Home > Consumer Reviews > AudioSource AST 220C Center-Channel Speaker for Plasma & LCD TVs (Single Speaker)

When i first stumbled across this speaker on ebay my first thoughts were, "I've never heard of Audio Source before, plus its cheap, therefore it must suck"
I had already gone up to best buy to compare center channel speakers to complete my surround system, the Definitive center channel was o.k. I thought it needed to add a little more space in between notes, so it wasn't worth spending $200.00 on. I wanted to get something that sounded better than the definitive model (Solid midrange, crispy highs, no distortion at high volume levels and good balanced sound at lower listing levels).
I also wanted something that was going to be solidly built and look good enough to be the the first speaker I see when I looked towards my TV, which also meant that it had to be slim enough to fit underneath my LCD without covering my IR sensor and also be thin enough to not hang over the edge of my dresser.
I have to say, this speaker COMPLETELY exceeded my expectations!
I thought this speaker would be made of plastic from looking at the pictures on the internet; i was wrong! This speakers outer shell is made of hard heavy metal, and its overall build quality exceeds models twice its price range.
The first movie i tested with it was Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
The voices of the actors were very clear and undistorted.
The sound coming from this speaker didn't sound as if the voices were crammed inside like other models i have heard before. The mid range frequencies sound just as solid as the definitives, but the higher frequencies caught my attention on the sword fighting scenes of the movie. The Clashing swords never sounded so REAL! As for the spaciousness of the sound, even with the presence of other sounds coming from this center channel the voices still gracefully came through with precision and clarity.
This whole experience changed my whole view of the Audio Source brand.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

I purchased this speaker for my home theater system and could not be more satisfied. I used the wall bracket and mounted it above my LCD and it not only looks great, but sounds great. The bass is solid, and the overall sound quality and accuracy can't be matched at this price point. The sound is much better than my previous JBL center channel. I wasn't sure what to expect since the price was relatively reasonable and I had no experience with AudioSource as a brand. I am glad I took a chance and purchased this speaker.

Fast Delivery. Excellent Packing.
I'm no Audiophile, but the sound is great. Crisp highs-no distortion at high volumes.
Not a scratch. It fits directly under my 52" LCD on the fireplace mantle.
I'd recommend this product...and this seller.

This is by far one of the best center channels I've heard, especially for the price. I had heard about this from an online forum and bought it for my 50" plasma/Onkyo receiver setup. It was easy to hang below the screen, sounds incredible through all of the ranges, killer speaker, you really can't go wrong. I'd like to purchase the full set of speakers to go with the center channel next.

Quality, sound, appearance, price = 10 stars

The 220 is a very good choice when you are looking for a lot of capability in a small and relatively lightweight package. Reproduction is excellent...expecially for voice and point of focus sounds. I was easily able to place it in a variety of locations frrom floor to ceiling until I found the right sweet spot. I liked the sliding wall mount system and the large feet for table or floor placement.

The reasons I did not give it 5 stars are primarily for the large feet which are held to the speaker body by a double-sided film. The film had already separated from the feet before I mounted them to the speaker body and they can only be mounted one way so the customer can't control elevation angle. The wall mount system is a bit finicky since you have to string the wiring through the mount, then attach the mount to the wall, then hook up the wiring to the speaker, then attempt to mount the speaker without pulling the wiring loose from the back mounted jacks. The jacks could have been placed on one side and allowed simpler access while mounted.