Why We Choose Bluetooth over WiFi

It’s no secret that most players in the “smart” speaker market are primarily using wi-fi to wirelessly send audio around the house.

So if Sonos, Bose, and other big name brands are using wi-fi through an internet router, why would Audioengine use Bluetooth for wireless audio in their home speakers?

Easy Setup

Audioengine wireless home speakers are ready to use within minutes out of the box.

Connecting power and the speakers to one another is easy enough, but getting your music playing wirelessly is actually even more straight-forward. Unlike most of the big brand smart speakers, you don’t need to download and install apps for setup, you don’t need to connect the speakers to your router, and there aren’t any passwords or other overly-complicated hoops to jump through. Audioengine makes it simple by keeping the wireless connection exclusively between your phone, tablet, or computer and the speakers. Simply go to your device’s list of available Bluetooth connections, select Audioengine, and play music directly from your favorite app! Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, iTunes, YouTube; any apps that stream audio from your device can be played through your Audioengine home speakers. And remember, our speakers don’t depend on the speed of your internet connection or wireless router so when your internet slows down or doesn’t cover all of your house, you can still stream from your phone or connect another device via one of Audioengine’s many audio ports, which brings me to the next point…

Flexible and versatile

Even before the implementation of our long-range wireless Bluetooth audio, Audioengine home speakers have been some of the most versatile on the market.

A selection of inputs allow you to not only stream wirelessly but to easily and quickly connect your turntable, TV, AVR, or any other piece of gear with an audio output. The point being, is that you are not bound to a single input source. Not many auxiliary options are offered among the rest of the smart speaker community, leaving the user completely reliant upon the wi-fi connection and other compatible devices they may already own. And what about when you’re using Alexa to search for music, but a particular song can’t be played due to copyright issues? This can happen with voice-controlled systems, but we all know a quick visit to YouTube can typically get around this barrier and play the music you want to hear. Now you can actually listen to any Beatles tune you want, whenever you want, but at the same time you can also connect to an external Alexa device for superior sound with Audioengine.

Range and quality

Bluetooth transmission range was not so great in the past, as many of you have experienced. And products using wi-fi still tout the superiority of its range over that of Bluetooth, but the truth is, those days are over.

Audioengine home speakers utilize cutting-edge tech that allows a solid transmission of up to 100 feet (and sometimes more) with no drop-outs and no blips. Again, this range is not reliant upon the ebb and flow of your wi-fi strength at any given point. But what about sound quality; isn’t Bluetooth kind of crappy? No way! Bluetooth audio has come a long way in the past few years as well, and the implementation of the aptX HD codec allows for near lossless audio transmission that rivals the sound of many wired music systems.

Elegant aesthetic and sound

Audioengine home speakers have always held sleek looks that equals their sound quality, and with the shift to high-quality wireless, these standards have been upheld.

We didn’t want to sacrifice our warm, rich, analog power amps and hand-built wooden cabinets by trying to cram all that goodness into a generic-looking plastic speaker enclosure with average-quality wireless. We want our speakers to be an integral part of the look and feel of your home and we also want you to have TWO speakers so your listening experience can be what it’s meant to be. Other systems allow you to purchase “add-on” speakers, but that means in order to have two speakers you have to, well… spend more money for “add-on” speakers. Audioengine home speakers come standard as a stereo pair that are tuned to perfection. To put it simply, Audioengine home speakers are some of the best-sounding speakers on the market today. “Smart” speakers tend to put more focus on the “smart” portion than on the “speakers” portion, often leaving the sound reproduction underwhelming. Would you rather watch the next season of GOT on a single wi-fi speaker or on a matched pair of award-winning audiophile-grade speakers with true stereo sound?

So, it’s safe to say Bluetooth and wi-fi each have their own advantages, just as anything else. But in the end, Bluetooth was the choice we made to be as user-friendly, versatile, and as hi-fi-sounding as possible.

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