers or line-level receivers for active speakers. Since you may want to connect the transmitter to several sources, you should pick a transmitter that can be adjusted to different signal volume levels to prevent clipping of the audio signal inside the transmitter converter stage. Ensure that the system provides amplified receivers with a digital amplifier to ensure high power efficiency. This will help keep the receiver cool during operation. In addition, make sure the amplifier provides low audio distortion. This is vital for good sound quality. Make sure the receivers can drive speakers with your desired Ohm rating. Selecting a product where the wireless receivers have a small footprint and easy mounting options will help in the course of the installation. Devices using the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band will generally have less trouble with wireless interference than 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz products.
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