IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System (black)
Manufacturer: IntelliTouch Communications Part number: EOS-100T1RB
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System is a reasonable choice for wireless iPod audio--if you can get past the system's occasionally shoddy range performance and overall mediocre sound quality.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
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| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/03/2009 |
| RadioShack.com | | In stock | as of 12/03/2009 | |
| OnSale.com |  | In stock | as of 12/03/2009 | |
| MacMall | | In stock | as of 12/03/2009 | |
 | | In stock | as of 12/03/2009 |
CNET editors' review
IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System (black) price range: $175.82 - $249.99
- Reviewed by: Jeff Bakalar
- Edited by: John P. Falcone
- Reviewed on: 04/07/2009
- Released on: 10/15/2008
The good: Easy to use and set up; streams audio from iPod and/or any line-in device; can support up to three additional wireless speakers for a total of four.
The bad: Mediocre sound quality; remote only works with base; range issues indoors; occasional audio delays vary by speaker; no power button; short wireless speaker power cable.
The bottom line: The IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System is a reasonable choice for wireless iPod audio--if you can get past the system's occasionally shoddy range performance and overall mediocre sound quality.
Speaker docks for the iPod are nothing new, but we're starting to see more ambitious attempts at improving the experience. While something like an Airport Express can stream audio wirelessly from your iTunes, the IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System can stream music from your iPod to up to four wireless speakers. The system provides a painless, easy-to-use audio streaming experience that is occasionally limited by range. While the system does work as advertised when in range, you may be a bit disappointed with the sound quality and performance of the speakers, as well as the functional limitations.
The EOS system comes with a main base station and one extra wireless speaker, and it's available in either black or white (though IntelliTouch is planning on discontinuing the white version). You can purchase up to three extra speakers (for $130 each) that will extend the entire system to four maximum wireless speakers: the EOS100RB (black) and the EOS100R (white--presumably also slated for being discontinued).
The base itself is covered in a shiny plastic. Two midrange drivers flank the dock on either side while a bottom-mounted subwoofer is hidden behind a circular plastic grille. The main unit is sturdy and won't slide away thanks to its four rubber feet. Two blue LEDs up front signify your two source selection and four blue LEDs will illuminate to let you know how many of the four possible wireless speakers are connected. You also have the option of using any non-iPod device as your source using the 3.5mm line-in port on the rear of the base station.
All of the control buttons are found on the front of the base except for track controls. That functionality can only be found on the included remote. You cannot navigate your iPod via the remote; that can only be done manually. We didn't care much for the remote itself, either--overall it feels a bit flimsy and cheap, and there's almost no tactile feedback when its buttons are depressed. Also, the remote will only work with the base station. This means if you're enjoying streaming music in a room outside of the one with the dock in it, you'll have to get up and change your iPod manually.
Interestingly enough, there's no power button on the EOS base station. While each individual wireless speaker can be turned off manually, there's no such option to do so with the base. It will remain powered unless you physically remove the plug.
The wireless speaker's design is exactly what you'd expect the base station to look like without the space needed for the iPod dock. The two speakers are closer together and the subwoofer is instead rear-mounted (instead of the base's bottom-mounted configuration). A volume/power knob rests at the top of the speaker located directly next to the device's antenna. The blue LED light on the antenna will blink while searching for a signal from the main base and stay static when connected.
Each wireless speaker comes ready to plug right into a wall outlet. While we thought this sort of electrical outlet-mounting design was interesting, we can't imagine anyone wanting the location of a speaker far below a desirable listening height. Thankfully, you can detach the prong from the speaker, although it will only give you around 3 feet of slack. Also, we had a lot of difficulty trying to tuck the wire back into the speaker and reattaching the power adapter.
The EOS system will support any iPod that has a standard 30-pin dock connector. Included in the packaging are various dock adapters to support your specific version of the iPod. The system will also work with the iPhone and the iPod Touch, however, the iPhone will need to enter "flight mode" in order to perform correctly. This is an automatic feature of the phone that will engage once it's placed in the base station.
Setting up the system is quite easy. After you've placed your iPod on the base station dock and powered on all your wireless speakers, the system will automatically sync with all speakers that are within range. Should an external speaker not link up, it's probably out of range. IntelliTouch claims you'll get up to a 300-foot range outdoors as opposed to a 150-foot range indoors. We found the outdoor assessment to be accurate, but as far as indoor performance is concerned, it's really going to rely on how many walls are located in between the base and speaker. There's a "Range EX" button on the rear of the base station that is supposed to extend the reach, but we barely noticed a difference when we turned it on during our testing.
Sound quality is about average compared with other iPod speaker docks we've tested (and that's a pretty low bar to begin with). The system provides a rich bass-heavy sound and takes advantage of the SRS Wow! dynamic sound technology. The system performed much better with rock tracks like Jimmy Eat World's "Clarity" CD than it did with much more bass-driven music from Head Automatica's "Decadence" record.
We should add another note on the overall performance of the EOS system. We noticed that not all of the speakers will sync up at the same time, so if you have more than one wireless speaker within listening distance from one another, you may catch a bit of a delay when listening to music. This effect may deter some consumers from using multiple speakers in the same room, which is a setup we would have liked to have been able to do.
Priced around $250, the EOS system can run you up to $640 if you're interested in maximizing all of its wireless streaming potential. That latter amount certainly isn't worth the mediocre sound performance and delay issues. That said, your options for wireless iPod audio streaming are a bit limited. The better sounding Klipsch RoomGroove ($300) can stream music, but only to another unit. A two-room setup would essentially cost you a whopping $600. Likewise, it should be noted that both Sony and Panasonic offer proprietary streaming capabilities within their respective home theater systems. Meanwhile, the Linksys Wireless Home Audio system includes iPod access from other rooms (with an accessory), and there are plenty of non-iPod digital audio streamers that can pull files directly from a networked PC. But if it's all about getting your iPod music to another room at a reasonable price, the IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System is certainly worth considering.
User reviews
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Pretty Sucky
by drbisquit on June 30, 2009
Pros: Easy to use, good range.
Cons: Sound quality, delay between speakers, connection drops sometimes.
Summary: I took my chances on this product a year ago. I should have returned it right away, but unfortunately I did not, and now I'm looking for something else. ...
Summary: I took my chances on this product a year ago. I should have returned it right away, but unfortunately I did not, and now I'm looking for something else. My primary gripe with this product is how lousy the sound is. I don't know why CNet says these speakers are "bass-heavy", since they have basically zero bass. Any song with a lot of cymbals sounds very tinny, and some songs sound like they're underwater. Another annoying sound quality is that on some songs the vocals are barely audible. Both of the satellite speakers that came with the base station are basically blown out, and I don't even turn the music up that loud. I really don't know what's up with these crummy speakers.
To be fair, the whole thing is very easy to hook up, and the range is good - I was able to listen to music in my backyard, transmitting from inside the house 50 feet away. However, I would not go by the other review posted by 64thunderbird, it is excessively glowing, and I wouldn't be surprised if they're an employee of the company.
I'm planning to get some M-Audio PC speakers, and just make them run wirelessly to my Mac using an AirPort. Maybe even the Logitech Squeezebox boom would be a good choice. I think most other options would have to be better than EOS. -
Multi-room audio made easy & affordable
by 64thunderbird on May 7, 2009
Pros: Simple setup, Great wireless range, Speakers plug right into wall outlet --easy to move from room-to-room, Decent sound quality. Well priced. Will change the way you listen to music
Cons: Poor remote (which I'll never have when I need it anyway), Support for only 4 wireless speakers. Microwave can sometimes interrupt out the speaker, but only when the microwave is on.
Summary: After seeming this review, which was not bad or inaccurate, I felt compelled to right this review. This is a very cool product that is really even better than the ...
Summary: After seeming this review, which was not bad or inaccurate, I felt compelled to right this review. This is a very cool product that is really even better than the sum of it's parts. If you're like me and always wanted to listen to your music all over your house, you'll love this product.
First, I was floored on how easy it was to set up. You just plug it in and it plays...it's rare when things work this easy. They said on their web site it was easy, but I had SERIOUS doubts (after all, I?m still having issues with my wireless router) -- I wanted this solution sooo very bad I was willing to give it a try (plus they offer a 30 day MBG?so what the heck)
I expected that because it was wireless that there was some sort of set up required (think wireless router ? YIKES)...there wasn't. Once I plugged in the base station all the speakers linked automatically. I live in a 3,000 square foot 2 story house and I was able to cover the entire house, upstairs, down stairs and even outside. I took a speaker of to my neighbor?s house the other night and it worked there too, even though the docking station was in my kitchen.
Now that it's warming up outside, we've got a speaker on our patio, which saved me from boring a hole in the stucco to run wires outside. The speakers all have a volume control knob on them, making them very simple to turn up and down. A remote would be nice, but let's be real, I can't find the TV remote and never leaves the family room, imagine how quickly a credit card sized remote would vaporize. Give me a knob to set the volume and I'm good.
What's really cool is that the wireless speakers plug directly in the wall socket. We did not have to clear a table or arrange the furniture to accommodate it (my wife really like that part). This also makes them VERY easy to move from room to room, which is nice because I'd want to have about 10 of these in my house. The system is limited to only 4 wireless speakers (plus the base unit docking station) to play at one time. The power supply pops out of the back if you want to put the speaker on a tabletop or bookshelf.
Here?s how we use Eos. For the most part, the docking station lives in our kitchen, one wireless speakers is upstairs in our bathroom (so we can rock out as we get ready for work -- my wife LOVES this part), another speaker lives in our family room and the other two speakers move around our house depending on the occasion (patio, garage, bedroom, formal living room/dining room.) Basically, you have five areas where you can listen to your music.
What was cool is that we took it on vacation with us up to Lake Tahoe this winter and had a wireless multi-room set-up in our condo in a few minutes. We rented a beach house for a week this summer; we?d leave our bathing suits at home before we left Eos behind. Instant PARTY. This Eos thing has become one of the most enjoyable purchases that we have ever made.
While we ordered a new black colored system for $249 (includes a docking station and one wireless speaker ? a good value considering this is two complete audio systems in one box), the Eos web site has been running some specials (www.eoswireless.com) for only $149 and $79 for additional speakers (factory re-certified)...they come in brand new packaging, so who would ever know :) All-in-all, it?s a pretty sweet deal.
Eos makes an awesome gift too! We gave one to my brother and sister in-law after they threatened to steal ours. We bought one for my bosses daughters wedding and they keep gushing all over us that it?s the best wedding gift that they got (think it will help me get a raise?). My mom's getting one for mother's day and my wife's dad (who has EVERYTHING) is getting one for fathers day. Because they are so easy to use, we were even thinking about getting one for grandpa (who?s a HUGE jazz lover) for Christmas.
It's really amazing, but as much as the iPod changed the way we listened to music, this Eos system took the whole thing to another level. Before Eos, the iPod romance was dwindling, limited to schlepping our Bose Sound dock all over the house (which we were really getting burned out doing.) Listening to the iPod had become a once in a while, one-room deal, now it's an everyday, every-room deal?we fell in love with our iPod and our music all over again.
Oh, and get this, I just discovered Pandora and Last FM internet radio stations, now I can hook the output from my computer speakers to the docking stations AUX input and stream internet radio all over the house too...VERY cool! My brother ?in-law uses his to stream his satellite radio through.
If you like music, I highly recommend this system, it will change the way you enjoy your music and allow you to enjoy it more often. And if you need a great gift idea, get them an Eos and you will forever be a star.
Product series
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IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System (black)
Manufacturer: IntelliTouch Communications
Specs:
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IntelliTouch EOS Digital Wireless Multi-Room Audio System (white)
Manufacturer: IntelliTouch Communications
Specs:
Manufacturer info
- IntelliTouch Communications
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse IntelliTouch Communications products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.onholdplus.com
- Address:
5160 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92121 - Phone: 858-457-3300
- Fax: 858-457-3311
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