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Wednesday, February 23. 2022

Wired sound vs. Wireless

Depending on what you want to hear, sound quality matters a lot. For background sound, or podcasts, it doesn't matter much.


For focusing on ambitious music, it does matter to me. Another factor is choices of music. I like to pick a CD, or sometimes even vinyl. If I am in the mood to hear Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, Can I do that with wireless?


Here's some info: Bluetooth vs. Wifi vs Wired Speakers 


The expert's conclusion: ... the best working speaker system will always be wired speakers. Their ability to transfer massive amounts of sound data physically from source to device without any interruptions will always put them at the top of the list. Just be sure to invest in a good set of amplifiers and speakers to complete the whole system for the highest quality sound.


I also want to mention that I feel the idea of surround sound is silly. 

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:22 | Comments (12) | Trackbacks (0)

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I agree about wired speakers reproducing the best sound. And I maintain that my JBL L96 bookshelf speakers, purchased in 1982, which do not fit on any bookshelf I've ever owned, produce better sound than the Bose systems I've experimented with because my wife does not share the enthusiasm, I do, for large speakers standing in the living room.
#1 John Venlet (Link) on 2022-02-23 14:11 (Reply)
The same is true with Network connections ;-)
#2 Earl Wertheimer (Link) on 2022-02-23 14:47 (Reply)
Bluetooth or wi-fi cannot cover the full spectrum of audio or video, although great strides have been made. For most regular use, the convenience of both-and Apple Airplay or equivalent is satisfactory. For high end audiophiles or those with critical listening skills, nothing compares to wired. And to my taste, analogue. But significant strides in digital coding and high end DACS have again made the convenience (although quite co$$$$$$tly) and hiss/scratch free sound a fine alternative.
#3 Kenneth Berv on 2022-02-23 14:51 (Reply)
Did some "surround sound" (we called it quadrophonic) back in the day. But who sits in the middle of the orchestra to listen to a concert?

After doing a simple cost-benefit analysis, I'll stick with wired. And woe betide any decorator darkening my door who says otherwise.
#4 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2022-02-23 15:08 (Reply)
The Bassoonist
#4.1 Antisocial Media on 2022-02-24 09:00 (Reply)
Well played. And he's paid for the privilege. But not enough for me to take up the bassoon.
#4.1.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2022-02-24 09:38 (Reply)
Hah.
#4.1.2 Aggie on 2022-02-24 10:00 (Reply)
I am usually agnostic about this kind of thing. My hearing is no longer great and music is music. But, we went to one of the weekly dances here in our retirement comm unity and the band just wasn't doing it for me. One of the singers walked out on the floor with what looked like a tablet and was apparently playing around with the speakers and the mix using this device. Still wasn't doing it for me. During their first break the keyboard guy came out on the floor with the device and played around with it and when the band came back the difference was incredible. It was like a different band, their voices, the instruments, the quality, everything was 100% better. Same speakers, same system, just needed balancing and tuning. There is more to this then wired or wireless or speakers or surround sound. Just saying.

P.S. Almost forgot this. I was at my aunts place, different retirement resort same city, and she had new speakers connected wirelessly to her Apple tablet. She had to go through a procedure where she walked the entire house and in each room she had to face each wall and move the tablet up and down slowly and the system automatically balanced itself. She has a little park model place and the sound is awesome.

P.P.S. Me, when I want to play music from my laptop and the sound or quality isn't good enough I "cast" it to my TV. Probably not good enough for you audiophiles out there but a big improvement over the laptop speakers. A plus is I can put the laptop into displaying pictures or something and watch that while listening to Vivaldi
#5 OneGuy on 2022-02-23 15:57 (Reply)
Surround sound adds to the movie experience, maybe not so much to the musical experience. Having off screen sounds sound like they are actually coming from off screen definitely helps you feel more immersed in the action. You can feel like you are, for example, in the middle of a thunderstorm, not just looking at a thunderstorm from the outside.
#6 RJP on 2022-02-23 16:13 (Reply)
Surround sound is for action movies, not music. The exception I have heard is a recording of the "Ode to Joy" finale of Beethoven's Ninth recorded with an anthropomorphic rig (one of those deals where the microphones are mounted inside what looks like a wig stand) placed between the orchestra and the chorus. Close your eyes and you were between the sopranos and the percussion.

Yes wired speakers are better, but don't get hung up on high-end speaker cables. The oxygen-free copper, linearly polarized, laminar flow, hydrostatic, holographic, hydro-matic stuff at 12 bucks a foot isn't going to provide any better performance than the lamp cord from the hardware store.
#7 Another Guy named Dan on 2022-02-24 07:18 (Reply)
Then again, $20 headphones beat them all.
#8 Roy Lofquist (Link) on 2022-02-24 10:23 (Reply)
40 plus years of shooting the idea of hearing a difference between wired and Bluetooth….amuses me
#9 DblTap on 2022-02-24 13:00 (Reply)

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