Fluance XL5f, Elac B6, or Philharmonic AAM2

[pc_iii]

Wondered what thoughts people had on this matter re: a budget system. Considering all of these three, plus maybe Andrew Jones Pioneer towers.

The fluance towers are only 200 currently, so I'm having a hell of a time deciding betweeen these options. Go for the accuracy of the Elacs/Philharmonics, or get the soundstage that towers offer.

I live in a large studio (1200sqft) so spls are important. Any thoughts? I'm quite torn! It's worth noting I don't have a power amp, just a decent receiver, 110w per 7 channels.

 

[Whit Blauvelt]

Not voting because the only pair I've heard are the Fluance. They're surprisingly good for $200 delivered. The mid-range comes through very clearly, with rich harmonic reproduction. The tweeters have good range and reasonable clarity but are slightly harsh with some sources. The bass is listenable but somewhat weak, lacking in presence. These paired with a half-decent subwoofer do very well for the price though. They're far better than the Klipsch bookshelf pair I formerly used for mains. Running these off an Onkyo 828, so similar power to what you've got. Get's them plenty loud without clipping.

 

[Swerd]

It's a no-brainer for me. Go for the Philharmoinc AAM2.

The Philharmonic has a smooth and flat frequency response across the whole midrange

And the Fluance XL7F (the tower version of the XL5F) does not.

 

[Whit Blauvelt]

The XL5F and the XL7F are both towers -- nearly the same size physically, both 3-way systems. And the frequency response chart for the XL5F as presented by Fluance isn't as flat as your top chart, but isn't as jagged or discontinuous as your bottom chart either. Is your XL7F chart from before Fluance fixed the crossover problem in that model?

What frequency response charts don't show you is how far the speakers go into fine detail. What I've realized comparing the XL5F's to my Klipsch RB-51 II's is that although the Klipsches have beautiful tone, they hollow out the sounds compared to the Fluances. That is, they leave out a lot of the subtleties of the harmonics to present a cleaner, in some ways prettier tone -- but one without the fuller presence of the voice or instrument that the Fluances present.

I'm not dissing the Philharmonic, which I've never heard. And no doubt the XL5F's are so deeply discounted because the market hasn't taken to them. But they've improved my system way beyond $200 (which when in 7.1 mode has the Klipsches as DSX highs, Polk center and surrounds, and a BIC subwoofer -- all of which blend quite well for most stuff, although for raw blues the XL5F's are best by themselves -- and far, far better than the Klipsches alone).

 

[Swerd]

The XL5F and the XL7F are both towers -- nearly the same size physically, both 3-way systems.

Thanks for the correction.

And the frequency response chart for the XL5F as presented by Fluance isn't as flat as your top chart, but isn't as jagged or discontinuous as your bottom chart either. Is your XL7F chart from before Fluance fixed the crossover problem in that model?

The frequency response chart for the XL7F comes from the NRC of Canada via SoundStage! http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=835:nrc-measurements-fluance-xl7f-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements

The Fluance model that had the (hopefully fixed) crossover problem was the Signature Series tower. After seeing that and the 3rd party measurement of the XL7F, it's hard to have confidence in any of their speakers.

 

[KEW]

The Fluance model that had the (hopefully fixed) crossover problem was the Signature Series tower. After seeing that and the 3rd party measurement of the XL7F, it's hard to have confidence in any of their speakers.

Don't forget that the drivers in the left and right signatures that Dennis reworked were so different that he had to custom design a unique crossover for both speakers.

I'm sorry Whit, but I think you can understand why we are skeptical. Even the FR published by Fluance shows a 10dB range of SPL in the critical mid-range frequencies:

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Don't forget that the drivers in the left and right signatures that Dennis reworked were so different that he had to custom design a unique crossover for both speakers.

I'm sorry Whit, but I think you can understand why we are skeptical. Even the FR published by Fluance shows a 10dB range of SPL in the critical mid-range frequencies:

If we take the factory curve at face value, then the mids actually look excellent. It's the higher frequencies that are ramped up, and I would expect the speaker to sound quite bright. On another issue, you can't really compare my plot for the AAM2 with the NRC plots in that I don't show any information below 200 Hz, which is the lower limit for quasi-anechoic measurements in a normal room. Below that point the very short sampling windows used in quasi-anechoic measurements can't capture enough of the longer bass wave lengths to resolve a frequency response plot. I would love to have one of my speakers measured by NRC even if it were only for my own edification. I remember seeing a post that discussed how someone like me might get that done, but I can't remember where.

 

[KEW]

If we take the factory curve at face value, then the mids actually look excellent. It's the higher frequencies that are ramped up, and I would expect the speaker to sound quite bright. On another issue, you can't really compare my plot for the AAM2 with the NRC plots in that I don't show any information below 200 Hz, which is the lower limit for quasi-anechoic measurements in a normal room. Below that point the very short sampling windows used in quasi-anechoic measurements can't capture enough of the longer bass wave lengths to resolve a frequency response plot. I would love to have one of my speakers measured by NRC even if it were only for my own edification. I remember seeing a post that discussed how someone like me might get that done, but I can't remember where.

What do you consider the midrange? I'll agree the plot is smooth, but I would have thought the 10 dB increase between 1kHz and ~1.8kHz to be a problem.
I certainly defer to your expertise, but would appreciate it if you could attempt to explain it to me.
Thanks!

 

[Swerd]

Don't forget that the drivers in the left and right signatures that Dennis reworked were so different that he had to custom design a unique crossover for both speakers.

I had forgotten that. The wide variation in individual driver performance suggests major quality control problems. Thanks for reminding me.