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Feel the music’s bass in your body. Watch sports games as if you were on the sidelines. Hear the explosions in action movies like you’re at the cinema. You can have all this without ever leaving the comfort of your home thanks to wireless surround sound systems.
New technology allows the sound quality to be better than ever, and you don’t have to drill holes in your wall or trip over wires either. So grab a tub of popcorn and read on to see how these wireless surround speakers can take your listening and viewing experience to a whole new level.
Article Overview
What Are Wireless Surround Systems?
Surround sound is having sound surround you from 360 degrees instead of just coming from in front of you in a two-dimensional plane (as is the case with two stereos, or left and right, speakers). Technically, you need at least three speakers to accomplish this. We should note, to get the true, heart-pounding sound, you’ll need a subwoofer (aka “sub”) speaker (usually sold separately) which amplifies the bass frequency that makes a huge difference.
Are These Systems Really Wireless?
The primary speaker (or “playbar”) usually connects directly to the television (and requires a power source like a plug). Then, the auxiliary speakers, additional sub-woofers, etc. connect to the system via your home’s WiFi signal and/or using Bluetooth. This allows you to place additional speakers around the room (or house) and then control via your smartphone app.
Not all speakers are truly wire-free though and require some sort of power (or connection) but they do tend to be wireless communication so there are not wires running from speaker to speaker. Regardless of wires with the hardware itself, all systems connect to your smartphone so you can control and play music via Spotify, iTunes, Amazon streaming, etc. to your speaker system and tune in to tunes throughout your home (or different music in separate rooms) wirelessly in addition to watching movies and TV.
Additional Surround Sound Terminology
Other terms to understand when shopping around for a surround sound system:
- High Fidelity Sound (or hi-fi or hifi) is an industry term to differentiate the sound quality from older audio technology. Hifi reduces noise and distortion and has an optimized frequency response between what you see on the screen and hear.
- Dolby Digital is an audio compression technology developed by Dolby Laboratories that gives a more cinematic experience.
- Dedicated To Sound (aka DTS) is the multichannel audio technology owned by DTS, Inc. a company that specializes in surround sound for both commercial and home users.
- Speaker Driver is a transducer that converts electrical energy to sound waves, so the more drivers, the more the amplification and louder your speaker sound will be.
- DSP (or digital signal processing) refers to the various techniques for improving the accuracy and reliability.
- 4K Video provides an image resolution that is so high (four times better than HD) it requires a 4K television. Still fairly new to the market and not that common (yet). Learn more in our 4K TV article.
What Is The Best Wireless Surround Sound System?
As more and more technology is shifting to wireless (PCMag even predicted this all the way back in 2007) more companies will come out with their version of a wireless home theater system or they’ll update theirs to be more competitive. However, we’ve narrowed it down to these as our top picks in our wireless surround sound reviews.
Sonos Home Theater Review
#1
We’ve chosen Sonos as the best wireless home theater system because you cannot beat the sound quality, versatility and sleek, compact design it offers. Sonos lets you customize your wireless home theater to fit your needs. Start with any Sonos “Play” speakers and build up from there.
For the traditional home theater experience, we recommend using the Playbar (shown here) as your starting point. It has excellent sound and features 5.1 hifi sound with nine amplified speakers within the one Playbar speaker.
Then you can add on a subwoofer which will fill the room with high-fidelity sound. Then add two of the Play 1 speakers to create a full surround sound effect. While the Playbar is reasonably priced, it won’t provide a true surround sound without at least two more speakers (but this is true of any soundbar from any company). So as a cost-effective solution you may want to start with the Playbar with the knowledge that you can always add on to your system as your budget allows.
One of our favorite Sonos features is the night mode that allows you to turn down the bass with one simple touch when others are trying to sleep. If you have not had a chance to listen to a Sonos system, be sure to do so — a quick listen will help you understand the reason we selected it as our winner.
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Pricing
Coupon Code
Historically it’s nearly impossible to get discounts on Sonos, we’ve looked far and wide for coupons without success.
HEOS HomeCinema Review
#2
HEOS HomeCinema gives you strong sound at a lower price and includes both the playbar and wireless subwoofer with dual 5.25 inch drivers. The HEOS app can be used to control the system or you can use the TV remote. It has music and movie modes so you can choose the best setting to listen to your audio picks.
Like Sonos, HEOS also has a night mode to make it easier for others in your home to sleep while you are playing video games in full surround sound. The major downside to this system is the inability to upgrade additional speakers throughout your home. They do offer an amp and link product, which allows you to create a multi-room speaker system experience, however, they work independently of the TV/cinema products.
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- Check Amazon for availability for Soundbar & Wireless Subwoofer
Coupon Code
There are not any active HEOS coupon codes.
Bose SoundTouch 300 Review
#3
Bose is one of the leading brand names associated with optimal sound experience. So when it comes to Bose wireless surround sound, you can expect quality. We reviewed the SoundTouch 300, one of several systems Bose offers. You can purchase the soundbar first and then add two wireless speakers later, or buy them all as one bundle.
Bose has ADAPTiQ technology which auto-calibrates the speakers to fit the unique acoustics in your room. If you are a minimalist who doesn’t want a lot of equipment cluttering up your living room or home theater, this system might not be the best fit for you, but Bose does give good quality for the price.
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Pricing
- SoundTouch 300 Soundbar:
- SoudTouch Invisible 300 Wireless Speakers (Pair):
- SoundTouch 300 Soundbar + 2 Wireless Speakers (Bundle): Check Amazon for availability
Coupon Code
We’ve looked thoroughly and there are not any Bose coupon codes or discounts to be found. The price for Bose products is consistent across all reputable websites.
Airplay Review
Many of our readers are curious to know the comparison of Sonos vs Airplay. Sonos, as you’ve read, is a type of wireless speaker system. On the flip side, Airplay allows you to stream audio/video from your iOS device to your HDTV and speakers via your Apple TV. If you do not have Apple TV or an iOS device, then you cannot use Airplay.
Video: Use Airplay With Sonos
Watch this video to learn how to configure your Sonos to use Airplay.
Which Sound Will Surround Me?
If you’re looking for a simple solution with customization and upgrade options, Sonos is the best bet. However, you’ll be looking at a hefty price tag.
If you just want to convert one TV to surround sound affordably and don’t plan to upgrade other rooms, HEOS may be the best way to go. If you want a system that has a good brand reputation, is backed by a solid warranty and you don’t mind a little more equipment, then check out Bose.
We expect to see many changes in this category so visit this article often for additions and updates. If you’re looking for something that’s a bit smaller and portable (with high-quality sound), bluetooth speakers might be a better route for you to go.
What do you think is the optimal wireless surround sound speaker setup?
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Not accurate at all . This is for folks that could care less about true surround sound . The quality of audio from any of these systems pales in comparison with truly wired THX systems and is very low end. You really need to review WISA solutions which blow everyone of these away by far for about the same or less money. WISA creates its own network and full 24bit HD surround sound and will support THX.
Even the comment about BT below proves my point. BT is fully compressed audio and is crap even if it has APTX technology its by no means the way you want to play any audio if you care about quality. For convenience its great for anything else its horrible. If your streaming garbage MP3 from your phone or low band width Spotify, Pandora etc… its fine garbage in garbage out it doesnt matter.
When I try to listen to Spotify over my Sonos speaker, and then dictate into my iPhone using Notes/Siri, it interrupts the music. Is there a way around this?
Yes! I had the same issue before Spotify and Sonos updated. I’m not sure when it was resolved, but it works now. Now I can have Spotify music running in the background and still dictate into my Notes app for syncing to my MacBook. Make sure everything is up to date and it should start working for you!
Wish i could with SONOS . but the absence of HDMI is a deal breaker.
Bose and Sonos are brands that are of the same caliber when it comes to quality, features, and price. However, these audio brands may differ when it comes to the same things too.
How is not having Bluetooth not a HUGE con for Sonos? It really limits the speakers connection options by not offering this.
I’ll tell you what I can’t stand about Sonos, it sounds good but just about every time there’s an update I have to re-add all my speakers to the system. The only one that sticks is the TV room with the sound bar. Very frustrating!
In a traditional wired speaker setup, both the soundtrack impulses and the power needed to make the loudspeaker work are passed through speaker wire connections from an amplifier. The tips you have shared this is really good, I was searching for the same information from last few days. Keep posting and keep sharing.
You still need wires/cables for the power supply of each “wireless” speaker. I studied for a while whether and how to switch from my traditional 7.1 speaker system to a wireless system. In the end I decided to stay with the traditional speakers – because new power cables had to get laid in my home = additional expense.
The other thought is/was: if I like a specific sound timbre ( like JBL ) I can always buy JBL speakers and hook them up to the existing cables. With Sonos ( or Bose ) I am tied to their sound timbre.
Nice review. I agree SONOS is a better option.
So glad to see these are wireless, now I don’t have to drill holes or create wires when upgrading my home entertainment system – which is especially appreciated by my landlord since I rent! Can’t wait to host some killer Game of Throne watching parties with one of these!