From the Desk of Len

COMMENT

FROM THE DESK OF LEN WALLIS

The Audio Visual industry is

one of the most vibrant, exciting and satisfying industries around.

It is fantastic to work in an industry that creates enjoyment through music and entertainment — there is no downside to what we do.

It is also an industry driven by buzzwords and acronyms. There is always that exciting next great thing or the latest format over the horizon. However, I suspect that, on occasion, the next great thing has more to do with the marketing department than it does with the engineering department. Despite the signifi cant advances over the decades, we also have a long history of creating demands for products that are at best no better than what came before, or at worst not as good as the ones they superseded.

The most controversial example of this is CD. Many still hold that CD never reached the performance levels of vinyl — the initial releases were undoubtedly a backward step. Inevitably CDs also came under attack in the form of the very convenient MP3. All the music in the world at your fi ngertips — but the less said about the sound quality, the better. Admittedly, this did form the foundation of streaming today, giving us both performance and convenience.

Video did not fare any better. Despite the apparent drawbacks, the picture quality of the humble cathode ray tube (CRT) television was superior to the fl atscreen sets that replaced it. In my opinion, the following formats continued this downward trend. Thankfully the current OLED technology has resulted in the highest performance screens we have seen — but it has been decades since the oldfashioned CRT was scrapped.

The current buzz-words high on everyone’s radar are ‘Wireless’ and ‘Bluetooth’! Both technologies should also be treated with a level of caution.

We are regularly approached by people building new homes who insist that they want the latest wireless technology installed. Our advice would be to think very carefully before going down this path! While there is an undeniable place for wireless technology in any new build, if the application permits a wired solution, we suggest you do so. The only real advantage of wireless over wired is the cost of implementation — yet most people would spend more on their kitchen bench than what an adequately wired cable infrastructure would cost. Remember that all capable wireless systems start with a wired background anyway, so the additional step is not that daunting.

There are numerous advantages of wired installations over wireless: They are less prone to interference, and they are more secure. Most importantly, they are faster with greater bandwidth. They are not impacted by periods of highlevel usage; i.e. in a wired situation each device is connected directly to the router and will not be affected as additional users come online (assuming that your router and switches are up to spec).

We are also approached frequently by people seeking a multi-room music system — using Bluetooth. I suspect in many cases that this is simply a misunderstanding of what Bluetooth is, and they have not delved into the format to see if it would be suitable for the application. Again, we believe that there are many valid applications for Bluetooth speakers, such as taking them to the beach or outside to the BBQ; they can also be ideal for small environments such as bedrooms. Plus, the technology is perfect for close location situations such as in your car or for use with headphones. But they do not make sense as a whole-ofhouse music system. Firstly, very few dedicated Bluetooth speakers are built for performance; they are a convenience product. More importantly, it means that your entertainment system is constantly tethered to your phone, tablet etc. and subject to interruptions when the phone rings and when the device moves out of Bluetooth range. And as good as Bluetooth is, it is not the most reliable of connections.

Many companies are producing multi-room streaming systems, using a combination of wired and wireless technologies that sit reliably on your network (and some of these incorporate Bluetooth as well). Brands such as Sonos, BlueSound, Heos and MusicCast are reliable, relatively inexpensive, simple to use, and when correctly confi gured, especially when integrated with other Hi-End brands, are capable of superb performance.

When you are building or upgrading your audio system, or even starting out with your fi rst system, try to look beyond the buzz-words of the day. If in doubt, seek advice from your local specialist.

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