What You Need to Know Before Your Next Audio Purchase
For the audiophile, wired speakers simply offer better sound quality compared to wireless speakers; initially, with the advent of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled wireless technology creeping into the audio landscape, this was the accepted knowledge governed by conventional wisdom.
The science and engineering behind the wireless speaker just did not cut it, and this was a certain reality then, as it was much easier to transmit greater amounts of electrical signal data down a physical copper wire than to send the same audio signal, transformed into an electromagnetic signal, wirelessly through the air and to a remote receiving speaker.
Early generations of wireless speakers could not achieve the sound quality output expected by those with the ability to discern the not-so-perfect sounds reproduced. Wireless speaker systems in their infancy had technological hurdles to overcome, essentially unable to reproduce the true sound signal faithfully due to imperfections in the electronic conversion to wireless transmission and then back again. The best Bluetooth speaker options of today’s market tell a different story.
How Wireless Transmission Works
Electronics perform a so-called “analog to digital” signal conversion process before the moment of wireless transmission and then re-convert back the received wireless signals from digital to analog. This is achieved using mathematical algorithms to “code” and “decode” the known signal with a computational silicon chipset called a Codec.
Over time, the explosive development of such dedicated electronic integrated circuit chipsets has produced blazingly fast and sophisticated Codecs that handle huge digital files that can faithfully reproduce the sound of an audio signal. This state-of-the-art is confirmed by the fact that, currently, the far superior video technology transmits wireless high definition video contents, such as HD and 4K, successfully. Video streaming is also highly sophisticated in its current state.
Ultimately, the lower capacity for audio transmission is almost perfect, with near-lossless transmission in real-time. In other words, the sound quality of wirelessly transmitted audio files has become amazingly superb in quality.
The Ongoing Debate
Some debate that wired speakers still deliver better audio fidelity with extremely high-quality components assembled in the manufacturing. Nevertheless, it is difficult to deny that current high-end wireless speaker systems sound pretty incredible.
Likewise, it’s not the issue of the manufacturer of the speakers at all, but whether the original electrical signal being sent down the physical copper cable to the input of a speaker is faithfully and accurately reproduced over a wireless transmission, either via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi technology. The design of speakers has improved with enhanced driver technology and better power management, and the gap between wired and wireless speaker systems is still narrowing.
A Technical Evaluation
In a real-world environment, a comparison between wired and wireless speaker sound quality has to be conducted in a typical environment, to account for room acoustics.
With a wired system, there are prerequisites in infrastructure layouts that help to plan and conceal cables to be laid, keeping in mind the room and furniture. On the other hand, at most, s wireless network would require a source of electrical power to operate or to charge a battery power pack within the speaker device. The wireless system wins hands down with its flexibility to be placed untethered in any location, offering more opportunity to complement the acoustic layout. With all parameters being equal, it’d be difficult to determine the differences in sound quality from both systems if the average person was blindfolded in a test to evaluate the comparison.
The wired speaker system is also inherently very stable. When designed with the proper cabling recommended, it delivers enormous power to drive the speakers with matched impedance as specified. The wired speaker is shielded from electrical interference, and hence the sound output quality is consistent throughout in performance. However, a wireless speaker system will suffer from unwanted electrical noise interruption via the airway over which the Wi-Fi signal propagates. There will be degradation and possible total loss of audio signal in the unlikely event of a large object crossing and obstructing the direct line of sight path to the designated wireless speaker.
The Price Tag
A good wireless speaker system may cost more at the end of the day, since the power to drive the speaker has to be in-built into the speaker assembly. Similarly, all the electronics and power amplifiers have to be duplicated into every wireless speaker unit. The merit is that it makes sense to have a certain flexibility when it comes to the optimal utilization of wireless speakers.
Apart from being connected to HiFi home, HiFi stereo, and home theater systems, it would be a definite plus for the wireless speaker to play music from your mobile devices or your computer. Having a wireless speaker that is compatible with AirPlay is beneficial if you want to queue up some songs from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer. However, it’s worth noting that you do need to set up a Wi-Fi network in your home to operate the wireless speakers, giving them something to connect with. This will necessitate an operating cost associated with maintaining a wireless system.
On the other hand, a wired speaker system contains all of the necessary electrical and electronic components needed to function. The downside of a wired speaker system is that the speaker must be hardwired to your stereo components, eliminating the flexibility to play audio from a smartphone or PC. However, the most significant advantage of wired speakers has nothing to do with sound quality. It’s actually about control, since all modes of operations come directly from the master console unit that controls the volume and equalizer functions. In short, wired speakers offer you a level of control over the finer aspects of the sound. Alternately, wireless speakers do not.
The Verdict: Wired or Wireless?
At the end of the day, your personal preference and budget will most likely influence your decision to go with wireless or wired speakers. While wireless speakers certainly have some advantages, the price and functionality may cause you to stick to the more traditional wired speakers. At the same time, if you want to expand your audio system, a wireless setup will allow you to do so without the hassle of additional cables and cords.
Resources— The Master Switch, We Love Singing
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