Acoustic Research AW-811 Main / Wireless Stereo Speaker

Pros: Great sound. Extremely long range. Easy to use.
Cons: I wish they were sold as a pair... The transmitter doesn't run on battery's too.

I have always enjoyed the concept of wireless speakers, but could never really justify their cost vs. utility. That all changed recently though. Now I'm addicted, and it's all Acoustic Research's fault... The Backstory: My fiancé’s brother was ...

Pros: Easy set-up, weatherproof, automatically finds frequency and while doing so, speaker remains quiet.
Cons: None

After reading the Epinion reviews and having such good experiences of late with all sorts of wireless devices, I decided to take the plunge and go with wireless speakers. This made the most sense as my very elaborate entertainment system is in our ...

Pros: Inoffensive design.  Decent sound.  
Cons: Expensive given their limitations.

The setup was very easy.  The sound is quite good for a weather resistant speaker.  You have the option of running the speakers on C cells (8 of them per speaker) or a provided ac adapter.  Battery consumption is pretty heavy, making them ...

Pros: Works well, when it works. Very convenient, with good (mono) sound and good range.
Cons: Maddening ON/OFF button and power quirks.

It took me a lot of cussing and experimenting to learn this speaker's secret handshake. As mentioned in an earlier review here, I think there's something wrong with the way it is powered. The problem with mine centered around the power. The On/Off ...

Pros: good range, like omnidirectional design
Cons: wish it had built in IR remote extender

This unit has worked well for me. (I felt the need to write this review since obviously it hasn't fared so well for some others which made me hesitate to buy it, but my feeling is that it's most often people with product problems who write reviews to ...

Pros: These are very easy to set up and enjoy.
Cons: Spotty dependability; sometimes they work, usually one will work, and it could be either one!

We received 2 as a gift. One had to be returned and replaced right away as it only worked for a few minutes. The two we have now, are great when they both work, which is about 60% of the time. They seem to be temperamental as to whether they will catch the signal or not.

Pros: It would have been great if it worked.
Cons: Customer Service at Thomson was unable/unwilling to remedy this problem in a timely manner.

The AW811 did not work when I received it on 6/21/06. I purchased it online from OSD Audio, Brea, CA. Customer Service asked me to send it to Thomson, Secorro,TX., for repair. When they received it on 6/30 they said it would take 7-10 days to process and later claimed it was out of warranty even though I included a copy of my sales receipt. I faxed a copy of the receipt and then was told a relacement is not available now and won't be until 8/28/06. I asked for a refund and was told they would not refund it because they had an ETA on the new speaker. I would not do business again with OSD Audio, Acoustic Research or Thomson again.

Pros: Looks great; easy to set up
Cons: Serious quality control problems

In the last two days I've purchased two of these units. One worked for about 30 seconds; the other not at all. The 30 seconds, however, sounded very good.

I like the unit, the set up was easy, and the instructions were good. The problem, as far as I can tell, relates to powering the speaker with the included 18 volt adapter. I measured the adapter as putting out 23 volts; perhaps this is the problem.

I must say that I'm not alone in this experience. If you check out other review sites, numerous people have had similar problems, or a unit failure within the first few weeks of use of the product.

Both units are being returned to Best Buy.