Tag: WLAN

The latest series of wireless audio transmitter devices promises streaming of music throughout the home without limits. We will look at various products and technologies to find out in how far these devices are effective for whole-house audio applications and what to look out for when buying a wireless system.

Infrared wireless audio devices are restricted to line-of-sight applications, i.e. only function within a single room because the signal is sent as infrared light which can’t penetrate walls. This technology is often found in wireless speaker kit products.

RF wireless music devices broadcast the music signal via radio waves. These radio wave signals can without difficulty go through walls. The signal is broadcast either by utilizing FM transmission or digital transmission. FM transmission is cheap but quite prone to static, audio distortion and susceptible to interference.

Digital wireless audio transmitter devices, such as products from Amphony, make use of a digital protocol. The audio is first converted to digital data before being broadcast. This method guarantees that the audio quality is fully preserved. Some transmitters utilize some form of audio compression, such as Bluetooth transmitters, which will degrade the audio to some degree. Transmitters which send the audio data uncompressed will achieve the highest fidelity.

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 ordinarily require buying a separate LAN card to be plugged into every receiver.

Powerline products send the audio via the power mains and offer great range. They run into problems in homes where there are individual mains circuits in terms of being able to cross over into another circuit. Also, these products build in a delay of a number of seconds to safeguard against transmission errors during power surges and spikes which prevents their use in applications where the audio from wireless loudspeakers has to be in sync with other non-wireless speakers or video.

Here are some recommendations for picking the optimum wireless audio system: Try to find a system that can run several wireless receivers from a single transmitter. Ideally an unlimited number of receivers should be supported. That way you don’t need to buy extra transmitters when you start adding receivers in several rooms of your house. Some devices have some form of error correction built in which will help guard against dropouts in case of strong wireless interference. Choose a digital RF audio transmitter to guarantee that the audio quality is preserved. Make sure the audio delay is smaller than 10 ms if you have a real-time application such as video.

Select a transmitter that has all of the audio inputs you need, e.g. speaker inputs, RCA inputs etc. Get a wireless system where you can buy separate receivers later on. You should confirm 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. Select a transmitter that can regulate the audio volume of the input stage. This will give you the flexibility to connect the transmitter to any kind of equipment with different signal levels. Otherwise the audio may get clipped inside the transmitter converter stage or the dynamic range is not fully utilized.

Check that the system provides amplified receivers with a digital amplifier to ensure high power efficiency. This will help keep the receiver cool during operation. Also, make sure the amplifier provides low audio distortion. This is vital for good sound quality. Verify that the amplified receiver is able to drive speakers with the preferred Ohm rating and that it is small and easily mountable for simple installation. Products using the less crowded 5.8 GHz frequency band will normally have less trouble with wireless interference than 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz products.

An increasing number of wireless audio transmitter devices promise the ultimate freedom in streaming music all over the house. We will take a look at the most popular technologies for wireless audio and give some recommendations for selecting the best wireless audio product.

Getting audio from your living room to your bed room can be quite a problem particularly in houses which are not wired for audio. The following technologies are used by products solving this problem: infrared, RF, wireless LAN and powerline.

Infrared is limited to line of sight because the audio signal is sent as lightwaves and therefore products utilizing this technology, such as infrared wireless surround sound products, are limited to a single room.

RF wireless audio products broadcast the audio signal via radio waves. These radio wave signals can easily go through walls. The signal is sent either by using FM transmission or digital transmission. FM transmission is inexpensive but quite prone to static, audio distortion and susceptible to interference.

Digital wireless audio transmitter devices, such as products from Amphony, utilize a digital protocol. The audio is first converted to digital data before being broadcast. This conversion and transmission in the digital domain will ensure that the original audio quality is preserved. On the other hand, this is only the case of the data is sent uncompressed. Some wireless audio transmitters will apply some sort of audio compression. Such products include Bluetooth audio transmitters. Audio compression will degrade the quality of the audio to some degree.

Products utilizing wireless LAN are practical when streaming audio from a PC. Their downside is that they typically have some fairly high latency, i.e. the signal will be delayed by some amount since wireless LAN was not particularly designed for real-time audio streaming. WLAN receivers frequently do not have built-in network access. As a result, such devices frequently require buying separate LAN cards. These cards are then plugged into each receiver.

Powerline devices use the power mains to distribute music and offer large range but run into problems if there are individual mains circuits in the home in terms of crossing between circuits. Another challenge confronting powerline products are strong power surges and spikes. Such surges can cause dropouts in the audio due to errors in the transmission. To safeguard against these errors, powerline products normally build a delay of several seconds into the transmission.

Now we’ll give you some recommendations for shopping for a wireless system: Choose 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 buy a separate transmitter for every receiver. Products with some form of error correction will be more immune against radio interference from other wireless transmitters. Choose a digital RF audio transmitter to guarantee that the audio quality is maintained. Make sure the audio delay is less than 10 ms if you have a real-time application such as video.

Choose a transmitter that has all the audio inputs you need, such as speaker inputs, line-level RCA inputs etc. Pick a system where you can add receivers later on which provide all of the necessary outputs, e.g. amplified speaker outputs, RCA outputs etc. Select a transmitter that can adjust the audio volume of the input stage. This will give you the versatility to connect the transmitter to any kind of equipment with different signal levels. Otherwise the audio may get clipped inside the transmitter converter stage or the dynamic range is not fully utilized.

Verify that the amplified wireless receivers contain built-in digital amplifiers with low distortion figures. This will keep the receiver cool due to high amplifier power efficiency and provide optimum sound quality. Pick a system which offers receivers that can drive speakers with the desired Ohm rating. Make sure the receivers have a small form factor and are easily mountable. This will help during the set up. 5.8 GHz wireless devices usually have less problems with interference from other wireless transmitters than devices operating at 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz.