AudioSource IC8S Round Ceiling Speakers, White (Pair)
By: AudioSource Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 19
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 On: 2007-07-12
Excellent speakers at a bargain. These are not for critical listening, however no one listens critically from ceiling speakers anyway. I love them and put them in all my rooms.
On: 2006-07-31
I have to agree with all the reviews I read here. I bought these speakers for a new home we were going to have built after having read the reviews here.
We ended up cancelling the new home build and it took a year before we retro fitted our old home with the wiring for the in ceiling speakers. We have the 2 fronts and the 2 backs for our surround sound as the IC8S, the Onkyo Center Speaker and the Onkyo powered bass. We also have an Onkyo Receiver.
What a wonderful surprise! I had read the reviews and expected them to be good, but comparable to $200 speakers???? (I bought them off ebay and paid anywhere from $5 to $15 a pair and bought 10 pair of IC8S and IC6S) This just semmed to be asking too much.
Boy was I surprised! These speakers definitely can hold their own. I have shopped around for Klipsch, Polk and several other in ceiling speakers. It was my intention to start with the audiosource (for the entire house) and I was going to replace some of the key speakers with these higher end speakers. Now, I plan on saving my money. These speakers are great!
 On: 2006-02-21
These speakers are of very good for the price. These can easily be compared with the high end ones. The sound is perfect when hooked up with my stereo receiver. On the ceiling of my bedroon it looked little big but after I heard the sound I was very happy with my choice and was proud of myself as well. I am giving this 4 stars (****) as there is always room for improvement.
On: 2006-01-02
After what I have read from the reviewers... I was a little skeptical about the whole issue about buying a somewhat "unknown name brand" vs. a "named branded". But hey, I gave it a tried and it turned out well. I have a high cathedral ceiling. (Trusted me, it was not easy to install when youre about 18ft up there!). To make it short... installation was easy, besides the height, sounds great and looks great. So bottom line is, would I purchase something like this... I would especially when it was deal!
On: 2005-09-26
I heard these speakers at a friends house and was very impressed with the audio quality so I purchased 2 pairs for myself and installed them in my house (in two bedrooms w/ individual volume controls) and was just as impressed with them.
I normally listen to music on my moderately high-end (Vienna Acoustics) speakers but when Im kicking back in the bedroom, these speakers easily meet my needs, both in sound quality and price. Sure theyre not my Viennas but they are great nonetheless.
BOTTOM LINE: Great sound for the price. Easy installation. You wont be disappointed.
On: 2005-09-12
Wow what a great deal. I have used and installed other in-ceiling speakers that cost much more. These are simple to install and sound fantastic! I cant believe the price either. Most of the other speakers cost twice as much but dont sound any better.
On: 2005-08-14
I bought two pairs of these for installation in a new house, one pair for the living room, one pair for the kitchen. They produce brilliant highs and a clean midrange. Dont take that 28 hz figure too seriously though; no 8" speaker I know of will give really convincing lows without an elaborate enclosure (which these dont have). Having said that, I still think the bass is good, just dont expect to shake the walls unless you add a subwoofer to the system. The speakers are excellent on vocals, speech, and background music, which is how I plan to use them. Considering the price and performance, They are an outstanding buy.
On: 2005-06-14
These are not audiophile speakers, but for a smaller space and basic needs, they are a good deal. When I first received these ceiling speakers, I hooked them up and thought they were tinny and not worth installing. A mock up in a box proved that they had potential bass. Because my kitchen has a dropped ceiling, I had to build cabinets for these speakers or the mids and bass would have been lost. I tried to mimic what you might expect from the average enclosed ceiling cavity, so I made a plywood box 5.5" deep, 24" long, and 16" wide and caulked it to the gypsum ceiling tiles. I may not have installed the speakers optimally, but I didnt find proper guidelines either.
The sound is quite clear for Jazz, Classical, Folk, spoken word, but rock shows some distortion depending on the album and volume. For example, The Rolling Stones tend to be distorted to begin with, but sounds lousy on these speakers. Its possible that a subwoofer could allow you to get proper performance from these speakers, but Im just cautioning your expectations. These are great speakers for the price and they make us happy, but dont expect them to replace tower or decent bookshelf speakers.
On: 2005-02-14
Reason for purchase:
I am in the process of finishing my basement and had purchased the IC8S speakers to use a surround speakers in my designated home theater area. The in-wall / in-ceiling mounting was an absolute must for me, since I wanted a "clean" look for the room; however, I didnt want to spend a fortune on Infinity, JBL, or similar since the prices for those start at $200/pair. I stumbled onto the Audio Source speakers on Amazon and decided to take chance on these speakers based on the good reviews. I was hesitant, though, because I didnt recognize the brand and the price seemed "too good to be true", so I didnt get my hopes up.
Background on the install:
The Audio Source speakers serve as surronds (right, left and back) in a setup that includes a Denon AVR 883 receiver, JBL Northridge series bookshelfs, JBL northridge center speaker and a JBL powered subwoofer. I used monster cable or similar quality speaker cable throughout the room.
Review:
These speakers are very good --- in fact Id say they are outstanding given the price you pay for them. I cant imagine youd find anything better for under $200/pair. They produce very clean, crisp highs and nice warm mid-range sound. The directional tweeter is a very nice feature that I did not expect to see on speakers of this price. Obviously you wont get much bass response out of these speakers, but you dont need that if you pair these with good full range front speakers and a good powered subwoofer. The sound I am able to get out of these speakers in conjucntion with the rest of the setup is tremendous. I am totally pleased with these speakers and would recommend them to anyone looking for great sound on a "budget". Obviously there are some "audiophiles" who will find shortcomings with these speakers, however, the average consumer, like myself, should be pleased with these speakers.
Other thoughts:
The packaging included with these speakers indicates that Audio Source is a division of Phoenix Gold. This made me feel a lot better about these speakers. I have had good experiences with Phoenix Gold audio components for mobile installs I have done in the past.
The IC8S speakers are quite large-- approx 10 - 11 inches in diameter. Take good measurements to make sure you have no obstructions in the area where you are mounting. Make sure you have room for these speakers before you buy.
I also bought a pair of the IC6S for background listening in a second room. These are also very good, but dont sound quite as "rich" as the IC8S. The IC6S are considerably smaller than the IC8S --- so I would consider these speakers if you have space constraints.
On: 2005-02-08
I purchased several pairs from another vendor and installed them in new houses as home theater 5.1 packages. They sound excellent with plenty of bass. Movie soundtracks sound excellent on these. I then purchased a pair for myself from Amazon since they seem to have the best item + shipping price out there. I installed these in my garage and WOW. I have the coolest garage around! I think I will install another pair later!
Make sure you tell Amazon to ship these double-boxed, otherwise they come shipped in their retail box which doesnt offer much protection. The edges were cracked on both speakers in the pair I purchased. =(
On: 2005-02-03
I have JBL cabinet speakers from college, but now that I am married and have kids, my wife and I didnt want the speakers cluttering up the house or getting tampered with by the kids. We pondered for weeks, and decided to go with in-ceiling speakers, as opposed to in-wall AND in-ceiling. I think we made the right choice. Ive read some arguments that criticize the logic of putting speakers in the ceiling for home theatre, but they work fine. We put AudioSource 8-in speakers for front L/R, and 6.5-in for the rest of the surround, along with their 100W subwoofer, and the movie and music come to life! I have no complaints about the sound, even when compared to my JBL cabinets. In-ceiling install was a breeze (whereas in-wall would have been a nightmare for a guy like me with little knowledge of how a house is put together). And its not like we blew big bucks on the in-ceiling speakers, so I wont feel like I have to take them with me when we move -- Ill just buy some more for the next house.
On: 2005-01-14
just installed these speakers, was a little worried due to price, thought that they might be cheesy, but find them to be a excellent value, i installed them in my bedroom, running a 6.1 system in there, very happy, also recommand the powered sub by same company,
On: 2004-10-22
Ok... Ask yourself one question before you buy these speakers. Am I an audiophile? If you answer "Yes" or if you have a subscription to "The Absolute Sound", then keep looking. For the rest of us, these are really good speakers. If youre looking (as I was) for moderately priced, good sounding, in-wall, paintable-grilled speakers then this is a solid choice. For a retrofit into a smaller room, Id suggest the 6" speaker instead of the 8". Also, if youre doing a whole-house audio thing on a budget (as I am), then you can save $$ and effort by buying the "dual voice coil" model which accepts both the left and right channel into one speaker. Not as good as separates, but you only pull one 4-wire cable and drill one hole into your drywall. 5 stars minus one to aknowledge my audiophile brothers and sisters who know their stuff about high quality sound.
On: 2004-08-05
I bought 3 pairs for my basement. I have suspended ceiling. The speakers are made for installing on sheetrock ceiling. So, the installation was not straightforward. I used the same metal wires used for hanging suspended ceiling to secure the speakers to the joist. Used SIMA SSW-6 1 x 6 Speaker Selector to connect the 3 pairs to the Amp. The bass is not that great but the speaker has good high frequency response. Mids are ok. The adjustable tweeters are nice. I use it only for music. I added my old sub woofer to the B out of the Amp and, WOW !! it rocks !!.
On: 2004-08-04
I bought 3 pairs for my basement. I have suspended ceiling. The speakers are made for installing on sheetrock ceiling. So, the installation was not straightforward. I used the same metal wires used for hanging suspended ceiling to secure the speakers to the joist. Used SIMA SSW-6 1 x 6 Speaker Selector to connect the 3 pairs to the Amp. The bass is not that great but the speaker has good high frequency response. Mids are ok. The adjustable tweeters are nice. I use it only for music. I added my old sub woofer to the B out of the Amp and, WOW !! it rocks !!.
by: buddyschultz On: 2004-06-22
These speakers are nothing exceptional, but for the price they cannot be beat. I have heard many cheap speakers in my life, but most either have a very tiny treble or just weak sound overall. I would say that these speakers have a fairly round and warm overall sound as well as a good solid range. As a musician, I like to think that my ears are a little bit more fine-tuned than the average American, and for 60 dollars, these speakers are great for my ears.
On: 2004-04-29
I was skeptical about these speakers but I have listened to so many in the past couple of months in stores I couldnt decide. After reviewing and comparing the specs and prices I decided to give these a try. I mounted them in the celing as my front pair angeled the tweeters and WOW! What a great sounding pair of speakers and the price is about $150 less than I was going to spend. I am very happy and they are so easy to install in your ceiling. It is a well worth saving the money and getting these two. You could spend alot more money and get the same quality of sound.
On: 2004-03-30
I knew I was rolling the dice with these rather than buying a well known brand. The sound is awesome! Installation was very easy and the adjustable tweeter helps dial in your sound. Words can only say so much...you will be shocked by the sound coming from these speakers. I have mine hooked up to both a stereo system and a home theatre. Whether you talk movies or music the sound is crisp and tight. Add in the price and this is a no brainer.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-13
I know what youre thinking. A no-name brand. Well these are no white van speakers. I decided to try some when I determined to put two in my master bath. I already have two 5.1 theaters (neither uses AS hardware). Ten bucks times seven and they were from eBay to my house. Easy install. I ran 14 ga wire to them and drive them with an old Technics stereo reciever that is 80W on two channels. I lit these up and they rawked! I mean the kind of sound you would expect from speakers costing 5 times more. Rich, deep and clear bass (wow). crisp highs and obvious mids. The only difference I can possibly tell against high-priced speakers is that they dont have quite the "headroom" the others do. Meaning, you can sense that they dont have the ability to absolutely crank up (distortion free) and run you screaming out of there. Modest volumes to loud are very good. Dont try to overdrive these however, as in see-how-loud-they-can-get or "stereo wars" with the boys. I highly recommend these budget performers. They shocked me.
On: 2003-12-05
Good speakers for general use, and great value. I used 2 pairs of these as front and back speakers to create a surround set up so I have no speakers on the floor. It has really cleaned up the look of my room which is a family room about 20x12. I have a center speaker sitting on the TV. I get plenty of volume from these speakers (Sony STR695DE amplifier)and the sound is true and clear...but...the bass volume is not that great from where I sit. I think this is because, obviously, they point down from the ceiling and are not facing you in the way floor standing speakers do. If you go stand under the speakers and listen the bass is much better, so Id have to conclude this is an inherent aspect of choosing to mount ceiling speakers, and not due to these specific speakers. In my original setup I did not have a subwoofer because the whole goal here was to keep the floor clear. Now I have added a YST-SW215 ($100) to add back the bass, because this subwoofer is small enough (yet still 100w) to sit next to the TV on the cabinet. It faces forward and has added back the bass I was missing. Again, these speakers have great bass, but it was quite directional. I should say that I like loud R&B (like Stevie Ray Vaughn and 3 Doors Down) and loud trance and techno, so my need for bass may be more than others! Conclusion...I think ceiling speakers are ideal for back surround speakers, but you may prefer forward facing speakers for the front. If you do choose ceiling speakers, I can recommend these highly. I love my current setup. Cheers
Latest news: I bought 3 more pairs! 2 more pairs for the basement and 1 pair for the dining room...guess Im hooked. Now, maybe I could fit a pair in the garage...
On: 2003-02-21
We bought four pairs of these to put in the ceilings of our addition. Were using them for surround sound in the family room, and they work great ... for stereo in the breakfast room and bedroom, and no complaints. They handle anything we put through them w/no distortion & good sound.
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