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FLUANCE (1 Viewer)

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Oct 28, 2004
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Well, in my opinion, the sound is the single biggest contributor to a true "theater" experience. I say that because I feel surround experience adds so much to it. I had a surround receiver and speakers before I had a "high-end" display.

I finally added a Sony 50" (SXRD) to my gear about 5 months ago. Love the HD. Love watching movies on it. But without the sound, the experience is not complete (whereas, I enjoyed movies on my old SD 32" TV with the surround sound before I had the new TV).

My opinion may seem to fly in the face of my earlier post defending Fluance "quality" and price point, but it really doesnt. The real point is that virtually ANY balanced 5.1 sound system (even HTIB) will sound better, and create a great sense of immersion in the movie experience, when compared to watching the movie through the TV speakers. For the people with very limited income to spend on sound, there needs to be the Fluance's out there. You don't need to spend "thousands" to enjoy this hobby. It'd be great if everyone could have any gear they wanted, but that's not the reality.

So, back to point. I'll take sound first, picture second. (easy for me to say now that I have my new TV! :)
 

Andrew Pratt

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While I don't own the fluance speakers in question I friend of mine does and I've listened to them a fair bit. No one here's deluding themselves thinking their fluance speakers are better then far more expensive 'name brands' but they do sound good, are affordable and have been around long enough to be considered a reliable company to buy from. Their build quality is actually better then you might think and I've personally recommended them several times to people on a budget and they've always been happy with them. If you combine them with a quality subwoofer you are well on your way to a respectable HT system for a reasonable price.
 

Brian_cyberbri

Stunt Coordinator
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Dec 30, 2004
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202
When my father was looking for equipment for his theater room, and needed decent stuff for a good price, I suggested Fluance.

He got 2 of the AV-F3s:
http://www.fluance.com/fldycothhisp.html
the AV-SC center:
http://www.fluance.com/fluancemv670c.html
and 3 of the bipolar AV-BP2s:
http://www.fluance.com/fluanbipsurs.html

I told him to go with those speakers because the separate center channel speaker is stronger than the one that comes in the packages.

They sound pretty decent in his small room. He has an Onkyo 502 receiver and a cheap Dayton sub.
He actually sold a set of Bose speakers he had received and used the money on the Fluance and the Dayton.



For the money they are great set of entry-level speakers.
There are certainly better speakers out there, but these
are well above the level of a regular HTiB that would cost
the same (for the speakers).
 

Chris Gerhard

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Chris Gerhard
I own and use the Fluance SX-HTB+ speaker set and love them. Of course if you have much more money to spend, you can do better but for the price, I believe they are still king of hill. Here is the Fluance eBay rating, 1375 positive and not a single negative, I think that is a good indication the speakers are worth the price.

Chris
 

Jean D

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Jean D
wow, thats a great rating. Like I said, for what they are, they have amazing value.
 

Chris Gerhard

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That is tough to answer without knowing what you consider good. What should be clear is that the speakers are a good value. Obviously a $2,000 set of speakers will be better and even those would not be considered good by some standards. I have my SX-HTB+ in a room that is 10x15 and we are happy with them. I have certainly heard better speakers but I have not heard anything comparable for the price. If you are expecting excellent quality regardless of price, look elsewhere.

Chris
 

Chris Gerhard

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Here are some reviews at audioreview.com.

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speak...4_4282crx.aspx

These are budget speakers and trying to recommend them is very difficult without making that perfectly clear. Some people will not find the speakers acceptable and therefore they aren't worth anything to them. If you aren't happy with anything you have ever heard that costs less than $2,000, these won't be for you. If you have been happy with HTIB all in one systems with included speakers, you will likely find these speakers a huge upgrade.

Chris
 

Chris Gerhard

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My room is actually 15' long and 12' wide, not sure how the 10' got entered in my post, but the speakers handle enough power from my Yamaha RX-V2300 to be used in a larger room if needed.

Chris
 

servant386

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Mar 27, 2007
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steve
Man , i`m glad I tuned in . I was thinking about buying a Fluance system but I think I`ll spend a wee bit more and buy the Premiers reviewed by Parker or the Bic`s which I read a great review on audioholics.
 

Peco

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Mar 24, 2007
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They most not be to bad, I've been trying to get my hands on a pair of Fluance Bipolar AV-BP2s off ebay and keep getting outbid. I know I can get them at a "Buy Now" price but I'm trying to get a better deal.
 

Jean D

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Does anyone know where I can get a hold of a frequency response graph of the SX-HTB set? Or does anyone know how I can make my own? I'm curious ,because I just ordered the SVS SBS-01's for my bedroom, which I have no doubt will blow the doors off my Fluance set in my livingroom, but I wanted to check the Frequency response of them.
 

Ryan Leemhuis

Second Unit
Joined
Oct 1, 2002
Messages
490

You can do it yourself but you need some equipment and probably isn't worth it.

The cheapest option is the Radio Shack SPL meter. It is decently accurate(especially the new model) at low frequencies but isn't great above 6 KHz or so.

The better option is to buy a measurement microphone. The cheapest often recommended is the Behringer ECM8000. In addition to this a preamp will be needed. I recommend the Behringer XENYX 802. Lastly, some form of mic stand. Using software like speaker workshop or measuring your speakers outdoors you should be able to get a decent FR plot of the speakers. It's not easy but it's how its done.

If you just want how they perform and don't mind added room effects, than you can just perform a frequency sweep or output pink noise to them and do an FFT analysis via software on the input. This is a great way to tell if a change to your system actually yielded a positive effect.
 

Donald_S

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Oct 19, 2003
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109
I'll weigh in in the Fluance debate. About 3 years ago I spent many, many hours researching what I considered to be a reasonably priced HTIB system. At that time Fluance seemed to be the best deal for the money. I got the Dayton 100w sub to go with them as many people did at that time. They do a great job and match up well with speakers in the $500 or so price range. Will they match up well if you spend $1,000 or more? Of course not. But for a modest sized living room they put out all the sound I could need.

The people here who are implying that they are junk I think are just pulling everyone's tail. If you want to keep the total cost of the audio portion of your theater under $1,000, Fluance are at least worth a look.

I have a friend who is an audiophile. Has a pair of Martin Logans as his fronts and Veritas surrounds. He thinks I should have spent a lot more on my theater. BUT he does come over and watch movies, and without his fingers in his ears (smile).

If you're in LA and want to give them a listen, let me know.
 

Chris Gerhard

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At this point, I don't really think there is any debate either way. The SX-HTB+ speakers are not comparable to most $1,000 speakers but are often the best choice at their price for many installations. Most other inexpensive speakers that get a lot of praise online are quickly forgotten. Several years after the first mention of these speakers nobody has shown the value to be hype. Better quality control, better customer service and better audio performance than anything most of us have seen at the price remains the opinion of most that own the speakers. I still love mine. I haven't heard any of their other Fluance products but believe based on comments I have read that a similar good value is found through the entire line.

Chris
 

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