Our take on the Niles WVC100E

by Barry Montgomery

The Niles WVC100E weatherproof stereo volume control is perfect for outdoor applications — no more running into the house to adjust the listening level of your music! This rugged, corrosion-resistant unit is built to withstand the elements season after season, giving you easy control over your music. You'll love the convenience!

This WVC100E also offers impedance matching, which means you can safely make it a part of a multi-room speaker system incorporating up to 8 pairs of speakers. You won't have to install a speaker selector or any other type of protection device!

Details:

power handling: 100 watts per channel
12-step control, 54 dB maximum attenuation
selectable impedance magnification (2X, 4X, and 8X)
pop-free switching between all steps
pre-assembled in a sealed PVC enclosure with stainless steel hardware
paintable finish
removable screwless connectors accommodate up to 14 gauge wire
surface-mounts on a wall or mounts directly on a 3/4" PVC conduit
dimensions: 3"W x 4-3/4"H x 3"D
warranty: 10 years

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What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

WVC 100E volume control with attached circuit board
1 Gray PVC enclosure
1 Gray standard wallplate
1 Rubber gasket
1 Gray knob
2 Device screws
4 Faceplate screws
Installation & Operation Guide

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Features
Installation Considerations
Specifications
Dimensions

Features

Overview: The WVC 100E is a waterproof stereo speaker volume control that connects between the speaker-level output of an amplifier, speaker selector, or a Niles VCS HUB8 distribution hub and a pair of speakers. Premium-quality parts and construction ensure high-fidelity sound with flat frequency response and 100 watts continuous power handling.

PVC Enclosure: The volume control mounts in the supplied weatherproof PVC enclosure, which features a rubber gasket that seals out the moisture. The PVC enclosure has a paintable finish.

Universal Impedance Magnifying Circuit: A universal impedance magnifying circuit enables the WVC 100E to act as both a stereo and an impedance magnifying volume control. You can magnify the speakers' impedance by a factor of two, four, or eight, allowing you to connect up to eight pairs of speakers to a single amplifier or receiver.

12-Position Control: The make-before-break switch design delivers 12-step, pop-free control for a wide range of listening volumes.

Autoformers: Precision autoformers provide superior sonic performance, exceeding the audio quality of non-impedance magnifying volume controls.

Removable Screwless Speaker Connectors: Two piece, screwless speaker connectors make installation quick and secure. Each connector can accept up to 14-gauge wire.

Isolated Grounds: Isolated left and right-channel grounds ensure safety with any amplifier.

Impedance Compatibility: The WVC 100E can be used with 4-, 6-, or 8-ohm speaker systems.

Installation Considerations

Mounting: The WVC 100E surface-mounts on a wall or mounts directly on a 3/4" PVC conduit.

Speaker Wire: The WVC 100E will accept stranded copper wire up to 14-gauge. Larger (lower gauge) wire is not recommended, as it will not fit into the connectors. Solid-core, aluminum, or "Romex" wire is not recommended. Most states require in-wall speaker wire to have a specific "CL" fire rating.

Required Tools: To install the WVC 100E, you will need a Phillips screwdriver and wire stripper.

Specifications

Specifications:

Audio Power Handling: 100 watts/channel RMS; 200 watts/channel peak music power
Frequency Response: 20 to 20,000 Hz (+/-1.5 dB)
Impedance: compatible with 4-, 6-, and 8-ohm speaker systems

Dimensions

Dimensions:

Volume Control: W=1.529", H=4.071", D=3.668"
PVC Enclosure (with volume control installed): W=3.828", H=5.094", D=3.914"

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5 out of 5

Niles

Written By Mike, Clearwater Fl on Saturday, April 20, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Crutchfield calls this item old school in the magazine, but works great for me. I installed one inside the screened patio and one on the outside patio deck. Installation was easy enough. Niles makes good stuff.

Pros:

Volume control outside when you need it.

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5 out of 5

Niles WVC100E

Written By LMH, McDaniels, KY on Monday, April 01, 2013

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

A little pricey but you get what you pay for. It's an excellent product!

Pros:

Performs well.

Cons:

Difficult to fit into enclosure using heavy gauge wires.

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3 out of 5

Needs a bigger box

Written By Ted S, Austin TX on Saturday, July 28, 2012

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Performance seems fine, but installation is made harder than necessary because the control occupies almost the entire volume of the box - it is difficult to accommodate the wires. I used 14 gauge wire; it would have been almost impossible with 12 gauge. And why so expensive?

Pros:

Like the convenient switch for impedance magnfication

Cons:

Box should be larger. Seems pretty expensive for what it is.

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5 out of 5

Excellent Product

Written By Eric, cicero, ny on Saturday, June 25, 2011

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Product works great. Super easy installation. Space in the box is just fine to wire the speakers.

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5 out of 5

Niles WVC100E

Written By Nick, Manalapan, NJ on Friday, April 08, 2011

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Simple to install. A must for outdoor speaker system.

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5 out of 5

Niles - outdoor weatherproof volume control

Written By M, Raleigh, NC on Thursday, April 07, 2011

I did a ton of research and found this to be the best. Again it is good quality
and does not feel or look "cheap". I have outdoor BOSE speakers connected to it
via 16 Gauge wire and they work great. ONLY issue as others have pointed out is
the box is too small for the wires without the risk of getting pinched there is
no way to put them all in that tiny box. Got a bigger box from HomeDepot with a
closeing lid and mounted this box inside the bigger one to allow the wires to be
safely and securely be housed and protected from the elements. Been working over
a year now!

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

Nice Unit

Written By Jeff, Richmond, VA on Sunday, September 19, 2010

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Installed this over the weekend and it works as advertised. As the other reviewers noted, if you are using sheathed speaker cables you will have to remove the outer sheath for the unit to fit in the box. I found no issues connecting my 16 gauge wire to this unit. Painted it and some accompanying PVC pipe white for a clean look.

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5 out of 5

Nice quality product

Written By jbs, Franklin, MA on Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I purchased two of these to control two zones outside. The moment you pick them up you know they are a quality controller by the weight. I agree with the other reviews that getting the speaker wires into the unit is tough and that is the one big downside. I used a 18 gauge in-wall wire and stripped only 1/8 of an inch of shielding off. This seemed to be the best way to get the wire into the switch while using my fingernail to hold the lever back. One plus with these is that when you turn the knob all the way to the left the music is completely off. I did paint mine white to match the house, if you paint them make sure to use a fine sandpaper on the switch first to help the paint stick.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

Works Great

Written By Richard, Charlotte, NC on Thursday, May 13, 2010

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Purchased this for my screened in porch. I searched a long time to try to find a white outdoor volume control with box without luck. Finally, I read the details on Crutchfield and saw the box was paintable. So, I ordered, painted and installed without issue. Only comment I would have is that the wiring does get tight in the box, so you need to be somewhat experienced in wiring gang boxes.

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5 out of 5

Highly Recommended

Written By James, Lebanon, IN on Monday, September 07, 2009

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

This is my second Niles product and was used to install speakers for our patio. It works exactly as advertised. The construction/feel of the unit is top notch. The removable connector plugs allow for easy/secure connections. I did not have use for the Impedance Magnification feature. Two comments on design. First, one entrance/exit port to the box is not optimal, since the terminals are on opposite sides of the control and the single port is to one side of the bottom of the box. I had to strip the outside protective cover off the cables off so that none of it was actually inside the box to allow the control unit to actually fit into the box. It is a really tight fit. A better design might be separate incoming and outgoing ports to separate the wires on their respective sides. Second, a waterproof seal for the port if not mounting on conduit would be appreciated. Silicone caulk worked but was not elegant.

1 out of 1 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

Niles WVC100E

Written By Ed, Raleigh, NC on Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I installed two pair of outdoor speakers when we built our new house in 2006. Each pair has its own outdoor volume control. The masons set the weatherproof enclosures into the brick and I later connected the control. When I first tried the system, the right side of one of the Niles controls did not work. I called Crutchfield's technical support, and they said to return it for a new one. Since its enclosure was built into the brick wall, they said to just return the control itself which they immediately replaced. It works great, and the outdoor speakers above my grill deck and over the hot tub are used frequently. I've already recommended these to a coworker who is building a new house.

4 out of 4 people found this helpful

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5 out of 5

Good item

Written By no, Philadelphia on Saturday, March 31, 2007

Crutchfield Customer Review (What's this?)

Good item for outdoor speakers, works well, only compaint I have is that the enclosure is a bit too small, try using 16 gauge speaker wire if you can,
volume level is great, I would recommend this product to others.

12 out of 14 people found this helpful

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1-12 of 12

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Niles WVC100E

Weatherproof stereo volume control with impedance magnification

Item# 190WVC100E offer details

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Our take on the Niles WVC100E

by Barry Montgomery

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Product Research

Our Product Research Team

Features

Installation Considerations

Specifications

Dimensions

Product Reviews

Reviews for the Niles WVC100E

Average Customer Review:

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Niles WVC100E

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Niles - outdoor weatherproof volume control

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