The sleeper aspect to this product is that it can actually be used for more than just surround sound… so tune-in.
The folks at Rocketfish, a customer of ours, have put together a nice solution for anyone with a home theater system. Traditional home theater amps have a couple connectivity challenges that are solved elegantly and reliably, and it’s rather affordable too at a reasonable $99.
Problems to be solved:
The first, connecting surround-channel speakers up to the amp. Stringing speaker wires from the front of your TV-room to the back of the TV-room — it typically yields a trip-hazard, and is often unsightly. Not wife-approved. So many consumers have to get crafty, sloppy, or give in altogether and forgo their surround experience.
The second, not utilizing your Zone-B speaker outputs (common on many mid-to-high end AV receivers) to enable some cool party mode music scenarios, or patio audio. Who the heck knows what to do with their B outputs? Few houses are pre-wired for speakers anymore, and hardly anyone is really willing to dive into the nuts and bolts of solving the routing issues for speaker wire to secondary rooms.
The Solution:
The RF-WHTIB is comprised of two main components: (1) a little black box called an audio sender, (2) a slightly larger black box that is simply a wireless stereo amplifier… and not a bad one at that… it can easily can light up a large room with it’s full dynamic range, and killer wireless audio link.
What the solution essentially does is let you “cut” your speaker wire, and move the two ends up to 100 feet from one another. The rest of the challenge is taken care of by the latest high fidelity wireless audio system that must be heard to be believed. It is arguably the most bullet-proof wireless audio system ever created. This is not hyperbole. No cordless phone, microwave oven, or WiFi enabled laptop is gonna phase this thing.
Simple to install and use:
1. First, you take your the speaker wire that feeds the signal from the speaker outputs on the back of your receiver (this output can be for surround speakers if you are going for the home theater, or the “B” output if you are looking to light up the next zone in your house), and you plug it in here:
(That’s the sender)
2. Walk up to 100 feet away, through a few walls, or a floor even…
3. Then you take your favorite pair of high quality passive speakers (the old fashioned kind, i.e. the ones that sound good), and you plug those in here:
(That’s the wireless amp)
4. Plug both devices into a wall outlet.
5. Done.
The devices supposedly come pre-paired from the factory, so the connect buttons are only there for field service reasons, to be honest.
You will forget this is a wireless system within minutes. Just enjoy what ever sound effects or music you throw at your new wireless speakers! Once they are setup, they behave like any other wired speaker you could have plugged into that speaker output you chose in step 1 above.
Verdict:
Well, that’s not fair. I can’t give an objective opinion. I know the details a little too well (disclosure — the company I work for supplies the wireless mojo), and really believe this is a darn savvy piece of marketing by the Rocketfish guys. They nailed a solution for a frustrating pain point that anyone with a home theater system knows all too well. I wrote this rambling and unprofessional review just to say, that if you are one of these folks, there is help for you now
I personally know more than ten people who can use this product, like yesterday. Well, Best Buy says they can ship them in 1 day, so you can have yours day after tomorrow… go get one.
293 Comments
This may be already answered somewhere in all these posts, but I have a hum/buzz, but only in the left rear speaker, without my stereo receiver on and it goes away when I power off the little transmitter box and leave the receiver box on, any ideas? I do have a wireless network in the next room and have not yet shut it off to try and isolate the problem. This sounds more like an actual problem with the Rocketfish to me. Thank you for any help offered.
For a wireless subwoofer solution, see: http://www.audioengineusa.com
Look for the product: AS8 Powered Subwoofer
You send signal to the subwoofer either via an Airport Express unit( if you are playing music on iTunes on your computer) or via Audioengines wireless transmitter, AW1. You would plug the AW1 transmitter into the subwoofer RCA output on the back of your receiver. You then plug the AW1 receiver into the RCA input on the AS8 subwoofer. You could place the subwoofer anywhere you like within range of an AC outlet. It is described at the aforementioned website. A possible problem could be that the Rocketfish transmitter and the AW1 transmitter might interfere with each other. I have no idea if that would be the case. The Rocketfish product and the Audioengine products could potentially make a great wireless marriage!
Michael
Kerrville, Texas
Follw-up to my above post #259, after further checking this is a defective unit, bad cap in the left channel.
Well the hum is long gone which is great but the popping I get every thirty minutes or so is driving me nuts. Any ideas?
connected to an Onkyo NR-905
HELP
I have the EXACT same problem as indicated in post 259. I have done troubleshooting with swapping around speakers and speaker wore at both the transmitter side, and the receiver side, and the problem is always at the Rear Left. With no sound being transmitted, there is a loud buzzing at the rear right when anything is connected to the transmitter side. With sound being transmitted, there is a loud buzzing, with sound mixed in. I believe this is a hardware problem. How can I get this replaced? I did not buy it at best buy, I purchased it on e-bay.
I have a Yamaha HTR-5830 get a solid light on both the connectors. Big one connected to the receiver and small one on the back. I get no sound. Then a few minutes later it turns off saying Check Sp wires.
Any suggestions?
You’ve got them backwards. Big one powers the speakers, small one to the receiver.
Recently bought my Rocketfish wireless kit, sound is real good, one in a while though I get the pop noise when the receiver is powered off. I thought this was corrected, or do I need to go & get resistors? I have 6 ohm 30-80 watt rear surround speakers that are connected to the Rocketfish receiver, on my Yamaha htr-5930 receiver. If the resistors would solve it does anyone have an idea as to the best ohm rating to get? I have another set of receivers on order for an outdoor speaker set & has anyone had success with leaving the Rocketfish receiver outside in a somewhat protected environment?
Thanks
Hi,
Wondering if it be possible to run two of these units to have extension stereo speakers in different rooms? If so, would I need to run two transmitters or could I run two receivers off of the same transmitter?
Thanks!
Hi All, LITTLE UNIT IN FRONT (with receiver) BIG UNIT IN BACK (with speakers) Rocketfish performs above expectations. READ THE DIRECTIONS !! bet that makes you feel like a biscuit, I did
Hey all, Ive previously offered advice and posted here re this great little bit of kit. I dont need mine anymore so am selling it on ebay, the reason why I am posting though is that Im in Australia where it is practically impossible to get one. So if there are any Aussies reading, feel free to come on over to the listing and make a bid. Hope Im not breaching any of the rules for this site or anything, just hoping to do a mutually beneficial deal with another Aussie. Anyway cheers…. Luke
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250236396356
Love the sound – but found this site because I have traced the Rocketfish receiver to be the source of either x-10 noise or signal absorption. Frustrating but I think I will have to either return them or get an x-10 noise filter. Anyone seen this?
Sadly. I am having WIFI network issues with the Rocketfish unit turned on. Simply put, if the transmitter is on my WiFi network goes to crap (packet loss, latency, etc.) As soon as I turn it off, presto, problems go away. Major bummer because I was very stoked about this product. I may end up keeping it and just sucking up the fact that I can’t use both, most of the movies we watch are with the kids at night or weekends. It would have been nice to have my surround all day (i work from home) while watching TV but it doesn’t seem possible right now.
I bought this thinking I could use it for the subwoofer since I’m not really interested in the rear speakers (it’s just a kitchen setup to give us more volume). OK, I screwed up. But then I started wondering: why CAN’T I use it for the subwoofer instead. Is there a technical reason?
Help ——bought the darn thing however the sender reqquires two wires be connected to my reciever which only accepts a little plug like thing for my SOny reciever?
The receiver in back of couch only accepts 2 wires and my speakers have a plug like thing?
Wow this blog saved me a hell of a lot of trouble. I had the “no sound” problem. Did everything from check the cables and turn up the volume. Called tech support, but they were just reading off a sheet. When I starting talking about 2.4 GHz they went silent.
Thanks to reading this blog I found out that I plugged the amp into the receiver and the rear speakers into the sender. Wow do I feel dumb. I switch them up and it sounds great!
Bill,
Subs usually take more cables then just the left and right that the rocketfish model does. Mine has an extra cable, I have no idea why, but it means this product won’t work for subs
Chris,
I would suggest changing the channel on your WiFi. i’ve used the default (6 i think) and it interfered with my cordless phone. I switch it to 10 and have had clean connections ever since!
Hey Bill. Check out the AudioEngine AW1.
Also, the main reason is most subs are amplified assuming you have an “active” sub. The signal your receiver sends is low level. The Rocketfish is designed to deal with amplified audio signals, step them down, then amp them back up. Your sub won’t accept a high power signal for an input.
The AW1 does do the wireless sub thing.
This product sounds like a solution for both my rear speakers and my outdoor speaker needs.
My question is this: has the 6.1 issue been resolved?
I have a Yamaha HTIB (cant remember the model right now) and the rear center speaker is a seperate connection, just like the rear L and R.
I dont like the idea of having to buy 2 units to run 3 speakers. I would be willing to but one now and try it out with the intention of moving it to a different system for my outdoor speakers.
Any thoughts?
I have a pair of these and am experiencing the pop that others have noticed. I have an Apple Time Capsule (Wireless n) router and cordless phones are 6.0 DECT. Could either of these be causing the popping? Should I try the resistor across the + – (Speakers are 8ohm)?
Any help would be great!
I get popping noise from the rear speakers. The volume output for the rear speakers is not equal to the front. I have the rear speaker receiver volume at 80% of maximum.
Is there anyway to have the transmitter come on with the receiver instead of having to turn on the transmitter independently?
Bought this system a few weeks ago and love the idea of it….and when it works…it sounds great! But I am having a lot of problems keeping the sender and receiver units connected. Right now I’d say that they are about 25-30 ft apart with direct line of sight. Anytime I move either unit around I immediately start loosing my connection and the rear speakers start cutting in and out. I do have other wireless devices in the room to include two different wireless phones (motorola and a uniden and an apple airport (B only). I have tested with the phones and airport disconnected, with the same results…so I can only presume that they are not the problem. Do you have any idea why this may be happening? Thanks in advance for the help!
Following a power outage, my Rocketfish rear black box red light flashes non-stop (well unless I unplug it which I tried in a reboot effort) and the surround sound I’ve come to love no longer works. The little front black box no longer has a little light, and I can’t find a reason why (battery? I can’t find an opening). Finally, I can’t locate my manual. PLEASE HELP (that was in surround sound
jehan….sounds like your front little box has issues. Your rear box is blinking because it cannot find the front box. The only thing I can suggest is for you to try and see if there is a power issue……
I’ve had several problems with my system since I got it last week but have not had the time to call Support about them.
1) Sender will turn off on it’s own from not sure why since I’m not in the room when it happens
2) Can not use the Auto Calibration for my Sony A/V receiver because it says there is a polarity fault and I’ve checked the wiring several times. Have to hard wire the speakers directly into the receiver to do this.
3) Wife was complaining of not being able to get on the internet/check email when sitting in the room with the system unless I turn off both the sender and receiver and go without back surrounds. Don’t want to upgrade the laptop to one with Wireless n card yet (Router broadcasts 2.4 and 5.8).
Any suggestions?
On 1 and 2 I am sorry, but I just don’t know enough about the particular setup to determine what you should do. Do you have the Sender plugged into a switched outlet? If so, then if you lose power, it will not auto turn back on.
On 3, it sounds like your wife’s computer is too far away from the wireless router. This means that the Rocketfish system can’t “see” the router’s signal well enough to move out of the way and to a different RF channel which it wil automatically if it sees it. It could also be that a neighboring wireless system (from next door) is stronger and pushing Rocketfish onto your WLAN channel. Either way a remedy is to move the wireless router closer to your Rocketfish signal (to within 15-20 meters should be enough).
Not on a switched outlet but is plugged into the same Power strip as the TV and Reciever and the power strip is never off.
The laptop is linked to a Wireless router upstatirs and is usually at mid or higher connection strength. I guess since the Rockfish is in the same room downstairs as the laptop it’s stronger signal is overriding the network signal.
The router can not be moved because the DSL connection is at the main PC upstairs and other PCs and gaming systems upstaires are on the network.
Can you set the rockfish to a different RF Channel manually?
Wondering if it be possible to run two of these units to have extension stereo speakers in different rooms? If so, would I need to run two transmitters or could I run two receivers off of the same transmitter
Hi John,
Two transmitters are required on this version of the product. Some other users have had success doing this. You would want to provide some separation between the two transmitters, maybe placing on either side of the receiver. That is usually sufficient.
Hi…I just purchased this Rocketfish on Ebay; it came in the mail today; I hooked it up tonight, and thus far, I’m not a happy camper. All connections appear to be correct, and if I turn it off and then back on it connects and works for several minutes, then loses it’s signal and both boxes begin blinking. I’m connected to an Onkyo 9100 7.1 THX which I just got recently, but am only trying to run 5.1 at present. Admittedly I have not made any adjustments (calibrations)yet to the Onkyo. Sounds good for a few minutes….any ideas?
I have tried hooking this up 3 times (as well as someone else trying)…..carefully following directions. (yes, the “small” hooked to receiver, and “larger” one in back of room with rear speakers). I have read all the posts here. I can not get the sender and receiver to link up at all, constant blinking. Speakers still work if you run standard wire to them. Room is about 10ft wide, and sender and receiver in good, clear path. Pushed “connect” buttons several times. Has anyone just not been able to get it to ever link? Thanks for your help, will try anthing else before I return.
Same problem as others. Plugeed everything in and no sound. Hooked speaker directly to amp sound.
And the answer is…
Had the large box connected to the amp and small box connected to speaker on the theory that the larger box must be the Sender. RTFM.
Switched boxes and surround sound happened.
where can I get a replacement ac adapter?
Hi
I have a problem with my Yamaha htr 5830 receiver only L and R speakers are displayed in the unit even though i selected 5 speaker output and can hear sound only from left speaker pls help
After puting in wood floors, I could no longer run my back speaker wires onder the carpet. After looking for a solution, I found this. Very easy hook-up and it worked right away. But ran into the dreaded HUM issue.
Called support and they sent the new wires. Seemd to fix it at first, but the hum would come back sometimes.
Next tried changing the channel on my wireless router from channel 1 to channel 11, and this seems to have fixed the interferance. Works great now.
Just got the rocketfish wireless rear system. Love the unit. However, when I turn the onkyo tx-sr507 off and on. The rears don’t work. I have to cycle my sound through 10 cycles to the dobly digital option again and then it works. Any ideas?
It sounds like it may be a settings issue on your Onkyo… is there an auto-detect mode set? Does the Rocketfish device power off when the Onkyo powers off? Maybe it isn’t detecting the “speakers” because the Rocketfish turns on with a delay from the detect logic? Make sense? Can’t think of anything else off the top of my head…
I have two kits connected to my home theater system: one transmits the signal to a rear speaker only, the second transmits to a second rear speaker and sub-woofer. The one connected to a speaker only maintains a connection all of the time. The one connected to a speaker and subwoofer maintains a connection most, but not all, of the time. It disconnects only when a specific event occurs….when the volume of what is being watched increases sharp and suddenly. The disconnection happens frequently when the volume increases while watching a DVD (Blu ray or DVD) but happens far, far less frequently when the volume increases while watching TV.
I have the transmitters located about four feet from each other. When the disconnection occurs, after restarting the receiver it takes anywhere from about ten to thirty seconds to reconnect. Anyone have any thoughts on what could be causing this disconnection to occur? Thanks.
I bought the wireless speaker set up from rockfish (RF-whtib) and I think I got hosed. I haved tried wiring it differnetly (A or/& B) speaker systems, changing the wiring, moving the receiver, pretty much everything I have read here and I can NOT get the hummm out of the rear speakers. I do have sound, although weak from the program that I watching. I got the P.O.S. on ebay and think the guy that sold it to me of known about the problem and dumped it. Is ther a way to fix this or am I better buying a newer or different model or mak?
I have been using the Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speakers since this Christmas and they are by far the best sounding wireless speakers when they work. But they work intermittently. Haven’t been able to figure out exactly why. I will look through all the comments to get some ideas. My website is
Wireless Home Theater System.
Has anyone ever tried hooking these to the FRONT speaker outputs simultaneously with the regular front speakers in order to send the regular stereo signal outdoors? I don’t have an A/B speaker setup on my cheap home theater so I was wondering if this would work for simultaneous sound on my patio.
I am trying to get my wireless speakers hooked to my home speakers but the wireless transmitter has a plug and my stereo speakers have bare wires hooked to my stereo. Is their an adapter that you can plug the bare wires and a plug into at the same time??
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