By now, several of you have received your OAW3. We would love to know just how you are using this device and what you think of its' performance.

Best Regards,

Peter

Initial Impression: Wow, how did they get this surface treatment on the plastic case? It's almost like velvet. That doesn't really add much to the technical discussion but you know what they say about first impressions.

Application: Provide an RF link from the SMS-1 to the second sub. First sub is hardwired to the SMS-1.

Performance: Setup was simple and they worked. No problems with interference from my 802.11N or wireless phone systems that I've noticed, yet. Moving the sub around is one heck of a lot easier now than with the hardwired setup.

Adding the second sub made my bass response worse (so far uncorrectably worse)and I am somewhat concerned that the transmit/receive pair has introduced a delay that is causing my subs to destructively interfere with each other. I don't think (but I'm not sure) that the SMS-1 allows the phase of each sub to be adjusted seperately?? I know my sub only have a polarity switch. But I'll admit that I haven't done enough work to say which piece of the puzzle is causing the problem.

One thing I would have liked to see would have been a provision to hardmount to an RCA connector so that the OAW3 could plug directly into the receiver/sub/SMS-a/etc like a USB stick plugs into a computer. I can understand how this would limit flexibility though.

Second choice would have been for some type of mechanical mounting feature on the back case so I could hang it on the wall or entertainment center. Personally, I don't really care for the sticky tabs provided.

Overall impression is positive with the caveat that I need to do some more investigation into system perfromance issues.

Good stuff, EEman.


I don't know about possible signal delays, but of course any time you have two subs located separately you have to look at phase control. The SMS-1 does have a single phase control, while the subs typically just have a 0°/180° phase toggle switch - that toggle is often enough to resolve the worst phase-cancellation sins, though.


I can see how building in an RCA connector would cause a lot of problems, so it seems to make sense to take the approach they did with input and output. As for mounting, what about some velcro? Put one piece on the back of the receiver and a companion piece on the back of the sub?

Right now I am using the OAW3 to send internet radio to the aux input on a Tivoli radio. The range is very good. It makes it easy to listen to streaming audio, or my satellite radio, while working outside. Easier to use than the FM transmitter I have been using that cost twice the price of the OAW3. Great product.

I'm using it in my "hidden" setup where all of the components are hidden behind a wall. It let me locate the sub behind the sofa where it can't be seen without having to run a relatively thick/inflexible cable.

The units themselves have a very nice coating to them as EEMan mentioned, they feel really nice. Most importantly, "it just worked". I plugged it all in, and it magically started working, no messing with setup, re-checking connectors, plugs, etc. As soon as it was plugged in, I started enjoying fuller sound from having the sub. In that setup, i'm temporarily using an older Panasonic (Class D) receiver, so there's no distance/delay option for the sub, and I haven't been able to notice a delay.

My only "con" would have been to have higher quality cables included, when I connected the RCA to the sub in on my receiver, it didn't feel "tight" like some of the nicer connectors do. While the units themselves feel high-end, the included cables don't feel up to what an enthusiast would expect. Minor complaint, and absolutely no sonic issues (due to the very short run). Gonk's suggest of having the unit plug directly in, sounded nice, but it would cause the transmitter to stick out quite a bit at the back of the receiver, so i'm thankful for the cables.

I may plug these in to my computer just to see how it works, but so far in my subwoofer application it's been a lifesaver.

Overall a very easy to use product. High quality feel, small/compact size makes placement a breeze, the blue light was also a nice touch. Congrats Outlaws on a well made, easy to use product with multiple uses.

I was wondering if it might play a roll in that at all. I can't imagine the lag being too much that it would give you any more issue than just placement interacting with another sub.

I just bought one off a guy who got it for free in the recent deals Outlaw is doing and I'll be giving it a shot. This will be to add a 3rd sub in my room (toward the rear of the room or just behind the seating. My subs have infinite phase control, so I'll give that a shot.

After a little more playing around I find I agree with yamahaSHO. My room (AKA the basement) is crap; the electronics work fine. Adding the second sub just made it more obvious.

Now I just need to figure out why my room is absorbing/cancelling 50 and 100 Hz.

Time to do the sub-crawl with one or both of your subs. Do it for the first one and then once you like its setup and with it playing a low frequency signal do it for the second one. The subs are likely cancelling each other out to some degree. Even though LFE is pretty non-directional it is very subject to rooms nodes cancelling or increasing the LFE.

Has anyone noticed needing to turn up the gain on the distant sub compared to being hard-wired?

I'm using the OAW 3 for a second room/zone 2 set-up. I'm very impressed and satisfied with the quality of the sound. Though the two rooms have a different receiver, using the same speakers for two-channel in both rooms they're very similar sounding. While playing the same CD on the Blu-ray player in room 2 sounds noticeably better, I'm still impressed with the wireless sound coming from the CD changer in room 1 through the OAW 3. It's also really hard to tell if there is an audible delay between the two systems when listing to them at the same time. The two receivers are approx. 30 feet apart, with the signal running through two interior walls yet I've not noticed any interference for the couple of hours I've listen to music through the OAW 3.

interesting side note: We also have a treadmill in room 2 and a day or two before the OAW 3 was announced I was thinking how I'd like to play music from the CD changer in that room, but I had no intentions of trying to run a wire from one system to the other. I have no need to do so now.