Sony Wireless Home Theater System

The first efforts at wireless speakers were dismal failures. Transmitting high-quality sound wirelessly resulted in low-quality or muted sound at best, and crackling and hissing at worst. Many times, the sounds coming from the wireless speakers were not perfectly synced with the rest of the system, resulting in annoying echo like sounds. Sometimes there would be no sound at all.

These days, higher quality wireless systems allow for a sound quality so good that only serious audiophiles using familiar reference tracks can tell the difference. One of the reasons for this improvement in wireless sound quality is a new way of delivering wireless sound.

Sony Bravia home theaters compatible with Sony's wireless speaker technology, called S-Air, allow for quality wireless surround sound. Instead of making the speakers themselves truly wireless, home theater makers like Sony, have designed systems that only eliminate the annoying, cluttering wires that transverse the room from front to back. In their place, another audio unit receives the wireless signal from the main receiver. Wires run from that rear unit to the speakers allowing for fully amped sound to be delivered to high-quality speakers that do not have to be made to receive wireless signals directly.

This allows any compatible Bravia home theater system to be a wireless Bravia home theater system.

How good is the Sony wireless home theater delivered by S-Air wireless speaker technology?

Surprisingly good. The secret to Sony's successful wireless home theater systems is that its receivers offer an automatic calibration which ensures that the surround sound signal is properly adjusted for any flaws introduced by the wireless connection.

Users place a microphone in the main listening position. The Sony receiver sends test signals to each speaker and makes adjustments accordingly based upon what sounds reach the microphone. So, if it turns out that the wireless speakers have a slight delay and lower than expected volume, the receiver will compensate for this by adjusting the timing and volume signals that get sent to the wireless receiver. So, even if there is a delay, it is compensated for by the receiver resulting in a high-quality sound signal.

There are other wireless systems, including ones made by speaker rival Bose, but for Sony home theater users, the Sony S-Air wireless speaker setup provides a best of breed solution when coupled with HDMI cable connections and other quality components.