($350-$370 single bulb with transmitter; additional bulbs $250, musiclites.com)
($299 single bulb with transmitter; additional bulbs $129, soundoflights.com)
($299.99/pair of bulbs with base station; additional bulbs $99.99 giinii.com)
When Sound+Vision looked at Klipsch's LightSpeakers in the summer of 2010, we'd hardly have guessed such devices were more than novelties. Looks like we were wrong.
The Klipsch model had won an Innovations award at that year's CES, but even that hadn't convinced us of its staying power — and since then, the Klipsch incarnation of the LightSpeaker has been discontinued; a similar Altec Lansing Sound Bulb line went missing out of the gate. But over the past year and half, the lamp/speaker hybrid product category has exploded, with several competing systems now on the market. (By the way, if you're looking for a deal and don't feel you have to be particularly up to date, you can find the Klipsch units being closed out by High Fidelity Wireless.)
So have no fear — if you've been hoping to repurpose your ceiling receptacles as speaker cabinets you're still in luck, and if you'd been hoping to press your standing lamps into service, the situation is better than ever. The lamp/speaker combos available today are simple to use (well, at least as simple as any wireless devices without displays can be, but so long as you're able to wait for a blinking LED to stabilize, you'll be fine — all three of the units here can be set up for basic operation without so much as a glance at the manual).
First things first — these combo units aren't going to get you anything close to "room filling" sound on their own, and frankly, you can probably get better audio for less money from a whole lot of Bluetooth speakers, iOS docks, and powered speaker pairs these days. These combo units do, however, let you fill in the gaps in your listening environment, providing access to casual listening in spaces (perhaps by the kitchen sink, or in a bathroom) where you might already have a light source, but would otherwise be unable or reluctant to install a freestanding audio device, even a wireless one.
MusicLites, by Osram Sylvania (in-wall/surround/low-profile speaker specialists Artison provide the audio component of the combo) are the most feature-rich of the bunch, and are the most clearly intended for the kind of whole-house audio duties custom installers would otherwise take care of.
At $350 for the most basic install (each MusicLite light/speaker unit costs $250, transmitter not included — USB and Toslink/1/8-inch input versions are $100; an iOS dongle runs $120), and with matching trim rings available for recessed outlets from 4 to 6 inches in diameter, the MusicLites aren't cheap, but if you're looking for maximum flexibility from your light/speaker combo units, this system is probably your best bet. You'll be able to make use of just about any audio source, and you can configure your system in a dizzying variety of ways.
A 20-watt class D amp provides power to a 2 and 3/4 inch driver; Waves' MaxxBass algorithm adds some psychoacoustic ballast to the low end (the company claims "perceived" low-frequency response extends on down to 50 Hz, though I'm not sure I heard very much going on down there).
The device's strength (and where it most closely adheres to the notion of these things as custom-install substitutes) is in the ease with which you can set up complex multi-room and multi-zone setups. Each transmitter can be configured to broadcast to up to 5 zones, which can include up to 12 MusicLites each. Within the zones, individual MusicLites can be set to playback as left channels, right channels, or left+right (the setting is made via a small toggle on each unit). The remote control can adjust audio levels and lighting dimmer levels independently for each zone.
If that's not enough for you, each transmitter and bulb can be set up to operate using any one of 10 available "house codes" — basically independent networks. Within each house code you can operate three transmitters, so you should be able to build as convoluted a network as you desire, (MusicLites advises, however, that you'll probably start to run into interference issues in the 2.4 GHz band if you use more than three such networks of any size within a typical home.)
Configuration is accomplished via a small pot on each device, adjustable with a jeweler's screwdriver. Dead simple, really. The remote (provided with the transmitter) offers easy switching between source devices and zones and control of volume within them.
Within limits, the MusicLite sounds acceptable. I got to hear a single unit demoed in a quiet environment, and the sound is comparable to what you might get from a clock radio — there's no mistaking this for a dedicated audio solution, but given the convenience they're certainly good enough for casual listening, especially given the placement flexibility. If you're looking to put together a complex multiroom system that doesn't involve any architectural work, the MusicLites do have an impressively deep multizone implementation, but while it might make sense to outfit a few difficult rooms, the overall cost of a large setup composed entirely of MusicLites might have you thinking again about fishing cables through your walls.
Based around Texas Instruments' PurePath Wireless Audio chip, the Sound of Light "lamp speaker" deviates somewhat from the dominant paradigm. Rather than being an integrated LED/powered speaker designed to fit a screw-in Edison socket, it's a lamp base (complete with harp to hold a lampshade) with a socket — you supply the bulb of your choice (I threw in an LED model, but if your tastes run towards the incandescent, this is really your only choice in the light speaker arena). Also, this opens up some atmospheric possibilities — colored bulbs, a private disco — that'd be a little difficult with the other alternatives.
Each unit include a 25-watt Class D amp coupled with a 3-inch driver that fires upward towards the bulb (downward, of course, if this were to be in a ceiling or pendant lamp setup). This all makes for a bulkier "bulb" assembly than the MusicLite, but then again it costs only half as much per speaker/lamp unit. A starter package (including a single lamp speaker, a transmitter, remote, and attendant cables) costs $299; additional lamp speaker units cost $129 each).
The SoL transmitter base station supports up to four speakers, and includes a subwoofer output, a nice touch if you want a slightly more fulfilling music-listening system or you're looking to build a 2.1 home theater arrangement around a pair of lamps placed tastefully to either side of your TV. Sound of Light offers fairly simple configuration options — if you purchase multiple bulbs, they can be grouped into two zones per base station, with independent adjustment over volume and light intensity in each readily accessible via the base station and the included remote. Multiple sources aren't supported, the zones are volume only — the base station sports two stereo pairs of inputs (1/8-inch and RCA), but only one can be active at a time. As with the other systems, additional bulbs can be configured as left channel, right channel, or left+right.
Setup is dead simple. I mounted a test unit in a standing lamp (the harp was a bit large for placement in a recessed ceiling receptacle). As with the other light speakers, sonics were, if not strictly hi-fi, certainly acceptable given the format; the SoL unit benefits somewhat from the larger housing and driver.
Interestingly, there's a tone control onboard, though it's meant, says the company, to adjust for varying lampshade material density, should you be distributing your bulbs among unmatched lamps. Probably a good idea, though with a single bulb onhand I wasn't able to judge the effectiveness of the treble cut in matching tone among multiple units.
GiiNii, (probably best known as a purveyor of digital picture frames, though they were also showing an interesting little Bluetooth speaker, the BluCan, at CES this year) have been licensing their Audio Light techology for a while, but this year they've come to market with their own retail version, the AudioBulb. Each Bulb sports a 10-watt amp, driving a 2-and-1/4-inch driver.The system supports up to 8 Bulbs, which can be configured in two zones (which can be defined as either mono or stereo).
On a per-bulb basis, the GiiNii is certainly the most affordable of the current crop of combo units, coming in at a tidy $30 less than the Sound of Light units.
The AudioBulb's transmitter base is notable in that it's primarily designed as an iPod/iPhone dock, (an iPad won't fit), though an auxiliary 1/8-inch jack is also provided should you feel like hooking up some other device) The GiiNii system is clearly meant to be a whole lot more consumer-friendly that the competition, and the focus on everybody's favorite media player and constant companion makes sense in light of that. A remote control lets you manage things without remaining tied to the base station, though you'll have to leave your iDevice parked in the dock.
The form factor of the AudioBulb itself is a little odd for placement outside of recessed receptacles (the LEDs are placed, surrounding the driver, on the business end of the device), though the company was showing off their product in standing lamps in Vegas, and each bulb ships with a harp and a lamp reflector shield, which mitigates the directionality a bit.
It's tough to make a selection based purely on audio quality here — unless you deploy a good number of these units, you're not going to be getting serious fidelity out of any lamp/speaker combo. But if you're committed to wiring your lamps for sound, you'll want to think about your needs and desires, since similar as these products may be, they do vary somewhat. The Sound of Light might make the most sense if you want the device that plays the loudest and gives you the widest range of actual illumination options. The AudioBulb is clearly the most affordable, and the MusicLites system — though pricey by comparison — is by far the most flexible. Should you want to explore multiroom or multizone audio (or if you're just the kind of person who wants to hide your speakers away), you might want to give these things a listen. And a look, of course.
What surprises me here is the lack of understanding of the technology involved with the deployment of these systems. All of these system involve multi-source, multi-zone configurations, they control both sound and light. Second they are intended for uses where you don't want to look at a bunch of boxy, clunky speakers cluttering up the kitchen, the bathroom, the patio, the family room, the den, the dining room. If you don't understand that ask either your wife or your interior designer you will likely find they have an opinion you haven't expressed here. They are intended for hidden use (try hiding those powered speakers you're talking about and see how they sound) and they do this better than virtually any other product on the market and certainly for the price.
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Challenging the concept based upon the bass output makes as much sense as putting 10 inch driver into your computer; bass is easy to get and some of these companies solutions already provide it. They provide it with the same ease as they do the rest of the system. Name any other hidden system that can be deployed in your home or business that can be completed in one hour or less (four room, two zones, two sources). Not only that but installing it won't inconvenience the homeowner for a week, you won't have 2 people you've never met before walking around in every room of your house, there won't be any dust, no one will accidentally drill or cut into a gas line, and there won't be any touch-up painting to do. Also I'd recommend you test those blue tooth systems first to see if the signal going to get to your speakers (oh yeah, and blue tooth is always sent compressed),
As to what you can get from these system consider that each wireless link provides for pure digital CD quality sound to each speaker, that cannot be done through any normal (affordable) wire that you would run to any in-wall or in-ceiling speaker (it's physically impossible there's too much resistance in the wire, and you can say this doubly if you use 4 ohm or less speakers).
Additionally rather than the one or two bands of control over the usual box speaker frequency, all of these technologies use DSP to control the driver frequency response which means that they can control up to 20 bands making accurate sound a much higher possibility. And certainly squeezing more from a 3 in driver than any conventional speaker builder could possibly do.
Challenging the price as too high seems naive as well, since any one of these systems can provide a minimum of 2 zones and 2 sources to 4 (or many more) rooms of audio (plus you get inexpensive light as well but forget that for now). They can give this distribution and control, with subwoofers, for less than $5000 for an entire home. Ask any installer to retrofit a home for with this type of control and see what the cost will be ($10,000? ...$15,000?)
I have personally demonstrated these "fully deployed" systems to literally hundreds of average homeowners and I can assure you that they believe the sound is far, far better than just "adequate". In fact to this date I have not had a single person who was not impressed or more appropriately "blown away" by the demonstration. I would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate such a system to you (16 LightSpeakers, 4 SubWoofers, and 2 AudioRocks), the editors of this magazine; I absolutely believe you will be impressed, and find it far beyond "adequate".
Sincerely,
Ed Haase
Ed,
Thanks for the response. I've actually agreed with you in many ways throughout much of this piece, and did identify these (in particular the MusicLites) as being of interest to those wanting a multiroom/multizone experience without having to do extensive architectural work, and for those who don't want to look at speakers. You're right — there's no other hidden system that can be installed as quickly, and traditional custom installs can be a huge pain to both installers and customers, but there are some caveats.
First, I suppose my comments are based on the fact that these systems are nowadays being pitched directly to consumers as single bulb, two-channel, and 2.1 systems. In those cases, they don't — to my ear — provide the same bang for the buck as dedicated audio devices. I can imagine a very large-scale MusicLites installation of the sort you mention being quite useful, especially supported with subs and additional hidden speaker placements.
I still think the price starts to get high enough with a large system that somebody might be tempted to think about alternatives — either going with a dedicated wireless audio system, be it Sonos, or an AirPlay setup, or AirPort Expresses driving powered speakers, etcetera, and addressing the lighting issues some other way.
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I'm curious, though — how (since I assume you're installing these regularly) are you controlling and distributing sources throughout the system? Also, what subs are you using alongside and how are you managing those wireless connections? How are you integrating these into a larger wireless system with other products? I'm genuinely interested to know.
So far as I can tell the transmitters supplied with these systems are pretty bare bones so far as number of supplied inputs, and provide no simple way to manage a complex system with multiple inputs, say via an iOS/Android app that could allow access from anywhere. It seems like there would be additional costs associated with distro and control above and beyond the initial system cost.
When I'm thinking of alternatives, I'm just saying that these exist in an expanding world of wireless products these days, some of which offer very nice controller options, from Sonos to the various AirPlay implementations, to a whole host of wireless digital media receivers.
Thanks again for reading.