Wireless speakers - loss of sound quality?

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
out and it's time to buy a new one.

My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.

But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
me to hide speakers than a whole system.

But my question is:

Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
sound was decent.

thanks

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <yLudnZNNXfi6oXXcRVn-1g@comcast.com>,
gregg <saville@comcast.net> wrote:

> I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
> component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
> out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
> My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
> like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
> But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
> signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
> me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
> But my question is:
>
> Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
> sound was decent.
>
> thanks

They vary greatly. I tried an RCA wireless speaker set and the sound
resembled a badly damaged cassette tape recording of a distant shortwave
transmitter. I have a Wavecom RF-Link that sounds very good but it
picks up microwave oven interference. Some newer systems even use
Bluetooth.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:41:57 -0500, gregg <saville@comcast.net> wrote:

>I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
>component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
>out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
>My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
>like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
>But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
>signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
>me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
> But my question is:
>
>Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
>audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
>sound was decent.

Couldn't you get another wife? (I take it it isn't YOU who cares a
jot about room decoration in 19th century style

 

[Cyrus]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <yLudnZNNXfi6oXXcRVn-1g@comcast.com>,
gregg <saville@comcast.net> wrote:

> I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
> component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
> out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
> My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
> like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
> But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
> signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
> me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
> But my question is:
>
> Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
> sound was decent.
>
> thanks

You lose a speaker wire and gain a wall wart. Wires are still a
necessary evil.

--
Cyrus

*coughcasaucedoprodigynetcough*

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

gregg wrote:
>
> I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
> component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
> out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
> My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
> like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
> But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
> signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
> me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
> But my question is:
>
> Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
> sound was decent.
>
> thanks
>

He's worried about losing sound quality with wireless I don't think it's
an issue for anyone considering Bose and Cambridge, you have to have
sound quality to lose it.

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

postit wrote:


> He's worried about losing sound quality with wireless I don't think it's
> an issue for anyone considering Bose and Cambridge, you have to have
> sound quality to lose it.

I probably wasn't clear enough:

I was considering Bose or Cambridge to get a small, easily hidden, system
in the LR.

However I saw these wireless systems you can put between your sound systems
and your speakers.

*IF* the sounds quality isn't seriously degraded by the wireless
transmission system, THEN I could stick with a big, much higher quality
component system and just put it in another room. And then just have the
speakers in the LR. That reduces the "hiding" problem quite a bit.

Clearer?

So I ask again:

Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your sound
system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?

thanks

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"gregg" wrote ...
> I was considering Bose or Cambridge to get a small, easily
> hidden, system in the LR.
>
> However I saw these wireless systems you can put between
> your sound systems and your speakers.

If you are just looking for "background" type music, there
are several options (wall speakers, etc) that can be quite
satisfying without having garish 20th century speaker boxes
in the middle of your period decor.

But if you are looking for a "sit-down and listen" kind
of system for serious listening, I can't think of any wireless
system of reasonable price that is really suitable.

> *IF* the sounds quality isn't seriously degraded by the
> wireless transmission system, THEN I could stick with
> a big, much higher quality component system and just put
> it in another room. And then just have the speakers in the
> LR. That reduces the "hiding" problem quite a bit.
>
> Clearer?

Not clear how you can do such truly impressive work with
boatbuilding and steam-bending and furniture making, but
can't just hide the speaker wires?

> So I ask again:
>
> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place
> between your sound system and speakers seriously degrade
> the quality of the sound?

You'd spend far more on finding and engineering quality
wireless links and buying powered speakers than it would
cost to do major surgery to walls, floors, etc to hide the
speaker wires. At least that has been my experience in the
real world.

Wireless transmission systems sold for home use are of very
modest quality at best (mostly for "background music").
Wireless transmission systems that have no quality loss will
cost several times more than the rest of your system combined.

If you are really concerned about visible impact, particularly
in a "period" room, there are systems available that put the
tweeters and midrange into nearly-invisible wall units and
a common sub-woofer into a floor unit with a grille like a
heating/AC vent. I believe I saw them in the catalog from
www.partsexpress.com Not sure that they are suitable for
a really serious music-listening setup, though.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

gregg wrote:
>
> Clearer?
>
postit writes:

Crystal, all apologies. But really Bose, Cambridge, yuk. As for
wireless I am clueless except to say at concerts most musicians these
days are wireless, so I am thinking there has to be some kind of system
that wouldn't degrade sound too much. But those are weak signals not
speaker level so as other posts have said you'd probably need powered
speakers meaning you'd need ac wires to the speakers anyway. If you
have two sconces you can do away with you could put the speakers there.

If you can get away with putting the speakers on or near the floor with
stands then why not maybe go through the basement? I have seen several
installation done this way and you literally don't see the wires and the
holes if done properly can easily be filled and are barely noticeable if
you ever move the system. Best wishes for a positive solution.


> postit wrote:
>
>
>
>>He's worried about losing sound quality with wireless I don't think it's
>>an issue for anyone considering Bose and Cambridge, you have to have
>>sound quality to lose it.
>
>
> I probably wasn't clear enough:
>
> I was considering Bose or Cambridge to get a small, easily hidden, system
> in the LR.
>
> However I saw these wireless systems you can put between your sound systems
> and your speakers.
>
> *IF* the sounds quality isn't seriously degraded by the wireless
> transmission system, THEN I could stick with a big, much higher quality
> component system and just put it in another room. And then just have the
> speakers in the LR. That reduces the "hiding" problem quite a bit.
>
> Clearer?
>
> So I ask again:
>
> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your sound
> system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?
>
> thanks
>

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

postit wrote:

> gregg wrote:
> >
> > Clearer?
> >
> postit writes:
>
> Crystal, all apologies.

No problem. I wasn't precise enough and detailed enough in my query.

> But really Bose, Cambridge, yuk. As for
> wireless I am clueless except to say at concerts most musicians these
> days are wireless, so I am thinking there has to be some kind of system
> that wouldn't degrade sound too much. But those are weak signals not
> speaker level so as other posts have said you'd probably need powered
> speakers meaning you'd need ac wires to the speakers anyway. If you
> have two sconces you can do away with you could put the speakers there.
>
> If you can get away with putting the speakers on or near the floor with
> stands then why not maybe go through the basement?

Not possible. I thought of that one.

I have seen several
> installation done this way and you literally don't see the wires and the
> holes if done properly can easily be filled and are barely noticeable if
> you ever move the system. Best wishes for a positive solution.

Thanks very much!


>
>
>> postit wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>He's worried about losing sound quality with wireless I don't think it's
>>>an issue for anyone considering Bose and Cambridge, you have to have
>>>sound quality to lose it.
>>
>>
>> I probably wasn't clear enough:
>>
>> I was considering Bose or Cambridge to get a small, easily hidden,
>> system
>> in the LR.
>>
>> However I saw these wireless systems you can put between your sound
>> systems and your speakers.
>>
>> *IF* the sounds quality isn't seriously degraded by the wireless
>> transmission system, THEN I could stick with a big, much higher quality
>> component system and just put it in another room. And then just have the
>> speakers in the LR. That reduces the "hiding" problem quite a bit.
>>
>> Clearer?
>>
>> So I ask again:
>>
>> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your
>> sound
>> system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?
>>
>> thanks
>>

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

gregg wrote:

snip
>
> So I ask again:
>
> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your sound
> system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?
>
> thanks
>

I don't see this working at all. You might put this sort of kit between
a source (CD, Cass) but it could not transmit the required power to the
speakers, unless they are powered speakers. You can get small VGQ
powered boxes, but not cheap. See Genelec
http://www.genelecusa.com/products/1030a/1030a.php as an example.

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Andrew Chesters wrote:

> gregg wrote:
>
> snip
>>
>> So I ask again:
>>
>> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your
>> sound
>> system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?
>>
>> thanks
>>
>
> I don't see this working at all. You might put this sort of kit between
> a source (CD, Cass) but it could not transmit the required power to the
> speakers, unless they are powered speakers. You can get small VGQ
> powered boxes, but not cheap. See Genelec
> http://www.genelecusa.com/products/1030a/1030a.php as an example.

I intend to use powered speakers. I'm only talking about the signal
carrying the "sound".

Do the wireless transmission systems that you can place between your hi
quality sound system and (powered) speakers seriously degrade the quality
of the sound?

thanks

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[mick]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 09:21:12 -0500, gregg wrote:

<snip>
>
> Do the wireless transmission systems that youc an place between your
> sound
> system and speakers seriously degrade the quality of the sound?
>

Yes, they do degrade the sound. Just how much will depend on the system
and on your speakers. You will need an amp local to the speakers as the RF
systems can't work at speaker levels!

All RF system have a limited bandwidth - that's where the main problem
lies. Otherwise they are similar to FM radio reception. If your speakers
sound poor on FM radio then they will probably sound slightly worse using
the RF link (the equipment isn't up to commercial broadcast standards). It
all depends on the compromises that you are willing to accept! Try a pair
of FM wireless headphones as a test of the sort of quality you can expect
- the speakers will almost certainly sound better than them!

--
Mick
(no M$ software on here... )
Web: http://www.nascom.info
Web: http://projectedsound.tk

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Richard Crowley wrote:

> "gregg" wrote ...
>> I was considering Bose or Cambridge to get a small, easily
>> hidden, system in the LR.
>>
>> However I saw these wireless systems you can put between
>> your sound systems and your speakers.
>
> If you are just looking for "background" type music, there
> are several options (wall speakers, etc) that can be quite
> satisfying without having garish 20th century speaker boxes
> in the middle of your period decor.
>
> But if you are looking for a "sit-down and listen" kind
> of system for serious listening, I can't think of any wireless
> system of reasonable price that is really suitable.

Ah thanks. That's the sort of info I was looking for.

>
>> *IF* the sounds quality isn't seriously degraded by the
>> wireless transmission system, THEN I could stick with
>> a big, much higher quality component system and just put
>> it in another room. And then just have the speakers in the
>> LR. That reduces the "hiding" problem quite a bit.
>>
>> Clearer?
>
> Not clear how you can do such truly impressive work with
> boatbuilding and steam-bending and furniture making, but
> can't just hide the speaker wires?

;^) thanks. But it's not a matter of skills but more like no basement to
run the wires; old house walls that preclude same; and no desire to spend
my time on figuring out a way.


> Wireless transmission systems sold for home use are of very
> modest quality at best (mostly for "background music").
> Wireless transmission systems that have no quality loss will
> cost several times more than the rest of your system combined.

Ah very good. thanks..This is the sort of general info I was interested in.

>
> If you are really concerned about visible impact, particularly
> in a "period" room, there are systems available that put the
> tweeters and midrange into nearly-invisible wall units and
> a common sub-woofer into a floor unit with a grille like a
> heating/AC vent. I believe I saw them in the catalog from
> www.partsexpress.com Not sure that they are suitable for
> a really serious music-listening setup, though.

I'll check it out. Thanks!


--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 01:07:00 +0000, Laurence Payne
<l@laurenceDELETEpayne.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>
>Couldn't you get another wife? (I take it it isn't YOU who cares a
>jot about room decoration in 19th century style

Why do you say that? It is none of your business, and a really
childish remark, if you ask me. If you think grown-up males seeks
females based on such grounds, think again!

Jeez.

Per.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In <yLudnZNNXfi6oXXcRVn-1g@comcast.com>, on 01/14/05
at 04:41 PM, gregg <saville@comcast.net> said:



>I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except
>for the component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound
>system is giving out and it's time to buy a new one.

>My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet.
>Something like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.

>But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the
>speaker signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be
>much easier for me to hide speakers than a whole system.

> But my question is:

>Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if
>the sound was decent.

Wireless does not have to damage the sound, but current implementations
do. Mostly, it's a price issue. One must have a transmitter, a receiver
and amplifier for each speaker, plus the speakers. Most current
wireless systems are in the two to three hundred dollar range. This
price level of speaker, without the additional wireless components and
amplifiers, is not usually considered "quality" by those who prefer
component systems. Wireless speakers should be priced appropriately
than a similarly performing wired speaker. Priced properly, wireless
could be a fine option.

Wireless doesn't eliminate all the wires, however, because you'll still
need wires to carry power to the speakers. Battery powered speakers are
certainly possible, but the operating costs will be high both
monetarily and in management time (someone will have to replace or
recharge batteries regularly -- probably daily).

We are beginning to see equipment that uses ethernet technology (wired
and wireless) to distribute audio. This technology will eliminate some
of the wires with very little loss of quality -- and many will argue
that there is no practical loss of quality.

Hiding wires is not always so difficult. If the room has an unfinished
basement or crawl space below, running wires is usually not much of a
problem. Hollow trim can be added or existing trim can be hollowed to
accept wires. A professional consultation may be a great help. If
you've recently done some renovation, the project trades people
(general contractor, electrician, air-conditioning, plumber, etc.) will
have valuable insight about were to run wires.

Unless you have a need to create an equipment display, the actual
equipment can be hidden in a cabinet, closet, or moved to a different
floor. Only the speakers must be in the room. With a little
imagination, speakers can be made to disappear. We sometimes work with
designers, and they can be a pain because they are very visual and have
no respect for physical reality. I can remember one job where a very
fussy designer jumped all over us claiming that we were holding up the
job because we hadn't installed the speakers. I simply pointed out that
we had installed them several days prior. This was a former 1920's
firehouse, much of the original styling was intact, and we made four
36x12x18 inch speakers disappear in the livingroom to the point where
the designer didn't notice them -- and he knew in advance where we were
placing them. Actually, we didn't go to any special trouble to hide
them (they were unobstructed and in plain sight), we simply took
advantage of shadows, light, and color -- the speakers became part of
the room.

-----------------------------------------------------------
spam: uce@ftc.gov
wordgame:123(abc):<14 9 20 5 2 9 18 4 at 22 15 9 3 5 14 5 20 dot 3 15
13> (Barry Mann)
[sorry about the puzzle, spammers are ruining my mailbox]
-----------------------------------------------------------

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Laurence Payne" wrote ...
> (PS, that was a joke. Just like the first one. Duh!)

You're poking at a hornets nest. The OP doesn't appear
to have much of a sense of humor.

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Barry,

Fantastic info. thanks for your time

Gregg


Barry Mann wrote:

> In <yLudnZNNXfi6oXXcRVn-1g@comcast.com>, on 01/14/05
> at 04:41 PM, gregg <saville@comcast.net> said:
>
>
>
>>I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except
>>for the component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound
>>system is giving out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
>>My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet.
>>Something like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
>>But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the
>>speaker signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be
>>much easier for me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
>> But my question is:
>
>>Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
>> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if
>>the sound was decent.
>
> Wireless does not have to damage the sound, but current implementations
> do. Mostly, it's a price issue. One must have a transmitter, a receiver
> and amplifier for each speaker, plus the speakers. Most current
> wireless systems are in the two to three hundred dollar range. This
> price level of speaker, without the additional wireless components and
> amplifiers, is not usually considered "quality" by those who prefer
> component systems. Wireless speakers should be priced appropriately
> than a similarly performing wired speaker. Priced properly, wireless
> could be a fine option.
>
> Wireless doesn't eliminate all the wires, however, because you'll still
> need wires to carry power to the speakers. Battery powered speakers are
> certainly possible, but the operating costs will be high both
> monetarily and in management time (someone will have to replace or
> recharge batteries regularly -- probably daily).
>
> We are beginning to see equipment that uses ethernet technology (wired
> and wireless) to distribute audio. This technology will eliminate some
> of the wires with very little loss of quality -- and many will argue
> that there is no practical loss of quality.
>
> Hiding wires is not always so difficult. If the room has an unfinished
> basement or crawl space below, running wires is usually not much of a
> problem. Hollow trim can be added or existing trim can be hollowed to
> accept wires. A professional consultation may be a great help. If
> you've recently done some renovation, the project trades people
> (general contractor, electrician, air-conditioning, plumber, etc.) will
> have valuable insight about were to run wires.
>
> Unless you have a need to create an equipment display, the actual
> equipment can be hidden in a cabinet, closet, or moved to a different
> floor. Only the speakers must be in the room. With a little
> imagination, speakers can be made to disappear. We sometimes work with
> designers, and they can be a pain because they are very visual and have
> no respect for physical reality. I can remember one job where a very
> fussy designer jumped all over us claiming that we were holding up the
> job because we hadn't installed the speakers. I simply pointed out that
> we had installed them several days prior. This was a former 1920's
> firehouse, much of the original styling was intact, and we made four
> 36x12x18 inch speakers disappear in the livingroom to the point where
> the designer didn't notice them -- and he knew in advance where we were
> placing them. Actually, we didn't go to any special trouble to hide
> them (they were unobstructed and in plain sight), we simply took
> advantage of shadows, light, and color -- the speakers became part of
> the room.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> spam: uce@ftc.gov
> wordgame:123(abc):<14 9 20 5 2 9 18 4 at 22 15 9 3 5 14 5 20 dot 3 15
> 13> (Barry Mann)
> [sorry about the puzzle, spammers are ruining my mailbox]
> -----------------------------------------------------------

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[mick]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:41:57 -0500, gregg wrote:

<snip>
>
> Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
> sound was decent.
>

Can I offer an alternative idea? Decent speaker cable is relatively thick
and can be quite difficult to hide. If you use 100v line transformers at
both ends of each speaker lead, so that the signal is high voltage, low
current, then you can use much thinner cable which you may be able to hide
more easily. The sound quality could well be better than an RF system and
much cheaper to implement.

--
Mick
(no M$ software on here... )
Web: http://www.nascom.info
Web: http://projectedsound.tk

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

mick wrote:

> On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 16:41:57 -0500, gregg wrote:
>
> <snip>
>>
>> Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
>> audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
>> sound was decent.
>>
>
> Can I offer an alternative idea? Decent speaker cable is relatively thick
> and can be quite difficult to hide. If you use 100v line transformers at
> both ends of each speaker lead, so that the signal is high voltage, low
> current, then you can use much thinner cable which you may be able to hide
> more easily. The sound quality could well be better than an RF system and
> much cheaper to implement.
>


Very interesting idea, Mick. Many thanks.

Gregg

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"mick" wrote ...
> Can I offer an alternative idea? Decent speaker cable is
> relatively thick and can be quite difficult to hide. If you
> use 100v line transformers at both ends of each speaker
> lead, so that the signal is high voltage, low current, then
> you can use much thinner cable which you may be able to
> hide more easily. The sound quality could well be better
> than an RF system and much cheaper to implement.

Alas, those 25v, 70v, and 100v audio distribution transformers
are not noted for their high-fidelity. They usually suffer from
frequency-response as well as distortion deficiencies. They
are made for PA systems (mostly voice and "elevator music"),
not for high-quality music reproduction systems.

Also, remember that any voltage >48v here in the US (including
high-voltage audio distribution systems) are required to be
treated as mains/power (heavy insulation, rigid or flex conduit,
etc.) in most jurisdictions.

Any line-level wiring it would take to run the signal to powered
speakers would be smaller than the power cable it would take
to run them.

Note that there is flat ribbon cable made for running under wallpaper,
carpet, etc that is about the thickness of a few sheets of paper.
http://www.ampnetconnect.com/products/displaysubcomponent.asp?comID=101

An electrician, particularly one who works in a historic district,
is almost certainly equipped with the tools and methods for running
wires invisibly through even historically-protected properties.

 

[mick]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 12:17:38 -0500, gregg wrote:

<snip>
>
> I happen to be very historically minded - as you will see if you look at
> the sailboat restoration page below.
>

Nice web pages, Gregg. Thanks!

--
Mick
(no M$ software on here... )
Web: http://www.nascom.info
Web: http://projectedsound.tk

 

[mark]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

One of the easiest methods I've found of hiding wires in an old house is
to pull the top cap off your baseboard, cut a small dado in the backside
of it (a bladewidth or two), and fit the wire in the groove. Nail it
back up (the nail holes are already there) and you're done. I've used it
in our 'teens craftsman-styled place. It doesn't require running line
through walls, and hides the stuff perfectly.

 

[gregg]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Richard Crowley wrote:


> An electrician, particularly one who works in a historic district,
> is almost certainly equipped with the tools and methods for running
> wires invisibly through even historically-protected properties.


$$$


--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In article <yLudnZNNXfi6oXXcRVn-1g@comcast.com>, saville@comcast.net says...
>
>
>
>
>I have a living room that's decorated 18th century. Well all except for the
>component sound system, and 3 foot speakers ;^) The sound system is giving
>out and it's time to buy a new one.
>
>My first thought was to buy a small unit and hide it in a cabinet. Something
>like the Cambridge 740 or the Bose Wave radio.
>
>But then I saw that one can buy transmitters/receivers that take the speaker
>signal and transmit to speakers in another room. It woud be much easier for
>me to hide speakers than a whole system.
>
> But my question is:
>
>Do these wireless systems degrade the sound quality a lot? I'm not an
>audiophile and I don't need a primo system. But it would be nice if the
>sound was decent.

Wireless speakers need to be powered somehow, so you will have to either
run wires to an outlet, or re-charge a battery often. Wireless speakers
could sound very good, but that will depend on their design. Right now, I
would never consider wireless speakers because to me their benefits do not
make up for their drawbacks. I would suggest you listen to the speakers
before you buy. You should also ask a lot of questions on the installation
of the speakers.
---------------
Alex