From OH NO !! to Not Bad !! How I saved my buddie for 709.00 (1 Viewer)

[ErichH]

My best friend has been complaining about not having a reciever and speaker rig of his own . It's a money thing , of course. One day on the phone , I was supprised to hear that he was thinking about picking up a no name (really cheap) reciever and maby one of those Theater In A Box speaker sets - you know the ones , a 6 or 8 inch sub , and 5 plastic round back sats that sound like S#%t . I loved the idea that he was ready to get in , but his 2 choices were , to say the least , almost worse than not having anything at all . Imagine the HORROR of a little 2 or 3 inch center speaker - OUCH !!
OK ! , Lets look around , I said . His response , I can't spend much more - I just want something to sound a little better that my TV . Well , what are we talkin about - how much for that crap you researched - almost 500.00 .
To make a long story short - with the help of ebay / pricegrabber(for the reciever) and a willingness to take a risk on the speakers (anything's better than what he chose - I thought ) We put together a minor miracle for his appartment .
First the Speakers - I ran across an auction on ebay for some weird speaks called Fluence , a 5 pc set with 3 way mains(30in tall) a 3 driver center , and 2 way sats that all had MDF boxes and silk dome tweeters . Hmmm , probably chinese or something , but at 200.00 for the set , why not ?? His first choice were around 300.00 and I just talked him in to taking a chance - actually , I promised to buy them if they arrived DOA .
The SUB ??? OK , since we're rolling dice here , lets go with a BIC 12 inch for 150.00 ( downfire with 2 Venturi cross ports - also an MDF box) - RIGHT !! - I'm 50 bucks over the plastic guys and around 300% more weight in the boxes alone - how bad can they be ???? My attitude again , Hey !! you're getting crap anyway , why not aim for some better crap !?
OK , we really didn't find a reciever in this `Take A Chance' category , so I rallied for a new Denon 1802 at 359.00 (price grabber to the rescue) and waited for everything to arrive .
Yesterday was set it up day - and we were both just BLOWN AWAY !!! It really sounds great !!!! (consider the amount of money invested !) Yea , shure the system has a little upper mid bump when you push it hard , but he'll never use it that loud in his appartment , and at normal levels you'd be fooled into thinking he spent 1500.00 or so . Not Bad At All !!! We DID IT !!! Now he'll catch FEVER and spend REAL money in a year or 2 !!!
Eric

 

[Geoff L]

Erich,
Im sure many can relate to what you your friend was looking to do. We all have heard or seen this one happen before. Just kills ya to watch em do it. Dive in blind and broke. Crap is crap right. NO NO NO. There is defenitly better crap to be had for much less!
Glad to hear things worked out well and im sure he's much much happier than he would have been ~ I think..
Whats that they say, ignorence is bliss.
I've seen that brand speakers on e-bay, (not the complete set like you-he bought), but the tower model. From the standing point of looks, (they did look very attractive) and printed spec's (oh, no one cheats here you know), they looked pretty darn good. Now you say that they actually sound pretty damn good.
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Well could you be a little clearer on what you might compare thier sound to?
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My nephews birthday is comeing up and Im going to give him a low end HT set up. Hence the speaker question. I have the AV-reciever, powered sub, and dvd player allready. Now looking for mains, center and surrounds.
So give me your take on the up-graded crap speakers.
Heck while your at it, never seen any review or info on the BIC sub. Had a friend that amost bought two of these at 150.00 apiece, new. He went a different way eventualy. Him nor I did not listned to them and was curious as to your take on that 12" crap, too....
Thanks
Geoff

 

[ErichH]

Well , Goeff , The Fluence rig was a supprise in many ways - My expectations were - `Hope it's no too bad' and I found myself thinking some company's ditching stock that must have retailed for way more , but they couldn't get the company going - it happens . They actually have a site = fluence.com , and you can order from there instead of ebay ............. I was supprised by the tweeters , they look like smaller silk dome versions of a Dyne D28 tweeter - believe me , they're nowhere near that , but I expected to see a cheap aluminum job . The Drivers are inverse cone polys , and again , I expected paper cones . Other things , such as MDF instead of partial board make them interesting .
Again , these are not super quality speakers , but for someone on a serious budget , they're a REAL Bargain . Just the sheer amount of what you get amazed me - at 200 for 5 speakers !!!!!!!!!!
Maby the Denon 1802 helped the sound , or maby it was the Sound Runner 10G wire I gave him(I had a 500ft roll) and definatly the 12 inch sub helped, but in his 12X15 apartment living room , it was clear that a great deal had been discovered .
I use Paradigm Studio 40's and center , and my friend is used to hearing those - he was all smiles with the Fluence system . The BIC sub is just as strong a bargain , I feel like it should be a 400-500 sub , but again , I really think it's a company bail out thing . You see lots of these on ebay , and the ones I see on retail sites are priced at 500-600 bucks .
Sorry for not doing a more traditional review , Speakers are a very personal item .
One thing might help - My friend used to own a recording studio - he does know what real speakers sound like .
Eric

 

[Rich G]

Congrats to you both. I've had friends and relatives go and buy from sears, etc and not even ask for advise. And they know how I am about audio. sounds like you got a hell of a deal for around $500. I have a friend who is working with $800 for speakers and a receiver. I hope he don't do the sears thing.
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Rich G.

 

[Geoff L]

Erich,
I think you summed it up very well.
With you running the 40's, if the Fluance's were total crap (pardon the pun again) you certainly would have some quailty to base that against. Yes I very much agree that speakers and sound are a personal taste thing.
I did take a peak at the site and well to the untrained eye one might be sucked in most easily im sure. Given what you posted, (pleasantly suprised about what you get), lets just say at it's price point a good deal.
I think for starter low end system for a 14 year old, sounds as though my nephew could do much worse. In my youger days Ive thrown away much more money in one day on much less, and had nothing to show for it. Im willing to bet he will be more than happy with them. So with that said, think I will make a phone call and order the 5 set o crap for 199.00.
Thanks again for your time Erich

 

[ErichH]

G - Didn't mean to get the word `crap' to stick in the conversation , but what the hell .
Hope yours work for your son . Add a sub , and you should be fine .
Here's hoping we all come across 15,000.00 for a set of speaks some day ;-)
E

 

[ScottyM]

Hello,
I am the friend!!! (Eric's friend). This purchase was VERY intelligent to say the least. For someone who wants to enjoy the pleasures of Surround, DTS etc..., in an APARTMENT (where the neighbors are grumpy, or anywhere), then this is my best recommendation for $500 or so.... Eric tells the truth. The new system performs like a much higher priced system.
Perhaps we can give this Company "Fluance" a larger dot on the map with some positive word of mouth, and in'fluence'(sorry) the higher speaker market, and drive their prices lower in competition. (probably not)
And, of course the Denon 1802 is a FINE receiver for under $400 ($359), although I would suggest to Denon to RE-Design the remote for this unit.... Jeeezzz! Perhaps not cost efficient for them.
Remember, Eric and I had some speaker and connect cables already (Mostly Eric...thank you sir) in our posession, so I spent no more money on that need. Whereas someone else may have to, and that would make all of it more than $500... maybe. I also already owned a GE DVD player ($100 from Wallmart) and a Sony 27" TV.... Oh yes... I paid $70 (including shipping) for some speaker stands for the rears, and they were worth it......
In summary: Got $500?... Want satisfaction?...Then this is IT! I am way pleased. And yes, I do have critical ears.
Scott
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[ScottyM]

Addendum: when I say $500 (above), I'm mainly speaking of just the Speaker/Receiver target price... Less sub and other accessories.... Actual real cost of the two was $576.00 including shipping. sorry for the confusion, its late...
Scott

 

[Matty B]

Where did you find good looking stands for $70? Im looking for stands for my HT and have seen NOTHING under $100.

 

[BryanZ]

Next upgrade for your friend: monoblock amps. (Might as well make use of the LCR preouts on the Denon.

) Congrats on piecing together a good budget system!

 

[Jonathan Lofgren]

Those Fluance speakers look interesting. How is the bass without a subwoofer? Are there any scenes you've tried playing to see how well they perform? How good are these? Thanks.