I'm looking to install an audio solution in my vacation home and could use some advice.
My primary goal is to upgrade my TV sound, but my TV is a very tight fit in an enclosed cabinet. The way the cabinet is constructed, there's plenty of room behind the TV, but almost zero to the sides or front - no way a typical soundbar would fit. Even if I could make it fit, anything with up-firing drivers seems like a bad idea because it would just be firing into the interior of the cabinet.
The "right" answer would be to demolish the cabinetry and start over, but it's part of a full wall-to-wall built in setup that would be very costly to replace. I'm stuck with it.
I can probably fit a very small center channel speaker or some really small satellite speakers above the TV - something like the Focal satellite or possibly a Gallo A'Diva...maybe even a pair. These are passive speakers, so I'd need some sort of amplification. I use AppleTV, so I'm thinking it would be AppleTV->HDMI->Amp->TV.
The other option would be to go wireless and connect directly to AppleTV via Airplay. I like this idea because I suspect at some point I'll want to add a sub to the mix and having the infrastructure to do it wirelessly seems like it will be a good idea. Plus, at some point, if I can find something I'm happy with, I'd probably add a second zone in another room - again much easier wireless.
Still, I hesitate to go wireless. I have a few wireless speakers, including three very expensive B&O ones, and I've never been impressed with the connection quality...so much so that my B&O A9 ends up wired directly to a computer because I couldn't get it to play consistently from an Apple device five feet away. Yet, the wireless option would be nice, and if I could also stream music to it from Alexa or Siri, I'd be happy with that.
I should add that I'm picky about sound quality...my home theater in my main home is filled with exotic high-end gear, and while I'm not looking to duplicate that in my vacation home, I at least want something that's not going to leave me wanting to turn it off after five minutes.
I don't really have a budget firmly in mind...if I can get something I'm happy with, I don't mind spending for it.
So, with that background, any particular products come to mind?
What do you think would sound better - amplified passive speakers or high-quality wireless?
Does the wireless gear from Sonos (etc) actually work well with Alexa (or Siri), or am I going to spend months wading through software issues and instability?
Curious what others are doing for this sort of thing...