Has anyone had any personal experiance with Onsia Speakers? - Page 3

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I saw the ad in my local LOWE'S flier and went to the web to see what they look like. Have not found that yet. But I sure enjoyed reading the thread on them. Decided to join AVS. That is all I have to add now. But now I know where to go for varied answers to questions about home entertainment. Thanks for hearing me out.

LMAO...........Can't wait to get my copy......easy pay is the way to go
Come on guys get yours on order today Batteries Not included

Okay Dr. Frankenstein... Have at it...

I was thinking about this the other day. We all have different likes and dislikes. If say we both were walking down the beach carrying 35mm FILM cameras and had just 5 pictures left on our roll of film... Got the set up?? Then we come across a group of very beautiful girls not shy about asking us to take their pictures. The girl that I may choose to use my last five pictures on most likely won't be the same girl you choose. What sounds good to me, might and probably does sound different to other people.

I, like Sanderman, Quote: "I'm not going to blow smoke and tell you that these were the best I have ever heard, but they are worth a listen and for the price they do have a place in the world of sound. For me I am going to give them a go. If I don,t like them, well they are not visible, so I just hook up something else."

This is how I felt too. I figured give them a try in place and see what happens, if 29 days later I still didn't like them, I would take them out and return them. If enough people did this, Lowes would STOP selling them.

I did ask several people in Lowes that knew the audio video area well, if they knew of any of these speakers being returned. All of them said they haven't had any returned and they had sold a few of them.

Also I did take a MUSIC CD that has a vast range of instruments, one that every time I listen to it, I can hear more and more instruments that I may have missed the time before. I played it downstairs to see the difference between the two rooms. I could hear and IDENTIFY all of the instruments upstairs that I could hear downstairs.

Okay one last stupid question, in a "typical" surround sound set up, the speakers placed BEHIND the viewing area are typically for the "ambiance sounds" of the movie, are they not? Sounds like the wind, thunder, rain etc.. The MOST important speakers are the ones carrying the main sounds of the movie, the center channel {dialog}, left and right... Seems to me these Onsia speakers a perfect for the rear channel sounds. They also a better than good for other applications too, but that is just my "untrained ear". I guess my next test ought to be to get the "concert pianist" neighbor next door to come over and tell me what he thinks of them.

This wouldn't perchance be the one you took five shots of, would it?

That's FUNNY. However, we had several friends and their families over this weekend and because I moved one receiver to our room I had to connect the outdoor speakers to the stereo that stayed downstairs. Looking at the wires running from speaker to speaker made me wish these wires were also hidden.

Perhaps she got the feminine version of your book and is brainwashing me???

Please let us know what the concert pianist tells you.

Fix the link, Chu, so I can see what it is.

Not the same, but you get the idea.

Hi everyone. I am both surprised and happy to see all of the new posts about Onsia since I last contributed to this forum. I just want to share a few things to you that might address some of the concerns here.

Onsia speakers retail for about $150 each. We are not trying to contend with other high-end audio companies. The speakers are being marketed as a décor solution and not as a product that competes with Infinity, Klipsch or Aperion speakers.

That said, they do sound pretty good. As has been pointed out, sound and speaker preference is subjective. Compared to other comparably priced speakers, the Onsia speakers offer some features and benefits that are unique. Most notably, they completely disappear in your walls.

About the frequency response and technology, we have an on-axis frequency graph comparison of Onsia and two other mainstream speakers on the website here: (www) .onsiaideas.com/onsia-speakers-technical-information.htm

NXT technology operates much differently from a traditional cone diaphragm speaker in that it emits microscopic vibrations instead of piston-like pulses. The NXT transducers excite the panel, which emits sound waves much like an acoustic guitar. This is a radical break from traditional speaker technology and I understand why many of you are skeptical. Please remember, just because something is new doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad…

All of the posters on this thread except two are not associated with our company (ACP, the manufacturer). Only “sonic chameleon” (the speaker’s inventor) and I have any professional connection with the Onsia product. All other positive (and negative) posts are from unaffiliated people.

And “abatardi,” our offer from my original post still stands. Contact me at 920-886-6754 or dblurton@acpideas if you want to take us up on the offer.

As to new user and troll accounts, I hope you understand that as these speakers were just introduced to market a few months ago, there will be some new users who choose to comment on them. As a company, sure we check the search engines for the word, “Onsia” and see what the blogs and forums are saying about our product. We would be foolish not to take consumers, customers, audiophiles and others who comment seriously.

Boo, the “deep bass” rumbling sound you heard should stop in time. The speakers take 40+ hours to break in properly and will sound better as they break in. Alternatively, as you only have two Onsia speakers for a surround system, you may want to consider a subwoofer for your setup. As I’m sure you know, the “.1” in a 5.1 or 7.1 system is the subwoofer. Any speaker setup that uses a surround sound configuration that doesn’t include a subwoofer will not sound right. The Onsia speakers are probably trying to reproduce the frequencies that would normally be sent to a sub. Onsia speakers are not designed for that purpose. If you are still having trouble in this regard in a month or so, let me know and we will do whatever we can to meet your needs. Thank you all – Dave Blurton. ACP/Onsia

Thank you ACPideas for the follow up and the heads up about my rumble. I am happy with this set up and I would not hesitate to recommend these speakers and this setup to anyone that is looking for the same solution that I was looking for.

I just went to Lowes and did a special order for two Onsia in wall speakers. I know some people will think I work for the manufactor since I am a "newbie", but I want to let everyone how the install goes and the speakers sound to me. Why? Because I use the internet to get reviews. Now it is my unbias turn. So stay tuned to this channel of my experiences. I will also try to provide pics.

This is off topic but a purchase based on solely mag or internet reviews is like buying blind. If they have the FR graph at least it will be something but in the case of an in-wall speaker, there is absolutely no way of knowing how they'll sound until they are installed completely in your setup. Trying to guess whether a stereo pair sounds good through reading is hard enough...

Yes, I am buying these speakers blindly. The only reviews I have seen for these speakers are in this thread, so I thought I would contribute to it. I have a multimedia room upstairs, but want to have 5.1 in my living room where we watch TV and sometimes movies, b\\c we are to lazy to go to the third floor. This is our main living space and my wife's domain. Yes, people I have a wife and sometimes you have to make compromises. Her plan is to use the TV speakers (give me a break); so I was looking at the Polk LCI-c center channel and Polk RCi 85 L\\R, but thought they would still stand out even if I painted them. On the search for speakers I was looking for invisible speakers or close to it. That is the only way I am going to get it past the boss. Doing research I came across Solid Drive speakers and Onsia. Being that I already had a media room I do not want to spend a lot. This is how I got to the Onsia over the Solid Drive speakers. What I am trying to accomplish is to try just to Onsia speakers L\\R and maybe mount a center under the TV or use the TV as a center channel. I have a Visio 32 right now hanging on the wall, but shortly after doing my drywall work it will be replaced with Samsung LN52A650. The receiver driving this will be TX-SR705. Once I test these speakers for awhile I will choose my center channel method and the rears. I am a one step at a time type of guy and am in no hurry.

jivey, I'll be moving to a new house in a few weeks and I too ran into the same problem. I found a solution though by getting the new Scarlet series LG LCD TV that has invisible speakers tuned by Mark Levinson. The wife's happy, I also got something high end related, even if it's only in the name.

I've been watching this tread for a while and I'm disapointed it hasn't generated more info.. I'm a few weeks away from drywall and these look like exactly what I'm looking for. I just don't want to pay $150 per speaker when I can get a 6.5" Yamaha ceiling speakers for $43 at Costco if they don't perform similarly. These are for surround sound in a rec room. I hope more people chime in with there experience.

We just finished having the house {inside} painted. No more looking at those two big drywall areas where it was obvious that something was done. I still can't believe that there are speakers there, it is absolutely impossible to tell. I finally turned off the "BASS BOOST" as the rumble {at close to 50W} was driving me crazy. CSI seems to lace their show with a DEEP bass throughout every scene they film in CSI headquarters. Without the "BASS BOOST" there are NO problems. We watched "FLYBOYS" the other day and you can hear EVERY nuance of sounds from the hammer clicks on the machine guns to the bullets whizzing by. When I am on the computer, I go to one of the SIRIUS channels {DISHNETWORK} and listen to the music. It sounds GREAT. Again, they are rated at for 50W so if you plan to entertain the block with what you are watching, it won't happen with these speakers. I went out to water the garden the other night, and I could clearly hear what was on when I got to that side of the house. The speakers are in a second floor bedroom and a two car garage was between me and the wall that they are in and yet I could hear every word CLEARLY while outside.

Jivey... Our local Lowes had at least four of each type of these speakers on hand {on the floor below the display}. I'm surprised that you had to special order them. I'd be VERY interested to know what you think of them once you get them in and have spent some time with them.

I needed to eliminate these as an option because I'm ready to get my basement drywalled so I did a quick test.

I picked up an in frame Onsia($109), a 6.5"Yamaha ceiling speaker from Costco($39), and an OEM Systems 5.25 in wall that I get from a wholesaler for $10. I have use the OEM's for HA announcements and actually thought they sounded pretty good.

If your looking for a good comparison test move on to a new thread. I cut some holes in a big box and threw some insulation in it. In went the speakers with the Onsia mounted on the wall. Hooked up a little home stereo to my ipod and had the wife come listen.

Appearance wise the Yamaha looks the best made. The Onsia is very cheap looking in appearance.

Hands down the winner is the cheap OEM. The Yamaha is OK but definitely not as good as the smaller cheaper OEM. The Onsia was not impressive in any way. It would be OK for HA announcements I guess.

A special thanks to Lowes and Costco for there great return policies.

I little back ground on my other systems. The room I would have put these in will just be used for everyday tv watching. I have a couple of cheap sony surround systems in my master and living room that I have been happy with for basic tv watching. Thats why I thought these might work for me. I have a dedicated HT with Martin Logans, Velodyne, and a Sunfire Ultimate Receiver for movies. I enjoy upper end equipment but can enjoy valued based systems also.

Very scientific... However, the two you mounted in the box are not or will not be invisible. You also realize the picture frame Onsia is rated at ONLY 25W. I'm pretty certain the Yamaha and OEM Systems speakers were closer to the "in wall" Onsia's rating of 50w or better. Had I the time/ambition/curiousity, I would have chose speakers with equal ratings/abilities as a comparison. Again, not wanting to look at speakers in a bedroom we chose to go this route. If I wanted to impress or to make certain people would notice my setup, I would have gone a different path altogether.

I have installed the speakers in a wall that backs up to my inside stairwell. The wall is about 5-6 inches thick. The wall also goes straight up to the inside master bedroom wall. The speakers are attached to Onkyo TX-SR705. When I called the manufacture before installing they said to make sure to insulate and they are not kidding. I but some batting behind the speakers and it was not nearly enough.

Sounds much better than they look when they come out of the box. They look cheap.

When in the bedroom it sounds like people are talking at a party. You can hear them, but can't quite make out what they are saying. Very annoying. Sound is not directional, and it sounds ok.

They are better than the TV speaker, by a long shot, but not as good as my infinities by a long shot. I was using an old set of BOSE 10 speakers and they sound just as good as those if not better. With that said let me give the pros and cons:

Pros - Cool factor high, Sounds decient much more base than expecting. Very wife friendly once the mudding, and painting was done.

Cons - Sound leakage high. Not the best sound. Non-directional sound (this is very bad for surround sound)

Overall 6.5/10 Better than average and very wife friendly. If you are afraid of mudding don't do it get pro to do it. Yes, I am pleased, but kicking my self for not insulating much, much, much more. I have taken pics of my progress and need to post them here at some point. I think if I had insulated more I could have give a better score some where around 7-8/10. Are these speakers for everyone, absolutely not. If you are trying to keep a clean look to your home and are willing to sacrifice some sound quality and can install them on an exteroir wall then check these speakers out.

I am not an audiophile, so take my opinions for what they are worth to you.

This is my fist Onsia product to have the pleasure of reviewing. My first impression of its box is one of sophistication. The front is simple with just the name of the product and company accompanied by a horizontal graphic. The back contains all the information one would need to know what it was, what it looks like, and how it works. The back of the unit was packaged very well encapsulated in Styrofoam. The front has only an extra layer of cardboard, but with it being flat I guess there is not much more you can do than that. All four corners are protected with card board covering them. Underneath all of this protection lies a plastic sheet wrapped In-Frame unit. Overall I would say the individual box was wrapped well for retail protection. The box my products came in to my home was protected even more so unless someone wants to hurt these products I feel they are quiet safe in transport.

Looking at the back I measured the two slot type mounts being 9 ¾ apart. I put two drywall screws in my wall level and at the respective distance apart. Had to take care of how much screw was left out of the wall. Too little and it tilts the panel up, too much and it tilts down. I could not find the room to hook up the speaker wire while it was mounted. Had to pull it down hook it up and then remount it.

For this review I am not using the Flat-Wire. I will be using 14ga oxygen free speaker wire. I will do a separate review on the Flat-Wire. I am also comparing using no covering and the stock plastic frame as to compare against the finished install.

I cut the panel to a 20 wide dimension and left its height at 24. Cutting was straight forward with a utility knife. I removed the adhesive covering starting from one corner and applied the art print on in a diagonal process. Mounted the covered panel in a wooden frame, and were in business.

Comparing the pre finished sound with the frame mounted I notice a slightly better performance out of the mounted. The pre finished made a tinny sound that was dampened by the extra weight. I would have to say the sound quality is on par with or slightly better than other speakers in its price range. This being said it definitely has the advantage in that class by having its designer and concealed status. These speakers cannot compete with high end speakers, but I do not believe they were designed with that intention. I will continue to update with acoustical data as I gather it.

Pros-Very Retrofit friendly, Good sound, Flat-Wire removes speaker look, Inexpensive, easily match decor by adding print and frame to suit. Easy Install

Cons-Low Wattage when mixing with other speakers, as installer no one wants to pay to have it installed. When you cut it to size you are changing the sound slightly.

"NOTE" I have just installed the In-Wall panel and will give detailed review of it soon.

Today I am reviewing the Onsia In-Wall Sound Panel. This is an In-Wall concealed speaker solution from APC. It is rated at 50w RMS/100w Peak and covers a range of 120Hz to 17kHz. It comes equipped with a self-resetting polyswitch and a three year manufacturer warranty.

Packaging was once again more than adequate for shipping of the product. The contents include the Speaker Panel, Template, Spacers, Adhesive Mesh, and a small bag of screws taped to the white Styrofoam piece. The package of screws was very easy to overlook as I managed to toss the Styrofoam aside on both installs without noticing them. They could have put them somewhere else or used a black bag for better visibility.

Once you have made a top or bottom reference mark lining up the template with the studs and making a mark around it is very straight forward. After cutting the hole I test fit the piece and needed to make some minor adjustments to my cut to allow an easy fit. I inserted two of the adhesive spacers on each stud to accommodate the ½ drywall thickness.

Using the supplied screws and tightening to what I thought was the limit the panel was still raised slightly above the drywall on the sides. It looked as though the panel was bowed. I applied the mesh tape that is packaged folded in on itself. This causes it to bow up where it was folded when applied so make sure to really smooth that out.

The instructions stated to adjust screw tightness until the panel was 1/8 to 3/16 below the drywall surface. I felt tightening the screws anymore just to get the sides to pull down would have caused damage. I instead pressed the sides of the panel down and used drywall screws in the small crack between the panel and wall to pin it in at that depth. I put a very light skim coat on as I use the quick dry mud in several coats. Once the first coat dried I removed the screws I was using as a depth setter and mudded over completely.

After about 5 days of playing music, TV, and Blu-ray the sound has only gotten better. Last night I listened to some DTS HD Master track using two finished panels as the fronts and an In-Frame as the center. I am more than impressed. With my sub hooked up and diverting any low bass from getting to the panels they sounded pristine in the mid range.

Pros-Retrofit friendly, VERY GOOD Sound, and completely hidden when installed.

Cons-Setting depth is difficult, Install needs mudding experience, and large size of Panels (2'x2)

I was recently contacted by a member of the company. They said the depth issue I am experiencing could be resolved by only using one foam piece instead of the manual stated two pieces for 1/2" drywall. I did attempt to check this on my own when installing the second panel, but disregarded it as making the depth to low and requiring an excess level of joint compound. Having received the manufacturers suggestion the next install into 1/2" drywall will be using only one foam spacer to test this.

On a different note a week ago when working near the panel I lost my balance and fell towards the wall. Natural instinct took over and i threw my hand against the wall breaking my fall. Immediately realizing what I was doing I tried to turn the impact point from my hand to the hole of my arm and back (Jet Li like response required). Amazingly the panel did take most of the force and not break....

However, the bottom and right side outline of the speaker were clearly visible by a hairline fracture through the paint and joint compound. Overall very simple to repair and no performance drop noticed. I still wouldn't suggest playing football in the house, but proof when properly installed there is not much to worry about in the way of durability with these speakers.

Some pics of the install

Opening the package


Speaker Ratings


Hole in all with insulation added and foam backing added


One unmudded speaker. Installing the second speaker.


Both speakers installed

Now that everything is installed time to upgrade the TV and add furniture underneath it.

I'm breaking in my Onsias right now, I'll let you guys know how they sound after the break in period.

I went to a place near me that has an Onsia room because I want to add speakers in our kitchen but don't want to see any wires, grills, etc. They are set up with 5 speakers (3 in the ceiling, 2 in the walls) a flat screen and a woofer in the console.

I read all of the comments and realize I may be flamed because I only have one comment. I found out about this site because I wanted to know what the pros think of invisible speakers before spending any $ on them...and now I want to contribute as a little payback for the info.

Now I'm no audiophile but I think these will work perfectly and sound great in my application. I'm going to go for it!

In case any of you are in the King of Prussia, PA area, the place is "home source daily expo" down the street from the mall.

Greets folks.. Just a few rambling comments on the topic of using a piece of drywall as a speaker diaphragm..

If this was inherently a good idea, we should see speaker manufacturers start using drywall in freestanding speakers as well... ;-)

Drywall has 2 problems in my view: significant mass, and rigidity. Both a liability, IMO. If you add plaster to the mix, you end up with an extra variable which will lead to hard to predict results based on thickness
type of plaster used...

I am a guitar builder, and we tend to be extra careful with the finish we apply to the soundboard. Coatings, that are too rigid, or to thick tend to alter the sound of an instrument to a surprising degree.

OTOH I could see a decent sounding speaker of this ilk to be made from something, that is proven to be able to produce decent sound, such as a spruce piano soundboard section, or some other traditional instrument soundboard material such as cedar. Possibly, even a thin carbon fiber board...

A few square feet of quality spruce is proven to produce a full range of pleasant musical notes when excited by a transducer.
We can see this demonstrated at any piano store. I believe this is a sane starting point for a discussion.

Perhaps a thin coat of flexible paint, covering (latex?) may be OK.

Although, if I built something like this, I would just leave it natural, with a thin coat of violin varnish. An inset rectable of a nice flat wood panel would not look so bad.

Drywall, I have a hard time buying that, as being conducive to sound ().

I do not get why these folks would not just produce the transducers, and let the end user attach it to their choice of diaphragm material.

Any comments?

Greets folks.. Just a few rambling comments on the topic of using a piece of drywall as a speaker diaphragm..

If this was inherently a good idea, we should see speaker manufacturers start using drywall in freestanding speakers as well... ;-)

Drywall has 2 problems in my view: significant mass, and rigidity. Both a liability, IMO. If you add plaster to the mix, you end up with an extra variable which will lead to hard to predict results based on thickness
type of plaster used...

I am a guitar builder, and we tend to be extra careful with the finish we apply to the soundboard. Coatings, that are too rigid, or to thick tend to alter the sound of an instrument to a surprising degree.

OTOH I could see a decent sounding speaker of this ilk to be made from something, that is proven to be able to produce decent sound, such as a spruce piano soundboard section, or some other traditional instrument soundboard material such as cedar. Possibly, even a thin carbon fiber board...

A few square feet of quality spruce is proven to produce a full range of pleasant musical notes when excited by a transducer.
We can see this demonstrated at any piano store. I believe this is a sane starting point for a discussion.

Perhaps a thin coat of flexible paint, covering (latex?) may be OK.

Although, if I built something like this, I would just leave it natural, with a thin coat of violin varnish. An inset rectable of a nice flat wood panel would not look so bad.

Drywall, I have a hard time buying that, as being conducive to sound ().

I do not get why these folks would not just produce the transducers, and let the end user attach it to their choice of diaphragm material.

Any comments?

The people who are posting these things about "new accounts" and "suspicious" postings are frankly IDIOTS. Why do I say that? I was just at Lowes, and I saw the speakers there, I install HT systems, and I liked the idea and knew customers would too. So I went online to see what other people had to say about them, THAT HAVE ACTUALLY USED THEM. And, what do I find? A bunch of morons complaining about how people started new accounts to talk about it. How stupid are you? Seriously. I just started one for that reason! Just because I haven't been on your precious forum doesn't mean I don't know anything either. You're paranoid is what you are. I also work on cars, and I start new accounts with TONS of different websites all the time to ask questions about things or to answer peoples' questions. That's not unusual, ESPECIALLY WITH A NEW PRODUCT that is captivating to people. Get real.