Home theater systems use surround sound to try to duplicate the sound in a movie theater. Four or five speakers (or more) and a subwoofer are placed around the room so that the sound "surrounds" the listener. Speaker wire connects the receiver to the speakers, which means you have to figure out what to do with the wire. Sometimes you can drill into the ceiling or floor and pull the wire through, and sometimes you run it along the edge of the room, taping the wire down so no one trips over it. Often, people sacrifice the sound they paid for and place the speakers close to the receiver.

In order to solve the problem, several manufacturers have come up with a wireless home theater speaker system. Although there are some problems with a wireless home theater speaker system, the technology is improving and newer models perform very well. Occasionally all the speakers in the system are wireless, but more often, only the rear speakers will be wireless.

Infrared Wireless Home Theater Speaker System

You can find a wireless home theater speaker system that uses infrared technology, similar to that in remotes. Infrared speakers don't have problems with interference, but they do have to be set up with "line of sight" to the receiver, so you can't hide the speakers behind the couch.

Radio Frequency Wireless Home Theater Speaker System

Other home theater speaker system may use a radio frequency to transmit the sound. These speakers don't require line of site, but they can receive interference from cordless phones, microwaves, wireless LANs and other home appliances. A low end wireless home theater speaker system could run at 900 megahertz, and are more susceptible to interference than the higher end, 2.4-gigahertz speakers. Even the higher end wireless home theater speaker system, however, can pick up interference.

Bluetooth Home Theater Speaker System

One manufacturer is introducing a home theater speaker system using Bluetooth technology, which may eliminate the interference problems. Bluetooth also uses radio frequency to transmit the sound, but it switches frequencies 1600 times per second, which nearly eliminates interference. Bluetooth speakers must, however, be within 30 feet of the receiver.

Wireless Home Theater Speaker System and the SAF

The wireless home theater speaker system is a big improvement over speaker-wire hassles. The best reason to switch to wireless home theater speaker system, however, is what Chris Kyriakakis of USC calls the SAF-the Spouse Approval Factor. He says wireless home theater speaker system have a much higher SAF than those with dangling, drilled or taped-down speaker wires. A high SAF is worth putting up with a little potential interference.