Just what I needed...

I purchased a condo with ceiling speakers in multiple rooms with each room having its own wall-mounted volume control. I knew I didn't want a super expensive four zone AVR, but I didn't understand how to connect three rooms of speakers into the second zone of my existing AVR. After some research on Crutchfield and elsewhere, I learned that I needed a speaker selector (assuming I was satisfied with having all the speakers on Zone 2 playing the same source material). That worked fine for me, and I liked the idea of being able to turn a room on/off from a central location. The Niles SS-4 was exactly what I needed. I like its construction. The removable connectors at the back made installation a little easier, and I had no trouble getting the speaker wires connected securely. My only complaint (and it is a minor one) is that the user has to enable/disable the "protection" circuit manually depending on the number of speakers being used and their stated impedance. I would like it a lot better if "protection" kicked in automatically, but it's a not a big deal. Other than that, I think the SS-4 is a fine piece of hardware that does exactly what it was built to do -- nothing more and nothing less.

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Niles SS-4

Very well built, pleased with the product Note: all niles products have very small holes for speaker wire connections, so if you use a large gauge wire it won't take banana plugs, and you need to skinny down the wire. This is the only reason I didn't give it a 5 star.

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Quality piece of equipment that provides a good slution.

I purchased a Niles SS4 unit that allowed me to split my SONOS speakers and provide control of where I wanted to hear my music. This unit is well made, very portable and has easy connections that are secure. It took 45 minutes to complete the conenctions and my speakers can now be heard in different rooms at the same time or in any combination that I desire. This is a really good product offered by Crutchfield that provides a solution and allows easy distibution of sound...

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Niles SS-4

Great product

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Does what it should. Small inputs.

It does just what it should. The inputs for the speaker wire are a bit small and hard to use. Once connected, it is excellent.

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Niles SS-4

The SS-4 is doing exactly what I need with my 3 pairs of outdoor speakers. It was quick and easy to setup.

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Small but powerful

Performs as advertised. Ingenious wire connection system. I run 4 sets of speakers simultaneously, a mix of Yamaha and Bose. Works very well.

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Niles SS-4

High quality product. Switches have a good feel with no extra noise.

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Niles SS-4

Exactly like advertised! Quick, and simple to install. Works great!

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Niles SS-4

Works as promised, was easy to install.

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Niles SS-4

Had no problem hooking up the speaker wires to the unit. Works great for what I need. Easy to follow instructions.

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There is a learning curve

This is a good product but at a high price. You have to hope you are getting something better than the lower price competition. The connections on the back are very clever once you figure them out. They allow you to put the fittings on the speaker wire first, then plug the fittings into the switch. The rocker switch that releases the fitting is very tiny and takes alot of force to open. At first I was afraid to exert so much force for fear of breaking it. A simple instruction sheet with this information would solve the problem. Print the instruction sheet in BRIGHT ORANGE and say "Read This First".

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Niles SS-4

Works well but the wire clips could be improved

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Great value.

Great finish, easy installation. Had one for 12 years without problems.

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Good way to setup sound to 4 sets of speakers

Performs well. Solid construction.

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Niles SS-4

Doing what I wanted ,better than my old one.

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Niles SS-4

All good as expected

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Niles SS-4

Great product

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Solid product.

Good quality product at a fair price. I plan to utilize this to expand sound throughout the main floor of our home.

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Decent piece

I had a Monster 4 way speaker selector that went bad and which led me to purchase this Niles selector. I don't care for the flip up, speaker wire connection slots. They seem flimsy, as if they could be easily broken. I preferred the rotating connections like the ones on most receivers and speakers. Other wise it's doing it's job. Where most receivers today are designed to connect anywhere from 5.1 to 11.2 sets of speakers with more than enough power to handle each channel, I still needed a speaker selector to supply equal power to (2) centers channel speakers. No problems yet.

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Niles SS-4

Great equipment. No sound distortion and easy to install!

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Great sound with 3 sets of speakers

Once you figure out the speaker connector tab snaps all the way up into a locking position, connecting the speaker wire is a breeze. You can use a small flat head screwdriver to lift the locking tab. Box is solid and push buttons pop in & out. Sound does not appear to change with protection on.

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God switch box

Although Niles is a little more expensive than some others like Pyle and Monoprice, this switch is solid, in a sturdy box, and never fails. I've used a lot of these for my client installs, lately to drive multiple rooms using a single Sonos amp.

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Sound splitting

Excellent piece of equipment to slit sounds to different speakers. Easy to use and far better than the Realistic splitter I replaced. I would highly recommend it

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Niles SS-4

FAIR PRICE , GOOD PRODUCT

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Niles SS - 4

Does just fine. My only wish would be that you can't shut off zones wirelessly.

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Works as advertised

The magic box works just like it is supposed to. I do not understand the issue people have with the wire connectors. They are easy and quick to use. The buttons work well. The box is black like every other piece of hifi equipment. It is all just ducky.

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nice

It woks well. I used this to replace some switches I had installed to send the signal to speakers in different rooms, but this is better because it allows multiple speakers to play simultaneously. I am using it with the Onkyo 929 receiver driving all three zones.

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niles ss-4

The niles ss-4 works like it should. I have it paired with the Yamaha rn-500 and it allows me to listen to music in any area of the house. My only gripe is the connectors on the back are a bit small and I had to trim the 14 gauge wire to make it fit. 16 gage would fit without any trimming.

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SS-4

great simple product; performed well after troubleshooting issue with the receiver shutting off after10 seconds of power; wire strippers are a "must" for this simple project

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Works as expected

Works as expected. Very easy to install. Switching 4 sets of speakers, no problems.

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Could not have been easier!!!

This was easier than I thought. Could not have been simpler to hook up or use. .

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Simple and Effective

We needed a low cost solution to connect existing in-wall speakers in 4 rooms to our home theatre stereo. The Niles SS-4 was perfect fit. I'm no AV expert, but I was able to figure out how to get it hooked up and am now enjoying music throughout my entire home without having to by a multi-room amplifier.

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Awesome

Works as advertised. Paired with the Yamaha rxv673.

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Positive ending

A follow up to my earlier review: I contacted Niles about the switch problems I was having , and after returning the defective unit to them, i received a brand new SS-4. Great customer service!

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Switches Fail

I have had this unit for about 16 months. Within six months after purchase two of the switches began to stick. It became necessary to pull them in and out instead of having them "snap" in and out. Within another few months, one of the switches began to short out, so it is now necessary to jiggle it to get both speakers to work.

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Just what I needed

This is exactly what I was looking for, tried another from a local chain store, but it was cheap and it would loose a lot of sound, this one was perfect and I love it.thanks crutch field, this was my first order from them and it was perfect.

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crutchfield still doing it well

fast delivery product was as advertised simple hook-up detachable connector plugs made for easy set-up ++

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Excellent product from Niles!

The Niles switch worked perfectly!

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Great product

This is a sleek well-designed product. The detachable connector plugs are also really helpful--allows you to make each speaker's connections easily in the comfort of your hands in good light, and then plug the whole little assembly into the speaker selector.

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Protects my reciever but...

This box does what I want it to but it does have it's flaws. It doesnt give you much room to work on the back as far as hooking the speaker wire, 14 gauge is about the biggest it will accept which is mostly all that any guy needs but if you wanted to have bigger wire it won't fit. The thing I dislike the most about it, I have a 100 watt high-current receiver and want to power my Advent Legacy 2's. My speakers are 6ohms, so if I run the speakers without the Niles box it's drops my receiver to an unsafe 3ohm load. I purchased this box to protect the receiver. When I run all 4 speakers it cuts my sound down, my sound is better just running 2 speakers without the box. If you want to purchase this box for speakers in separate rooms this would be perfect. I'm a stickler for perfection when it comes to sound but also can't afford Mono Blocks.haha If you are running into a situation as I have had on an unsafe load, I wouldnt purchase this, it's not worth the money to have 2 extra speakers sound like they are in a concrete building.

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Does what it's supposed to

Not much to say really. I set up 8 in-wall speakers in 4 pre-wired rooms and power them all through this box from the extra set of outputs from my receiver. Works great! Does what it's supposed to do, and the speakers sound great.

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Niles SS-4

Love this little guy! I have all 4 sets of speakers hooked up and they all sound great! The speakers sound great no matter how many I turn on. I would recommend this to anyone. Please realize that if you have an amp that has an A and B front speaker set, you can not run the B set off of your amp they must go through the Niles unit so pay attention to how many speakers sets you need in total.

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could they make the connectors any smaller?

1st off I got an ALMOST DOA unit. hook up 1 set of speakers, it works. hook up 2nd... problems, volume dropped, amp shut down, etc. I tore all the wiring apart 3 times, thinking I made a mistake. Every time, it's flipping those little connectors. Then checking connectors, and hooking them into the amp, and it works. make it a little bigger, and give it a real connector. I e-mailied Niles this past week and received no reply. I will try calling them in the morning. Either that, or I'll just add a 2nd power amp to dirve the 3rd set of speakers (not hooked up... couldn't get 2 to work right thru the unit). Most people seem to love it, so, I didn't give it a 1 star, but, I couldn't give it any more than 2.

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Niles SS-4

I've had the Niles ss-4 for about a month and it works great. With my amp at about 1/4 volume I get plenty of power to three rooms. Haven't installed fourth set of speakers yet, but don't anticipate any problems.

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Great Device

This device works great. It was recommended by the Cruchfield staff. I use it with eight speakers and the sound is great if I have two on or eight. Highly recommended for multiroom setups.

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Don't Gamble your Receiver

If you want multiple speakers around your house...or even outside on the deck, etc... this is really going to tax your receiver. Advice- add up the load...the total ohms and see what your receiver can handle... then get a top rated speaker switch with a protector built in. The protector in most recievers will function well for a while...but keep pushing it..and it will fail. Double the back up. The speaker switch I had before is in the garbage. Get the Niles and give your reciever a break!

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niles ss-4

Easy to use and very well design!Crutchfield also answered all my questions before i purchased the product!

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Great!

We just purchased a Condo with ceiling speakers throughout. This little box works perfectly for distributing our music.

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Niles SS-4

THIS THE SECOND NILES UNIT I HAVE BOUGHT. MY FIRST ONE STILL WORKS PERFECT AFTER 12 YEARS. I JUST NEEDED A THINNER UNIT TO FIT MY NEW SETUP. I AM SURE IT WILL PERFORM JUST AS GREAT.

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