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Ever heard of Fluance speakers? VERY CHEAP! (1 Viewer)

Carl Johnson

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That deal is setting off my 'too good to be true' alarm. The stats look respectable but why would anyone sell a five speaker surround system for $259? I doesn't say how much they charge for shipping but it should be reasonable, UPS ground typically is.
 

Jeff_Garcia

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i just did a search on fluance in this forum and there has been a few people who bought the speaker package. They really seemed to like how they performed. I am really considering of buying the 5 speaker package.
 

Bruce-E

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I bought the fluance si-6 speakers off e-bay,the shipping was ups $48.00 The speakers work fine,sound great.I use them for ht 100% time.For the price they work for me.
 

Jeff_Garcia

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i'd really want to see Cnet review them. i doubt sound and vision or sterophile will even look at them cause they are priced soo cheap.
 

Adam Bluhm

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I've read about these guys a few months back. Someone posted pics of their living room with new fluance speakers. He was VERY satisfied.. especially at the price point.

They may be some of THE BEST bang: buck ratio.
 

Jeff_Garcia

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i searched audioreview.com and i found an interesting review about on the Fluance SM938.


"These speakers are AMAZING with home theater! They produce startlingly rich and clear sound even at fairly high decibel levels. They can fill a large room with no effort whatsoever. I'm not going to say that the SM938 towers can compete with Bose 701s or mid-end Polks as some reviewers have stated, but I will say that these speakers perform much better than their price class would indicate. They should run at least $600+. For all you skeptics - here is the reason the speakers are so very, very inexpensive:

1. They are constructed in Asia, therefore Fluance can use better-quality components to build these speakers. Components of comparable quality would cost far more in other regions.
2. Labor is also substantially cheaper in Asia. Therefore a large chunk of their profit is not allocated to labor compensation.
3. Fluance sells direct – there is no middleman. No wholesalers or liquidators. You buy them directly from the manufacturer and sole supplemental expense is the shipping fee.
4. Lastly (and perhaps most significantly) - Fluance spends precious little (if anything) on advertising. If Sony bought Fluance (knock on wood) then they would most likely sell them for $700+. And that would still be inexpensive due to the first two factors listed above.

For music listening, these speakers are also respectable. They are less impressive with music reproduction than Home Theater however. They produce an audible hiss (due in large part to the source CD, but regardless it is more present with these speakers than some others) and the vocals and low signals can be muddied at some points. However, music is definitely listenable and for the price, these speakers yield the best music reproduction one can possibly get. If you plan on using these speakers primarily for music listening then a subwoofer is essential. While the bass is definitely present, it is not sufficient for songs wrought with low tones.

However, for home theater, the 10’’ side-firing subwoofer produces the low tones in movies admirably. But if you are a bass hound (as am I), then the built-in woofer is inadequate.

Overall, the quality of these speakers (including the aesthetics) is astounding. But the focus should be the price. If these speakers retailed for 7 or 8 hundred dollars, then I would recommend other brands. But for less than $300, these speakers cannot possibly be beaten! Leave your skepticism behind and give these a shot – they will definitely stun you!"
 

MikeH1

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1. They are constructed in Asia, therefore Fluance can use better-quality components to build these speakers. Components of comparable quality would cost far more in other regions
I don't know about you, but other than Antarctica, Asia is the last continent (on a whole) that I would buy speakers from. Amps and such sure. But not speakers. Asia is NOT known to have better quality speaker parts. Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood the list goes on of these cheap house brands. I have yet to even become familiar of a mid-fi brand's name that are asian. (I'm sure there out there).
 

Dan Hine

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This indicates very good quality control. This leads me to believe that some very good stuff can be produced in China and southeast Asia.
The statement in bold came from Mr. Joe D'Appolito. I also think certain Klipsch drivers are made in Asia.
 

MikeH1

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Thanks for the enlightment Dan :). I knew there were some quality stuff from Asia but just wasn't quite aware of specific makes. However I'm still sticking with my initial post that generally speaking asia is not known for their speakers. They may have a ounce of mid stuff thats good but they also have a ton of cheap stuff thats not so good.
But at least they don't charge you 5X the value of it like some North American companies do.
 

Dan Hine

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No problem Michael. But there are in fact MANY good quality speakers that come from Asia. And when I say speakers I mean both finished products as well as the actual drivers. I think you may be surprised to find that the drivers in many uber-high end speakers that we love to think are made in the US or even Europe use drivers from Asia. Most notably would be Hi Vi Research who's drivers are in the Diva and Rocket speakers.
And don't let the fact that Rockets are fairly inexpensive fool you into thinking that they use cheaper parts. In fact, they use the same Vifa tweeter that is found in Krell's $35,000 flagship speaker. That tweeter costs $80. AV123 just doesn't kill you with 800% markups.
If you haven't seen this before, take a look at the many other offerings of Hi Vi research (Swan speakers).
Additionally, if I'm not mistaken, many of the Asian counterparts of what we would call cheap speakers here (Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer) are incredibly popular across the Pacific. It is just that they do not get marketed over here. We get stuck with their low end wanna-be's. Also, I recall Pioneer's Elite line of speakers from several years ago being quite popular to those that actually gave them a chance. Not many people did though because of the preconceived notions (and I don't blame them) of other Pioneer speakers, so Pioneer either stopped making them or stopped sending them to the US.
They may have a ounce of mid stuff that's good but they also have a ton of cheap stuff that's not so good.
Hey, so do we. Dogg Digtal comes to mind. Also Acoustic Image, Paradyme, Audiofile, etc... Even non white van speakers like Bose, Optimus/RCA, and just about any speaker you'll find at Best Buy or Circuit City (not including JBL, Polk or Infinity). They aren't horrible but are by no means worth what you pay for IMO.
As for Fluance, I'd love to try some out but right now even $259 is too much for this poor fellow. :frowning:
 

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