Home Theater Vault

Best Wireless Surround Sound Speaker Kits

By the Home Theater Vault Editorial Team · How we test & rank

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Running speaker wire to a pair of rear surrounds is the single biggest hassle in building real surround sound, especially across an open floor plan with no baseboard to follow, or in a rental where fishing cable through a wall isn't an option. A wireless surround kit solves that by sending the audio signal to the rear speakers over RF or WiFi instead of a physical cable, trading a little setup complexity and some brand lock-in for a room with no wire crossing the floor.

These fall into two groups: plug-and-play accessory kits that add wireless rear channels to one specific soundbar brand, and more flexible standalone or multi-room systems that work more broadly but need their own hub, amp, or network. Either way, the speakers still need power at the rear position — what goes away is the long run of speaker wire back to a receiver, not the power cord.

How we picked: We only considered kits with a genuinely wireless audio link to the rear channel, not just a shorter cable, and checked each one for noticeable lip-sync lag with movie dialogue before including it. We were upfront about compatibility limits rather than implying any of these work with any soundbar or receiver, and spread picks across brand-locked accessory kits, a standalone wireless system, and a more flexible cross-brand wireless standard.

Don't want to deal with rear speakers at all?

If even a wireless rear speaker's power cord sounds like more than you want to deal with, a soundbar with strong virtual surround processing is the simpler alternative — see our best soundbars for apartments and small rooms roundup for picks that lean on room reflections instead of physical rear speakers.

At a glance

#PickWhy it stands outPrice
Samsung Wireless Rear Speaker Kit (SWA-9500S)Top Pickplug-and-play pick for a compatible Samsung soundbar - True RF wireless link to the main soundbar, so there's no WiFi dependency or app setup needed to get audio to the rear channelsCheck Amazon
Enclave Audio CineHome IIRunner-upall-in-one wireless 5.1 system for going wireless from the start - Every speaker, including the subwoofer, links wirelessly to the included hub, so there's no receiver and no cable run to any channel, front or rearCheck Amazon
Platin MonacoBest Valueadding wireless surrounds to a WiSA-ready soundbar or receiver - Uses the WiSA wireless standard, built specifically for low-latency, synchronized multichannel audio rather than general-purpose streamingCheck Amazon
VIZIO Wireless Surround SpeakersAlso greatbudget add-on for an existing compatible VIZIO soundbar system - Noticeably cheaper than premium wireless ecosystems for anyone who already owns a compatible VIZIO soundbarCheck Amazon
Sonos Era 300 (as surrounds with a Sonos Arc, Beam, or Amp)Also greata premium multi-room ecosystem where wireless surrounds are one piece of a bigger system - Connects over your home WiFi and the Sonos mesh network rather than a dedicated RF link, so each speaker also doubles as a standalone room speaker elsewhere in the houseCheck Amazon

The picks in detail

Samsung Wireless Rear Speaker Kit (SWA-9500S)

Top Pick

9.6/10Editor’s score

Best plug-and-play pick for a compatible Samsung soundbar

Compatibility Works with select Samsung soundbars only · RF wireless · Still needs power at each rear speaker

  • True RF wireless link to the main soundbar, so there's no WiFi dependency or app setup needed to get audio to the rear channels
  • Pairs automatically with compatible Samsung soundbar models right out of the box
  • Compact cylinder design is easy to tuck onto a shelf or side table at the rear of the room

Watch out Only works with specific Samsung soundbar models, so check your exact soundbar's compatibility list before buying rather than assuming it'll pair.

Check price on Amazon

Enclave Audio CineHome II

Runner-up

9.3/10Editor’s score

Best all-in-one wireless 5.1 system for going wireless from the start

Compatibility Standalone wireless 5.1 system · HDMI ARC input · No AV receiver required

  • Every speaker, including the subwoofer, links wirelessly to the included hub, so there's no receiver and no cable run to any channel, front or rear
  • One-box setup is built for people who don't want to deal with a separate AV receiver at all
  • Hub takes an HDMI ARC input straight from the TV, so it drops in like a soundbar-style upgrade

Watch out It's a closed system — you can't mix in speakers from another brand or expand it later the way you can with a receiver-based setup.

Check price on Amazon

Platin Monaco

Best Value

9.0/10Editor’s score

Best for adding wireless surrounds to a WiSA-ready soundbar or receiver

Compatibility Needs a WiSA-certified transmitter or soundbar · Built-in amplifier · Low-latency wireless standard

  • Uses the WiSA wireless standard, built specifically for low-latency, synchronized multichannel audio rather than general-purpose streaming
  • Works with any WiSA-certified transmitter or soundbar, not locked to a single brand the way accessory RF kits are
  • Built-in amplification means no separate amp is needed to drive these as rear or height channels

Watch out Requires a WiSA-certified source — a WiSA transmitter dongle or a WiSA-ready soundbar or receiver — to work at all, so it's not a universal wireless add-on for any system.

Check price on Amazon

VIZIO Wireless Surround Speakers

Also great

8.7/10Editor’s score

Best budget add-on for an existing compatible VIZIO soundbar system

Compatibility Works with select VIZIO soundbar systems only · RF wireless · Budget-friendly add-on

  • Noticeably cheaper than premium wireless ecosystems for anyone who already owns a compatible VIZIO soundbar
  • Pairs automatically with the matching VIZIO soundbar system without any app or network setup
  • Small speakers are easy to place on a shelf or stand at the rear seating position

Watch out Only pairs with specific VIZIO soundbar models, and availability as a standalone accessory varies by model year — confirm your exact soundbar supports an add-on wireless surround kit before buying.

Check price on Amazon

Sonos Era 300 (as surrounds with a Sonos Arc, Beam, or Amp)

Also great

8.4/10Editor’s score

Best for a premium multi-room ecosystem where wireless surrounds are one piece of a bigger system

Compatibility Pairs with Sonos Arc, Beam, or Amp · WiFi-based, not dedicated RF · Also works as a standalone room speaker

  • Connects over your home WiFi and the Sonos mesh network rather than a dedicated RF link, so each speaker also doubles as a standalone room speaker elsewhere in the house
  • Trueplay room tuning adjusts the sound to wherever the speakers actually end up placed
  • Controlled from the same Sonos app already running the soundbar and subwoofer, so the whole system lives in one place

Watch out Needs a compatible Sonos soundbar (Arc, Beam, or Amp) to function as home theater surrounds, and relies on steady home WiFi rather than a dedicated wireless link, so a congested network can occasionally cause a dropout.

Check price on Amazon

Frequently Asked Questions

Are 'wireless' surround speakers actually completely wireless?
No — the audio signal travels wirelessly over RF, WiSA, or WiFi, but every speaker in these kits still needs its own power cord and an outlet nearby. What you're skipping is the long speaker-wire run from a receiver to the rear of the room, not the power cord at each speaker.
Do wireless surround speakers work with any soundbar or AV receiver?
Usually not. Accessory kits like Samsung's and VIZIO's pair only with specific models from the same brand, and WiSA speakers like the Platin Monaco need a WiSA-certified transmitter or soundbar rather than working with any generic receiver. Check your exact soundbar or receiver's compatibility list before buying rather than assuming a kit will pair.
Is wireless surround sound as good as a wired connection?
For movie and TV watching, a well-implemented wireless link (RF or WiSA) has no audible lag or dropout in normal use, since these standards are built specifically for synchronized multichannel audio. WiFi-mesh-based options like Sonos are generally solid too, but depend on your home network staying uncongested, so a very busy WiFi setup is more likely to introduce an occasional dropout than a dedicated RF or WiSA link.
Do I still need an AV receiver with wireless surround speakers?
It depends on the system. Brand-matched accessory kits (Samsung, VIZIO) and standalone systems like the Enclave CineHome II don't need a receiver at all — they pair directly with a soundbar or an included hub. WiSA speakers need a WiSA-certified transmitter or soundbar, which isn't the same as a full AV receiver. If you already have a receiver-based 5.1 or 7.1 system and just want to avoid one specific wire run, see our guide on hiding speaker wire for non-wireless options first.

Keep reading

Category

AV Receivers Buying Advice

Guide

How Many Speakers Do I Actually Need?

Guide

How to Hide Speaker Wire: Raceways, Baseboards, and In-Wall Fishing