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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
Work basically as expected, but might not be worth the price
By Just a guy
The technical specs on these are already available all over the place, so I won’t repeat them here. Instead, I’ll give a pro and con review:
Pro:
1) Size – There are three units and each is little sufficient not to be a huge problem to hide.
2) Set up – There is actually not much to do. I was up and running in underneath 10 minutes. The main portion attaches to your receiver speaker terminals and an AC plug. The other ends attach to each speaker and to an AC adapter (each needs it is own AC plug – three in all).
3) Audio quality – Both a plus and a minus. When it works, the audio is very clear and does not genuinely sound any dissimilar than a wired scheme would. HOWEVER, see my comment under the con section.
Con:
1) Interference – My baby monitor interfears with this system. I know it says it does a great deal of imagination type of frequency jumping, but the Garco monitor brings about interference if it is too close to the speaker ends of the system.
2) Audio quality – This is a high end (and very expensive) system. It figures that those purchasing it will have evenly high end systems. Remember how much you paid for those high end amps? None of that power is applied to power the remote speakers. Instead you have an overtaxed 50 watt (I think) amp on the speaker end. For 90% of surround apps this is in all probability fine, but real audio nerds will not be happy with the result. Of course, would an audio nerd genuinely ever use a wireless system? The lack of amplifier power is even more apparent if you try to use this to power a second set of main speakers. Using a McIntosh amp and mid-range Boston Acoustics speakers (VS240) the clipping was evident.
3) Wires – It ought to be apparent that a trully wireless system is genuinely impossible. Each unit has a speaker wire hook-up and a consecrated AC adapter (although they aren’t the massive brick type.)
4) Auto power? – Just a note that these are always on. It would be nice if they could sense a signal and turn themselves on and off (standby). I have no idea how much power these draw when off, but I imagine it isn’t much.
5) Price – At the price point these are placed, I’m just not sure they actually are worth it. For the same amount of cash (or less) you could in all probability have an electrician fish galore speaker wires for you.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
Wireless Perfection, at a Price – Make sure you need this!!!
By Tarun Chachra
I am sure at this point you have researched a wireless speaker engineering and that is what has brought you to this review. For any individual looking at this item you must perceive what you are buying before diving into the expense of such a product. Other reviewers have already stated that these are rather pricey and that you may in all probability run wiring for a lot less. I agree…which is why my review will be 4/5 stars. That being said here is how I tested this item and my experiences there after.
Box Includes: One transmitter, two receivers, power adapters, and documentation.
I am a big fan of Denon receivers and own two of them…one high end (avr-4308) and one mid level for our family room (avr-689). Both of my receivers have Audyssey, which is a sound shaping mechanism that balances your speakers to your room and makes the sound as real as possible. Basically, you attach a microphone to your receiver and get started the audyssey software which instructs you to move the mic at regular intervals around your room. In this procedure the speaker size, levels, and frequencies are all adjusted.
Dolby Digital 5.1 schemes all require speakers that run at approximately 100w per channel. Most 5.1 receivers provide this kind of power, which is not a requirement but a recommendation. So how does a wireless device pass this kind of power to your speakers and how does it sound?
I connected the KEF system firstborn to my two rear surround speakers in the family room. I ran Audyssey when the kids and wife were out..since it needs to be quiet time. MUCH to my surprise the speakers were detected properly…the same as they were when hard wired. Audyssey then proceeded to adjust the levels and had to raise them regarding +1-+2 to get more sound out…but THATS IT. Not bad if you ask me….for wireless. My better half loved the fact that wires were now gone…but hated that there were two receivers behind the speakers that necessitated power. So yes, it is wireless…to a degree.
Second, the uttermost test, I connected the KEF to the front left and right channels and proceeded to connect the receivers to a pair of outdoor speakers in the back yard…there is a window that overlooks the back so wireless interference and range were not too much of a challenge. I did not do any calibration…I merely wanted a heap of music outside from our receiver. VOILA..it worked and it worked VERY VERY well. The speakers sounded as good as they did with a wired connection. Again a SOLID product.
Now then, what in regards to the 2.4ghz frequency and other wireless devices? Simply put we have a lot more wi-fi around our televisions then we used to. Between video game consoles, media streaming devices, etc. They all run at the same frequency and therefore there has to be an issue… Answer: NO – no interference what so ever. We were still capable to use our Apple TV and or Roku to view content over wi-fi signals. Our laptops worked the same, 5 bars, and there was not even a hint of lag with these things running.
The KEF is a solid product and is a bit on the costly side. Make sure you need the engineering science before spending your hard earned dollars. Wiring will in general cost you a lot less but the comfortableness of having a product like this is priceless. I have ranked it at 4 stars, plainly due to cost…which will make it prohibitive to sure persons that need a simple engineering like this.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
No Interference, No Complaints
By Shelley Gammon
I am a geek of the most eminent order. Well, other geeks might challenge me to a death cage battle on that assert – but suffice to say, I’m sufficiently geek-worthy. I’ve got an 802.11n WiFi network at home that is concealed (non-broadcasting) and only allows specific MAC addresses in. I’ve got an iPhone and I’m using Airport Express Base Stations through the house for AirTunes. I then use AirFoil to apply them for Pandora and other non iTunes audio through the house… and each time I pop something in the Microwave for 30 seconds, I lose audio for 10 minutes while the WiFi network recovers from the interference. I’ve had to modify channels a few times (not that there’s a lot of wiggle room w/ the wide spectrum overlap on only 11 channels/bands) due to WiFi interference from my neighbors’ 802.11g and 802.11n networks and 5.8GHz wireless phones. The only thing I’m somewhat sure I’m not dealing with nearby is a Tesla Coil!
That being said, this KEF Wireless Speaker System does what it claims to do – you may set this up to your TV (or stereo, XBOX, whatsoever you’ve got that has audio) and even with the microwave going, your bluetooth headset in your ear, your iPhone going off and your WiFi network going at it, no audio is dropped when piped through this system. Using a revolutionary engineering science they call High Fidelity Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (HFADPCM), they bypass interference on these reasonably unregulated radio bands by looking for specific signals, comparing the divergence and ignoring the signals not coming from the KEF system.
While the Microwave still messes w/ my WiFi system, the KEF system did not interfere w/ my WiFi and not one thing I threw at it seemed to make the KEF system blink, even for a second.
Old-timey wireless speaker systems merely will not stand up to the demands of today’s technology that permeates not only our own homes, but our neighbors’ homes as well. There is an ever-increasing build up of radio transmissions in each progressed home – from cell phones, WiFi, the coming WiMax, Bluetooth, and even a simple 1000 Watt shielded (supposedly) Microwave Oven… KEF lives up to the hype and lets you listen to audio all around you without having to drape wires along the baseboards or climb in the attic and drop lines among the walls. That alone makes it worth the price.
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