Niles VCS100K Volume Control

I installed one of these Niles controls for my kitchen speakers about 10 years ago. It worked well from day one and is still going strong. About a year ago, I bought a similar product from Monoprice for my patio speakers that cost about half as much. It was difficult to install (screw holes misaligned), never really worked properly and is now totally fried. Just bought this Niles again as a replacement and I am blown away with the difference in quality. The Niles controls also have impedance magnifying (IM) circuitry that can be set for the number of speakers being powered by your amplifier so you don't burn it out or keep tripping the over-current protection. Keep in mind that this will impact the power available for each set of speakers. If you're powering 4 sets of speakers and have a 100w amp, setting the control to 4x will effectively reduce available power to 25w for each set. So just make sure you have an amp powerful enough to handle the load. Another nice feature is that this control comes with 4 different color faceplates. Save yourself the aggravation and buy this one first.

I have Russound in the rest of my house and needed to add another volume control. I like the Russound well enough, but I was never blown away by them. After reading a lot of reviews, I decided to give the Niles a chance. I like it much better than the Russound. It's easy to install, the knob turns easily, the sound is great and it looks nicer. The only con is that now I want to change out all of my old Russounds with the Niles.

Simple to Install volume control. Comes in a premium packaging well insulated and protected. No problem with installation but you need to be careful while connecting the cables to the control in order not to un-solder the connector to the base. You need to make sure you have enough room in the back of your wall because these controls they take a little bit of space .It's easy to install, the knob turns easily, the sound is great and it looks nice. Volume controls worked perfect and came with the assorted color plates I used two of them to control 4 speakers two per each control fills the room with nice sound.The controls also have impedance magnifying (IM) circuitry that can be set for the number of speakers being powered by your amplifier so you don't burn it out or keep tripping the over-current protection. Keep in mind that this will impact the power available for each set of speakers. So just make sure you have an amp powerful enough to handle the load.The product has a good range of control without any loss in quality or impedance.Positive and I would recommend this item.

These are great! They come with white, almond, and black face plates, trim, and knobs - also notice the face plate is the screwless type, which matches my other decora faceplates. The connections are easier than the Monoprice volume knobs (of which, are ok if you're on a very tight budget, otherwise, it's worth the cost upgrade). The whole thing feels high quality as the volume indents provide some haptic feedback as you rotate the knob. I have two of these, one controls Klipsch AW-650's powered by a Denon 4311ci and the other controls a pair of Infinity ERS 110's powered by an Emotiva Fusion Flex amp. Both volume knobs can handle the power of the amps (aka amp volume is up near max and then the in-wall volume knob attenuates the volume to the level I want).I originally bought all Monoprice ones (the 100-watt capable ones, about $15-ish), got this when I added deck speakers and now I'm slowly replacing the existing Monoprice ones I had gotten earlier...live and learn I guess. Also, the impedance matching on the Monoprice seemed to have only a marginal effect on the level, the Niles seems to work better in that regard.I'm using 16 and 14awg speaker wire (Monoprice and Cable Matters speaker wire), the 14awg is definitely a tight fit but it does work, just be careful that no stray strands short out the connections, the 16 gauge is an easier fit for sure.

Looks very sleek on the wall and works great. Do note that 12ga wiring is not compatible, you can make it work but it is tight. I went with one of the cheaper brands about half this price and the quality was horrendous, do it right the first time and get Niles.

Having spent quite of bit of my life in the audio world, I must confess that I do look for trusted names when purchasing audio and audio control items. Niles is one of those trusted names. We recently purchased a house that was already wired for a multi-room device including outdoor speakers. After a relatively short period of outdoor use, we noticed that our receiver (Onkyo NR-838) would shut off after 3 or 4 songs. Checking out the receiver, it was excessively warm to the point that it was shutting down on thermal overload. We know this because when using the Onkyo to run the surround sound, the receiver chassis is cool and that is running 5 channels vice 2. Upon restarting, the Onkyo told me to check the speaker wiring. Since all of the wiring was fine, the place to start was with the existing volume control. Removal of the existing shows me it was made by Pyle. Without speaking negatively about Pyle, the general problem was that the installed model was not capable of handling the wattage being provided to it and had failed (35 watts max, if I remember correctly).So long story even longer, not only did I search for a trusted brand to install, but also for one that handled the appropriate wattage. So when reading reviews, you MUST ask yourself how much you plan on pushing through the volume control. Don't fool yourself into thinking that it will work forever by overdriving the switch, it will fail. The Niles VCS100K isn't that much more expensive than a lot of the others, looks great, is makes before breaks (meaning that your audio doesn't "cut out" when switching up or down), and most of all, allows you to add the VCSHU B8 (add more speakers yet still maintain required impedance to the receiver). Onkyo runs cool again, more volume options as well, and multiple face plates and knobs provided to match your décor...this one is a no-brainer.