Buying Wireless Speakers? How to Pick the Best System for You
Nothing screams high-tech quite like pressing a button on your smartphone and instantly having five different songs playing in five different rooms. It’s got a “wow factor” that’s sure to impress any guest.
If you’re thinking of making an investment in a wireless speaker system, don’t. Well, at least not until you’ve read this article. There are some important things you need to consider before you part with your cash.
1. Features
Wireless speakers offer an almost endless array of features, a list of which would be far too extensive to cover in this article.
Nonetheless, there are four common features some speakers will offer but that haven’t yet become industry standards. Make sure your purchase provides the ones you want:
- Voice control — Who wants to use their phone when they need to skip a track? It’s easier just to shout at your speaker!
- Ability to group speakers into zones — You can have a zone for the kitchen, a zone for the lounge, a zone for the entire downstairs of your home, and so on.
- Ability to pair two speakers together for stereo output — Most wireless speakers come in packs of one. Can you pair two speakers together for awesome stereo sound?
- Dual-band Wi-Fi support — if you live in an apartment block, there could be hundreds of nearby devices on the 2.4 GHz spectrum causing interference. Support for the 5 GHz spectrum could fix your problems.
2. Range of Products
If you’re new to the wireless speaker world, you’re probably only planning to buy one or two devices to get started. But what happens further down the line?
You might want to add more components. Perhaps you’d eventually like a sound bar for your TV, some bookshelf speakers for your office, or a waterproof speaker for your bathroom?
You don’t want to hit the shops for an upgrade, only to discover the product you want isn’t available in your chosen ecosystem. The difference between the Bose and Sonos product ranges (which both include several speaker sizes, sound bars, subs, and audio-in adaptors) and the Bluesound PULSErange (which only has three different speakers) is vast.
3. Power
How wireless is wireless? Does your speaker still need to be connected to a power source to operate? For Wi-Fi speakers, the answer is probably Yes — and that means you’ll need cables.
Or do you?
One of the most exciting new entries into the wireless speaker market in 2017 is the Denon HEOS 1. For an additional $99, you can purchase the HEOS Go package. It adds battery power, splash-proofing, and even Bluetooth compatibility. If you want a speaker you can carry around while you’re doing the gardening or cooking a barbecue, it’s well-worth considering.
4. Cost
It sounds obvious, but you need to consider your budget. When it comes to wireless speakers, the price point varies wildly, both between manufacturers and between models in the same product range.
A Chromecast audio will only set you back $40 per dongle and the Amazon Dot is a mere $49. For a bit more money, you can pick up mid-range Bluetooth speakers for around $100, while the Amazon Echo is $179.
In contrast, the cheapest Sonos and Bose Wi-Fi models cost $199, with the two companies’ top-of-the-range sound bars clocking in at $699.
Make sure you choose something that not only fits your budget today, but that will continue to be affordable as you look to add larger, more powerful components in the future.
