Wii 2.1 sound system
Nothing wee about this sound system
Review It's well known that a speaker set of reasonable quality can substantially enhance your gaming experience, but if a high-end hi-fi system doesn't yet live in your lounge, this 2.1-channel Wii-friendly speaker set might make a superb substitute.
Let's face facts, the Wii is better suited to social gaming than either the Xbox 360 or the PS3. A few friends are round, you've just cooked a delicious dinner, now you feel like a little nine-hole action in the luxury of your own living room. The Wii's the machine to play it on.
And with this affordable and effective 2.1 speaker set, you can now add stereo sound to that group game of golf.
Wii 2.1 speaker system: tidy and self-contained
The system is designed to complement the Wii console, even down to the the rectangular design of the sub-woofer, with controls situated on the left and the long, vertical power LED perfectly positioned symmetrically with the disc slot on the console itself.
The sub-woofer sits in a cradle that's similar in design to the original one for the Wii, but also equipped with a slot for the console itself. So the whole package not only looks tidy but also sits neatly, self-contained under any TV or screen, measuring 15 x 17 x 25cm and weighing 2.8kg.
The two lightweight satellite speakers - each measuring 202 x 94 x 75mm and weighing just 170g - have also been designed to match the overall aesthetic. Crafted in the same glossy, pearl-white plastic as the Wii, they've been built to resemble the nunchuck, even down to the octagonal joystick housing at the top.
Setting the speakers up is extremely easy: just connect up the plugs on the relevant ports so the sound comes totally through the speakers and not the TV. The treble, bass, loudness and 3D audio options can be adjusted by using the remote control - which has also been designed to look identical to the Wii controller. Another nice touch, albeit a tad annoying when you get them mixed up.
COMMENTS
Where is the market?
The market is aimed at people who are casual gamers who possibly only own a Wii and a small TV.
Why would you get an expensive, or cheap for that matter 5.1 if all your systems only produce 2.1?
Also a lot of people want their living room to be compact and tidy, so a AV receiver with a separate Sub and speakers would not follow that idea. This is a very tidy and stylish unit, which would be perfect for people with only a Wii, or people for who the "w@nk factor" is king
re: ChriZ
chris - you seem to think that surround sound needs a big room, they dont (my lounge is quite small) its about a feeling in the middle of the sound as opposed to the sound feeling 'over there'
also almost everyone i know with surround sound doesnt have it setup right (positions etc) you really need to spend a little time creating a 'sweet spot' in the room. mine is my couch in front of the TV - although with better speakers the sweet spot gets much bigger, so all of my lounge now sounds pretty good in surround sound. satellite speakers may initially sound good and look good - but compared to mid-top end speakers they simply just dont cut the mustard - unless you are paying hundreds for some top end satellites
the golden rule is you get what you pay for - new speakers and interconnects can work wonders :)
re: Adam
I'd much rather have a decent sounding 2.1 system than
a cheap 5.1 system, for which 99% of the population don't have
a large enough room.
plug swapping
> You'd have to swap the plugs around every time you wanted to
> play on the Wii, of course.
Nothing says I can't use a pair of two-to-one RCA splitters so both Satellite and Wii can use the speakers without jack swapping, eh?
Or better yet, just run the subwoofer into the Audio out of the TV. That way, you get 2.1 out of everything that goes through the TV, even the tuner (if you have to use a SCART adapter, a SCART splitter, SCART-to-RCA converter, and pair of RCA cables also get things done.
worryingly...
Yes we do have 5.1 in our bedroom and 2.0 in the bathroom and 7.1 in the lounge, simply because about 3 years ago we upgraded the receiver and richer Sounds were doing a fantastic offer on speakers so we moved the old one upstairs.
Given the advances in stand alone televisions in the last 20 years from NICAM onwards most TV's sold will be at least 2.0 with the exception of small portables which are probably unsuitable for a console like the wii, so I ask again where is their market?
