Any advice from BIC speaker owners

[LOUMFSG]

I called BIC America, and basically found out that there are not any authorized dealers in my area (San Francisco bay area) which carry an inventory of speakers, or have a retail showroom for me to listen to them. If anyone currently has, has previously owned, or at least has listened to BICs and can give me their opinion, I would greatly appreciate it. The two configurations I am looking at:

Venturi DV84 fronts, Venturi DV62CLR-S center, Venturi DV26 surrounds (could be Venturi DV62si instead), Venturi V1220 sub

or:

Acoustech HT-75 fronts, Acoustech HT-65 center, Acoustech HT-63 surrounds, Acoustech HT100 sub

Both configurations look like they can be had on the net for around $750-$800. Based on the specs, these systems seem like great values. Are there any other makers that offer comparable sound in the $700-$1000 range for a 5.1 package.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[JohnA]

There is Canyon Audio, you can check out the review here:

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/CanyonAudio310loudspeakers.php

[jimmit]

I own an old pair of BIC Venturi V52's. I gotta tell ya, for what I paid for them, they sound pretty darn good to me.

[Reorx]

I've heard and read excellent reviews of Venturi DV62CLR-S center channels.

I almost bought one. But a JBL SP222 fell into my lap virtually free, so I no longer need a center.

Reorx

[T2T]

My front 3 speakers are the Acoustechs that you are considering. For the money, they are outstanding speakers.

In fact, over the course of a month or so, I had Axiom M22TIs, Klipsch RF-35s, etc. in my house. The Acoustech speakers stayed.

Believe what you hear - good speakers matter. Acoustech and BIC might get dissed a bit because of their economical price and many people believe that you have to drop a large amount of cash to get great speakers. This is not always the case.

I'm driving mine with a Pioneer Elite 54TX and also have the Onix XCD-88 player for listening to my CDs. Between the player, receiver and speakers, the sound is pretty nice.

I also have a pair of Infinity RS-1 speakers that I paid $44.00 each for about 7 - 8 years ago. Circuit City typically sold 'em for $99 each, but had a few speacial sales during the year. They are rear-ported speakers, and I thought they sounded kind of bad where I had them located in the bookshelves in the 2nd zone. I ended up taking the speakers downstairs, set the crossover to 80Hz on the Elite and let my 2 - 15" IB subs cover the 80Hz and below frequencies. Man, the old Infinity speakers really shine. For anyone starting out, I'd look at buying 5 of those RS-1s and a good subwoofer. I'm sure the cost wouldn't be too much more than a HTIB combo, but the sound would be 10x better.

Also, Stereophile reviewed the Infinity Primus speakers - which sell for about $160 a pair (street price) as some pretty good speakers.


Enjoy! :)

[brian32672]

Here read this. and if you have anymore questions then PM me....
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12020

[RhapsodyInBlack]

from personal experience,i can give a thumbs up to the acoustech speakers that are in question. I've had the acoustech center and mains for about two weeks now and have been happy as hell with them. I'm certain the complete surround package would be just as good as the front three that i have,so i'd recommend to definately give it a high consideration. The center channel is friggin huge,so that is something you need to consider as well. So far,i've had the acoustechs pushed pretty far with both home theater applications and two channel stereo and they have yet to dissapoint. I'm planning on getting the acoustech sub to round out the main system,but im not sure im going the acoustech route in regards to the surrounds. On the acoustech website,there is a list of online dealers that they authorize,and from talking to someone at bic america,they told me they will not undercut or underprice the distributors...so...all in all...id say go with them...they are highly efficient,solid,and seem like they will last for quite awhile...

[LOUMFSG]

Thanks to all for responding, it's been very helpful (including the other thread referenced by brian). I think I will be very happy with either the BIC Acoustech or BIC Venturi lines. I have mixed feelings - I think the Acoustechs will look better, and they seem more effecient, maybe with more clarity and range. The Venturis seem to have a little more bass, and won't be overly bright, which is a concern I have about the Acoustechs, especially since they will be in a room with hardwood floors.

Since I can't seem to find someplace to listen to either of these, does anyone have a recommendation of comparable speakers to listen to. Being horn-driven, I guess Klipsch would be a good proxy for the Acoustech. Which Klipsch model would be most comparable? And what would be a good proxy for the Venturis in terms of sound quality?

Thanks again for the good advice

[brian32672]

The answer to the Klipsch model question is in that other thread. Also forgot to mention, I have wood floors as well.

[brian32672]

Also look at my signature, by chance I have the 75's on the way at this moment. Which would complete the whole Acoustech line. (Except sub) So check back with me by the middle of next week.
(Edit:::If your worried about the fronts being bright I have the Fluance Fronts for sale and they do sound great... (also at a great price)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5789968811&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1
Forgot to add, don't even bother with a submit offer. I am already shipping at so low of a price, I will be loosing on shipping. But offering these at a great price.....

[Spiffyfast]

Also look at my signature, by chance I have the 75's on the way at this moment. Which would complete the whole Acoustech line. (Except sub) So check back with me by the middle of next week.
(Edit:::If your worried about the fronts being bright I have the Fluance Fronts for sale and they do sound great... (also at a great price)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5789968811&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1
Forgot to add, don't even bother with a submit offer. I am already shipping at so low of a price, I will be loosing on shipping. But offering these at a great price.....

You'll have to write about those fronts, should get my debit card replacement next week, so ill be ready to order something.

[MacManNM]

Here's the deal.
The DV 84's are a GREAT jazz speaker. They are good for everything else. To me, good means they are better than anything else in their price class, and great means they are as good as speakers even several price classes better. The imaging on these is simply outstanding. They do take a bit of breaking in ( they are a little muddy out of the box) but when they are broken in, they are really nice.

I have for long believed that the DV62CLR is a great all around unit. Other than the stupid emblem on the grill, standing them on end and using them for the L&R fronts works really well. The imaging isn't quite as good as the DV84 but all around performance vs price is better. IMO the crossover mods for the DV62clr, DV62si's are a must. There is dramatic improvement in both of those. Not to say they're not good from the factory, but they are better, plus it's only like $30, and well worth it.

The acoustecs are also good units. I really don't care for horns that much, but Buck has heard them and likes them ( he likes the rock concert sound more than I do).

The BIC sub is also a good unit, go with the V1220 or the cadence Xsub. Both offer outstanding performance. Those two outperform subs that cost 2-3x as much IMO.

[LOUMFSG]

MacManNM - you wrote: "IMO the crossover mods for the DV62clr, DV62si's are a must. There is dramatic improvement in both of those. Not to say they're not good from the factory, but they are better, plus it's only like $30, and well worth it."

You'll have to excuse me, as I guess I am a bit of a newbie, but could you give me a little information about the crossover mods. I read a little about them on another review website, but I am not clear how this works. Where can I find more info about these mods (where do you get them, pricing, etc.). Thanks for the advice and help.

[brian32672]

You'll have to excuse me, as I guess I am a bit of a newbie, but could you give me a little information about the crossover mods. I read a little about them on another review website, but I am not clear how this works. Where can I find more info about these mods (where do you get them, pricing, etc.). Thanks for the advice and help.

Here is a good read
http://www.slottweak.com/bic/bic.htm
Granted this is for the DV62 and is a completely different speaker from the Acoustech's


Also here
http://www.speakercity.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SC&Category_Code=TEFEK

And here
http://www.gr-research.com/edspeaker.htm