Fluance speakers [Impressions] (1 Viewer)

[george.Legeza]

A friend of mine just purchased a set of five Fluance speakers (the SX-HTB package). He's coming from a pretty basic RCA Home-Theater-in-a-Box. His old HTiB included five small wood satellite/mini-bookshelf speakers, a pretty standard receiver, and a small, passive RCA subwoofer. He's on a tight budget, so he's been doing small upgrades here and there for the past few months. His first upgrade was the Dayton 10" Subwoofer from Partsexpress, which did quite a bit to enhance his system.

He made the decision to purchase the Fluances last week and received the speakers a few days ago. We set them up with his old RCA receiver and there was quite a difference. These speakers sound excellent for the price point and definitely better than any speaker packages I've heard at major retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City. From what I've heard, I think it would be difficult to buy any other five speakers for under $500 that would compare to these. The mains stood out to me especially. They put out quite a lot of bass and movies sounded decent even without the subwoofer. The center also sounds excellent, but I haven't had a chance to hear much of the rears since we underestimated the length of wire required to connect them.

He also replaced his RCA receiver with a Yamaha HTR-5640. The new receiver definitely helped the speakers and they don't sound so strained at high volumes. As a matter of fact, they do an incredible job of maintaining their clarity without becoming unreasonably harsh or uncomfortable to listen to.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this stuff. I'm considering buying the SX-HTB myself and using it in my bedroom, or possibly just picking up a pair of Fluance towers. From what I've heard so far, these things seem like an amazing value for the money and I'm looking forward to being able to listen to them more critically later. Anyone on a serious budget for their home theater should definitely give these a try. It's hard to go too wrong for under $300.

(on a related note: we also 'upgraded' his speaker wire for the mains from 16 ga. to 12 ga. wire. The speakers sounded better, but we did this at the same time as hooking up the receiver, so it's hard to tell just how much of an improvement that yielded with these speakers. I will say that they sounded very decent to my ears with the 16 ga.)

 

[Brad_C]

How is the center channel speaker in this package? Are you able to hear vocals fine when the action is getting loud?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[Anthony*B]

to me, the center is the biggest weakness (and it's not bad ny any means) because I dont believe it has the same size drivers as the mains, & im a big fan of having the center actually being "superior" to the mains, since (in my case) the center gets the biggest workout (general TV viewing)...it just sounds a bit "thinner" than the mains, but then again the mains seem to justifiably getting a reputation of being VERY "bassy" (they definitely are)...of course, we don't listen to our HT very loud at all...maybe the package shines most when being pushed fairly hard, i dont know...

 

[Ian-Fl]

I find the same weakness with the center. I've set the center a couple of DB's louder than the mains and that's better. Some people have bought the separate av-sc center because it has bigger drivers. They say it's an improvement.
I don't have alot of bass coming from my mains because I have them set to small. My sub is taking the bass now.

 

[Sheldon-m]

I didn't buy the bundles of speakers. I have AV-F5, AV-BP2,
and the AV-SC. i could not be happier. i have a couple of friends that have higher end speakers(mirage,energy), and i think they can hang with them. the center is very clear and crisp. the mains are have a very smooth sound even when i crank it up. i have not heard any distortion(and i listen to hip-hop and jazz). I would recommend them to anybody looking for some speakers. I look for quality not a price tag.

 

[Anthony*B]

i wasnt aware they had a separate center available..ill have to check that out!
Ian, my mains are set to small as well & i have the PE sub...I just meant that the mains have a very "bassy" characteristic to me...the center, in comparison, is kind of "bright" or "trebly" to me...i guess that's to be expectd w/ smaller drivers?...in any case, I will ALWAYS recommend Fluance to anyone who asks...the true poor boy's speaker best value

 

[Ian-Fl]

Anthony we have the same sub and speakers. My receiver is different I have the H/K avr125. The other difference is I sound proofed my basement years ago so I might not be getting as much boom from the bass. My basement is the best sounding room in my house. There's very little reverb in that room.
There's an article in the Feb. issue in Home Theater Mag about building and where to place acoustic treatment. I'm sure you'll be able to get more performance from your system.

 

[cabreau]

Where can I get cool and neo sound proofing material for cheap?

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Have they compare to Axioms and HTDs?

 

[Anthony*B]

i bet your system sounds awesome Ian! i would love to hear it! sadly, there is no way I could ever achieve really good sound, as my setup is in my living room & the wife is very particular about how things are set up, & I've already lost that battle ...audiophiles would cringe in terror at how badly laid out my speakers are forced to be, but ive done the best with what ive been given...hopefully one day when we're not so broke all the time we'll move into a new house
& ill have my own HT room...

 

[Alex_P]

I have the Fluance 5 speakers package for about 7 months now. They do sound really nice for the money that you paid. If you are on a budget, these speakers worth a look.

I find the same weakness with the center. I've set the center a couple of DB's louder than the mains and that's better.

Agree on this. I did open the center up and insert some polyfil in it. It seems like lil tighter...

After all, for a $250 package... you can't beat this IMO.

 

[cabreau]

Where do you get polyfil?

 

[Ian-Fl]

Walmart
Even partsexpress has it.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...=260-317&DID=7

 

[ErichH]

I have 2 friends that own the 200+ Fluance pkg and it's not bad at all. Recently, I lost my main audio equipment(don't ask) and used old speakers to keep going. I needed a temporary center and ordered the larger Fluance center. I've been really supprised at how good it is.
I'll be upgrading soon and perhaps it will show up in the for sale forum here.
Best
E