AudioSource IW8S In-Wall Speakers, White (Pair)
By: Phonemate Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 18
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 On: 2007-03-01
I installed these as front right and left in the basement home theater drop ceiling - they were light enough to require minimal support besides the tiles, boxed in the cavity for extra base. Template was spot-on, everything sounds great. Still need a sub-woofer, though. Used IW6S for the surrounds, needing less oooomph.
 On: 2006-03-20
These speakers would be acceptable for a basic home audio system...music only. Do not attempt to use as surround speakers for a surround setup. Get NGX speakers instead. Cheap and very high quality. Again, these are OK basic home audio speakers for whole house music. DO NOT purchase for surround sound or you will most likely be sorry.
On: 2006-03-15
For the price this is a great speaker. Shipping was as promised and on time. Would highly recommend this item and amazon.com. Very good site.
On: 2006-01-16
I installed these speakers in an addition im 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 theyre just right. For the money i just dont believe you can go wrong. Ive heard mush more expensive in wall speakers and personally i dont hear a big difference.
 On: 2006-01-12
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.
On: 2005-11-09
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. Im 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.
On: 2005-10-10
Already have four of these, and buying two more to complete my surround sound setup.
The speakers come with mounting hardware which consists of several plastic ears that swing out upon installation to grip the surrounding sheetrock. Because they are plastic, stop tightening when its snug. Its possible to pull these out once their installed, but because of the ears it can be tricky.
As others have said, its a big hole. If you are mounting several in the same wall (example: center, left, right) then youll want to put some insulation above and/or below them to prevent vibration. Especially do this if you like your bass tight vs. boomy.
They sound great! They are designed to be put in a wall, so if youre listening to them without having them installed dont expect much.
Bottom line is that these are good, cheap speakers that are easy to install and look good once theyre in place! If someone sold aftermarket JBL or Bose stickers to put on the grille I doubt most self proclaimed audiophiles could tell - the layout of your room will probably have a larger effect on overall sound than paying another $250/pr for name brand speakers.
On: 2004-12-16
I purchased 8 of these to go into two surround sound systems in my home. These are the worst speakers I have ever owned, sound is terrible, no bass, very tinny, no midrange to speak of, vocals sound awful. These are just amazingly bad and cheap speakers.
On: 2004-05-24
I bought these speakers for the ceiling in a remodeled basement. The hole you have to cut in not tough to do but as another reviewer stated, make sure you know where your studs are in the wall/ceiling - you dont want to cut a hole in your sheetrock to find out the speaker wont fit because you hit a stud. Sound quality is amazing for the price and is very easy to hook up. Highly recommended.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-05-15
got it installed rather easily but the sound was empty in the higher frequencies VERY TINNEY. if you dont care about the quality then get them. these are very poorly made speakers. it is not a good deal
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-09
Extremely dissatisfied. These go back. I was eagerly waiting for these three way speakers to arrive. I have smaller audiosource speakers and Hometech HT6 speakers which sound better. The big problem with these speakers is that the tweeter often crackles which is obviously irritating. If it werent for the crackle, these speakers would have a nice sound. Too bad because if I liked these I would have bought two more pairs.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-06-18
No - this is not the speaker that you can listen to head-banging rock at a zillion watts, but it is an excellent speaker for whole-home-audio -- where music is in the background (and perhaps driven loud enough to be heard over the vacuum cleaner.)I run this through the Niles Gloria amp for the WHA and when the TV comes on, it automatically switches to that source. The sound at low to moderate levels is great. Good Bass response at those levels. Even turned up loud its good. I just dont do that often.
Incidentally, when I first got it and listened to it out-of-the-wall, it sounded terrible, thin, no bass. But after putting it in the ceiling and loosely packing roll fiberglass above it to create a chamber, the bass woke up. Full rich natural sound. Movies sound great, music is clear and distinct. As the others have written, just be aware of the size hole you are making. Its a tabloid (11x17, which is two letter size sheets of paper edge to edge) in size. Its a big hole. Recommend you tape some paper to the wall before buying this speaker just to make sure. But if it looks good, itll sound good. PS recommend you put fiberglass behind it no matter what, itll help the sound from vibrating the adjacent wall.
On: 2003-05-14
Easy to install, sound is better than my similar size JBL speakers. Please note, you are cutting a rather large hole in your wall (approx 13"x9"). Make sure you know where your studs are and you cut the hole exactly where you want the speakers. Everything you need to mount these is included in the package so there is nothing more to buy except for the speaker wire. Mounting brackets are integrated in the frame and you cant remove these once they are mounted. Again, make sure you are sure you know where to mount them before you cut your hole!
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-17
Nice looking speaker, solid construction,easy install. ...
by: Anonymous On: 2003-01-06
...Surprisingly great sound. First Audiosource purchase, not the last. Very easy to install, make sure you read the instructions. System used on: Harman Kardon 520 Receiver, JBL center, front and subwoofer with optical output, very large media room. These speakers sound awesome with 5.1 and DTS, DTS moreso. Tested with "Matrix" (bullets feel like they whizz by), "Saving Private Ryan", "Gladiator", "Attack of the Clones", "Blade 2" and a few more. Really nice. Had to lower JBLs channel and increase these, since JBLs would overpower surround speakers. Great for the price.
On: 2002-06-17
For the price they cant be beat by anything else Ive seen. Good S/N ratio and wide frequency range. Most of the other comparable speakers out there are only two way, these are three way and are cheaper so its a no brainer buying these. They are large, so cutting the hole can be a little nerve racking. But installation is a breeze. The braintrust from Verizon ready wiring put one of my pre-wires in a wall with something in it so I had to do some "self-modification" of my house. But otherwise I would have had them all installed(4 total) in less than an hour.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-06-12
nothing better unless you spend more than twice as much. Big hole in the wall was a little nerve-racking but they installed quickly and easily. Sound great right out of the box - looking forward to breaking them in.
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