Niles Audio

dcbrush -- Tue, 01/08/2008 - 19:13

Does anyone, especially reviewers like RH and/or CM have experience with Niles Audio's sound and how it compares to something like Rotel? I moved into a house with speakers in the walls and volume controls and I'm thinking about upgrading to a dedicated receiver and smart keypads. Niles seems easier to set up and has less components, but I have heard Rotel before and I like the sound quality. Rotel requires a receiver, amp, keypads and switching box.

Tom Martin -- Sun, 01/20/2008 - 11:10

Is this for background music or main music listening or home theater?

CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC

dcbrush -- Wed, 01/23/2008 - 23:28

Thanks for the reply! Background. I plan to hook up my Squeeze Box. I have separate systems for 2-channel and home theater.

Right now I am using the Squeeze Box coaxial digital output into the digital input on an Arcam AVR300 receiver. The receiver can only power one set of ceiling speakers in the kitchen right now (it only has one extra zone). It sounds pretty good. My main concern is that I don't want less sound quality than what I have.

Robert Harley -- Mon, 02/04/2008 - 22:38

I have no experience with Niles, but I would be surprised if the sound quality match that of Rotel products. They specialize in distributed audio rather than high-performance.

Robert Harley

Chris Martens -- Tue, 04/15/2008 - 09:03

I have only had brief, casual listening experience with the Niles system, but much more in-depth listening experience with Rotel components. So, I can't offer an expert opinion on this one.

My general sense of things, though, is that Rotel is first/last/always a high-end audio company (but with a value-oriented mindset), and therefore has an established track record of putting sound quality first.

Niles, on the other hand, comes from a distributed audio background, where--even before questions of sound quality come into play--a big part of the battle is simply figuring out ways and means of getting sound to appear where you want, when you want.

Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision