Russound AB-2.2

Haven't had time to hook it up but could use the money.

Pros:

Cons:

Ease to work, connections on back are a little hard to work with.

Pros: Easy.

Cons: connections

The switch works as advertised. The interconnects on the rear of the unit are super cheap and only accept short bare wire (same as all the other reviews). Very questionable with the rated power, especially when you look at the interconnect, particularly when you remove the input/output interconnects for installation. 100+ watts RMS??? The same unit with banana plugs would give me a much better feeling about the quality. Pragmatically, I'm A/B'ing a modern (2017) Marantz 9 channel Atmos system with 11 channel processing (hence this unit) with a 1980's Yamaha unit (THD 0.015%) with line in from the Marantz and it does the job. I can totally hear differences on both amps (0.08 vs 0.015 THD) with the A\B box. All in all, it works.

Pros: Works

Cons: Cheap build on the interconnects

So pleased that I'm buying a second one.

Pros:

Cons:

Device works perfectly!!! Thanx Butch

Pros:

Cons:

This product works, but I agree with those who say that the wiring block on the back is cheap and ill conceived. I am a little disappointed by that.

Pros: It works

Cons: Poor design

The Russound AB-2.2 switch works great, the removable wire clips on the back make it easier to hook up the speaker wires with the unit sitting in place. My only complaint is cosmetic, there are long scratches all over the exterior of the housing even though the unit was wrapped in plastic and packaged well. The manufacturer's quality control should have caught this before packaging the unit.

Pros: Works great.

Cons: Scratched housing.

Does the job I needed it to. Turns my speakers 2 off inside and turns them on outside. I'm using all Polk speakers. Significant difference in volume between inside Polk 1 (too loud) and outside Polk 2. Cannot use inside Polk 1 until I get a separate volume control. Also connections are not great as others have noted, but the unit is small, which I needed it to be.

Pros: Allows me to play speakers outisde

Cons: Volume difference

Worked as advertised.... was high quality and fit the need perfectly. Wire inserts pull out of back for easy attachment. Was really user friendly. Good product.

Pros:

Cons:

This unit does exactly what I need to do: switch between 2 amp sources in to 1 set of R-L speakers (a 5.1 surround sound tv system; a hifi vinyl system). The overall build seems rock solid. The rear connectors are what is lacking IMO. For starters, the largest gauge wire they take is 14. Too small IMO. Also, the way the connectors are crowded together, there is no way to use any type of modern wire ends like banana plugs or pins. You have to go bare wire. Finally, the rear "detachable snap connectors" as they call them do just that, they detatch / pop off too easily. They literally physically slip away from the unit as you are trying to install the wires. Seriously? A great overall product made weak by the connecting system. I called and also emailed Russound a week ago for support and to see if they had any advice and got no response.

Pros: Does what I need to do. Housing and switch seem well-built.

Cons: Poorly designed wire hookup system in the back. Poor support from Russound.

Crutchfield response on 6/14/2016 We forwarded this review to our Technical Support team for follow-up. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

I have Polk and b&w speakers and decided to add a second bottom center Polk to compliment the b&w top center for my 80" Vizio tv home theater ... then I installed an outside speaker only to find out you loose the dac when you turn on the second zone of my marantz receiver even whith pre amp. This switch was the perfect solution with a nice looking box. I can keep the dac by running center channel dual center speaker inside for great home theater or single center speaker inside and outside speaker for house/patio music during the day. Switch was easy to install

Pros: Nice looking box Easy install No power needed

Cons: Would've been nice to accept banana plugs for the speaker connections

Does the job, needed to manage zone 2 speakers, small not very noticeable, cost effective.

Pros: practically unnoticeable

Cons: very small connectors

Does exactly as promised - simple to set up, but I feel it's a little pricy for just being a simple switch.

Pros: Simple, easy set up. Crutchfield's free shipping and 60 day money back guarantee.

Cons: Expensive.

It works and is small and unobtrusive, but it has these tiny connector block modules for the connections and not binding posts or spring terminals. I used 14 AWG wire and it was a challenge to fit the wire into those connectors and the spacing between conductors is really close. I would have gladly paid more for a more substantial switch that would accept banana plugs or pins. I couldn't find a pic of the back of this unit and now I know why. You can only insert a very short length of stripped wire into the connector block.

Pros: Small Works as it should

Cons: Tiny connector blocks will only allow a very short length of 14 AWG or smaller to be inserted. Should be larger to accommodate real speaker terminals.

Needed a way to manage my indoor and outdoor speakers on Zone 2. Wanted to be able to play music in the great room as well as either the lower level or patio and choose based upon whether it was an indoor outdoor gathering or more indoors based upon weather. This basic device provided me with simple A/B switching. Worked as expected.

Pros: Super simple Cost effective

Cons: None

This product is well built and looks good.I used it to use one pair of speakers with two receivers. So far I have had no issues with deterioration of sound quality or any other sort of problems.The small terminals make it a little difficult to install wires but you just have to strip them to the proper length and be sure there are no stray strands protruding because the terminals are very close together. I'm only giving it 4 stars because I think for the money, it is a little expensive for a simple passive devise like this.

Pros: Smooth switching with just a single button.

Cons: Small wire terminals.Expensive.

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: Well designed and well built

Cons: Nothing

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.

Pros: It allows me to share a pair of tower speakers with two receivers.....a HT Receiver (5.1 setup) and a Stereo Receiver (2.1 setup). A rare but useful product for people who do not wanna listen to music in a HT setup.

Cons: The speaker inputs are really tiny and it was quite a battle to connect my 14 gauge wires. The wire clips are very difficult to work with.