Customer Reviews

Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-001 Water-Resistant Wireless Speakers with Remote

5 star:		(182)
4 star:		(126)
3 star:		(37)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

I bought these wireless outdoor speakers for a Mothers Day gift for my wife and I have found them to be either very good or very bad, depending on a few critical factors. Of the 150+ reviews I wish someone had taken the time to figure out the "bad" factors - it would have saved my Mothers Day. Here it is for your information - you decide.

The Good:

For the price (under $100) the reproduced sound quality of the speakers is very good. The technical details from Amazon are a bit misleading, though. The speaker has a SINGLE, 3 inch rubberized element housed inside the weatherproof enclosure, projecting the sound upward. There is a venturi sound dispersal structure which sends the sound out the sides and top. There is also a low frequency sound tunnel similar to those used in some high end sound systems (you know the ones, very expensive, four letter name beginning with B and rhyming with "nose.") At 900mhz, the distance is limited. In my ordinary stucco-and-wood two story house, it is about 25-30 feet. By taking the transmitter outside the house the range increased by 3x to 60-75 feet. While the speakers are not truly stereo (they blend the right and left channels into a single mono channel) the sound effect when you're within earshot of both speakers is quite good. With a high quality sound source like an Ipod, the full range of sound can be heard. When I thought some music sounded "tinny" I ultimately traced it back to source; the source music was the cause. The transmitter is quite forgiving about the input sound level. The printed instruction booklet that comes with the speakers gives good advice (set earpiece volume on source device at two thirds full). The speaker enclosure is well thought out, has two simple mounting eyelets on the back where the surface is flat. No mounting screws are included; you'll need to provide those yourself if you want to mount on a wall. There are low-profile four rubberized feet on the bottom in case you want to set it on a delicate surface. The brand name (Audio Unlimited) appears as a small discreet logo on the front of the speaker. The transmitter has two transmission channels selected by a switch on the transmitter itself. Tuning between the two offered channels is a snap, just press the button on each speaker and it automatically finds the signal. There is a reassuring blue LED on the front of the speaker to let you know it is active at full power. Using the remote's Power button puts the speaker in Standby and the LED turns to yellow. To fully power off the speaker you must press the power button on each speaker. The Infrared remote emits a strong enough signal to work in direct sunlight and the infrared sensor on each speaker is a 2 inch oval vrtical window on the front. It works well from just about any angle. Each speaker comes with its own AC power adapter capable of 110-240v input. when loaded with its six C-cell batteries the weight of each speaker is hefty enough to withstand wind gusts or the occasional bump, when not fix-mounted, without toppling over.

The Bad

Each speaker requires 6 (six) C-size 1.5v batteries, not included. The remote needs two AAA batteries (again, NOT included.) If you haven't bought the C-size battery lately and you're accustomed to AA and AAA prices, get ready for a shock. The price for twelve good quality alkaline batteries is between 12 and 26 dollars, depending on brand. I bought Ray-O-Vac at $12. Duracell copper top were $26. I had planned to use rechargeable niMh, but at $14 for TWO batteries (you can find twelve on the internet for about $60), I decided to wait to see if I liked the speakers. I do not know if the speakers will actually work on rechargeable - something to check out before you buy those expensive batteries. Rechargeables are only 1.2volt (versus the 1.5v of regular batteries). Batteries last for approximately 16 hours of continuous use.

NOW HERE IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART:

If you are surrounded by lots of wireless technology already - wireless telephones, wireless internet, wireless security, wireless garage door openers, wireless mailbox sensors, wireless garage door sensors, wireless iPod headphones, bluetooth headsets, bluetooth printers, keyboards, mouse... THESE SPEAKERS ARE NOT FOR YOU.

I'm a fairly geeky guy who loves his gadgets, and I reasoned that most of my devices operate at or above 2.5ghz and wouldn't interfere. I was WRONG! by process of elimination I figured out that you need to get up abouve 5ghz to be safe from interference with this device. Remember this is an analog device that translates signals into sounds. Our ears are remarkably sensitive to any interference. And the digital kind of interference doesn't come across the speakers the gentle hiss of background static; it comes across as sharply (loud) punctuated squeals, cracks and pops. I live on a golf course, and by taking the transmitter and speaker out onto the middle of the fairway behind my house (with a long extension cord for the transmitter) I was able to eliminate all interference. But as soon as I went back near the house, the transmitter needed to be 4-5 feet away from the speakers to eliminate most of the digital wireless interference (it never truly went away unless I was on the fairway, well removed from any human digital wireless technology).

Summary

If you live in a relatively wireless-free world, or all your other wireless devices operate above 5ghz, these are great value for the money - watch the batteries, the cost can quickly overrun what you paid for the speakers.

I bought these wireless speakers with some trepidation, and I love them! The sound is good, they work at the advertised distance, and they look cool! I've tried many other wireless speakers, and all the annoying hisses and drops got to me and I returned every one.

This one's a keeper - even at 900MHz frequency, there's no perceptible interference from other devices, and the sound remained remarkably steady as I moved the speakers from room to room.

On the flip side, a few pet peeves:

- With individual volume controls on each speaker, it's hard to tell if you've got the balance right (this may be moot - see below)

- The transmitter needs plug-in power, not batteries, thus making it less than portable

- The Saitek speakers had one neat feature - the ability to control Windows Media Player functions (pause, skip, etc.) from the speakers and the remote. This is more useful than you can imagine!

Also, I discovered one dirty little secret - that there's no Left and Right channel with these speakers. In other works, sound is not in stereo! This is a bummer (-1 star).

Other than these issues, I think this one's a winner.

I purchased these speakers for my screened-in porch, and planned to mount them high on the wall. My thinking was that I could use the remote to turn them on/off. But when you turn them off (on battery power), they stay on standby for about 10 minutes, and then shut off completely - meaning that they don't respond to the remote. This means that I then have to get up on a stool and press the power button manually for each spearker... which isn't a very good system.

Sound quality is good though - just disappointed about the remote functionality.

If you don't need to be able to turn them on/off remotely, these are good speakers.

We use our Macbook in our Kitchen for all our music. We have many playlists including radio stations and programs such as NPR. The problem is that the little computer speakers just don't cut it. Especially, if we want to host parties and/or use it outside on our large deck.

I figured I'd just go to Best Buy/Circuit City and purchase some wireless speakers, but CC said they don't carry any instore (only on their website), and the ones at BB were not very attractive. They either looked like tiny computer speakers or were huge and bulky.

This set from Amazon looked attractive and the reviews seemed positive enough I figured I'd give it a try. When they showed up the other night, I was very pleased. Setup was literally as easy as just plugging things in. Plug the base station into a power outlet, then the other cable into the headphone jack on the laptop (it also includes RCA type jacks to plug into a home theater receiver). Then plug the speakers into a power outlet (or put several batteries into each speaker). Then just power on. There are holes on the back of the speakers to mount to a wall (haven't done this yet).

The speakers have a very nice sound, and decent volume. We hosted a Christmas party and had the music up very loud on several occasions and the sound was very good. We never had static once.

My parents have a set of wireless speakers they purchased a couple of years ago and they constantly have static and have to fine-tune each speaker frequently to filter out the static. Not so with these. The technical specs mention they lock onto the signal and adjust as necessary, and this appears to work fantastic.

Some of the other reviews have been disatisfied with the remote. I haven't used the remote though, so I can't comment there. We adjust the volume by using the remote that came with our Macbook laptop.

Excellent product, great price.

I bought these for my screened in porch which is just off of my computer room. I wanted a system that could send all my audio (pc video & audio, my music library & tv audio, the monitor is a 32' HDTV) to the porch. This system works great with no interference. Simply plug the transmitter to your audio source, set up the speakers (battery or 110)and go, no wires. I listen to music or I can have the ball game on the TV & listen outside without the sound inside, even watch pc video the same way.
But 2 problems keep this from a better rating. 1st & foremost the sound, not stereo & NO bass. For music listening this is not good. If I simply keep them at low volume just for backround, they're not too bad, & they are fine for most TV. But if I was having a party, I would open the window where the computer is & keep the pc speakers with sub up to a fairly high level to throw some bass our way. 2nd problem is the remote not turning on & off the speakers. I have mine plugged to a wall outlet to not throw money away on batteries, great option. But it is up high on the wall & we have to reach up over things to turn them on each time. These 2 problems are mentioned in almost every review, but they are CONS!
In all, depending on your uses, these are not too bad if your main concern is WIRELESS! I like that I can buy a single speaker to add to the system. I will probably put one under the porch on the deck.

I bought these speakers about 6 months ago and am extremely pleased with them. They are my 5th set of wireless speakers for my home. We live in a house constructed from concrete block, so running speaker wire is a big problem, even attaching cable covers to wires.

All the previous wireless speakers we tried gave weak or poor sound or stopped working shortly after installation. I love my Sirius satellite radio - have it in the car, on-line at the office and at home. The speakers are simply plugged in to the headphone output on the PC (too lazy to move the unit and plug them into the back speaker output).

In desperation, I finally decided to spend a little more (gulp) on these speakers - I can say they are totally worth the money. I have them in our kitchen which opens onto a covered porch (lanai). One speaker points into the kitchen, the other points to the porch. They have been working flawlessly for about 6 months (except the remote, which I am getting to), even with the one outside exposed a to very warm (>100 degrees) and humid environment.

Considering that we have to replace our stainless steel trashcan every 8 months or so due to rust, and scrub our flatware about as often, the fact that these speakers can stand up to humidity over the long FL summer speaks highly of the engineering of these speakers.

Now, the remote. Worked great for one day. <sigh>. Now I can't change the volume from the remote. Nothing happens. Changed batteries, turned system on and off, etc, all the ususal tech things. Nothing.

Haven't contacted the company, because I decided I didn't care enought to take the time. There may be a simple solution or the company may be willing to replace a non-working remote. Right now, I don't mind walking over to the speakers and manually adjusting the volumes.

4 stars is because of my remote problem. As I said, the company may be responsive to this problem, but I haven't given them the chance to show their support.

Addendum:
Boy, do I feel stupid. After writing this review, I picked up the remote to prove to myself that the remote doesn't work. Ooops! Now the remote does work, all of a sudden, months after it stopped working. I swear, I have witnesses to the remote not working to change the volume!

So, WTF?

I have also emailed the tech support and cables unlimited to inquire about my mysterious remote.

Samantha McCormick
Cape Coral, FL

I wanted some speakers for my pool deck without running wires. I researched many different brands and modelsof wireless speakers. Many didnt seem like they would have the range I needed. I took a chance on these and got what I was looking for. I have the receiver located in my basement and the signal comes in loud and clear by my pool a good 100ft. With great sound and awsome looks I am glad I chose these speakers.

We got these to replace an Acoustic Research indoor/outdoor wireless speaker that suddenly refused to turn on, and we wish we'd bought them sooner! We use them primarily to listen to MLB Gameday Audio. The transmitter plugs into the headphone jack on the computer and sends the signal to the two speakers (which are across the house from the computer). The sound quality is really good, and having two speakers allows us to put them in separate rooms so we can hear the ball game throughout the house.

The remote control is a nice feature, although you cannot turn the speakers on with it, but it's nice to be able to control the volume from across the room.

These cost about the same as our old speaker, and the quality is far superior (not to mention this set gave us two speakers, while our old one was a single speaker). In short, they look sleek, sound great, and turn off and on easily (a constant problem with our old speaker). They were a great purchase for a good price. I really recommend them.

We bought two sets of these speakers for a party we were having. The worked great. They don't handle too much bass, but what do expect for there size. Also each speaker's volume is controlled separate, which is nice especially if you want different areas at various ranges. Overall a great purchase.

I ordered a set of wireless speaker to use with my lap top. It consisted of two speakers and a transmitter, which is plugged in the computer and the wall outlet. Couldn't be simpler to set up. The speakers work on 6 c batteries or wall outlet. The batteries last from 6-8 hrs. I plugged them all into the outlet except for one. Oh, I forgot to mention, I was so happy with the speakers that I ordered a second pair which I connected to my stereo. Of course I only use one at a time. Either can be used with all 4 speakers.