Eos Wireless Multi-Room Speakers Review

Eos Wireless Full Review

"Big Mac please," I told the attendant at the drive through window. 30 seconds later I was enjoying two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce cheese… well, you know. As I was biting into my extremely fattening, yet extremely satisfying burger, I realized that I was eating the definition of America. Fast, cheap, and simple; anything less and you are left behind. We know the product might not be the best, but it is reliable and consistent.

As I was "eating America", I also realized that I was eating what the Eos Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System stood for: simplicity and reliability at a cheaper cost. IntelliTouch wants to offer consumers a product that is easy on the wallet and easy to set up. The Eos Wireless System is the product they believe will fulfill all of those goals. Of course you can find a bigger, better, more expensive hamburger and of course there may be bigger, fancier sound systems out there, but for the cost and consistency, IntelliTouch does not want to be beat.

Configuration and Build Quality

The Eos Wireless Multi-Room Audio System is, for the most part, simplicity defined. With up to five room capability (one base station and four wireless satellite speakers), set up is as simple as plugging it in (using the 6 ft. power cord with base and 3 ft. cord with satellite speakers). There is no on/off button present on the base station so as long as the base is plugged in, there is power. To turn off the power, you must unplug the power cord. With auto-detect capability, the base automatically synchronizes with any satellite speaker that is turned on. Clearly designed for the iPod, the system comes with five iPod docking adapters. The Eos fits 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation iPod's, as well as the iPod Photo, Mini, and Nano. There is also an auxiliary input with an included 3.5mm cord, three feet in length, making this system ideal for connecting any other audio source from an mp3 player to a computer.

The Eos Stereo Base Station uses GigaWave Wireless technology which, on this system, has a range of 150 ft. indoors and up to 300 ft. outdoors. Transmitting at 1.5 Mbps and operating in the 2400 to 2483 M Frequency Range, this system never seemed to interfere with other Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Cordless Phones. The base features two 2" neodymium tweeters in the front with a 3" down firing ported subwoofer in the rear.

The satellite speakers are nearly identical 2.1 systems, with two 2" neodymium tweeters in the front and a 3" down firing ported sub-woofer in the rear. The major difference between the base station and the satellite speakers is the distance between the left and right speakers. You can position the satellite speaker by plugging it directly into an AC outlet or extend the power cord for the ability to place your speaker up to three feet away from a power source. The bottom and rear of the base station and satellite speakers feature rubber "legs" which offer smudge and scuff-free protection for floors or walls. The rubber appendages appeared safe for all surfaces that I tried.

One nice feature that is included in the Eos Wireless Core System is the range extender. This feature does exactly what its name implies - it increases the effective range of the wireless system. Normally the base station sends its music signal out with 20ms of delay, which is an acceptable delay for distances of 150ft. or less. With the range extender, the music signal is delayed up to 64ms. The increased delay allows the satellite speakers to sync better with the base station. The range extender is to be used in distances of 150ft. or more, otherwise an "echo" effect will become apparent. Though this system is designed for indoor and outdoor use, the speakers do not appear to be weather proof. If you want to take the speakers outside, plan on being able to provide a shelter from the elements as well as a power source as there is no ability to power these speakers with batteries.

Using the System

Controlling the Eos system is relatively easy. Set your iPod into the charging station and start your music or video normally (it allows your iPod to play videos while docked.) The base system includes a wireless remote control powered by a lithium battery, which allows you to skip tracks, adjust sound (on the base station only) and play/pause the music. The all black remote is approximately 2" x 1" and has a range of about 20' when pointed directly at the base. The remote does have several flaws and seems to be somewhat of an afterthought compared to the rest of the system. When volume is adjusted up or down a fast clicking noise can be heard through the base station speakers, signifying a level of RF interference. The internal programming of the remote functions also has some flaws. Many times when pressing volume down, the output actually got louder. I would also have to press the remote multiple times for it to start to respond - almost as if the IR receiver needed to be woken up. It always worked eventually; sometimes we just had to press the buttons a couple of times in order to get it to work correctly.

One feature that is missing from the Eos system is a master volume control. I understand the reason for leaving master volume control out as it would present potential "ganging" issues. Also, some speakers may be further away than others, so individual volume control is needed in order to have a balanced sound, but I would have liked to see the option. Volume cannot be adjusted by the iPod itself as this feature is disabled while connected to the base station. A muting option is available on the main station, however this mutes the main base station only; your satellite speakers will continue to play music. Because there is no master volume control, you will have to walk to each speaker and manually turn up or down the volume; and with a broadcast range of up to 300ft. from the base station, you could be walking for a while! To mute all the sound you can simply Pause the Ipod.

Manufacturer's Note: Using an iPhone or iPod touch and Apple’s Remote.app (free download from Apple’s App Store), you can control your entire iTunes library. By plugging your computer's audio output into the Eos base station, you can stream audio to your whole home and control it from the palm of your hand. The App gives you all of your playlists, albums, artists, complete with album cover artwork....all without having to have any of it loaded onto your iPhone or iPod Touch. While in the Remote.app there is even a volume control at the bottom of the screen that gives you global volume control of the the output from the entire Eos system.

The iPod that I used is the 80 GB iPod classic (5th generation). Though the Eos system does appear to fit any generation and design of iPod, I had to be a little creative to get a good fit. Some models, like the iPod nano include their own docking rings. I placed universal dock #7 on the bottom and still had to stabilize it a bit to keep the iPod from moving when I navigated songs.

Though the system is easy to set up, getting it to sound just right takes some tweaking. One issue with this system is that there is no external EQ control. Clearly built for the iPod, the Eos manual does address the lack of external EQ control and suggests using the EQ provided within the iPod itself. After trying all of the different setting with all different types of music, I found the "Lounge" setting to sound best to me. The "Lounge" setting leaves the bass in the middle while raising the mid's and high's for a well balanced sound.

Even though the Eos base station and satellite speakers are all 2.1 systems, there really is not much bass. With any kind of bass boost used within the iPod EQ, distortion will occur. Once you find your correct EQ setting, music with higher bass levels, like "Umbrella" by Rihanna featuring Jay-z sound good, but not great. The system really shined once softer music was played. Even at full volume, (which is quite loud) artists like Enya and Yanni sounded phenomenal, and with the base station and all four satellite speakers at the perfect levels, I really felt like I was in an amphitheater or concert hall.

Conclusion and Overall Perceptions

Though the Eos Wireless Multi-Room Audio System may be the price of a "Big Mac" compared to other wireless systems, it really is a good product. A lot of thought went into the design of this system and I'd think any consumer would be very happy to own one. There are several features that I would change, like having a longer power cord or having alternative power sources for the satellite speakers, but overall this is an excellent system.

Many aspects of this system have been done well and no music sounded bad. Some artists and styles sounded better, but everything that was played (once EQ was set) sounded anywhere from good to great. Each speaker provides solid, full sound and with four or five speakers spread throughout, you can have a property full of sound for under $650. And because the base is also a charger for your iPod, you can have your music or movies playing24/7. The best part with the Eos Wireless System is its expandability. If you're on a budget, you can buy the Core system and then expand as you need. An excellent product for any walk of life!

Eos Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System
MSRP (Core): $249.95
MSRP (Satellite Speaker): $129.95

IntelliTouch
6370 Nancy Ridge Road
San Diego, Ca 92121
1-800-839-7277
858-457-3300
www.eoswireless.com

About IntelliTouch
Founded in 1988, IntelliTouch is based in San Diego's Sorrento Valley wireless technology corridor. IntelliTouch develops a wide variety of innovative and award winning communications products for business and consumer applications. Capabilities include everything from original product concept creation and design, to engineering, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and supply chain management. Our distribution network spans from the Americas, to Europe, Africa and Asia. At IntelliTouch, our vision is to create advanced technology communications products with elegantly simple product offerings that are offered with the highest level of quality, service and support. Simply put, IntelliTouch is about fantastic innovation with an intelligent touch.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Audio Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup/Programming/Integration
Features
Remote Control
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value