Fluance Signature Series Speakers Preview

[Hocky]

I need to get the measuring stuff out and measure mine some day.... perhaps when I am redoing the theater room stuff in a few weeks. I still contend that mine are pretty decent for what they are with a few problems that I can look past. Their ability to fill a big room by themselves is impressive for the price point.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I need to get the measuring stuff out and measure mine some day.... perhaps when I am redoing the theater room stuff in a few weeks. I still contend that mine are pretty decent for what they are with a few problems that I can look past. Their ability to fill a big room by themselves is impressive for the price point.

That would probably be interesting. The problems I heard with my two samples were not subtle

I've had the Dennis Murphy crossover re-designed Signature Series speakers back now for almost a week. Just a quick reminder on something Dennis found. He did 2 separate crossover designs because the drivers measured differently between the 2 speakers. That in and of itself should be a bit of a red flag with quality issues at Fluance. I hope they can find a way to get past this, as I do think they are one of the best at providing bang for the buck in audio.

That being said, based on the rest of his comments, I was still very optimistic that at least my Signature Series speakers would be pretty good. I got these to serve as a simple 2 channel setup for my main living space. The room is a roughly 20x40 room with sloped ceilings, hardwood floors etc. A pretty challenging room from what I understand.

I hooked them to a Pioneer Elite VSX-90 receiver that I picked up a while back on sale. Seems like good bang for the buck but nothing too fancy.

I don't have trained ears when it comes to judging the overall quality of a speaker, but I know what I like. That's why I wanted these to begin with, as I have a full set of the XL series in my theater room and have truly enjoyed them.

That being said, here are my thoughts:

1. I can't really find any flaws in these speakers. They sound great across music , movies TV etc.
2. Based on the previous reviews- CNET in particular, I was listening for some of the same things they complained about, but didn't hear it.
3. Since I never heard these before Dennis got his hands on them, I have no basis for comparison, but I can only imagine that the work Mr. Murphy did to create these new crossovers made a significant difference in the sound quality.

I can't thank Dennis enough for the time he put in with this project, and I feel very lucky to be the recipient of a set of what are now "custom" speakers that I will enjoy for years to come.

Thanks for the report Justin. I'm glad some good came of this project, even if my efforts didn't prove very practical. And I'm happy to see that they ended up in a large space--that's where they will shine the most. I do wish you could have heard the stock version. That was a very strange speaker.

 

[RAM66]

Older Klipsch KLF-10's or Fluance Signature Series?
Looking for some suggestions/recommendations.

I currently own Klipsch KLF-10's that are more than 10 years old and was interested in replacing them with the Fluance Sig's. Obviously I would not do that until Fluance addresses their problem but was just looking for some thoughts and recommendations on whether to keep my KLF-10's or go with the Sig's. I am finishing a home theater and was going to buy the Sig towers with the center channel and surrounds and would love feedback.

Thanks

 

[Swerd]

Older Klipsch KLF-10's or Fluance Signature Series?
Looking for some suggestions/recommendations.

I currently own Klipsch KLF-10's that are more than 10 years old and was interested in replacing them with the Fluance Sig's. Obviously I would not do that until Fluance addresses their problem but was just looking for some thoughts and recommendations on whether to keep my KLF-10's or go with the Sig's. I am finishing a home theater and was going to buy the Sig towers with the center channel and surrounds and would love feedback.

You should wait at least until Fluance has come out with a solution to the Signature speaker problem that was illustrated here. I also suggest you wait until it's been tested by someone other than the manufacturer.

Fluance says an optimized crossover should be completed by the end of May. See post #732 http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2266234-fluance-rolls-out-signature-series-tower-25.html

"We are audio lovers with a passion for sound. Our customers’ opinions and maximizing performance are of utmost importance to us.

We are currently making adjustments to the Signature Series Floorstanding Speaker crossover to optimize the mid and high frequencies. We anticipate the newly, optimized crossover to be completed on or before May 27th. Please reach out to sales @ fluance.com to be placed on a waiting list. If you currently own a set at your home and would like your speakers to be replaced with the new crossover once available, we will handle shipping costs for the speakers to be returned and replaced with the new ones."

 

[DavidDeuce]

Sorry if I'm resurrecting an older thread on my first post, but I came to this via a Google search for a quality review of the speakers. I'm SO glad I found this site, because I was *this* close to pulling the trigger for the Signature series speakers!

After reading the reviews here, I contacted Fluance to ask about the fix and have yet to hear back, so inquiring minds (well, mine anyway) are curious to know if anyone has original speakers replaced or if they've reviewed a newer pair to see if the issues are addressed?

I'm replacing a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts. Unfortunately I had to work while my wife supervised our movers, and they dropped not just one but both of my 13-year old speakers from the truck to the pavement. I knew something was up when I arrived home and saw sand (formerly in the bases of the speakers) all over our parking spots. When I arrived inside, she told me right away. I don't enjoy the steep discounts from Sumiko anymore, so it's unlikely I'll be able to replace them, even with the damages the moving company offered. Since I moved into a larger space (the room is now 14x20), I was looking to go a bit bigger and not break my new-homeowner bank.

 

[KenM10759]

Yikes, those Vienna speakers are very nice, a couple of steps up from those Fluance. Your moving company should have insurance to cover replacement, I just hope they don't try to get out of this cheap by depreciating the speakers in a big way. Look for current values by checking Audiogon for recently sold Mozarts and insist upon equivalent or higher value.

 

[DavidDeuce]

That's partly the issue, because the speakers were 13-years old, they tried to tell me I could procure replacements on the cheap. I provided them with the current model, which would be direct replacements and she told me right-out that they weren't going to give $3500. They offered me $700.

 

[KenM10759]

Only $700 eh? Call them and suggest that "my attorney says...." and see how it bumps up.

BTW, there's a pawn shop near me that had a set of 5 Vienna Acoustics speakers for cheap, last time I was there. Two floor standing (I think Beethoven), two bookshelf and one center speaker, probably the same vintage as yours. They had a couple of cosmetic nicks and dings but all the drivers looked fine. Should I drop by and see if they still have them?

 

[rojo]

That's partly the issue, because the speakers were 13-years old, they tried to tell me I could procure replacements on the cheap. I provided them with the current model, which would be direct replacements and she told me right-out that they weren't going to give $3500. They offered me $700.

If your movers were insured, tell them you want an adjuster to come to your house to inspect the damage. If they refuse, ask who insures them, then contact the insurance company yourself and explain the situation. If all else fails, you could contact your own homeowner's insurance company and see whether they would replace the speakers with an equivalent pair, then handle recovery from the movers or their insurance via subrogation. That might result in your paying the deductible and losing a discount for a short time, but the cost to you will certainly be less than the $2800 underpayment the movers offered you. Don't give up until you've replaced your Viennas with a pair of Salk Song3's or Philharmonic Phil 3's.

 

[Hocky]

Fluance got in touch with me in May and said that their design is done and they're very happy with it, but they're sending it out for mass production and are not expecting to be able to send out the updated speakers until September of this year. That is frustrating, but I still think that what I got it acceptable for what I paid. I don't use them a lot and they don't sound anything like my reference gear, but I am ok with them. I should have measured them when I had my stuff installed the other day.

 

[RAM66]

I had the same response from Fluance.....not available until sometime in September. I was going to order the home theater package with the center and rears but since the towers are not available until Sep. I asked if they would honor the package price if I took the center and rears now and they said no. Not very good business practice and I am now shopping hard for an alternative because my theater room is ready and I need them (I have older Klipsh KLF-10's). Anyone have a suggestion for a comparable speaker system?

 

[Sept]

When I switched receivers from a 2016 Pioneer to a 2012 Onkyo TXNR 414 I noticed that they seemed much more agreeable, especially with double bass equalization and loudness enhancement. Come September because of my age and size, I really don't want to wrestle these heavy (62LB+) monsters into coffin sized boxes and drag them down three flights of steps to the car and on to UPS. Sorry, guys for copping out on this. Another thing is that they won't say if they are going to work on your speakers or send factory new ones. If factory new ones are the case, then I might just change my mind, not particularly concerned how they treat the returns during their shipping and repair process. Fluance can offer them to others as reduced "B" merchandise.

 

[Morgan Audio]

Very good question. I would also like to throw in the Sony Core speakers. My guess, the Sony Core will come out on top! Yes, they are that good imho. Still hard for me to believe, but the Sony Core impressed me. That question is, however, how good will the new Fluance speakers be compared to the Cores?

Cheers,

Phil

I feel the same here unless the Andrew Jones they are speaking of are the new UniFi ( They are Completely Amazing ) - I have some here to allow comparisons to the lower mid RBH's - Blind test are a wonderfully fun thing and always seems to make people smile when they see what their ears actually will choose in most cases when not biased in any way by specs or articles and such.

Anyway - your comparison is the one to shoot for here in my opinion. Nice choice

 

[speakerman39]

I feel the same here unless the Andrew Jones they are speaking of are the new UniFi ( They are Completely Amazing ) - I have some here to allow comparisons to the lower mid RBH's - Blind test are a wonderfully fun thing and always seems to make people smile when they see what their ears actually will choose in most cases when not biased in any way by specs or articles and such.

Anyway - your comparison is the one to shoot for here in my opinion. Nice choice

Thanks for the compliment. I agree in that would make for a great shootout. The new AJ UniFi's look very promising to say the least. The new Chanes will also be out very soon. Both the A2.4 and the A1.4 also should be very competitive. It sure would be interesting if the Chanes were thrown into the mix.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Morgan Audio]

wow, we ride in the same boat,,, love the Chanes. They are going somewhere great.

 

[DavidDeuce]

Only $700 eh? Call them and suggest that "my attorney says...." and see how it bumps up.

BTW, there's a pawn shop near me that had a set of 5 Vienna Acoustics speakers for cheap, last time I was there. Two floor standing (I think Beethoven), two bookshelf and one center speaker, probably the same vintage as yours. They had a couple of cosmetic nicks and dings but all the drivers looked fine. Should I drop by and see if they still have them?

I appreciate you looking out, but I was eyeballing another favorite set of speakers as a replacement. Sonus Faber Grand Piano's (also about 10-12 years old). A friend bought them from me when I worked at Tweeter (that's where I got my Vienna models), and he's moving from a large house in suburban Virginia to a smallish apartment somewhere near Caldwell, New Jersey. When I mentioned my issues, he mentioned he was thinking of selling, and now I'm thinking this might be fortuitous circumstances. I asked him if I could have first dibs, and he's indicated he might hook me up. He's got a full 7.1 setup (Grand Piano's, Solo, and 4 Wall models). He even has the big stones Sumiko offered for the towers because he couldn't use the spikes on his hardwood floors. I always liked the Sonus Fabers more than the Vienna's, but Sumiko didn't give us much of a discount on them way back when.

In an update, I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with the folks at my movers and they're "reevaluating" my claim in light that similar speakers from the same manufacturer are available. I took Rojo's advice and asked for an adjuster to come review the claim, even though the movers took plenty of pictures (breaks my heart to see them). I provided the rep with a list of used Mozarts from online sites (and even local store) with a higher value then what they offered and the representative I spoke to this time seemed much more agreeable than the previous folks. Hopefully they'll resolve quickly, because my wife LOVES the leatherbound look of the Sonus models, and if she's happy, that makes it so much easier for me.

 

[theboogeydown]

Sorry if I'm resurrecting an older thread on my first post, but I came to this via a Google search for a quality review of the speakers. I'm SO glad I found this site, because I was *this* close to pulling the trigger for the Signature series speakers!

After reading the reviews here, I contacted Fluance to ask about the fix and have yet to hear back, so inquiring minds (well, mine anyway) are curious to know if anyone has original speakers replaced or if they've reviewed a newer pair to see if the issues are addressed?

I'm replacing a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mozarts. Unfortunately I had to work while my wife supervised our movers, and they dropped not just one but both of my 13-year old speakers from the truck to the pavement. I knew something was up when I arrived home and saw sand (formerly in the bases of the speakers) all over our parking spots. When I arrived inside, she told me right away. I don't enjoy the steep discounts from Sumiko anymore, so it's unlikely I'll be able to replace them, even with the damages the moving company offered. Since I moved into a larger space (the room is now 14x20), I was looking to go a bit bigger and not break my new-homeowner bank.

i just sold my VA's (same age and model) for $900 fwiw. Mine had a few small dings and were a little faded (still sounded great tho). Tried to replace them with the Signatures, but sent them back (the high end was ridiculous). I have no idea what the redo's will sound like but after more than a decade with the VA's, the Sigs were unacceptable. I landed with the Tekton Enzos. I think the detail is great, but it is unlikely your wife will appreciate the look. Stereophile gushed over them.

 

[DavidDeuce]

i just sold my VA's (same age and model) for $900 fwiw. Mine had a few small dings and were a little faded (still sounded great tho). Tried to replace them with the Signatures, but sent them back (the high end was ridiculous). I have no idea what the redo's will sound like but after more than a decade with the VA's, the Sigs were unacceptable. I landed with the Tekton Enzos. I think the detail is great, but it is unlikely your wife will appreciate the look. Stereophile gushed over them.

After we were married, she told me the redeeming factor of the VA's was the rosewood finish. Its not like I was going to get rid of them if she didn't find them aesthetically pleasing, but I knew replacing them would be a challenge...just didn't expect to have to replace them because they were dropped 4 feet. She appreciates the look of the Sonus Faber models my buddy may sell me, so I'm hoping that he's willing to sell after all, and I get more than $700 from the moving company.

 

[matteos]

Looks like they've fixed these now? I want to applaud Gene and audioholics. I'm a fan of fluance and your in depth review and discovery of this serious flaw is good for them in the long run and good for those who want a serious speaker at a low cost. Looking forward to the updated reviews

 

[Sept]

Looks like they've fixed these now? I want to applaud Gene and audioholics. I'm a fan of fluance and your in depth review and discovery of this serious flaw is good for them in the long run and good for those who want a serious speaker at a low cost. Looking forward to the updated reviews