QuestionI have a large, old three story house. I recently got syrius radio and would like to hook it up to a stereo receiver with speakers wired to the receiver in my living room and wireless speakers throughout the rest of the house.
What do I need to look for in a receiver and what about wireless speakers. I have two sets of RCA wireless speakers but I have a hard time getting them to work consistently. Part of my problem may be that they are running from a cheap and old mini stereo system. How much power do I need to run that much sound in that many places?
Sunday on TechNation I heard an electronics expert talking about the availability of good quality wireless stereo.
Can you tell me what I need to know to do all this?
Thanks.
AnswerDear Judi,
I guess you're talking about the interview with Jim Barry, president of the Consumer Electronics Association. The trouble with advocates is that they love everything--whether or not it is viable technology or even works! Since TechNation's archives lag 90 days, I don't know what Barry recommended, so I can't comment on that.
Wireless speaker technology is still in a protracted infancy. This is because the signal that has to be reproduced is so complex that the industry is having a hard time finding something affordable (a key word here, and you'll see why in a minute) that works consistently. The second issue is that everything's gone wireless: phones, computers, radio, even whole houses. The air is clogged with radio signals, not all of which like each other. So, it's not unusual to pick up your phone and hear a noisome buzz that wasn't there last year. Third, walls are tough on wireless technology. A nominal 6" wall can look like it's 40 feet thick to a radio signal at the wrong angle. When signals have a maximum usable distance of maybe 150 feet, a couple of walls can kill the deal.
Yes, you might be able to buy high quality wireless speakers, but they'll cost thousands--a combination speaker technology (you want 'em to sound good), creating a signal that won't get compromised by all the other wireless stuff around, and is useful a couple or three rooms away.
All that having been said (I generally don't recommend wireless speakers), go to http://www.speakerworks.net/wireless.html for some of the more viable wireless speakers available today. Based on sound quality alone, I'd suggest the Advents or Acoustic Research. They're both speaker companies for whom sound quality is the primary objective. Remember, that these are all very small speakers, and they're pricing reflects that and their sonic fidelity--they're akin to halfway decent tabletop radio speakers. They won't even begin to approach the sound quality available from the most basic wired speakers.
As far as a receiver is concerned (to replace your "cheap mini-stereo"), any of the small Sony A/V receivers, as low as $200, will do. Since the power to the speakers will be generated small internal amplifiers, the output capacity (power rating in watts RMS) of your receiver is not an issue.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
