Enclave Audio CineHome II Review

Verdict
An affordable, superb wireless home theater sound system, the CineHome II brings low-stress setup and amazing cinema-sized surround sound to your movie nights, favorite TV shows, video games, and sports.

Recommended for: 
Movie/TV/sport lovers and gamers who want an affordable, immersive surround sound experience, but don’t want the hassle and inconvenience of running a ton of wires along their floorboards or in their walls.

The Enclave CineHome II is a WiSA compatible wireless home theater surround sound system that packs a big punch in an affordable package. It boasts super-easy set up and plug and play installation, delivering immersive surround sound in just minutes with no AVR required. Even better, the WiSA connectivity makes it so no WiFi or passwords are necessary and with less than 1/10th the latency of a Bluetooth audio device, there’s no delay or lip sync blunders with the audio.

When I first heard a demo of the CineHome Pro THX system at CES 2020, I was wowed. The crisp tones, crystal clear dialogue and the proposition of not having to run wires everywhere? I was impressed and very interested. I’d seen and heard a lot of sound systems that week at CES, and many more throughout my professional reviewing and personal life, but it was evident that Enclave was onto something big. At the time I was wanting to upgrade my home sound system, and while the Pro system was a bit out of my price range, I found myself even more reluctant to go the soundbar route. I’d experienced greatness, and I didn’t want to settle.

I was given the opportunity to test out the CineHome II CineHub Edition surround sound system in late 2020, but, as excited as I was, I wondered how it would stand up to my experience of the CineHome Pro and the pedestal that I had placed that system upon. After more than a month of testing with all genres of movies, PS4 gaming and an embarrassing amount of Netflix and other streaming services, I confidently say the CineHome II more than delivers on its promises of luxury sound, simple setup and use.

Features

The CineHome II CineHub Edition 5.1 setup comes complete with an 8 ” subwoofer speaker, and the center, left and right front speakers give you a total of 4 full-range drivers with 3 tweeters for the front, while the two rear bi-pole surround speakers have 2” drivers.

The included CineHub is a wireless audio transmitter that features Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS Digital Surround and Uncompressed PCM. This unassuming box, with the dimensions of a mid-sized hardback book, has connections for HDMI eARC/ARC, Toslink optical digital, and 3.5 mm stereo analog. This little beauty is where everything connects, and, thanks to WiSA connectivity, no AV receiver or other equipment is needed to enjoy the CineHome II.

The biggest value proposition besides the great sound experience of the CineHome II is the ease of setup compared to other traditional surround sound systems – and it is easy! Unpack the speakers, place them accordingly, connect power, connect the CineHub to your TV, power it all on and the CineHub recognizes the speakers. Sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Well, as our testing experience proved, that’s exactly how it works.

Full transparency: I did have one hiccup with my 2020 Samsung TV, and thanks to the ever-helpful AV community on the internet, I figured out I just had an additional option I needed to select in my TV’s menu to recognize the CineHome II system. But, to make sure that the setup truly was as easy as Enclave claims it to be, I set up the system to my 2018 Panasonic TV upstairs, and sure enough, it recognized and connected without a hitch. Even with this one odd obstacle, the CineHome is the easiest and least frustrating surround sound system I have tested over the past decade.

Setup & Testing

Click through the gallery above to see how the CineHome II arrived for testing.

The Enclave CineHome II CineHub Edition arrived in a sturdy, large box – lift with two people! – and the speakers were packed securely with padding. Enclave included two smaller boxes inside, one with all the speaker power cables, the other with the CineHub unit and power supply and HDMI cable. A pair of soft white gloves was also included, a nice touch to help keep you from smudging your speakers with fingerprints during setup.

The CineHome II speakers are well built, classy looking and sturdy. The 8” subwoofer is downward firing, its speaker casing taking up only a bit more than a cubic foot of space. The two front left and right speakers stand tall at 16.4”, while the equally long center speaker lays flat. The rear left and right speakers are about 7” wide by 6.4” tall with angled grills. Each speaker is clearly marked, making it even easier to make sure you place them in the correct position.

While it’s wonderful not having to run speaker wire everywhere, you still have a power cord running from each speaker. The only real problem I had with this was with the rear speakers, and a short extension cord helped get it set up where I wanted it. Depending on your power outlet setup, you may need to get creative on making sure no one trips on the cords. Fortunately, the six power cords and the HDMI cable from the CineHub to the TV were the only cords I had to run – thanks, Enclave!

Each speaker has a keyhole and threaded insert for stand or wall-mounting, and I opted to place the front right and left speakers on adjustable speaker stands since I don’t have an entertainment center that is wider than my wall mounted TV. The center speaker is best located below your TV, but it can be mounted on a wall or to a TV wall mount with the right hardware.

Sound

While its big brother, the CineHome Pro THX system, sports larger front left and right speakers, a 10” subwoofer and full range rear speakers, the CineHome II is no slouch when it comes to delivering big cinema-esque sound and performance.

It’s a great stand-alone system, and it is modular, making it possible to expand the system with additional speakers and up to three more subwoofers. I know what I’m asking Santa for Christmas this year – more bass!

During testing I switched back and forth between the TV speakers and the CineHome II often, until my family asked me to stop as it was clear to them, and myself, how much better the system made our viewing experiences. A sample of our testing media included the Star Wars movies, The Mandalorian on Disney+, too many holiday movies on Hallmark, all the Daniel Craig 007 movies (full of exciting car and boat chases and explosions galore), and regular TV news and shows.

Throughout all of our viewing, motors thrummed, soundtracks engaged us more, dripping water, echoing footsteps and forest animal sounds took us into the scenes. Plus, we could hear people speak clearly without having to have the volume up high! The Dolby Audio brought a richness to the room-filling sound, and even though the CineHome II doesn’t have the THX capabilities of the CineHome PRO version, I am not disappointed at all with the performance of the CineHome II as I think back and compare it to my initial PRO experience at CES.

Using the CineHub remote app you can control each speaker individually, giving it a boost, or reducing the sound – a feature my wife appreciated as her favorite seat is right in front of a rear speaker. The CineHub app also lets you select your room setup, connection type, access support from Enclave and update your system’s firmware. While you can control the volume from the app as well, one of the best features of the Enclave CineHome II is that it works with most existing TV remotes or universal remotes. One less remote I have to keep track of is a win in my book.

Summary

The CineHome II CineHub Edition is an incredible, 5.1 home theater surround system. The easy wireless setup, amazing sound experience and classy speaker aesthetic, this affordable system makes an attractive option for anyone looking for a superb audio upgrade.

Personally, I can’t listen to shows and games without the CineHome II now – and I’ve tried. Movies are fuller, video games like Skyrim, with its soaring soundtrack and environmental effects, draw me in even more with the CineHome II. The first time thunder rumbled and rain started in-game, I had to turn down the system because it was almost overwhelming how real it sounded. Even regular TV programs and Netflix binges are better with the system because of the enhanced audio quality.

We highly recommend the Enclave CineHome II for anyone wanting to start or upgrade their home theater experience, especially if they are on a budget or intimidated by all the wires and devices needed for a traditional system. Sure, a soundbar would be cheaper, but there’s no substitute for a full surround sound experience, and Enclave brings all that and an incredibly easy set up with their CineHome systems.

For more information, visit www.enclaveaudio.com/

See also: Executive Insight: Higher-End Audio Offers Opportunity To Dealers In 2021