About Niles Audio Corporation

From the very beginning, Niles has been a solutions-based company. In January of 1978, company founder Ivan Niles Zuckerman opened Niles Audio Corporation for business. The fledgling company’s first products were switching systems designed for use by audio retailers as a tool to help them demonstrate speakers and amplifiers to potential customers. These switching systems greatly simplified the selling process because the salesperson no longer had to disconnect and reconnect wires and cables manually each time a customer wanted to audition a specific component.

From Zuckerman’s vision and those early switching systems, Niles has evolved into a solutions-based consumer electronics company that offers a comprehensive line of lifestyle electronics products for custom-installed home-entertainment systems.

During a quarter-century of creativity and innovation, Niles has played a major role in the transformation of custom-installed whole-house audio systems and Home Theater from a hobbyist pastime into a thriving, highly professional industry. Niles grew by refining existing product types and inventing new ones, always delivering value to its dealers, installers, and end-users through quality engineering and materials, ease of installation and operation, and the best possible sound for the money.

Zuckerman began Niles Audio Corporation as a small home-based business. Today the firm’s headquarters and factory in Miami, Florida, encompasses more than 60,000 square feet. Niles now employs over 200 people, and its products are sold in more than 30 countries around the world.

Niles’ first consumer products – a four-pair speaker selector and a patching matrix for up to five components – were precursors of sophisticated control devices that led the home audio-products industry in new directions. These include:

The Component Commander®, one of the industry’s first multi-source, multi-zone whole-house music systems, introduced in 1989.
The IntelliPad® wall-mounted infrared keypad system provides one-button control of complex music systems. The IntelliPad introduced many installers to the concept of power synchronization, in which the system would know the power on/off status of the hi-fi receiver and not blindly issue a power command if the system were already on. This was an important step in the development of automated systems. The IntelliPad was introduced in 1995.
The IntelliControl® Home Theater automation system applied the concept of synchronized control to the Home Theater through a main system unit and matching tabletop RF remote controller. It was introduced in 1996.

Niles’ extensive loudspeaker line is guided by the simple concept of "Form Follows Function." Each speaker line is designed to achieve the finest in audio reproduction for a specific application. Responding to perceived problems and opportunities, and to suggestions from dealers, installers, and end-users, Niles engineers explicitly design each speaker to deliver outstanding value and performance in a particular situation.

Niles entered the loudspeaker marketplace in 1988 with its first in-wall loudspeakers, followed in 1990 by ceiling-mount models. In 1994 came the OS10, the first in Niles’ award-winning line of indoor/outdoor speakers. It became an instant hit, defined the category, and remains the industry standard.

In 1997, Niles introduced the AT Advanced Technology series, consisting of extraordinary speakers that satisfy even the most discriminating audiophile. To create them, Niles applied the most modern theories of acoustics to aerospace materials and technology.

Also in 1997, Niles introduced the HD CTR/LRS High Definition series, featuring Directed Sound Field Geometry®. These high-power-handling in-wall loudspeakers accurately recreate high-fidelity sound in a Home Theater setting and make in-wall surround sound an effective reality. The acoustical properties of these speakers and the interactions between the speaker’s components actually "steer" the sound directly towards the listener.

Another major advance came in 1999 with the introduction of Niles’ first SI Stereo Input loudspeakers. Featuring a dual voice-coil woofer and dual tweeters in a stereo-imaging faceplate, SI loudspeakers deliver stereo sound from a single speaker. An SI loudspeaker is the ideal choice in a confined space with room for just one speaker. In multiples, these speakers provide quality sound and balanced coverage throughout hallways, large rooms, patios, and other interior and outdoor spaces.

In 2001, Niles expanded the concept of focused sound distribution through Directed Sound Field Geometry® with the new ceiling-mount DS Directed Soundfield™ loudspeakers. Without compromising the quality of the listening experience, they resolve architectural issues such as cathedral or vaulted ceilings, alignment with in-ceiling lighting, and a plasma display over a fireplace where space for a center channel is lacking. Although intended primarily for the Home Theater environment, DS Directed Soundfield loudspeakers also perform quite well in whole-house distributed music applications. Their flexibility enables installers to direct the sound where it needs to go to achieve optimal acoustic performance.

In keeping with its passion for application-specific design, Niles entered the amplifier category in 1994 with Systems Integration Amplifiers®, which provide the backbone in a multi-room/multi-source sound system. The industry’s first 12-channel amplifiers, Systems Integration Amplifiers were a logical extension of Niles’ expertise in developing six-room stereo speaker selectors that distribute a total of 12 audio channels.

In 2001, Niles introduced new multi-zone products that offer system designers and installers great flexibility in creating customized whole-house distributed audio systems: the A4.6Ci MultiZone Audio Preamplifier, and the ZR-4630 MultiZone Receiver. Each combines with keypads, infrared sensors, and hand-held remotes to deliver complete zone-by-zone and system-wide control of a home-entertainment system. What’s more, programming and storage of all IR codes take place within the preamplifier or receiver. Compared with other multi-zone systems using individually programmable keypads, this feature dramatically reduces installation time.

The A4.6Ci is designed to work with the company’s Systems Integration Amplifiers. It accepts input from up to four sources and distributes their output to six listening zones, simultaneously satisfying every member of the family. Dad can listen to his favorite jazz in the den, and the kids can enjoy rock ‘n roll by the pool, while Mom relaxes to classical music in the tub. The programming capability of the A4.6Ci provides total flexibility in listening choices, and its treble and bass controls enable installers to tailor the sound in each zone to work in harmony with the acoustics of that specific space.

The ZR-4630 is a one-box multi-zone solution that retains many of the features of the A4.6Ci while offering a combination of simplicity, economy, and value. Its quick, easy programming and lower price point have broadened the market for whole-house audio/video distribution and control systems. The ZR-4630 incorporates a built-in AM and FM stereo tuner and 12-channel amplifier, accepts input from the tuner and three other audio sources, and distributes their output to six listening zones.

In 2000, responding to installers’ needs, Niles introduced the industry’s first two-piece no-strip speaker-wire connector and snap-in loudspeaker baffles. Both are great installation time-savers. The innovative terminal design enables installers to terminate speaker cables without stripping insulation from the wire. The snap-in baffles allow installers to put the frames in place during an early stage of construction, then return later to attach the baffles to the frames without additional hardware or tools.

Niles was a founding member of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) in 1989. Niles products have won numerous industry awards. In 1998, Ivan Zuckerman received the prestigious CEDIA Lifetime Achievement Award. For a complete list of Niles’ industry awards, see the awards page

Today the Niles line of more than 500 individual products includes all the essential tools of the trade, a comprehensive array of devices for every aspect of whole-house distribution and integration of audio/video systems – speakers, receivers, amplifiers, automation devices, controls, and accessories.

Beyond the products themselves, the Niles equation encompasses comprehensive enterprise solutions to help dealers and installers grow. Recognizing that custom installation can be time-sensitive, Niles has set for itself the goal of keeping all of its products in stock at all times and delivering them promptly when needed. Extensive training, technical support, marketing, and promotional resources also set Niles apart as a "total solutions" company, leading the industry today and helping to define its future.