Wednesday 31 March 2010

Best Value - good price, outdoor speakers


Overall, I'm very happy with this speaker system...I ordered 3 pairs of them, in fact, so I could have sound on all three levels of my townhome, and the system seems to work very well through the floors...no drop of signal or distortion noticed. They are attractively styled, they offer a lot of versatility for indoor or outdoor use, and the sound quality is quite good, even the bass. The remote magnetically sticks into the front recess of either unit, the handle makes them extremely portable, and the mood lighting is a nice touch. Very nice. Audio Unlimited really does a lot of wireless speakers, so no doubt they will add more products to their 2.4GHz range of speakers, all of which will work together seamlessly. (Personally, I'm waiting for a 2.4 GHz shower radio, since they already have one in the 900MHz range.)



The transmitter has two inputs: an RCA connection (to headphone jacks and the like) and paired red/white RCA phono jacks (to/from most stereo sources). Right now I'm using a wireless Logitech Squeezebox Touch as the music input, so I've got wireless connetivity to the source of music (my computer and/or internet radio), as well as wireless connectivity to the speakers...AWESOME combo.



It does have a few idiosyncracies which you should DEFINITELY know ahead of time:



1) The units shut themselves off after a few minutes of inactivity. At the loss of a signal, the units immediately go to sleep (signified by a green power LED), and then they shut down completely. This is very desireable power saver in a battery operated device, of course...but not needed so much when you use the wall adapters. Think about it: you want to wake up to a music alarm or you want to press one power button and hear music music booming from all over your house, and you can't, because you have to go over and PHYSICALLY turn on each individual unit everytime you want to listen to them. To me, this is a step BACKWARD and a major design flaw; do you have to go and turn on each and every individual one of your wired speakers everytime you want to listen to music? NO. Anyway, unless you keep providing some kind of signal input, the units will auto shut off. Exacerbating the situation is that the power buttons require a three second press before they turn on, so you can't just quickly tap them all on; NOOoo, you have to wait at each one.



2) So, you ask, "What about the power button on the remote?" Well, the remote will not turn the unit on.(!) What the "power" button does is wake the unit up from sleep, or puts it to sleep...but it cannot turn on the unit after it has auto shut-off. So, like I said...get used to holding down power buttons with these units...



3) The speaker units operate individually. That is to say, the remote does not interface with the transmitter unit, it interfaces with the speaker units, and only the closest one. If you have them close together, you might be able to catch them both, otherwise you have to point the remote at one, and then the other. This is actualy a benefit if you use them individually in mono mode (say, one in the kitchen and the other in a downstairs living room), but if you have them paired into left and right channels, it can be a little difficult to tell if you really have them at the same volume level.



I would recommend these speakers to those who really want wireless, multiple room sound AND who like to move their speakers around more than most people (say, outside for a BBQ, or to a party, or to supplement your home stereo speakers for an awesome movie experience, etc). I'd also recommend them to someone who will only use them as supplemental speakers for a traditional audio source. If you just want multiple room sound and don't imagine moving your speakers ever, I'd probably recommend something wired, or that only has wireless satellite speakers. Or just something ELSE wireless that doesn't require as much hands-on time. My point here is you probably want to turn on your source and hear something immediately rather than running laps around your house tagging speakers.



Overall, it's a great product with an 'Achilles heel'...you probably won't find a better combo of sound, portability, and value in a wireless speaker system anywhere else. I'd say its worth the bux, but just go into the purchase knowing that to Audio Unlimited, "wireless" means more work, not less. Audio Unlimited SPK-24GX-DUO 2.4 GHz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Stereo Speaker System with Remote and Dual Power Transmitter (2 Pack, Black)

Purchased a pair of these (before they came in pairs) in early 2009 after having other wireless speaker systems. I've used them for 18 months and am still delighted. Battery life good (6 D cells each), but comes with adapters and works well with either. Sound is really good for relatively small, wireless speakers, especially if bass is important. I use with mp3 thru an RCA cable purchased at a local Radio Shack and get good response when mp3 is turned up to high volumes. I also use as a wireless speaker for my home stereo system with great results. The only problem is the range is not quite as good as advertised. It does cut out when the range is too much, but that's immensely better than the static produced by other types of wireless. Does a good job of going through interior and exterior walls. Relatively heavy to lug around, but that makes it more stable and less likely to get knocked over. Includes a light to make it more visible in low light, if turned on. Remote is convenient and is stored with a magnet right on the unit. I could not have designed a better product for this use.

Everything was great until I tried to use my iPhone wifi. As soon as I connected to transmitter I lost my wifi connection.



Very disappointing as that is why I purchased these speakers to play my xm radio through my iPhone



Works great with my playlist but will not work with wifi - Best Value - Wireless Speakers - Outdoor Speakers - Good Price'


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