Honeywell WAVE

The Honeywell WAVE is a small speaker that is commonly used with hardwired alarm panels as a noisemaker. This is a decent speaker, but there are a few important things to understand. First, it does not include a siren driver. You will need to either have a panel with a built-in siren driver, or you will need to add a separate external siren driver. Second, this is not a very loud speaker. It is a small, 8 ohm speaker, and it only has a power rating of 15 watts. While this device will work fine in some applications, there are usually better options available. We give it a 3 Star Rating out of 5.

Honeywell actually stopped producing the Honeywell WAVE Speaker, as they decided they could make a product with more functionality. The replacement product is called the Honeywell WAVE2 Siren. It offers two unique tones, and it can produce louder sounds of up to 106 dB. It also has the siren driver already built-in, which will make the set up process easier. Both the original Honeywell WAVE and the replacement Honeywell WAVE2 can fit nicely into a single gang box. Both are quite easy to install, and they are good for residential use.

You really only want to get the Honeywell WAVE if you happen to have a hardwired panel that already includes a built-in siren driver. This is somewhat uncommon, as most panels will not have this. Assuming you need a speaker and a siren driver, it is usually easiest to just get a true siren like the Honeywell WAVE2. This will involve less equipment, and it will make the installation process easier. The WAVE is also a small and relatively quiet speaker. If your panel has a built-in siren driver, then you are probably using it in an application that requires something louder.

Overall, there are just too many negatives about the Honeywell WAVE Speaker for us to strongly recommend it. While this product works fine, it is very niche, and there are usually better options available. That is why we rate it at 3 Stars.