WiSA Speakers

[BMXTRIX]

Anyone have any experience using or listening to WiSA speakers?

As an installer, I must admit that I don't typically recommend wireless solutions, but there is an upcoming project I'm looking to bid which has a pretty ideal scenario to avoid running wires around the room. Install a WiSA enabled projector, install a few WiSA speakers, put in a retractable screen, call it done. It saves the client a fair bit of money for wiring and repairing drywall and it gives them much better than projector-integrated audio.

But, I have no familiarity with WiSA audio quality, problems, headaches, and where it shines. It looks like there is a fair number of manufacturers supporting this as a standard and that they have a wide range of models from the moderately priced to the overpriced. I'm not seeing much in the way of 'inexpensive' from the ones I've looked at.

Would love some feedback from those who have experienced these speakers first hand.

I'm really not interested in speaker bars, but can see how that would be super relevant to a very large crowd.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I'm not seeing much in the way of 'inexpensive' from the ones I've looked at.

According to an article Gene put out here on Audioholics some time back, WiSA operates on 24 tunable frequencies in the 5.2–5.8 GHz range. These channels were originally reserved for weather and military uses, and consumer devices are only allowed to use these critical channels as long as there is no interference. A WiSA-certified system constantly monitors for interference and instantly jumps to a new channel if any is detected, and does so seamlessly with no audible dropouts.

As you can see, the requirements of the platform do not lend itself to “inexpensive.” Especially when you consider that the speakers are required to have both amplifiers and wireless receivers on board.

If you look at the reviews for most wireless audio gear, such as HTIB’s or sound bars with wireless subs or rear speakers, you’ll note a high margin of negative reviews, often as much as 30%, and that the great majority of the complaints are related to wireless issues – noise, drop-outs, paring issues, etc. In that regard WiSA is probably one of the most reliable wireless audio products on the market.

Still, WiSA is not without its shortcomings. AFAIK it does not lend itself to modern auto room correction or secondary zones, features available in most AVRs these days. And AFAIK the only way to get streaming from it is via a WiSA TV, or another hub device with HDMI inputs for a Roku or similar device.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[TLS Guy]

Anyone have any experience using or listening to WiSA speakers?

As an installer, I must admit that I don't typically recommend wireless solutions, but there is an upcoming project I'm looking to bid which has a pretty ideal scenario to avoid running wires around the room. Install a WiSA enabled projector, install a few WiSA speakers, put in a retractable screen, call it done. It saves the client a fair bit of money for wiring and repairing drywall and it gives them much better than projector-integrated audio.

But, I have no familiarity with WiSA audio quality, problems, headaches, and where it shines. It looks like there is a fair number of manufacturers supporting this as a standard and that they have a wide range of models from the moderately priced to the overpriced. I'm not seeing much in the way of 'inexpensive' from the ones I've looked at.

Would love some feedback from those who have experienced these speakers first hand.

I'm really not interested in speaker bars, but can see how that would be super relevant to a very large crowd.

I have no experience with it. However if there is no latency or drop outs it should work. The bandwidth on offer should not compromise quality.

You certainly can get the benefit of active speakers, and it gets yo away from receivers, though a pre/pro could be an advantage.

You have to make sure there are power points near every speaker.

If the system is not yet perfected, I see no reason why it will not be. It really has a lot to recommend it over receivers with too many amps in one box, and it forces the development of active speakers, which should be a huge gain.

 

[sweetness34]

I recently had a full 5.1 WISA system consisting of Klipsch speakers and the WISA Soundsend device. The WISA technology itself is great. I noticed no interference or lag from the speakers themselves. The issue is lack of support and information about the WISA devices and speakers. There just aren’t that many people using it and it’s pretty limited as far as what’s available. I had the system for about a month and ended up sending it back. The SoundSend was very buggy making it unusable at times and I wasn’t confident that the manufacturer was actively addressing the issues.