The Acoustic Research AW-871 wireless speaker set has an established reputation for providing quality sound at a reasonable price. These speakers are manufactured by Audiovox, one of the pioneers of the wireless electronics industry. This speaker system operates in the 900MHZ spectrum and is rated for a maximum 300 foot range from transmitter to speakers. There are 20 watts of power total in this set with each speaker operating at 10 watts, which is solid power for the average wireless speaker system on the market.
The main reason most people are looking into a wireless speaker system is so that they can place the speakers anywhere they’d like without unsightly cables. The AW-871 speakers comply with this goal by allowing you to power the speakers either with a standard AC adapter plug, or you an operate the speakers with 8 C-cell batteries in each speaker. The speakers also feature their own built-in power, volume, tuning, and balance switch so that you can make adjustments to your listening experience wherever you have the speaker located.
Flexibility is a major feature with the Acoustic Research AW-871 wireless speakers. You can easily use the speakers as the rear speakers in a standard 5.1 surround sound system. Each speaker also has a left, right, or mono setting on the speaker to allow you to define the function the speaker serves in your sound system. If you set the speakers on “mono” you can place each one in a separate room to extend your sound throughout the house. Since the speakers can be battery powered you can carry them with you throughout your home or they do have the capability of being wall mounted as well.
Each speaker features a 4″ woofer and 1″ tweeter and sound quality with these speakers is very good especially considering their price level. The AW-871 system seldom experiences issues with static interference but there are three channel settings you can select from in case you have other 900 MHZ devices in your home causing interference. The auto-tuning and RF Noise Reduction System feature of the speakers also ensures solid sound quality. The speakers are small which is nice, but this will of course cause occasional distortion in the bass or loss of high tones depending on the type of music you are listening to and the volume level of the audio source.
One of the nicest features with these wireless speakers is that they will actually recharge rechargeable batteries when they are plugged in. This means if you have rechargeable C cell batteries in the speaker and you plug it in for a little while it will charge the batteries for you without you going through the hassle of removing the batteries each time you want to charge them.
Setup is very easy and the transmitter provides a standard “headphone style” 3.5mm jack and a Y cable for you to connect it to your iPod, home stereo, or any audio device that provides a 3.5mm audio out or RCA connections.