Klipsch LightSpeakers Replace Ordinary Bulbs with LED Light and Wireless Speakers

Great idea. I’m looking forward to hearing these. It would be difficult to get much bass response from such a small driver and cabinet volume and I’m curious to see how well they have overcome this limitation.

I do take exception to some of Ed’s statements about HomePlug. I’m writing this while listening to Rhapsody streaming to 8 zones (16 speakers) in my home through my Russound Collage system. The farthest zone is in my pool house over 100’ away from my main systems.

My house is not a gymnasium without walls but is an 1850’s house with thick plaster walls. Wireless has very limited range but PLC covers every room of my house with ease.

Making a system work flawlessly with PLC is a challenge but it’s not impossible. PLC has the advantage of range, is not interfered with by Microwave Ovens or simply people walking between the transmitter and receiver.

The PLC network not only allows streaming music but also Intercom and an interactive User Interface with cover graphics display.

I’m going to have to go with Michael on this one. Powerline seems to make more sense than RF for audio distribution. But Ed Haase is no slouch and he must know what he’s doing.

Michael,
Please do come by and listen, we’d love to see you.  I appologize if I came accross hard on Homeplug, it would have been unintentional, as anyone who knows me is aware, I’ve been heaping praise on the Russound and Nuvo powerline systems for the last two years.  Believe me you’ve had no bigger cheerperson.  Your companies are the glue holding the custom business together.  Your foresight and dedication to advancing the retrofit installation industry are impressive in the least.  I look forward to your creations in the future.
Thanks for the comments.  And say hi to Charlie for me will you!
Ed Haase

This is the failure of the product: “Naturally, the LightSpeakers require power to operate, so if someone accidentally flips off the switch, the music will go dark.”  PS…powerline technology these days works.

I disagree, Jive. It’s not like a loss of music is catastrophic. So ... just flip the switch back on.

This product isn’t perfect but the idea is clever. And, assuming it works, it’s very inexpensive.

Honestly this is the headline story?

There are major announcements from ESPN and a collaboration between Sony/IMAX/Discovery Channel to setup 3D channels and you make the Klipsch story the headline?

Laughable!

I’d rather listen to the hum of any light bulb than any Klipsch product.

@Julie
In the words of Ed Lover: “C’mon Son”

That is an absolute failure to have one’s music completely turn off because one flipped a toggle switch.  Kinda of a party stopper, right?

Any idea about foreign voltages like 220 - 240 Volts?

Forget about turning off a switch, what about dimming the light

It appears from the pictures that the remote and the base station have controls to dim the light and I would guess be able to turn the light off without turning the light switch off. It is a novel idea and one that would make simple retro-fits much easier. My only concern would be the RF interference and the quality of the sound. I can’t wait to get a chance to listen to them though.

So you set the mood up real nice… you have a little Marvin Gaye playing in the background… you go to set the mood to the next level by firing up a couple candles and then turn off the lights… the music stops.. the mood dies.. Another sub-par night of watching Glenn Beck alone while your wife falls asleep.

asudan, that was very funny!

There is a lot of confusion that may need clearing up.  First: As Julie’s article points out, the LightSpeaker is fully contolable from both the remote and the transmitter.  So you won’t need to get up and go to the switch to dim the lights you’ll be able to continue to snuggle up to the little lady, and listen to Marvin without disrupting the flow of things. Turning the light switch off will cut the power to the unit and stop the music, but so will a dead battery on your ipod.  In my opinion, few problems are as easy to solve as simply turning on a lightswitch.
Second: The lightspeaker will operate on nearly all dimmers so you can turn down the lights without turning off the music.  The lightspeaker will operate with your dimmer down to approx. 30 volts a point at which nearly all incandescent lights cease to operate.  Dimming will not change the level or quality of the music. 
I have hosted over 40 parties with the lightspeaker over the last year and, to this point at least, no one has felt it necessary to turn off the lights and party in pitch darkness.  We have however had a number of annoying occasions when people change the tunes in the middle of a song; that’s a problem we haven’t come up with a solution for yet.
Thanks for the opportunity to clear this up.
Ed Haase

I know this is putting the cart before the horse BUT has anyone looked at using these items in a commercial/pro AV situation?  It seems like a natural retrofit or even a possible Design/Build product - depending on the Data/Tech specs and actual sonic and visual audition/testing of these items.  We need data on the LED specs (beam spread, CRI & output) and coverage dispersion, +/- 3dB response, etc. both residential and commercial architects will require this as a minimum.

Ed’s clearing the fog of all the “this and that” concerns shows that a bit of real thought was put into the product.

Not to slam D. Stevens but you might consider refraining from listening with your elbows!  We have been using the Klipsch product line since the late 70’s with great acceptance and awesome performance in untested uses both big & small.

I did an earlier post but I wasn’t registered yet so it probably won’t show up.

BizmanUSA