Review: Enclave Audio CineHome Pro

The best home-theater sound systems usually come with headaches. You have to deal with cable management, bulky receivers, and big, unwieldy speakers. Sure, you can get a nice soundbar with a wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers for decent surround sound in an easier package, but those rarely compete for cinematic oomph with wired systems. Just ask the folks at the Home Theater subreddit, who literally refuse to discuss soundbars, full stop.

The Enclave Audio CineHome Pro, via a little-known wireless technology called WiSA, tries to take the headaches out of the equation. Plug in a powered hub to your TV (and each of the five speakers and subwoofer to power outlets) and you’ve got yourself a proper, THX-certified home theater—no receiver or speaker cables required.

This is no expanded soundbar system; it’s full-fledged 5.1 surround sound. After a few weeks of Marvel movies, Ted Lasso, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer reruns, I’m calling it: The days of traditional wired home theater systems are numbered.

Photograph: Enclave Audio

They’re not as large as the towers you see on some wired home theater systems, but the CineHome Pro’s speakers aren’t the tiny satellite models you’d expect from a glorified soundbar, either.

You get five midsized towers that can be placed around the room, with sleek metal grates and hefty-feeling plastic enclosures. Because they use the WiSA (Wireless Speaker and Audio Association) standard—a wireless protocol designed to allow powered speakers to sync up with what’s on screen—each tower has a built-in class D amp that's specially tuned for these specific speakers.

Some TVs have built-in WiSA support, but many don’t, which is why Enclave Audio smartly included a tiny powered HDMI hub to plug into your TV. It makes setup a breeze.

You can use an ARC-equipped HDMI port or optical output on your TV to set up the CineHome Pro’s hub, but I highly recommend the former. ARC allows your TV's remote (or any universal remote) to control the system with ease. Most modern TVs (from the past two or three years) have ARC built in to at least one port, but you’ll want to make sure before you spend the dough on one of these systems.

The other setup concern is making sure you have enough power outlets. Consider buying extensions that can be hidden under couches or around the edge of rugs in your viewing space if you don’t have perfectly situated plugs like I (surprisingly) do.

The speakers go exactly where you’d think: The center channel, front left and right speakers, and two rear surrounds are easy to place, and all you’ve got to do is flick the power switch to pair them with the small central hub. I suggest you snag some cheap stands for the speakers, like these from Amazon, so you’re not searching for bookshelves or other slightly mismatched places to put them.

The subwoofer is the trickiest to place, because the best spot depends on your room. Don’t place it near a corner as that will concentrate the bass. Take a trial-and-error approach. Listen to the system with the subwoofer in various locations and leave it wherever you think it sounds best.

Once you’ve got them placed and plugged in, you can pair your phone to the hub and set up the speakers inside the Enclave Audio app to input positioning information and more. It’s a simple interface, and post-setup it’s unlikely you’ll touch the app often.

Photograph: Enclave Audio

As someone who sees odd connection issues with soundbars even on cutting-edge TVs, I was pleasantly surprised using the CineHome Pro—it just worked. Audio came through the speakers after turning on the TCL 6-series I was reviewing at the time, with the TV remote immediately taking control of the system.

Occasionally, it takes a few seconds for the sound to work on the home screen, but it never fails afterward. It’s likely just turning on the speakers and coming out of standby mode. There were no hiccups, missed connections, or other issues in my testing time, which is pretty rare for wireless speakers.

As for the sound quality itself, the 14 custom-designed drivers and 10-inch sub filled my medium-size viewing room with big, cinematic sound. I really like how lively the CineHome Pro gets when I crank the volume past 50 percent. It’s after this level that I felt like the subwoofer really started kicking out the Michael Bay explosions with gusto, and the surround speakers made me feel like I was in a movie theater again.

It’s a 5.1 system, so you won’t get the swirling 3D sound without adding ceiling-down drivers like on a 5.2.1 Dolby Atmos system, but seeing as the vast majority of content is still mixed in 5.1, you’re not missing much for the time being. I even watched a few newer Netflix shows mixed for Atmos, and I never felt like I was missing the height channels too much.

As a plug-and-play solution that provides great-quality home theater audio, the Enclave Audio CineHome Pro breaks new ground. The dedicated class D amps are perfectly paired to the speakers, and the slim design makes them as easy to place as many larger soundbar systems, but with better sound.

I’d spring for something traditional if you’re building a projector-powered home cinema, but if you’re using a TV and want a quality, THX-certified system for the living room, this is a very compelling option. Even if this specific system isn’t for you right now (it is $1,599 after all), it’s worth paying attention to WiSA-fueled devices down the road.

After all, who wants to keep upgrading a receiver every few years when technology shifts? With WiSA speakers like this, we might be able to more permanently cut the cord.