Audyssey Desktop Wireless Speakers Review
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Here they are, Audyssey's latest Bluetooth enabled desktop speakers. They're white, wireless and unmistakably called the Wireless Speakers. We can literally end the review right here. Other than that really, they're identical to the wired black models we've reviewed earlier, Audyssey's Media Speakers. Audyssey's Wireless Speakers are just as beautiful to place next to your desktop machine, and sound just as amazing as the wired and less costly Media Speakers, which I've got to say are one of my most favorite set of desktop speakers that we have reviewed. To back that claim up, I've actually been using these for a little over a year and I couldn't be more pleased with their performance and space saving convenience. For you wireless fanatics looking to cut the cord on everything with an electric pulse, the Wireless Speakers practically sell themselves. But do you really need wireless capabilities in a set of desktop speakers?
We think not. Unless you really like the presence of their white and black persona, you shouldn't buy Audyssey's Wireless Speakers. They retail for $300 compared to the $250 price of the Media Speakers and the only difference is that these ones have Bluetooth. And why shouldn't you indulge in all this Bluetooth goodness? Well, the $50 extra in Bluetooth capability comes with two issues. The first being that the two individual speakers still need to be connected to one another using a wire and the static proximity of the speakers to your computer defeats the purpose of using a wireless pair of speakers.
Lose one wire only to gain two more
Desktop speakers aren't meant to be wireless and that's somewhat arguable and certainly comes with a personal preference, but that is why Audyssey has some incredibly powerful standalone wireless speakers like the Audio Dock and Audio Dock Air. Another cord connected straight into your desktop machine say an iMac is something that'll never bother you nor will it be in your line of sight. Nonetheless, if you're still insisting on using wireless for practically everything you've got including desktop speakers, you should know another thing.
They're not intuitive at all when it comes to pairing and switching between individual devices/audio sources. Once you pair them with an iMac for example, it's smooth sailing from there and the connection remains consistently reliable for the most part. I've tried pairing my iPhone and iPad, but I failed and gave up quickly out of frustration. Their inadequate ability to wirelessly connect with multiple device further points to the uselessness and limited ease-of-use all for the sake of cutting one cord that you probably will never notice was there regardless. In terms of sound quality and overall performance, the two desktop speakers share the same exact internal specs and hardware. The bottom line is that they equally sound and operate the same.
The pair button on the back of the main speaker unit is one huge afterthought. It's more like a cheap reset button than a pair button you would expect to find on wireless speakers. Physically, the only difference setting the Wireless Speakers apart from the Media Speakers is the addition of the Bluetooth pair button. Otherwise, both feature the capability of having a wired audio connection thru a regular 3.5mm audio cable which is included. It's worth noting that only the Media Speakers have a built-in digital optical audio input for connecting the speakers to various audio sources including your TV and DVR in order to get the cleanest digital audio.
We just don't see ourselves using the desktop Wireless Speakers with an iPad or an iPhone to play music via Bluetooth. It isn't even intuitive enough to be used with portable devices. And for that reason, why highly recommend that you go for the Media Speakers instead. That is if we were to base it off of outdated MSRP.
Like the Media Speakers, the Wireless Speakers have energetic, full sound with a surprising amount of deep bass and clarity for an all-inclusive desktop speaker duo at a very reasonable price
We're all for leaving behind messy cords for the sake of wireless freedom, but we don't think it makes much sense in this case. Looking at the retail price, we would tell you to jump on the wired Media Speakers instead. Auddysey's Wireless Speakers were overpriced when they were first introduced at $300, but fortunately the price considerably dropped since then. And now oddly enough you can find them for as little as $160 on Amazon, which is a lot cheaper than what you will pay for the Media Speakers. So price wise, yes, it does make sense to go with Audyssey's Wireless Speakers after all even if you don't use them wirelessly.
Still and because we look at the set retail price made by the manufacturer along with how it is marketed as a product, our rating reflects the product itself as wireless desktop speakers with the availability of Audyssey's Media Speakers included into the decision which is ultimately a better more sensible buy. We should also note that Audyssey hasn't lowered the price it set initially, and our recommendation is solely based off of pricing and availability made by a third party like Amazon.
