Some time ago… Two audiophiles were seated in a bar when one was overheard suggesting wireless speakers. He hasn’t been heard of since. No seriously. Friends don’t let friends mention wireless and high quality audio in the same sentence. The mere thought of such is unheard of in audio enthusiast circles and I remember my forum search a few years back; I was literally laughed off forums for mentioning my hopes of finding quality wireless speakers. Times have changed. WiSA Technologies and Platin Audio are about to strike a bullseye in the audio world. The Platin Monaco 5.1.2 Wireless Dolby Atmos Home theatre has arrived.
To be very clear, Platin Audio has partnered with WiSA Technologies to bring you a rather stunning sound through a completely wireless home theatre system. Our review today will describe their packaged 5.1.2 system with 6 components and the transmitter, although you will see that our own system has the maximum of 11 components for a spectacular Dolby Atmos surround experience. The key here is that, unlike so many other ‘claimed’ wireless systems that have either the sub or surrounds wireless, EVERY SPEAKER in the Platin Monaco 5.1.2 Wireless Home Theatre is wireless and independently powered through its own plug.
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The Platin Monaco 5.1.2 Home theater is packaged in a rather heavy (47lb) and well branded box which contains a subwoofer, center channel speaker, two front channel and up-firing left and right Dolby Atmos speakers, two rear satellite surrounds and the SoundSend WiSA audio transmitter which is shaped like a hockey puck (From Canada eh?) Also included are a 5ft power cable for the subwoofer, HDMI cable, USB power cable, power adapter, 5 x 6ft power cables for each speaker and a Get Started Installation sheet. Each speaker is very well protected by cardboard spacing and set within a soft white cloth exterior pouch.
SYSTEM SET UP AND OPERATION
It takes longer to unpack the Platin Monaco 5.1.2 than it does to set it up. Plug the HDMI cable to your ARC/eARC HDMI port of your TV and into the back of the SoundSend Transmitter. Plug in the transmitter. Arrange and plug in your speakers and subwoofer and enjoy! The back of each speaker even has a small decal which states the preset location of each (FLFLH/FRFRH/RS/LS/C) It is really that simple and one can simply tuck the SoundSend transmitter away out of sight behind the smart TV.
If you take a close look at the back of the SoundSend Transmitter, you may notice that there is also an option for an optical TOSLINK cable. As a gamer, have you ever tripped over speaker wires in your game room? No need to answer. The Platin Monaco 5.1.2 can connect direct to your PC by optical cable for 5.1.2 crystal clear game play.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT
Having sought after true wireless speakers for a few years now, we can understand the hesitancy to jump into a system that seems relatively new and unproven. Many might ask why big names such as Samsung, Harmon, Bang & Olufsen and buchardt haven’t signed on if this is so good but, would you believe they are only a few of the audio Gods tied into WiSA Technologies? This product is solid and we know that as it has been our exclusive home cinema audio for the past year…almost to the day. This was our report of last year and then our follow up report testing the WiSA Audio Transmitter and putting their Dolby Atmos claims to the test.
The Platin Monaco 5.1.2 Wireless Home Theatre provides up to 8 channels of wireless audio at 24-Bit 48/96KHz sound clarity which is roughly twice that of a CD. Speakers must be placed within a 9m/30ft radius and are connected to the SoundSend transmitter by way of 24 RF channels of the previously reserved radar and weather channels between the 5.1-5.8GHz bands. Latency between the transmitter and speakers is 2.6ms which is less than 1/10th the latency of Bluetooth and all speakers are synced to within 1,000,000th of a second which guarantees no delays or lip sync issues. Last but not least, the Platin Monaco is ‘Tuned By THX’ to ensure ultra clear 360° cinematic sound.
OUR TEST ENVIRONMENT
If you happened to check out either or both of our previous reports, you might understand that, as stunning as our entertainment space is, it delivered us a real challenge with respect to achieving adequate, much less the great sound that the Platin Monaco has.
The room is 40′ long by 18′ wide by 25′ high with vaulted ceilings. The front of the house is pretty much completely glass with two levels of 9’x3′ windows which also provides for some very bright days. You might also notice that our specific setup incorporates this 5.1.2 system with the addition of two more rear surrounds and another subwoofer. We had identified long ago that, at least this space required at least two subwoofers. Actually, placement of these subwoofers originally saw the bass reflex ports facing in toward the couch for an amazing real cinematic effect but the controlling member of this team simply didn’t like the bass reverberating in that manner.
While we are examining this picture though, one might understand where our search for wireless speakers began. We purchased this house new but pre-built and there is simply no way to tap into floors and walls to hide speaker wires (or plugs) without a great deal of damage to the original design. This picture below is a great example of the light entering the room and also shows our former home theatre system.
Remembering that the Platin Monaco 5.1.2 Wireless Home theatre connects directly to the ARC/eARC HDMI port of your smart TV, this is somewhat of a give and take from the former Denon AVR-S740H along with two BIC America Acoustech PL980 750W 3-way speakers and a Acoustech PL28II 225W 3-way center channel. A few may shy away from the Platin Monaco just for this reason (no stereo connect) and they would be missing out on a great system. Let’s take a look at each component on the next page.
