Unboxing of Polk Audio f/x Wireless Surround (A 25 day review)
Day Nine
01/13/11
RMA requested. Unfortunately, at the end of the day the Cons won over the Pros. I'll be going back to a wired setup and concealing the wires under the area rug for now. Not being able to take advantage of my Audyssey settings on my Denon was a major drawback. Low volume performance was very bad. Strange test noise patterns also proved to be very distracting. Popping and cracking didn't help either.
BUT, when it was working it created a great surround environment. Really felt like i had 4 speakers back there. I'll be moving towards the Polk Audio Blackstones TL2 models with some Sanus stands. I'm saving some money and will get consistent performance. And i'll be able to run my Audyssey setup once again.
If you have any questions or want to know more information feel free to contact me or comment on this post.
Day Eight
01/12/11
Polk Audio f/x Wireless Surround has been repacked and is ready to be shipped back.
Day Seven
01/11/11
Verizon has the iPhone. I still have constant disconnects and strange noises coming out of the f/x wireless surround. Already on the hunt for my replacement speakers. Luckily for Polk Audio i still love their speakers. I know the wireless world of speakers has yet to be solved but unfortunately it hasn't happened yet. I'm thinking of going for the Polk FXi A4 with some speaker stands. Will keep you posted.
Day Six
01/10/11
I've reached the conclusion that i should start looking for another alternative. I'm about to just install speakers on the ceiling and run the wires to them. It's really the only reliable thing to do. Let's see how it goes.
Day Five
01/09/11
Same update really. The ease of installation is the only thing that is keeping me with this thing.
Performs great at high volumes.
Day Four
01/08/11
f/x wireless surround keeps cracking and popping. strange digital sounds occur every now and then. seems like a self-test mechanism. Forget about using this in low volume.. it's just not reliable. The receiver needs to be set at about -30dB in order for things to be operating normally. At least for Gran Turismo 5 this is a bit loud for an apartment.
but again i must say, when it's working, it works great. feels like 7.1 surround for sure.
but the crackle pop is driving me crazy.
Day Three
01/07/11
Things are getting better between me and my f/x wireless surround.
I've moved her back to the rear wall about 10' from the main listening position. Still tweaking the channel levels and also hit a stump figuring out what channel frequency should be the setting for the f/x.
The disconnects have been much less frequent and the unit successfuly resyncs when my home entertainment is turned on. The device is somewhat "smart" as to knowing when to turn on. Although, one caveat is when the devices turns off and turns on again and syncs, it makes a very unpleasant static noise that can startle the usual relaxing person on a couch. or a cat even.
Any suggestions on crossover frequency for this bad boy feel free to share. Gonna do some searching now.
Enjoying a nice surround of The Hurt Locker. Gran Turismo 5 sounds nice too.
Day Two
01/06/11
I was able to keep communication between the two devices for quite some time. I'm beginning to notice the receiver needs to be pumping some serious power for everything to kick in and work properly. My current settings are not allowing me to use MultiEQ, for example, utlizing the Evening and Midnight filters that would really keep the sound pumping while not being so loud. Now i must simply lower the receiver volume (power) and things start disconnecting with the f/x loudspeaker. I was able to bring back the two devices from sleep and sync when i pump up the volume.
I have not tried relocating the unit. Will try that over the weekend.
We were gaming for a few hours and the f/x surround briefly disconnects creating a very harsh static sound at double the decibels. It is quite scary when you are just concentrated on the tv to be startled by a LOUD STATIC NOISE during the gameplay.
Will continue to test and calibrate. Hope it can become more consistent with good sound.
Day One
01/05/11: Unboxing first thoughts:
The unit is larger than what i expected, but in a good way. The size makes it feel just about right to pump out the necessary audio. It also has a good weight to it. Large rubber feet should damper the vibrations nicely, and take care of the wood floors. It's ready for 7.1 surround. Can't wait to connect this sucker up tonight.
01/05/11: Setup day
Setup was rather easy. I have a Denon - AVR3310CI so it is able to handle 7.1. The wireless receiver feels light and wimpy. The speaker connectors could feel better. Right now they feel like cheap speaker connectors. The power is awkwardly a serial port style connector. Similar to some external hard drives i've used. The scan button on top feels good ( a little more on this later ). 4 speaker wires later. Connect the SBL SBR SSL SSR. Connect power. Device is ready for loudspeaker (F/X Wireless Sound).
It doesn't get any easier than setting up the actual loudspeaker. The four large rubber legs allow for secure placement. The unit is heavy. The 5" woofer on the bottom lacks any protection so be careful when you grab the loudspeaker to move it or, as was in my case, while trying to press the scan button on the loudspeaker. The power cable on the loudspeaker leaves a bit to be desired also. It's similar to an IBM laptop where you have the normal power cable to a transformer box, then from that box and thinner cable that goes to the loudspeaker. It's going to take a bit of creative solutions to hide this transformer box.
I'm was disappointed to read that Polk Audio advises not to use any Auto setup solutions, for example, Audyssey on my Denon. It negates many of the feature i grew to love like MultiEQ and Dynamic Volume. But it's day one and i'm still testing.
Tweaking. Tweaking. Measure. Tweak. Test. Test. Repeat. It's gonna take some time but it should work pretty good. So long as it keeps in sync that is.
Things are going smoothly after some manual calibration. When it works it works great. I have found that in the 3 hours i was using it, the devices would lose their wireless connection and i had to sit there and press the SCAN button over and over. At times having to turn off and resync the two devices.
Some slight popping and weird digital bzzz sounds are heard throughout. Right now the loudspeaker is situated about 3 feet behind me on the floor, without a couch.
When i shut down my home entertainment equipment the devices stay in sync (blue light is on).. after 5 minutes or so the devices shut down and (red light is on). I would assume the devices would resync in the morning. Nope. I turned on the usual stuff and the wireless devices did not "wake up" and sync. I'm assuming i have to SCAN again. If this is the case after further testing, it may be one major con on the list.
Call of Duty: Black Ops sounded nice. Somewhat dry and poppy. Too many highs. Still need to keep tweaking.
GranTurismo 5 PS3 running Multi-Ch In 7.1 sounded nice too. Somewhat overwhelming. Still tweaking.
Comcast HD sounded pretty good. Better than what i had before. 5.1 small rears.
01/05/11: Conclusion
Overall i think not having the couch to buffer the sound is hurting. I'm going to try 10 feet back against the rear wall and see how that feels. It may be too loud for me to appreciate the fronts. It's a bit overpowering right now.
Pros:
Easy installation.
When it's in sync and loud, it works great.
Cons:
Cheap feel of the wireless receiver.
Cheap speaker wire connectors. (wireless receiver)
Outdated power supply. (wireless receiver)
Big transformer block on loudspeaker power cable hard to hide.
Not working well yet with low volume levels.
Disconnects between receiver and loudspeaker.
Strange digital sounds, and crackle pop sounds occasionally.
No USB for any firmware updates. -
So far it seems the Cons are outweighing the Pros. I am going to keep trying it and even consult Polk Audio in about 1 week after further testing and tweaking. I want to make sure i try my best to make it work before returning it. Like i said, when it's working right it feels like i'm in the middle of the environment i'm in. It's immersive. But if it's going to lose connection, make crackle pops off +3dB, require manual scanning, unreliable surround. It may not all be worth it at the end.
