Fasetto has announced that its Audio Cu system, which connects televisions and other audio devices to speakers and subwoofers over the existing power line in a home, has received Dolby Atmos product certification from Dolby Laboratories.
Similar to powerline networking solutions that can use existing electrical wiring to share internet throughout the home, Fasetto's Audio Cu is an alternative to having to snake audio cables through a wall or trying to connect cables connecting speakers to an audio source. to hide under carpets and furniture. It is also an alternative to wireless solutions such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which come with their own challenges and trade-offs, including additional latency, audio compression and signal reliability.
For a home theater setup with five speakers and a subwoofer, you'll need seven power outlets and seven Audio Cu devices – a transmitter for your TV (the company says no AV receiver is required) and a receiver for each speaker. According to Fasetto, the system's additional latency (signals are specially encoded before being sent over power lines) is less than 20 milliseconds and it is not affected by interference.
Each speaker with red and black (positive and negative) terminals is compatible with Audio Cu, and up to 10 channels can be sent from a single transmitter over power lines, allowing for a 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup. For larger homes, up to six transmitters can be used in separate configurations, but the Audio Cu system offers a maximum total of 32 channels. Setup and configuration, including audio presets, EQ adjustments and effects for individual speakers, are all done in an iOS and Android mobile app, although a TV or projector remote can easily be used to control volume.
Fasetto, which has developed a number of other multi-device connectivity solutions, has not revealed the price of the Audio Cu transmitters and receivers, but expects the system to be available soon when pricing is announced. Provided this doesn't make the cost of a home theater setup too high, it could be a welcome alternative solution – even assuming you don't live in a remote cabin without electricity.