Customer Reviews
Couldn't be more pleased
I installed these speakers in an addition i'm working on. They were installed in a 2x4 wall with insulation within 6 inches in any direction. For the money i think they sound great. Understandably these are not the speakers you would chose as your primary listening source but as a way to fill an extra room i think they're just right. For the money i just don't believe you can go wrong. I've heard mush more expensive in wall speakers and personally i don't hear a big difference.
Don't bother looking anywhere else
I never put in reviews, but I wanted to take a couple of seconds to do so this time. These speakers are incredible. The price makes them that much more incredible. Much like everyone else said; easy installation, good sounds etc. I have these for my home theater. People come over and marvel at the sound. Just be sure to have a good amplifier and sub.
8 Pair - Do it yourself install
First of all, I researched many speakers and went to see various vendors whom sell and install in wall speakers. I wont name brand names here, but you can guess who they are (first initals include J__, P___, I______).
I took the specs from these speakers and started doing online research. I found these Audio Source speakers, printed the specs and went back to the same stores to ask what the difference was. Long story short, at the end of the say, they all told me the performance specs were at least identical (on paper they reminded me), and actually surpassed some of the $250 to $350 a pair price of the ones, like my neighbors upstairs have installed.
So, I ordered 8 pairs, as my entire home is wired for speakers in each room.
One thing I didnt realize is that when my home was built, the builders turns the studs sideways, flat against the concrete walls, so the wall depth, including sheet rock, was 2.75", not enough for these (and most other) in wall speakers, which require 3.5". Turns out, my neighbors had the concrete chipped away and the speakers modified in order to go into their walls.
I wound up building 1 inch frames for the holes, liquid nailed them to the wall, and secured them with 2 toggle bolts. As the speaker is not fully recessed, the size of the hole I needed to cut was reduced, but that wasnt the main discovery in my install.
I actually broke off the mounting dog-ears and mounting pegs. Then I used concrete screws to mount 1 inch wide strips of wood to the concrete, at the rear of the speaker hole.
After that I used 3.5 inch screws through the existing speaker holes (where the dog-ear screws had been) and turned these longer screws into the wood I had secured against the concrete. This is a totally solid install!
I sanded and filed the frames then painted them white, you almost dont even notice them (will provide photos if you ask). This install method is a little time consuming, each pair took me 5 hours, from cutting the hole to making/painting the frames, mouting and post-mount clean up.
Now, on to the sound. They are, without a doubt, terrific. I have 8 pairs, some mounted vertically, some horizontally (none are ceiling installs). I have none of the tweeter noise mentioned in here. 4 are driven by the amp in my TV and the rest are driven by my receiver. The TV and receiver are cross connected to allow one audio source for all speakers when desirable (i.e. parties).
This is a little klunky I will admit, but without a full RF remote and thousands of dollars in extra equipment, the exta 30 seconds it takes for me to push one button to connect them is a better, well, at this stage much less costly, trade.
I will add that a sub-woofer will help, but most systems have that aleady. Most receivers now adays are wired for a sub-woof and do not crank out tons of base to the pairs any more. BUT, just using my TV as an amp, and cranking its bass all the way up (and turning on a DTV music channel), I found the bass levels very realisitc, but not exaggerated, which is a preference of some listeners.
The mounting hardware is a bit flimsey I will admit, but I got around that by mounting them as desribed above. I'm sure they will work for most folks, just dont over tighten, but it seems like the plastic might fatigue over time.
Good value, very very good sound. I got 8 pairs for about $750 (including shipping). All my installation materials cost about another $100. Total costs, installed (not charging for my own time of course, or one trip to the emergency room, but that was because I was stupid with a power tool, it wasnt the speakers' fault), about $106/pair.
My neighbors had their install done, 5 pairs in total, for $4800, almost $1000 per pair, and I cant tell the difference when I am up there.
