OK, Hive Mind... Tell me about Wireless Surround Sound Systems

[K Frame]

I've been considering a surround sound system for a long time, but have never gotten around to it.

Now I see that there are some pretty good deals on wireless surround sound systems.

Looks like I can spend anywhere between well that's not too bad to "Are you out of your mind?"

Also, are these systems really wireless? Wouldn't the rear channel speakers need some sort of connection to the amplifier, or an amplifier?

Or is a sound bar the way to go?

[Fly320s]

Not truly wireless.  As you guessed, the rear speakers use wires to connect to the power source.  There may be some systems that have individual battery operated blue-tooth speakers, but I haven't seen those yet.

My system, by Vizio, uses a front soundbar that is powered and wired to my TV, and a pair of rear speakers that are wired to and powered by the subwoofer.  It works well enough, but something sounds slightly "off."  I can't pinpoint what it is, though.  For normal TV watching, I don't use the system.

[K Frame]

I currently have a very cheap Aiwa 4 speaker (2 front, 2 side) shelf system that does.... OK... sort of, but I've been wanting to get something better for a long time, primarily for when I game with a friend of mine.

I don't use the speakers on my Samsung TV because they sound REALLY bizarre to me for some reason.

I'd like to go as wireless as possible for the simple reason that managing the wires, and keeping Seren from getting tangled in them, is a pain in the butt.

[T.O.M.]

Ah, I miss my old surround sound system.  Had a decent one we got as a wedding gift.  Wired system, but I put it in the basement with the drop ceiling, so wire was no problem.  It was fun to adjust the settings, especially when just using it to listen to CDs, or when I hooked it to my old desktop PC for gaming.  A couple of years ago, I turned it on, there were a series of pops and crackles, and it stopped working.  We got a sound bar as a replacement.  It is better sound than the TV, by far, but it's not the same as the surround sound system.

[Brad Johnson]

Not truly wireless.  As you guessed, the rear speakers use wires to connect to the power source.  There may be some systems that have individual battery operated blue-tooth speakers, but I haven't seen those yet.

My system, by Vizio, uses a front soundbar that is powered and wired to my TV, and a pair of rear speakers that are wired to and powered by the subwoofer.  It works well enough, but something sounds slightly "off."  I can't pinpoint what it is, though.  For normal TV watching, I don't use the system.

It sounds off or there is a disconnect between the picture and sound?

If it's wonky sound with a strange echo-ey quality, check the settings for an option labeled something like "Room Expander" or "3D Surround". Some kind of $64,000 phrase for making the room sound larger than it is. Those settings can make for odd audio ghosting.

If it's an audio/video sync issue, there should be a setting either on your TV or on the soundbar to change audio delay to match the picture. Sometimes the video processing engine is a little out of sync with the audio feed, especially when feeding external audio equipment.

Brad

[Fly320s]

Thanks.

Probably the synch, but I haven"t used it recently.

[grampster]

We have a Yamaha surround sound in family room in the basement.  Large subwoofer sits under the TV stand and the soundbar is on shelf just above the sub and below the TV.  couple wires.  Sounds great.

Have a Bose sound system on the TV upstairs.  2 wires.  It's self contained in about a 14" deep x24" wide x3" tall box.  TV is on a TV stand above a combo electric fire place/heater/TV stand.  The Bose sits just under the TV.  Got it from QVC last fall on a special.  I think the retail was around $400+ bucks and on sale for around $300.  Has great sound.

[Fitz]

They're not really wireless. They just use something other than wires. Psh.

[K Frame]

After doing a bunch of reading on the subject, I wonder if I ought not just go with a quality sound bar for right now. Eventually I want to move my TV to my basement, and the room configuration there is a lot more suited to a home theater kind of set up.

[HankB]

I have a new-ish Yamaha receiver and a "3 channel + subwoofer" system for the TV in my living room - the way the room merges into the kitchen and dining room, there's really no good place to put surround speakers, so a wireless system would still have some issues. 3 channel sound (stereo plus center) is MUCH better than what you get from any TV, but it's not a full fledged "home theater" system.

TV in the master bedroom has a Polk soundbar and subwoofer - big improvement over the TV alone.

And if you didn't know it already - different soundbars DO sound VERY different, and spending more doesn't guarantee better sound.

[T.O.M.]

After doing a bunch of reading on the subject, I wonder if I ought not just go with a quality sound bar for right now. Eventually I want to move my TV to my basement, and the room configuration there is a lot more suited to a home theater kind of set up.

Ah, in my dream world, I'd make my basement into a home theater as well.  Dark paint on the walls, big TV, surround sound, and recliners.  Maybe after the kids are gone...

[dogmush]

I run "Wireless" on my rear speakers due to a weird size and shape room where my TV is.

I have an Onkyo receiver and I have a RocketFish set up for the rears.  (Sides, center and sub is wired)  The way the rears work is you wire both channels into the transmitter as if it were the speakers, set the receiver somewhere in the back, plug it in, and wire speakers of your choice to it.  The receiver has a small amplifier to run decent sized speakers.  I built a little shelf up under the breakfast bar at the back of my living room and mounted everything there.

Then I ran the set up on the receiver to compensate for the not-perfectly-symmetrical speaker placement.  Within reason the RocketFish does well.  I'm running two Yamaha bookshelf sized speakers, so I'm not stressing the amp at all.  At truly room shaking volume you can tell the RocketFish amp has more distortion than the main Onkyo, but it gets good signal separation, and there's no discernible lag or echoing so it works very well for any kind of reasonable to mildly excessive movie watching.  It also has way less wattage than my mains, so if you try to push up towards the edge the distortion will kick in earlier, and then they'l be overpowered.

I think the RocketFish puts out like 30W/channel, and my mains are ~ 150W/channel and I run an 800w Sub.  So it does limit total output of the system.

[grampster]

If you want great sound, paint the walls and ceiling with ceramic paint, the best you can buy.  My oldest kid has been doing audio/video for over 30 years.  That's what he said to do.