What's new

How are fluance so cheap? (1 Viewer)

Jarett

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 23, 2004
Messages
158
hey all,
I have been looking at fluance for some time, and have come to the conclusion that they are a friggin cheap speaker..which is exactly what i need. My question is, how can they be so cheap? Can they compare to paradigm etc.? Or are they out of that leugue...Thanks for all your help

jay
 

NickSo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Messages
4,260
Real Name
Nick So
Though they provide a great value for the price, i HIGHLY doubt they're even inthe same league as Paradigms...
 

Hank VT

Agent
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
31
They have no overhead as best I can tell. No advertising, no discounts to retailers. You are basically buying them for the same money as a retail store would buy them.
 

Rory Buszka

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
784
They are also poorly designed (Really wonky crossover points, like 800Hz for a side-firing 10" woofer in the SX10) and use substantially lower quality materials and components. One example of this is the use of midrange drivers which are open-backed midbasses, but with a metal strip placed across the spider to prevent the cone from over-excursioning when the woofer created large pressure changes in the enclosure. In my mind, Fluance are basically the functional equal of white van speakers but sold at prices which are not jacked up to swindle you. Their web pages used to all say "Priced very low for a pair of Fluance speakers in factory-sealed boxes" or something like that. On their own web site. I don't trust Fluance one bit.
 

Jarett

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 23, 2004
Messages
158
So they're no good?...i was just wondering as i'm considering some Di-poles or Bi-poles franky i dont know the difference...can anyone tell me the difference between Bi, Di and Mono?

thanks
 

Garrett Lundy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Messages
3,763
1. Use low-quality materials. The paper-coned drivers that any factory in Thailand can produce 1,000 units for $1 US.

2. Sweatshop assembly
 

John Garcia

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 24, 1999
Messages
11,571
Location
NorCal
Real Name
John
If you're looking for something CHEAP, they'll probably do. If you are looking for something GOOD, well...you get what you pay for. What's your price range, and how many speakers?
 

Jimi C

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 22, 2004
Messages
1,212


They do not sell a speaker called the "sx-10", they have the sv-10's, but they have 8" side firing woofers. And for the life of me i cannot find where you got that crossover spec.

The basic materials they used are exactly the same as what you would find in a low end Paradigm or virtually any other name brand speakers mid to low end offerings. MDF cabinets with silk dome tweeters, treated paper drivers with butyl rubber surrounds.

These guys have not heard these speakers and are speaking compleatly based on specs and there own skepticism.

Fluance owners, and people who have ACTUALLY listened to them please share your thoughts..
 

Kean-Hock Yeap

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Messages
82
I am a proud owner of Fluance SX-HTB. Granted I am a novice and don't know jack about speaker design and stuff, but I like what I hear.

You can always find something better regardless of the product you buy. Just buy whatever sounds the best to your ears (well, maybe your wife's ears as well :D ) within your price range.

Reviews and feedbacks are good reference points, but let yourself be the ultimate judge.
 

Garrett Lundy

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Messages
3,763

:eek: OMG thats what I did! :eek:

I hereby renounce my comments about Fluance being sweatshop produced 1/10th-penny speakers.
:b

Just refer to my earlier post and assume I'm talking about Dogg Digital :D
 

Anthony*B

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
205
I am also a pretty darned happy owner of Fluance SX-HTB's, & I really think some of the comments I'm hearing here are kind of unfair...only a fool would mistake these with Paradigms or Swans or something, but for the money, I feel they are fantastic...
Listen, I guess there may not be many HT nuts like me out there (meaning I have a very small budget, & I'm NOT talking small budget as some seem to think (and yes, I know "small budget" is a relative term :) ), I'm talking SMAAALLL budget, as in around 500$ for the ENTIRE speaker package-I can only DREAM of getting to spend over 6-700$ on speakers at this point) on a REALLY low budget, but Fluance is/was a perfect choice for me in my present situation, & I think it's kind of crass to summarily dismiss them when they offer folks like myself the chance to try this wonderful hobby without having to take out a 2nd mortgage or sell a kidney on Ebay :) lighten up guys, they are great "beginner" speakers, & I think that's just what they are intended to be...
 

Shane Martin

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
6,017
Anthony,
While I respect your opinion which is very fair, I think you need to also realize there are quite a few owners out there that feel "they are as good as speakers 10x the price". These types of comments typically bring out the negative rather quickly. your being really realistic about them at this point but others I've seen are not so realistic.
 

John Garcia

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 24, 1999
Messages
11,571
Location
NorCal
Real Name
John
I would not say Fluance are anything like White Van speakers, but they are not Paradigms either. They are good speakers for the money, and I have no problem pointing people on a budget to them.


Nothing wrong with paper drivers. Actually, paper is probably the most neutral sounding material out there.
 

Hank VT

Agent
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
31
You would not use the SX-HTB cabinets for white-van speakers. It's cheaper just to nail 4 boards together rather than create the rounded cabinets.

They sound like $500 speakers that you can get for $300. They are not $1000 speakers. They are not for everyone because they are big honking speakers. But if you want towers for your mains and you only have $300, it's pretty much your only option.
 

Anthony*B

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
205
yes Shane, if they make the "good as speakers at 10x the price" (which is a line I hadn't heard before) that is CLEARLY marketing hype, & is unfortunate (& also impossible to verify, hehe), but my point is simply that they really genuinely are a good bargain for the few EXTREMELY thinly-budgeted HT-wannabe-fans out there, nothing more...what I'm trying to say is that if it weren't for Fluance's, I'd have nothing or a Wal-Mart HTIB (shudder)
no hard feelings of course, merely MY feelings about the situation...just defending a product that has done really welll by me :)
 

Rory Buszka

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
784
Ok, it's the SV-10, but cut me some slack -- I was working from memory here. But in the specifications for the SV-10, it clearly states "Crossover Frequency: 800/3500 Hz Phase Coherent - PCB Mounted Circuitry". Any experienced speaker designer knows you DON'T cross over a side-firing woofer above 200 Hz or so. In this speaker, the 8" woofer is also handling directional midbass, which screws up the imaging and stuff. And the bit about the midrange driver having the metal piece across the spider to limit the cone's excursion, that was from the review that an online computer magazine did of the AV-HTB. I forget which it was, but it was the first one that people were really making a big deal of. And they changed "Priced very low for a pair of Fluance speakers in factory-sealed boxes" to "Priced very low for a pair of Fluance speakers with serious performance!"
 

DanJV

Grip
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
23
IMHO....if I were to pick speakers at that price point, I'd probably go to Costco and get the BIC speaker package for around the same price. They are "Klipsch" clones and look to be of better quality than the Fluance offerings. I'd also take a look at AV123 or Ascend Acoustics....both have high quality speakers at about the same price.
 

Jimi C

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 22, 2004
Messages
1,212



serious newbie question..
How do you know thats the crossover setting for the side firing woofer and not the 2 midrange drivers? I own SV-10's (they sound good to me) and even with my ear right up to the woofer there is no noticeable midrange sound coming from them. The imaging is quite good with them placed approx. 8ft apart and angled in.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,689
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top