A series "Reiji Asakura's New Digital Review" is a series of audio and visual critics Reishi Asakura talk about attention equipment and genres.This time, I will introduce the wireless home theater that has been attracting a lot of attention since 2021.Why is the home theater wireless while many audio devices such as headphones and speakers are wireless?I will also explain what happened in the background that attracted attention this time.
Two reasons why home theater is difficult to spread
In 2021, two home theater products released one after another are attracting attention.One is Onkyo's "Sound Sphere".The other is "HT-A9" announced by Sony in July.
「SOUND SPHERE」 「HT-A9」In each case, the wireless home theater system that wirelessly connects to satellite speakers has been a product that has solved the disadvantages of the home theater, which is "installed and troublesome".
In the first place, why is the home theater spread, despite the fact that the product itself has appeared for a long time?There are two main reasons.One is that users who are planning to build a home theater at home are limited to so -called manias, and general users have a "sound bar".The other is that it is difficult to reach out because the installation, wiring is troublesome, and the product is expensive.
On the other hand, the evolution of the video side does not stop.Now that 4K resolution TVs have appeared and organic EL TVs are increasing their popularity, the image quality and resolution of the TV are rising to the right.However, the built -in speaker is completely inversely proportional to the evolution of the video as the TV is thinned and the installation area has decreased, and the sound is deteriorating.As the user wants to increase the satisfaction of the sound when watching TV, Onkyo's Sound Sphere appeared.
This fact has been greatly supported by Sound Sphere sales.Sound Sphere sold in crowdfunding 2.1ch (from 54,800 yen), 3.1ch (69,800 yen ~), 5.3 models of 1ch (89,800 yen or more).Initially 2 from a price perspective.I saw that the 1ch model would be the center of sales, but if you open the lid, most are 5.It is said that the 1ch model was occupied.
2.1chシステム 3.1chシステム 5.1chシステムWhat you can read from here is, "There was no appropriate product in the home theater until now, so what was appropriate was wireless."This is the market for breakpoints.
Sound Sphere, which wirelessly solves large hurdles when introducing the home theater where the installation and wiring are troublesome, are also popular.
Bluetooth, which is often used in headphones and speakers, is easy, but it is necessary to compress and transmit the sound, must be buffered when compression and thawing, and a delay of sound occurs.Lip -sink gaps are fatal to use as a home theater.That is one of the reasons why the wireless home theater has not become widespread.
Sound Sphere adopts the wireless transmission technology "WISA".The transmission of 96kHz lossless audio is realized.The WISA has the same transmission accuracy as a wired connection, and can build a playback environment that does not bother delay even if it is mixed with wired.
Wireless Home Theater without a connection that WISA is realized
In fact, WISA is not a new standard.More than 10 years ago, a Summit Semiconductor, a US semiconductor company, has been developed, and in global, more than 50 companies have already been introduced.So why did you come here and begin to attract attention?The reason is that a transmitter called "Soundsend" was released at the end of 2020.
Previously, the transmitter and the receiver needed to be completed with the same brand, and the combination of TV and active speakers with a built -in WISA function of the same brand was common.Then there is no choice but to purchase TV and speakers in one set, and there is no spread.While it was a closed wireless transmission system, Soundsend has built a system that is open to WISA speakers in an open form.
Soundsend is compatible with EARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), an audio transmission function of HDMI.It has an HDMI input, connected to a TV, receives an EARC audio signal, and sends audio signals to speakers.Many Japanese TV manufacturers are already compatible with EARC, so the compatible devices will spread at a stretch.The benefits of this are very large, and I think that the open standard is good for WISA and for television manufacturers and audio manufacturers.
The Sound Sphere, which adopted WISA quickly and attracted attention, is not the only advantage.The speaker is 171mm in height, 110mm in width, and is a compact size of 143mm in depth, but with a solid sound finish, you can enjoy a clear sound.There is no so -called donchari feeling, and the fact that it has achieved good high sound quality may also support the popularity of Sound Sphere.
This time, it was a sales method called crowdfunding, but onkyo has taken measures such as holding auditions in advance, and I think that the environment where such sounds could be heard led to the sales has led to sales.
