I installed an Onkyo 7.1 home theather AV receiver in a lower level. Tech support at Polk and Crutchfield gave me advice on how to combine four Polk bookshelf speakers I already owned with a Polk center speaker and sub-woofer for a 5.1 system. The set-up sounds great. However I was left with a most beloved NAD Power Envelope Amp, an NAD Pre-Amp Receiver, and two Polk SDA 2A Stero/Dimensional Array speakers.

For a year I listened to the two SDA's powered by zone two of the Onkyo in an upper level living area. During this time the NAD power amp & pre-amp sat unused and unappreciated.

Enter the Russound AB-2.2. This versatile switch (can be used as a switch for two sets of speakers from one source OR to power one set of speakers from two diferent sources) allowed me to maintain the inputs from the home theater (Sat TV/music, BluRay with internet apps like Pandora, CD, etc) and to reconnect my NAD equipment as a second source in my upper level area. Don't get me wrong......I'm not an audio snob... (the Onkyo TX-SR608 is an amazing piece of equipment for the bucks), but I still love the powerful, clean sound the NAD amp kicks out on the SDA's. So now I have the best of both worlds. Thanks again to some great American companies (Crutchfield, Polk, and Russound) for their support and products). Additionally, Onkyo USA has exceptional tech support! Happy Holidays....

Pros: It allows me to share a pair of tower speakers with two receivers.....a HT Receiver (5.1 setup, 100W/channel) and a Stereo Receiver (2.1 setup, 100W/channel)). A rare but useful product for people who do not wanna listen to music in a HT setup. Build quality acceptable. No need to hide this from plain sight. You can put this on the main cabinet along with your other black boxes. This is why I went with Russound AB-2.2 and not Niles DPS-1. In the picture the Niles DPS-1 looked a bit crude. Overall the product works fine, no issues on that end.

Cons: The speaker inputs are really tiny and it was quite a battle to connect my 14 gauge wires. I recommend using wires which are at least 18 gauge. I didnt wanna purchase another set of wires just to connect this, hence I went with what I had.

The speaker clips are really tiny as well and are extreeemely difficult to work with. Normally, with clips you have to press the clip down and the wire slides in. Here its just the opposite. You have to use your nails (yes thats the only way!!...because they are so tiny) and pull them up (with all your strength) to slide the wire in. Thats why my fingers are hurting even after two days. Ouch!! Hence a 4 star rating.