How to choose a Wi-Fi speaker and a Bluetooth speaker ?

                 How to choose a Wi-Fi speaker and a Bluetooth speaker 

With the development of science and technology, most families have entered the "smart era", living in the present, they do not carry mobile phones, wireless headphones and other products with them when they go out, and sometimes they feel uncomfortable even going out. In family life, quite a few people have replaced the large audio system with a large space and troublesome control with a small and exquisite Wi-Fi or Bluetooth speaker.

However, in the process of purchasing, many consumers are confused by the two products of Wi-Fi speakers and Bluetooth speakers, and they hesitate to make up their minds to buy their favorite products, mainly because most consumers are not interested in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The principles of the two kinds of speakers are stupidly indistinguishable. Today, we will discuss the difference between Wi-Fi speakers and Bluetooth speakers.

Wireless principle and difference

Wi-Fi can be said to be a word that has been mentioned more in recent years. The term Wi-Fi is widely misunderstood to refer to Wireless Fidelity, and even the Wi-Fi Alliance itself often uses the term Wireless Fidelity in press releases and documents, and Wi-Fi also appears in the ITAA ( American International Association for Science and Technology) in a paper. But in fact, the word Wi-Fi has no meaning and is not written in full. It often needs to connect the speakers to the external network through wireless routing, and then connect the speakers through mobile phones, tablets and other devices, and push music to the speakers for playback through multimedia protocols such as AirPlay, DLNA, and QPlay.

The Wi-Fi speaker can play music as an independent sound source, without downloading the music first, and directly decode and play it on the speaker. The biggest advantage of this transmission method is that the transmission speed is faster, and the transmission The advantages of high-quality audio files are even more obvious. At present, many mainstream online music servers support the Wi-Fi transmission protocol.

Another transmission method, Bluetooth, is more common than Wi-Fi. Because there are far more Bluetooth transmission products on the market than Wi-Fi transmission products. It is connected to Bluetooth playback devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and notebooks through a built-in Bluetooth chip, and then plays the resources on the network with or collected on the device for playback. The bluetooth speaker needs to download the data to the client of the mobile phone, then decode the audio through the mobile phone, and then convert the MP3 into the audio streaming media encoded by the bluetooth, and finally transmit the decoded sound file to the speaker, and play it passively through the speaker.

Although from the perspective of principle and technology, both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi belong to small-scale personal network communication, but in terms of transmission quality and speed, their differences can be clearly seen.

transfer speed

The frequency band of Wi-Fi operation is generally divided into two frequency bands: 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz. 2.4GHz is a frequency band commonly used by early wireless routers. It has continued to the present. It is used for wireless connection technology in office areas such as schools and businesses. The transmission rate can reach 54Mbit/s and the working distance is 100m. Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) Way. 5GHz is a new wireless protocol, and its frequency, speed, and anti-interference are much stronger than 2.4GHz. Now 5GHz has begun to be widely used. The entry-level rate of Wi-Fi is 433Mbps, and some high-performance 5G Wi-Fi can reach more than 1Gbps. However, the domestic 5G frequency band is rarely used at present, and as the manufacturing technology matures, it is believed that it will gradually become popular in the future. It is worth mentioning that the 2.4GHz frequency band has good penetration, but the transmission distance is short, and the 5GHz has poor penetration and long transmission distance.

Most people's impression of Bluetooth is still in the data transmission function of the Nokia era. At that time, the files were not large, and the mobile phone did not have Wi-Fi and 4G, and the file transfer was completed by Bluetooth. The earliest Bluetooth 1.2 transmission speed was only 721Kbps, and in the latest Bluetooth 5.1 technology announced this year, its transmission speed reached 24Mbps. Although it looks good, it should take three or four years to wait until Bluetooth 5.1 is widespread.

Connection method

The connection of Wi-Fi speakers can often achieve a "one-to-many" situation. Users can control the Wi-Fi speakers in different rooms to play different music through the App, which is more suitable for playing in the home environment and can meet the needs of different users. Playing and listening needs, and this is one of the advantages of Wi-Fi speakers. In recent years, there are also Wi-Fi speaker products on the market that push and play audio from mobile phones through Wi-Fi networks.

Bluetooth speakers use the "point-to-point" connection method, which can ensure good privacy and security, because Wi-Fi is inevitably disturbed when multiple people use it, and music synchronization is unstable.

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Colorful AudioPro T3 Bluetooth Speaker

At present, the vast majority of users prefer traditional Bluetooth speakers. As can be seen from the above introduction, in fact, in daily use, Wi-Fi speakers have obvious advantages in terms of transmission rate and resources. What is the reason that the current audience of Bluetooth speakers is far wider than that of Wi-Fi speakers?

Bluetooth is still mainstream

Wi-Fi takes a different approach

Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transmission have their own advantages and disadvantages, but in terms of usage habits and operation process, Bluetooth speakers still occupy most of the "country". From the sales in the market, it can be seen that in addition to the differences in technology and operation, Bluetooth speakers are often more advantageous than Wi-Fi speakers in terms of price, and the price will directly affect consumers' purchasing behavior, which may It is also the main reason why bluetooth speakers are still more popular with consumers.

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B&W Zeppelin Wireless Speaker

The Wi-Fi transmission method often relies heavily on the existence of the local area network. When going out, there is no stable and high-speed Wi-Fi network. It is believed that the choice of most people is Bluetooth transmission. I have also experienced a number of Wi-Fi speaker products before. Their connection method is more complicated than the Bluetooth matching process. In general, the connection of a Bluetooth speaker is to open the device Bluetooth → search → pairing → complete, and that’s it!

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However, when switching to a Wi-Fi speaker, its connection requirements are far more demanding than Bluetooth. The mobile phone, speaker and wireless router should be interconnected under the same network, and the connection methods of different Wi-Fi speakers may be different. The initial connection often requires For a long time, it can not even be connected. Fortunately, after the initial connection is completed, the device often has a memory function, and there is no need to repeat the operation in the future. In the private life of modern people, many times they are afraid of trouble. If they want to simply listen to a piece of music, they need professional knowledge and courage to become like a network engineer. Many people are discouraged.

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Although the connection is cumbersome, many music apps are currently equipped with a dedicated Wi-Fi connection button, which greatly simplifies the Wi-Fi connection process. Some Wi-Fi speakers will reserve an RJ45 network port on the back, but this approach will make the speaker disconnected from wireless, and its placement will be limited by the length of the network cable. On the other hand, some Wi-Fi speakers use the connection method of wireless hotspots. After connecting to the Wi-Fi speaker hotspot with devices such as mobile phones and notebooks, the Wi-Fi speakers can be controlled.

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YAMAHA WX-051 Wireless Speaker

Support MusicCast\Wi-Fi\AirPlay\Bluetooth function

Because it can be directly connected to the network, many Wi-Fi speaker apps currently include smart cloud services. Users' listening preferences, usage habits, and even the frequency of using the speakers will be uploaded to the cloud, and then analyzed through big data. After using it for a period of time, you will find that the speaker will automatically push you your favorite music, radio stations and singers. That is to say, the speaker will "learn" and "grow" by itself. The longer it takes, the better it will understand you and your preferences, reflecting its intelligence and humanity.

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The application of cloud concept is getting stronger and stronger

Even some domestic Wi-Fi speakers already support voice control, and people and speakers can perform simple interactions, such as letting the speakers play songs (albums), broadcast the weather (date), and set alarms.

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B&W Formation Wedge Wireless Speaker

Due to the limitation of transmission distance, the distance between the mobile phone and the Bluetooth speaker must be kept within 10 meters, so the Bluetooth speaker cannot achieve unfettered music listening, but more like a portable listening experience, while the Wi-Fi speaker The transmission distance can reach about 100 meters, and it can also be played through the wall, which is even more unrestricted when used in an indoor environment.

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DALI (Dani) KATCH ONE wireless speaker

Sound quality and functionality go beyond just the Soundbar

This situation can be seen in the more popular multi-room wireless systems in recent years, why the connection is using Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth. It can also be seen from another point of view that the appearance of Wi-Fi speakers is not like a competing product for Bluetooth speakers at all, but rather complementary, making up for the disadvantages of transmission speed and transmission distance, and becoming a more suitable product for home use. audio products used.

understand the choice

After understanding the difference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers, the choice is a lot easier. There are many choices of bluetooth speakers, with mini models or active models that focus on sound quality. If you pay attention to outdoor usability such as portability and waterproofing, bluetooth speakers are the only choice. Large, expensive Bluetooth speakers are also an option if you want better sound quality at home.

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uandksound i6 wireless hi-fi speaker

As for Wi-Fi speakers, they are obviously more suitable for home use. They can not only be bridged to form interconnected playback, but also often have higher-end models, such as the expensive Zeppelin Air, which are gorgeous in appearance and outstanding in sound quality, and are the first choice for high-end users. Of course, users do not necessarily need to choose one of these formations, because many manufacturers have begun to launch wireless speakers that integrate both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, such as Sony X7, Samsung M7/M5, etc., which can not only meet the needs of interconnected playback at home, but also can Take it to outdoor use, suitable for users who are looking for a comprehensive experience.

Written by : Davecl Audio

The Audio Equipments Manufacturer

www.davecl.com