7. Signal Interference Tests

The biggest issue with the speakers is that because they use 2.4 GHz wireless technology, any microwave oven will interfere with the signal. In our tests in an apartment building, our neighbors’ kitchens were about 30 feet from ours, and could easily interfere with our music reception. When they (or we) used the microwave, we experienced similar sonic interference to what other reviewers have reported with the Sonos units: the music stuttered and then dropped for a few seconds on the remotes, but continued playing on the base station. Based on other reviewers descriptions’ of the Sonos and Squeezebox interference, I would say the Eos is somewhere in between the two units in terms of microwave sensitivity.

We also set up cell phones on top of the units, and wrapped foil around them, but they didn’t interfere with the music reception of the remotes at all.

The unlicensed 2.4 GHz radio band is prone to interference, but Eos advertises that because its units use their own wireless network, this is supposed to prevent bandwidth conflicts. Yet while the base station transmits signals that are designed to be picked up exclusively by the remote speaker units, clearly that distinction is not perfect.