Fluance Speakers

[JJMP50]

I ran across this site from another audio site's banner ad and these look too good to be true. This set goes for under $400.00. Anyone know anything about these?

www.fluance.com

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

YOu can do a search in this forum for "Fluance" and find a few threads.

Here's one. http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745&highlight=fluance Hope that helps.

 

[JJMP50]

Thanks. I get the drift. It sounds like they are the "KLH's" of the online world--"not that there's anything wrong with that."

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

You got it. You may have seen them in the back of a white van or truck at one point too. Not bad for college life on a college budget, but it ends there.

 

[BMXTRIX]

There are a lot of A/V people who think $1,000 is way to much to spend on speakers... But, the reviews that I am reading on these don't look to bad really. For the price, it is almost worth it. They seem to give good service, produce a product that is worth more than what you are spending (Internet only?) and the sound seems to be right up there. Nobody seemed to complain about build quality at all. Just a few comments that the speakers weren't much to look at - go figure.

A lot of statements that say "GET A SUB"... Which makes sense. I haven't heard a theater setup that hasn't been immensely improved by adding a decent sub.

If my budget were in the $300.00 range for speakers, I would likely give those a try and save my pennies for a decent sub to go with them.

 

[Fb111794]

In my experience, especially at the lower end of the price scale.... You pretty much get what you pay for. For $400 bucks for a pair of speakers.... there is more than likely less than $100 in TOTAL costs to manufacture them.

That $100 won't go very far buying drivers, cross over parts, internal bracing, cabinets & finish, and anything else going into the building of a speaker. Let alone any R & D and testing costs. So.... are they WORTH $400.... most likely. If that's what you want and it sounds good to you.... GREAT go for them.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Bird,

If you get them, let us know how they sound. SDAT also makes an inexpensive speaker that looks very cool. You'll have to search for reviews. I think overstock.com has some. Good dorm type speaker. Back in the day, AAL (American Acoustic Lab) was the cheaper speaker (Technics alternative). I had a set that lasted me 15 yrs.

www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=800293078

http://search.ebay.com/sdat_Other-Brands_W0QQfrisZ2QQfromZR8QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ14993

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

What I find interesting is the lesser expensive home theater system ($199 direct) actually has better specs going down to 38hz compared to 49hz for the better looking woodgrain set ($259 direct). I've actually thought about the lesser ones, they have a nice black finish and at $200, it would have left me a ton of money left over for a high quality subwoofer and receiver.

I'm just afraid to spend money on speakers that might just be crap then I'm out $200 and stuck with crappy speakers.

There are two things at work here:

either the saying you get what you pay for applies. In which case cheap speakers equals cheap speakers

or

Fluance is losing money in order to build a name for themselves by selling quality speakers inexpensively. It's not bad marketing, but eventually they'll have to start charging more to recoup the losses.

I have no idea which is going on here and not sure I want to personally find out.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Believe me, they are not losing money. The markup is probably at least 300%. Drivers from China can be had for dollars, and 1/2" mdf is about as cheap as anything. They may be engineered in Canada and built in Europe, but the parts are from China. When you get them home, you will notice two things. One, they are smaller and much much lighter than you thought. Two, they'll probably sound much better than you expected. I don't know why, but they are very inefficient at 89db, which means you'll have to turn your receiver up a bit to get adequate volume. That's not a bad thing as long as you have a good 5 channel amp. From the reviews I've been reading, I would say the bass is lacking, and you're going to want a sub. Cheap subs run $100-$200, so tack that on to your $249 to $299 cost. A few purchasers were sorry they didn't get the SX-HTB - the website says they use better drivers and crossovers. The tower speakers are short, and not at ear level at 33" to 38" tall. And for some reason the tweeter is even lower on the shorter AV setup. A lot complained about them being power hungry (hard to blow inefficient speakers - better warranty). Most said they were impressed with the sound. Take some time and read the reviews. Overall, I was pretty impressed for the "bang for the buck" on them. I'd recommend the SX though and a sub. Heck, my two RTi4's retail for $320 a pair! www.polkaudio.com/home/specs.php?category=4&speaker=351

Here's an honest review of them...

Pros: I looked through reviews and checked out different speakers before deciding to order the AV-HTB. Because of the good reviews and low price I figure I didn't have much to lose. I've had them for about a month now. At first, they do sound a little bit thin, but after a few hours of break-in, the sound improves dramatically. The sound quality is what you'd expect from speakers three or four times the price. They have plenty of bass for small to medium-sized rooms. Although a small sub helps when watching movies, it's not really necessary. Those people that complain about thinness probably have them installed in a large warehouse or something. They do seem to be a bit power-hungry though, so you should get an amp with decent power to drive them. They are solidly built, and there is plenty of attention to detail throughout. I must have the updated version of the AV-HTB, because it came with gold-plated banana plugs in all speakers (including surrounds and center) and bi-amp plugs for the mains. I'm amazed at how much Fluance does gives you for so little cash.
Cons: The mains could be a little taller so they can be placed at ear-level, but for the price I can certainly live with that minor issue. The surrounds have no mounting brackets but I spoke with Fluance's customer service and apparently adding your own mounting hardware won't void your warranty.

Here's 41 more reviews...

http://shopper.cnet.com/Fluance_AV_HTB_5_Speaker_system/4014-6467_9-20984105.html?rvwtp=4852-6467_9-20984105&tag=nav&orderby=90&sort=