Home > Consumer Reviews > AudioSource IW8S In-Wall Speakers, White (Pair)

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 can't remove these once they are mounted. Again, make sure you are sure you know where to mount them before you cut your hole!

For the price they can't be beat by anything else I've 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.

...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 JBL's channel and increase these, since JBL's would overpower surround speakers. Great for the price.

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.

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.