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We love it when things “just work.” Life is full of enough things that don’t work the first time, and generally setting up anything wireless takes a few tries and lots of tweaking. Not so with the Audioengine W1 Premium Wireless Audio Adapter. Much to our surprise these bad boys worked right out of the box and better than expected the very first time!
Pros:
- Enables CD quality wireless audio for almost any configuration imaginable.
- Supports Mac, PC, and any audio device or speakers with mini-jack or RCA connectors.
- Did not interfere, or allow itself to be interfered with existing wireless such as routers or phones during our testing.
- Super simple to setup and use.
- Incredibly long range with no loss in audio quality.
Cons:
- Enables CD quality wireless audio for almost any configuration imaginable.
- Only comes with one USB AC power adapter – two would be better.
- Adjusting audio settings on Windows (PC) can be troublesome.
Review
You may be wondering why we list “Enables CD quality wireless audio for almost any configuration imaginable” as both a Pro and a Con. The answer is fairly simple – maybe we’re just not audiophiles, but we stared at the Audioengine W1 box for several minutes trying to figure out how we’d use it. Sure there are plenty of generic examples on the back of the box listing how you could use it, such as:
- Computer –> Powered Speakers
- Laptop –> Stereo Receiver (RCA inputs)
- iPod –> Powered Speakers
- Game Console –> Stereo Receiver (RCA Inputs)
- Surround Receiver (L/R rear outputs) –> Powered Speakers (as rear channel speakers)
- Surround Receiver (Subwoofer output) –> Subwoofer
We decided to hook up the “Send” dongle to a Sirius Satellite Boombox and the “Receive” dongle to a set of speakers in the GadgetMadness Headquarters where satellite reception isn’t so great. There was literally no loss of audio quality and the range on these little USB adapters is amazing. We also tested on Mac, PC, and with iPods, Zune, headphones, and every type of speaker imaginable and ran into zero problems. Even with 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz phones and a wireless router close by the W1 wireless audio sender receiver combo worked without a hitch. Impressive. MOST impressive.
Conclusion
Sadly we think that the average consumer won’t have a clue what to do with this awesome package – we too were initially overwhelmed with the possibilities. Maybe Audioengine could start a blog showing all the cool practical combinations possible with their audio gear. Regardless, if you’re looking for a simple and elegant solution to send wireless audio that “just works” look no further than the Audioengine W1 Premium Wireless Audio Adapter. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve hooked up a pair of powered speakers to the receive module in the front bushes and are holding a microphone that’s jacked into the send module, and plan on scaring the crap out of the delivery guy as soon as he shows up with our pizza. Mmmmmmm, pizza.
Audioengine W1 ( AW1 ) – Premium Wireless Audio Adapter
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