When writer Gary Moskoff wanted to pipe music throughout his home, he decide to try an unusual solution: lightbulbs that were also wireless speakers. Here’s how it went…
Since moving to a much larger home, one of my personal goals was to find an entertainment system to enjoy throughout the different areas of our new space. As I believe sound and music can add a special quality to one’s environment, I felt it was important to spend some time working on this with the goal of having the home that I’ve been dreaming about. So many sound systems involve a lot of hanging and wires, however, definitely not the look or feel I envisioned.
I was a few days into my annual trip to the Consumer Electronics Show when I discovered the Sengled Pulse light bulb system powered by JBL and Harman. I was immediately intrigued with these dimmable speaker bulbs. Brilliant in their design, seemingly invisible with no wires, power cords, remote controls, nothing to hang up. Even better, the sound was much fuller and richer than I expected.
Simplicity at its best, the system is comprised of a multi-channel 1.75" full range high-fidelity JBL Bluetooth speaker embedded in a beautiful energy efficient, dimmable 13 watts LED 600 lumen light bulb – who thought that was even possible? To top it off, they’re available in pewter, candy apple red and pearl white.
The four Sengled LED wireless speakers arrived soon after the show, but sat around for a few days as I assumed they were going to be difficult to install. A silly assumption. It’s a number of steps, but they’re easy: screw the bulbs into a standard E26 socket, switch on the master bulb, synch your device via Bluetooth, turn on the other bulbs, and download the app to enjoy some additional functionality such as dimming, volume control and launching Spotify or Pandora directly within the App. That’s it- you are ready to go!
I accomplished many of my goals with this system; the sound throughout my home is outstanding, and it’s noticeable to anyone who visits. I’ve actually been asked where the speakers were by most everyone who visits my home. Everyone assumes it’s an expensive house system, one which required lots of planning, rewriting and expensive audiophile gear, but it’s much simpler than that!
The system always ships with a master bulb that communicates with one’s devices and is included in the Sengled Pulse starter kit, retailing for $149.99 along with one satellite bulb. Sengled also sent 2 additional satellite bulbs ($69.99 each) so I could fill my house with a vibrant sound. For larger spaces, I recommend using at least four bulbs, rather than just the two in the package. You can actually sync up to eight bulbs, which can be located as far as 100 feet apart. I do recommend that you get additional bulbs for larger areas, which is my only complaint about the system.
I highly recommend these LED wireless bulb, speakers for any environment, home or at the office. So if you are looking for a wonderful sound experience, with little to no effort in set-up, be sure to check out the Sengled Pulse.
Gary Moskoff is a contributing editor to Ask Dave Taylor and Managing Director of Sleeping Giant. He specializes in understanding consumers needs and developing experiences that attach to their lifestyles.
Disclosure: Sengled sent out a starter kit and two additional satellite bulbs to Gary for the purposes of this review.
Thanks Dave. I could never tell you just how helpful you have been to my wife and I.