Add 4 Wireless Subwoofers to Home Theater with Sunfire Kit

Wireless subwoofers are all the rage these days, but Sunfire is taking a different approach with the new Wireless Subwoofer Kit, which allows users to add wireless capabilities to any powered subwoofer.

As a longtime specialist in subwoofers, why wouldn’t Sunfire - a member of Nortek's AVC Group - just ship a range of subs with wireless technology built in? Why make a kit?

Mark Weisenberg, managing director for Sunfire says, “We did this because of two main reasons: flexibility for our customers who want to offer an easy upgrade to existing home theaters, and cost competitiveness."

While typical all-in-one wireless subwoofers on the market range from $399 to $1,000 and up, the wireless subwoofer kit from Sunfire retails for $158. And while Sunfire would prefer that customers use its own subs, the company recognizes that it won’t win every home theater job.

In any case, the kit opens the door to new retrofit opportunities in cases where consumers want to add subwoofers to an existing home theater set-up, matching additional subs with existing models. The Sunfire kit supports up to four subwoofers.

The kit comprises two small boxes -- a wireless transmitter (WiTX) and a wireless receiver (RiTX). Each about the size of a cigarette pack, these wireless kits are "purposefully built for subwoofers, because they only transmit a single channel," Weisenberg says.

The LFE (low frequency effects) channel is transmitted over a 2.4 GHz wireless connection up to 49 feet, enabling installation in home theaters of various sizes. The latency of the signal is only 22 milliseconds, according to Sunfire -- well within standards for broadcast audio signal transmission.

Mingling at the Sunfire booth during CEDIA Expo 2011, Jack Ryan of the rep firm Bettridge & Ryan, says the new wireless subwoofer kit has “simplified the installation and brought the opportunity to sell multiple subwoofers in a wireless fashion.”

While the "retrofit" market has been universally touted as an attractive option for the past several years, the ability to do so has been dependent somewhat on the gear already installed. The new Sunfire product is just one more opportunity to sell more gear to new and existing clients.