Daily Blog – Ross Jones – August 28, 2008: REALLY WIRELESS SPEAKERS?

One of the questions I am asked by friends is whether they can use “wireless” speakers. The issue comes up mostly when it comes to surround speakers. I understand why people ask; they can visualize putting traditional left/right speakers near their display, and putting a center channel speaker along the same wall near the amp/receiver makes sense to them. But those pesky surround speakers are a problem, visually, aesthetically, and most-of-all, how do they run wires to them?

While there are currently several solutions for wireless speakers, they pose numerous issues. Sound-quality tops the list, but for some folks more interested in the convenience factor, that’s not a deal breaker. The real issue is that wireless speakers require power to drive them, and since they are not getting a signal from speaker cable, that power comes from an AC line (generally via a wall wart). Which means . . . you need to run a cable from the speaker anyways, plus it needs be located near a wall outlet. If someone figures out how to drive a quality speaker with a wireless signal that doesn’t also make you glow in the dark, the world will beat a path to their door.