Fluance Signature Series Speakers Preview

B

bigmixx

Audiophyte
Welcome. Thank goodness someone interested in the Fluance speakers :)
Thanks. I'm no stranger to Fluance. I've owned a set of their SX series for about 11-12 years now. Looking to upgrade as I've moved into a new home and will have a dedicated theater space. I had my heart set on some Klipsch Reference Premiere but these have me intrigued now. Really curious as to what the center channel sounds like for movies as that's the main weak spot of the SX series.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Folks, I am so sorry this thread has gotten away from the new Fluance Signature Series speakers. Perhaps, it is a good idea to continue discussing crossover topology in a new thread? Apparently, the Signature Series speakers are already being well regarded. I will admit, I am surely intrigued by them.

Cheers,

Phil
Seems like a fair idea to me. Nothing wrong with a little side chat, but a discussion re: the merits of upgrading XO parts would be better served with its own thread.
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
Thanks. I'm no stranger to Fluance. I've owned a set of their SX series for about 11-12 years now. Looking to upgrade as I've moved into a new home and will have a dedicated theater space. I had my heart set on some Klipsch Reference Premiere but these have me intrigued now. Really curious as to what the center channel sounds like for movies as that's the main weak spot of the SX series.
Well I have no experience with Fluance, only what I've read about them so hopefully you can share your experience with them and maybe even buy these and share your experiences with them.

I have some experience with Klipsch speakers, but not their higher end offerings. At least until I can get over to my friend's house.
 
B

bigmixx

Audiophyte
Well I have no experience with Fluance, only what I've read about them so hopefully you can share your experience with them and maybe even buy these and share your experiences with them.

I have some experience with Klipsch speakers, but not their higher end offerings. At least until I can get over to my friend's house.
I have nothing but positive remarks about Fluance. I can only speak on the SX series as that's the only set I've owned/listened to. They still sound just as great as they did the 12 years ago. The build quality is excellent as well and I haven't had a single issue with them. I use them primarily for movies and a little bit of music (Rap, R&B/Pop, Jazz) and they sound great. The only issue I have is with the center. Just not full enough and dialogue seems to always be a bit muffled. I have to crank them louder than I would like to hear dialogue clearly. Really hoping the Signature center is better.
 
theboogeydown

theboogeydown

Enthusiast
That is an interesting opinion as I find these speakers to be very neutral, as have all the other opinions i have read so far. I have also found the mids to be very natural so far, and the clarity to be amazing so far. Also under $800 dollars the R55ti, fs-52 and the sony core don't exhibit and of the complaints you have about the signatures....at least not in my opinion. My opinion could not be more different about these speakers. I however do respect your opinion and look forward to everyone else's opinions.........
Well, I'll tell you what. Maybe it's my hardware, maybe it's my room, maybe it's my cables, maybe it's YOURS, but I'll tell you this, this is exactly why i'm taking advantage of the internet direct companies that are allowing me to try out their stuff at home. I think it's ridiculous NOT to take advantage of trying out someone else's gear in your own environment. Glad you have found love!
 
B

Brian Mowka

Audioholic Intern
Speakers setup for testing now... (See Pics). I ran the Fluance's overnight playing a series of run-in tracks anyways I will say that at first I found them a bit out of sorts dynamically... A bit muddy on the bottom end and bright on the high end. Having said that I came at an abrupt halt when I went into my settings for my denon x4200 and realize that I did the audyssey XT setup with the elac's a month or so ago. I disabled all the audyssey effects/settings and listened to tracks in "Pure Direct" sound setting. Things seem to be much more sorted out now... I would go into andy definitive statements about sound or comparisons to other speakers *yet* just to say that I'm prepping for lots of listening to give you guys my personal thoughts on these speakers and to the best of my opinion the pro's/con's and overall sonic qualities. I'm not a professional by any means, but I have some limited audio recording experience.

Anyways, I'm wondering if someone could point me to any advice on denon receivers and audyssey settings.
Specifically for doing critical listening and comparisons like I am trying to do in as controlled and scientific of a setup as possible. What I really don't want to do is get the wrong sonic impression because it's adulterated by inconsistent processing. My gut says turn everything off as that way I don't have to keep going though audyssey setup... Any advice of setup info would be greatly appreciated!


PICS:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmowka/24126237609/in/datetaken-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmowka/24467784426/in/datetaken-public/

Note: I'm very aware this is a "Hard" room with lots of tile, woods, etc - need a throw rug...

I plan on testing upstairs this weekend in what I call the average user setup... IE: Decent receiver (Denon x4200), no separate AMP, audio from CD with a common and decent blu-ray player. I may also do some test with spotify connect streaming audio with HIGHEST quality settings on (I have a subscription) and some wav files of ripped CD's streamed from my NAS.

The weekend after I plan to put same speakers in my home theater room downstairs where it's pretty much the polar opposite of the upstairs. Thick carpeting, blackout curtains over windows, etc.

Lastly, thanks to a comment from Kurt on this thread notifying I may want to check out the Energy RC-70's at frys I bought 2 pairs (I can sell them online for more $$ if I don;t end up wanting them) Got them for $300/pr - Ridiculous for 60lb $1-2K only 5 years ago or so with great reviews...
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Speakers setup for testing now... (See Pics). I ran the Fluance's overnight playing a series of run-in tracks anyways I will say that at first I found them a bit out of sorts dynamically... A bit muddy on the bottom end and bright on the high end. Having said that I came at an abrupt halt when I went into my settings for my denon x4200 and realize that I did the audyssey XT setup with the elac's a month or so ago. I disabled all the audyssey effects/settings and listened to tracks in "Pure Direct" sound setting. Things seem to be much more sorted out now... I would go into andy definitive statements about sound or comparisons to other speakers *yet* just to say that I'm prepping for lots of listening to give you guys my personal thoughts on these speakers and to the best of my opinion the pro's/con's and overall sonic qualities. I'm not a professional by any means, but I have some limited audio recording experience.

Anyways, I'm wondering if someone could point me to any advice on denon receivers and audyssey settings.
Specifically for doing critical listening and comparisons like I am trying to do in as controlled and scientific of a setup as possible. What I really don't want to do is get the wrong sonic impression because it's adulterated by inconsistent processing. My gut says turn everything off as that way I don't have to keep going though audyssey setup... Any advice of setup info would be greatly appreciated!


PICS:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmowka/24126237609/in/datetaken-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmowka/24467784426/in/datetaken-public/

Note: I'm very aware this is a "Hard" room with lots of tile, woods, etc - need a throw rug...

I plan on testing upstairs this weekend in what I call the average user setup... IE: Decent receiver (Denon x4200), no separate AMP, audio from CD with a common and decent blu-ray player. I may also do some test with spotify connect streaming audio with HIGHEST quality settings on (I have a subscription) and some wav files of ripped CD's streamed from my NAS.

The weekend after I plan to put same speakers in my home theater room downstairs where it's pretty much the polar opposite of the upstairs. Thick carpeting, blackout curtains over windows, etc.

Lastly, thanks to a comment from Kurt on this thread notifying I may want to check out the Energy RC-70's at frys I bought 2 pairs (I can sell them online for more $$ if I don;t end up wanting them) Got them for $300/pr - Ridiculous for 60lb $1-2K only 5 years ago or so with great reviews...
Don't use Audyssey or any EQ on any of the speakers. Run them in Pure Direct or NO tone/EQ controls. Make sure you level match using BW limited pink noise. Compare only 2 sets of speakers at a time arranged as:
AB BA

Right now the Fluance are further apart than the other pairs the way you have them configured.

Please upload your images to the forum if you can by hitting upload file.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
How's your health?

Shouldn't they be arranged AB-AB to keep the separation same or were you just delirious from flu and listening to Dancing Queen?
Lol deletions from trying to cram 3 days of missed work into one.

Yes I meant:

AB AB

Thx.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Any testing of speakers should be done without any room EQ facilities engaged. That way you hear the speaker as is, not one thats been corrected for the room its in.
 
theboogeydown

theboogeydown

Enthusiast
Don't use Audyssey or any EQ on any of the speakers. Run them in Pure Direct or NO tone/EQ controls. Make sure you level match using BW limited pink noise. Compare only 2 sets of speakers at a time arranged as:
AB BA

Right now the Fluance are further apart than the other pairs the way you have them configured.

Please upload your images to the forum if you can by hitting upload file.
I have the Signatures now and I'm getting Tekton's Enzo XL's later in the week for my own little shootout. Can you point me in the right direction re: "level match using BW limited pink noise" so I can share what I'm experiencing with better accuracy? Thanks
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I have the Signatures now and I'm getting Tekton's Enzo XL's later in the week for my own little shootout. Can you point me in the right direction re: "level match using BW limited pink noise" so I can share what I'm experiencing with better accuracy? Thanks
Here is a site that offers a source of Pink Noise. The arrow pointing downward next to teh play button will allow you to download it.
http://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_pinknoise.php

I'm not sure if it qualifies as bandwidth limited or what the concern is.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Here is a site that offers a source of Pink Noise. The arrow pointing downward next to teh play button will allow you to download it.
http://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_pinknoise.php

I'm not sure if it qualifies as bandwidth limited or what the concern is.
Actually I think I am suffering opposite day today between my recommendations of speaker placement and pink noise. My memory failed me in the latter case.

see excerpt:

Editorial Note on Level Matching and Listening Position
We use wideband pink noise measured at the listening seat and adjust to B-weighting. More recently we started using a software-based CRC loudness meter that follows the ITU_R 1770 loudness standard for matching loudness of programs.

The combination of wideband noise and B-weighting should give a better loudness match for speakers with larger bass differences. The CRC loudness meter uses a modified B-weighting that extends the low frequency HP filter even further down.

see: http://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/2010-1k-faceoff
 
B

Brian Mowka

Audioholic Intern
Don't use Audyssey or any EQ on any of the speakers. Run them in Pure Direct or NO tone/EQ controls. Make sure you level match using BW limited pink noise. Compare only 2 sets of speakers at a time arranged as:
AB BA

Right now the Fluance are further apart than the other pairs the way you have them configured.

Please upload your images to the forum if you can by hitting upload file.

Thanks Gene and others, I will do my best to ab and setup loudness accurately. Can't wait till this weekend to focus on speaker tests. Just a very busy work week.
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Thanks Gene and others, I will do my best to ab and setup loudness accurately. Can't wait till this weekend to focus on speaker tests. Just a very busy work week.
Looking forward to YOUR observations. Very curious is all.

Cheers,

Phil
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Thanks Gene and others, I will do my best to ab and setup loudness accurately. Can't wait till this weekend to focus on speaker tests. Just a very busy work week.
I just noticed that you have two systems. If your configuration allows you to pull the AVR (or whatever you have in the HT room) you can use two receivers in Pure Direct Mode and level match two pairs of speakers at a time. If the receivers are the same brand, muting one receiver, allows instant switching every time the mute button is pressed. If they are not the same brand, it is still much quicker to hit the mute on both AVRs. Speakers were set side by side in an A-B A-B configuration (so width between the pairs of speakers was equal).
I believe once you have experienced this immediate switching between speakers you will prefer it anytime you do a comparison. It makes the differences so obvious when you can switch speakers in the middle of a phrase!
Really looking forward to your observations; thanks for sharing!
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Any testing of speakers should be done without any room EQ facilities engaged. That way you hear the speaker as is, not one thats been corrected for the room its in.
I agree with this for the purposes of giving us useful information about these speakers. However, if the differences between speakers is close enough that you are uncertain, and you normally run Audyssey, it certainly makes sense for you to compare them under the conditions you will be living with.
(although, IME, they are usually not so close as that)
 
B

Brian Mowka

Audioholic Intern
I just noticed that you have two systems. If your configuration allows you to pull the AVR (or whatever you have in the HT room) you can use two receivers in Pure Direct Mode and level match two pairs of speakers at a time. If the receivers are the same brand, muting one receiver, allows instant switching every time the mute button is pressed. If they are not the same brand, it is still much quicker to hit the mute on both AVRs. Speakers were set side by side in an A-B A-B configuration (so width between the pairs of speakers was equal).
I believe once you have experienced this immediate switching between speakers you will prefer it anytime you do a comparison. It makes the differences so obvious when you can switch speakers in the middle of a phrase!
Really looking forward to your observations; thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately I have denon upstairs and anthem downstairs. Downstairs I'm switching between zones on the fly to compare, but it does take a second or two
 
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