Be surrounded by sound, not wires

By David Colker
Los Angeles Times

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Wireless has a down side Wireless speakers are convenient, but there are drawbacks to the various transmission technologies used by manufacturers: The Philips system transmits on a 900-megahertz frequency band, which is also used by some cordless phones and other home devices that can cause interference. Pioneer's speakers use the 2.4-gigahertz frequency band, which is less susceptible to interference but can still run into trouble from microwave ovens. Sony uses infrared technology, which is used in TV remote controls. Its main drawback is that it requires a line-of-sight connection to transmit sound, which means the rear receiver can't be hidden behind a couch.

The systems, with front and rear speakers to re-create the enveloping soundscapes of movie theaters, had been flying off the shelves at prices as low as $200. The market's potential growth seemed huge.

But in 40 percent of the homes Pioneer executives visited two years ago, consumers weren't getting the surround-sound effects because they weren't using the rear speakers as rear speakers.

"People were putting them on top of the front speakers, down on the floor in front," said Pioneer executive David Bales, "or not hooking them up at all."

The reason: unsightly speaker wires.

Now Pioneer and other consumer electronics manufacturers are trying to prevent wires from tripping up sales by introducing new wireless technologies to connect the rear speakers to the rest of the system.

It's important that manufacturers succeed. Sales of the systems in the United States jumped 29 percent last year to $961 million but are projected to rise only 7.5 percent this year, according to EBrain Market Research.

Last summer, Royal Philips Electronics became the first major manufacturer to introduce a system with wireless rear speakers. Pioneer and Samsung Corp. debuted their systems this spring, and Sony Corp. is planning to follow suit next month.

Analysts are watching closely. Jupiter Research, which covers consumer electronics for its clients, has launched a study titled "Wireless Speakers: Are They the Holy Grail?"

That might not be hyperbole. On a recent visit to a Circuit City store, Cam Currier of Pasadena, Calif., was looking longingly at a traditional home-theater sound system.

A broadcast engineer for ABC radio, he could handle the complexities of electronics, but he wasn't about to buy one until he was assured the wiring problem was fixed.

"Dealing with the wires at home is a 14-karat nightmare," said Currier, 59, who has done his share of drilling to accommodate home stereo wiring. "I've done the attic, I've done under the floor. I'm tired of it."

As for shopper Phil Romano, he has a surround-sound system for his San Marino, Calif., home, but the wire issue prevented him from hooking up the rear speakers.

"If you're a teenager, it doesn't matter," said Romano, 49, who was in the store to check out the wireless system from Samsung. "But if you have a room all nice and furnished, you don't want to see the wires running across it."

Until the mid-1990s, surround sound at home was generally off-limits to those who couldn't afford custom home theater installations. Then manufacturers came up with the idea of a home-theater-in-a-box system, which in its simplest form includes an amplifier, three front speakers, two rear speakers and a subwoofer. Many of the packages also include a DVD player as well as additional speakers.

Philips was the first major manufacturer to address the concerns of home theater enthusiasts like Currier and Romano. But its $350 system, which includes a wireless receiver that feeds sound to the rear speakers, failed to garner much consumer interest.

Todd Richardson, manager of Philips' home entertainment products network group, believes part of the problem is the system's oomph — at 300 watts, it's on the low end for home-theater-in-a-box systems.

Each of the wireless transmission technologies that manufacturers are using has potential drawbacks, such as interfering with cordless phones or other appliances.

"We put a very large disclaimer on the product," Pioneer's Bales said, adding that he was not aware of any complaints from its customers.

Then there's the price. Wireless speaker systems for home theaters cost about $150 to $200 more than their tethered counterparts.

Some customers say they'd be willing to pay the difference.

"All things being equal — if the audio was as good as with a hard-wired system — it would be worth the money," said Currier, the radio engineer.