If we design our own smart home, we will likely have installed connected speakers, smart locks, and even smartphones; and of course, we must not forget the “home cinema”, with its giant television and surround speakers. But all of these devices have one common drawback: they need cables to work.
Although it may seem silly, we can have a house full of cables before we know it, and it will then be difficult to disconnect something without losing functionality; Although wireless home theater audio systems exist, they have drawbacks in terms of sound quality and interference. Now, one company claims to have a solution, at least for one type of cable: audio.
This technology is called Audio Cu and is capable of transmit sound using the electrical network who is already installed at home; In other words, we can connect the speakers through the light sockets that we already have on the wall. This seems like a strange idea, although it should be remembered that this is not the first technology that uses electrical cables to transmit data; Powerline systems can use them for local network and connect to the Internet.
Audio Cu works similarly to PLCs, but specializes in transmission high resolution sound; So it is a technology that covers a more specific niche and may not be useful to many users, but for others it may be the salvation they have been waiting for.
It is a system that allows you to have multiple speakers installed in a room and at any distance you want, without having to run cables between them all and taking advantage of the socket that the speakers already need anyway.
Concretely, this system is aimed more at audiophiles and users who place more importance on sound quality, since this is the great advantage compared to wireless speakers already existing on the market. In fact, Fasetto boasts of having received the Dolby Atmos certifiedmaking it fully compatible with 3D surround sound systems, with support for configurations between 2.0 (stereo) and 9.1, with up to 10 sound channels per system.
Another great advantage of Audio Cu is compatibility: it works with all speakers that use positive and negative cables (the red and black ones), and can replace the AV receiver if we wish. It is enough to install a device in the transmitter (like the television) and in each speaker, which transforms the sound signal to be transmitted through the electrical network.
This is achieved with latency less than 20 msand the company claims that signals are not affected by electrical installation interference, which can affect wireless connections.
In other words, it can replace wireless connections such as Bluetooth or WiFi, with much higher quality and without interference. However, big doubts remain about availability and price, details that Fasetto has not yet been able to confirm, although he promised that the system will be “available soon”.