I am always looking for good wireless speakers to furnish my office/home theater with. Any chance I get to remove wires or cables from the equation, I take, as there is already so much wire and cabling in my office that it could probably travel around the world many times over. Recently, I got the chance to check out the Creative Labs ZiiSound D5x Wireless Speaker and DSx Subwoofer combo. The units are classy, with black plastic construction and looks that will fit in just fine whether on a shelf, coffee table, or speaker stand. Additionally, the D5X speaker unit features a nifty iOS device dock for easier interface. Please note, however, that this is not the new Lightning interface from Apple – this is the older one. You will want to get an adapter if you have one of the new iOS devices with that interface.
Connecting the speakers is easy, and the Bluetooth connection is very stable – even at great distances. I was able to put my speaker and subwoofer units on opposite sides of the room (about twenty feet apart) and experienced no signal interruption or degradation. Additionally, any audio device capable of utilizing Bluetooth speakers can access them, so you can listen to audio from your PC, MP3 player, or whatever else. Included in the box is a USB Bluetooth dongle to connect to your PC.
A big feature of this ZiiSound wireless speaker line is that they are expandable. You can connect up to three D5X or D3X speakers (NOTE: You can’t intermix the D5X and D3X units) with one DSX subwoofer via Bluetooth. This ability to add-on means that you can customize the system as you like or get a speaker unit, one at a time, as you save up for the others. The flexibility here is unlike anything I have seen before – you can simply buy to how much sound you desire/can afford.
The DSX Subwoofer provided some really nice, room-filling bass by way of its SLAM™ (Symmetrically Loaded Acoustic Module) technology. We have heard this technology on some of Creative Labs other subwoofer units and it never disappoints in providing good performance at an economical cost. It performs like a subwoofer at twice its price point.
The D5X Wireless Speaker performed VERY well, with audio being crisp and clear – both at the high and low ends of the range. I utilized this sound system with both video games via my PC and the included Bluetooth USB adapter as well as watching Blu-ray movies. I found the D5X speaker to be a solid performer in any application.
If I could add one feature to the ZiiSound collection of wireless speakers, it would be support of Apple’s AirPlay wireless standard. That would be the cherry on top of the sundae for me.
Overall, the Creative Labs ZiiSound D5x Wireless Speaker and DSx Subwoofer combination is an excellent way to provide wireless audio to your home entertainment/gaming/theater system without breaking your bank account.
