A single speaker
operates in mono, but
an additional speaker
can be used to produce
stereo audio.88 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC|JAN 2011 |www.maximumpc.com
IN THE LAB^
REVIEWS OF THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWAREW
ireless audio systems are great
for streaming music from room
to room, but they’re practically
essential when it comes to playing your tunes
outdoors. Best Buy’s private-label Rocketfi sh
system delivers an innovative solution with a
budget price tag of just $185.
The system consists of a 2.4GHz wireless
transceiver that you connect to an analog
sound source (a PC, A/V receiver, MP3 player,
Squeezebox, etc.), and a weatherized speaker
with a wireless receiver. The transceiver
requires A/C power, but the speaker can run on
either A/C power or eight C-cell batteries (not
included). We ran the Rocketfi sh wirelessly for
11 hours and 45 minutes before exhausting a
fresh set of alkalines, but the speaker will also
run on—and recharge—eight 5,000mAh NiMH
C-cells (those batteries cost about $5 apiece).
A single speaker operates in mono, but
you can pair two speakers to one transceiver
to achieve stereo. You can also send music to
additional locations around the
house—the system maxes out at
nine clients—by installing addi-
tional transceivers and speakers. Each
transceiver can act as both a wireless
receiver (receiving music from a master
hub connected to a music source) and a
wireless transmitter (sending music to a
wireless speaker). Best Buy sells additional
passive transceivers for $60 each (supply
your own self-powered speakers) and trans-
ceivers with integrated amplifi ers for $100 each
(supply your own passive speakers). This would
make for an inexpensive multiroom audio sys-
tem, although every room would play the same
source music.
Best Buy claims unobstructed wireless
range of 164 feet for the transceiver and outdoor
speaker, and we found the system capable
of reaching the speaker at 142 feet with one
exterior wall between the source and client.
Additional obstacles—including people walking
into the signal path—rapidly reduced that range.
The amp inside the speaker is only border-
line adequate for wide-open spaces, delivering
just fi ve watts to an eight-ohm tweeter and 22
watts to a four-ohm woofer. It’s good enough for
background music, but a raucous party would
likely drown it out. The speaker itself produces
relatively fl at, unexciting audio, and it distortsearly as you ramp up the volume.
Pushing the “bass” button on the
back of the speaker substantially
boosts the bottom register, which
we very much appreciated—
low-end frequencies just don’t
travel far.
The speaker cabinet is fab-
ricated from lightweight plastic,
and while Best Buy claims its
“weather resistant speaker
design withstands the elements,”
we have to wonder what would
happen if hard-driving rain—or
an errant water hose—forced
water into the large vents oneither side of the cylin-
drical cabinet. We also
found ourselves setting the cabinet on concrete
surfaces with care, fearing that the thin rim on
which it rests would fracture if we dropped it.
If you have an abundance of cash, no
outdoor speaker we’ve ever heard has been able
to touch the exceptional Soundcast OutCast we
reviewed in our April 2008 issue (you’ll fi nd our
review online at http://bit.ly/cx8GKF), but that
system’s $800 street price puts it in an entirely
diff erent class. Best Buy delivers a very solid
value for the price here, and you can expand it
by purchasing relatively inexpensive add-on
components. –MICHAEL BROWNRocketfish 2.4GHz Indoor/Outdoor
Speaker
Take your music outside on the cheap
VERDICT$185, http://www.bestbuy.com7
Great wireless range;
long battery life;
expandable; cheap.Underpowered amp;
mediocre sound
quality.FISH MONGERROCKETFISH INDOOR/OUTDOOR SPEAKERFEAR MONGERcan be used to produceVERDICTto achieve stereo. You can also send music totional transceivers and speakers. Eachwireless speaker). Best Buy sells additional