BIC speakers other than the 62CLR?

[nm2285]

I've seen so much about BIC speakers recently that they have me interested. I'm putting together a computer system and am mostly interested in small speakers. Anyone had any experience with any of the BIC line outside of the 62clr? I'm eyeing this guy http://www.sounddistributors.com/buynow.asp?action=detail&prid=949&crid=165&cat_name=BIC+America+Speakers

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I've seen so much about BIC speakers recently that they have me interested. I'm putting together a computer system and am mostly interested in small speakers. Anyone had any experience with any of the BIC line outside of the 62clr? I'm eyeing this guy http://www.sounddistributors.com/buynow.asp?action=detail&prid=949&crid=165&cat_name=BIC+America+Speakers

I have not heard those, and would not expect too much from them. Probably like those rat shak metal I/O speakers they sell. I wouldn't put it past BIC to put in some decent drivers, though. Perfect for PC use if you can power them. This set sounded very good compared to HTIB's priced up to $300. Great bedroom set, starter set, dormroom, basement, etc... You know, everything except the main HT room.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32861&item=5782411447&rd=1

 

[MacManNM]

What about the DV52si's? They sound pretty good and aren't that big.

 

[funk-o-meter]

Hay MacMan, could you give me alittle more feedback on the DV84's you reviewed a while back?

Did you get Ed to modify them?

Do they sound as good/better than the DV62si's with the sub?

I'm so impressed with the DV62's that I'm already considering the towers. I can't seem to find much feedback on the DV64's however. They're essentially a set of DV62clr's with a set of passive radiators so I'm guessing they should sound BETTER than a set of DV62clr's. What do you think?

 

[MacManNM]

Hay MacMan, could you give me alittle more feedback on the DV84's you reviewed a while back?

Did you get Ed to modify them?

Do they sound as good/better than the DV62si's with the sub?

I'm so impressed with the DV62's that I'm already considering the towers. I can't seem to find much feedback on the DV64's however. They're essentially a set of DV62clr's with a set of passive radiators so I'm guessing they should sound BETTER than a set of DV62clr's. What do you think?

Ed doesn't do the mods on the DV84.

The strong point of the 84's, the imaging is spectacular. I haven't heard the DV64's. I would say that they prob dont go as deep as the 62clr, but the imaging will be better. It totaly depends on what you are going to listen to. For serious music, I would go with the DV84's, with the sub. This was great for Jazz, blues and classical. The DV62clr with mods would be a great all around choice, it plays everything quite well. The DV62si's are as you know a great deal, and good all around performers.

If I was doing a setup for both HT and all around music, I'd get 3 DV62clr, have the mods done, and use the V1220 with the high level inputs. A pair of DV62si's for the surround, and DV52si's for the surrounds. Then depending on the circumstance I might get another sub. I like the way the BIC sub and speakers work together in the fronts(using the high level as opposed to the LFE), they sounded really good, especially in 2ch mode.

 

[funk-o-meter]

Would you say the DV62clr's go deeper than the DV84's?

And is the imaging on the 84's better than the DV62clr's?

You know it would seem that the DV64 would be the perfect speaker of the series, since the clr is so highly regarded as both a center and for stereo, and the 64 has the same drivers (and configuration), but with 2 passive radiators added. I'm curious as to why the DV 64's aren't just as popular as the 62si's and the 62clr. But nobody around here seems to have bought any. Maybe I need to break the ice....

I'd love to be able to audition these, but I don't know of any retailers that sell them in my area (Western North Carolina) Does anybody?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Would you say the DV62clr's go deeper than the DV84's?

And is the imaging on the 84's better than the DV62clr's?

You know it would seem that the DV64 would be the perfect speaker of the series, since the clr is so highly regarded as both a center and for stereo, and the 64 has the same drivers (and configuration), but with 2 passive radiators added. I'm curious as to why the DV 64's aren't just as popular as the 62si's and the 62clr. But nobody around here seems to have bought any. Maybe I need to break the ice....

I'd love to be able to audition these, but I don't know of any retailers that sell them in my area (Western North Carolina) Does anybody?

Funk,

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I know MacManNM pretty well, and he was very impressed with this entire BIC setup. And this coming from a guy whos father was an audiophile, his grandfather an audiofile, having more money invested in audio than my parents house was worth new. His family is big time MacIntosh. He definitely grew up with a silver spoon for audio. I, like you, have a pair of 62si's, but they are back from the early 90's. Still sound amazing. Never been modded, and the silk dome tweeter has a little extra sibalance, but not enough to mod it IMO. I'm wasn't into smooth jazz in college.

Before he purchased the entire BIC 7.1 set with the Marantz SR8400 receiver, he purchased the CLR-S center channel for himself. He was so impressed he wanted to buy 5 more for a 6.1 setup (for himself). His father in law had a Bose Acoustimass system, and wanted to upgrade. Mac took it upon himself to go out and purchase the absolute best bang for the buck. I think he succeeded, and so does his father in law.

Knowing a little about bass and towers, IMO, I would guess the 8" dual woofers would provide that missing bass from 60Hz to 80Hz the 6.5" woofers would miss out on. Seeing how the bookshelves and center channel would reproduce those frequencies, the towers would take over. Now this asuming we're listening to 5.1 or 7.1 audio. In two channel audio, you definitely would miss out on the lower frequencies with the DV 64, unless you coupled the 1220 sub up to the 2.0 setup. The DV 84's cabinet is so much larger, and yields so much more volume for bass compared to the 64's. But comparing the 64's to everything else out there, they probably do image just as well, and provide the "umph" we all expect in a large tower.

I'll make sure he reads this post and follows up. As a BIC owner for many, many years, I though I'd throw in my worthless two cents. My current Polk RTi10 towers have dual 7" woofers, and they don't put out the bass I had hoped for (needing a separate amp - biamp mode), and would love to trade them up to a set of DV 84's with dual 8's and dual 8 passives. Even at their going rate of over $1140 a pair! That goes to show you, money doesn't buy happiness. Especially in audio.

 

[funk-o-meter]

MacManNM? Toss in your $.02? How about those DV64's? Sound better than the clr or the 62si's? Why arn't they more popular?

 

[MacManNM]

MacManNM? Toss in your $.02? How about those DV64's? Sound better than the clr or the 62si's? Why arn't they more popular?

I've never heard them but if I had to guess, I'd say the DV64's have as good or better imaging than the DV84's. The Bass isn't going to go down as low as the 84 or DV62 clr, but it will be more accurate than the 62's. With a decent sub I think they will sound really good. The passive radiator design doesn't give you the lower end a vented system does, but tends to be a good compromise as far as bass and accuracy. I'd say the 64's are worth the $240, heck just to find out.

 

[funk-o-meter]

It sounds like you perfer the clr's to all the others....

They sound better than the DV 64's then?

 

[MacManNM]

It sounds like you perfer the clr's to all the others....

They sound better than the DV 64's then?

The clr's with the mods are a really good all around speaker. The only problems are:

1. The emblem is on the side, so if you want to use it as a L or R you need to change that, it just looks stupid.

2. The bass isn't as accurate. I believe this is because it is a ported speaker.

3. for some reason the imaging isn't quite as good. prob because the tweet is in the middle.


Bottom line, if you want to listen to a bunch of different types of music, this speaker is a great deal. It plays everything pretty well.

If I were building a new system for mostly movies, I'd get 6 of the DV62 clr's and 2 V1220 subs.

If I wanted to mix music in, I'd get 4 clr's, 2 DV64, or 84's and 2 subs.

The reason I always say 2 subs is because:

1. I never believed in using the high level input until I heard this line of speakers with their sub. They sound really great in 2ch mode.

2. I think you need the 2nd sub in LFE for the rest of the surround.

3. You can never have too much bass.

 

[JeffB]

Bass response

I just found Bic speakers today.
The comments on this site are compelling me to buy something.
The comments on bass response are intriguing to me.
The specifications state the following:

DV62clr-s -- 38Hz
DV64 -- 29 Hz
DV84 -- 27 Hz

I know that specifications rarely prove useful in evaluating audio.

The specs would indicate that the DV64 goes lower than the DV62clr-s. So I wonder if the comment about the DV62clr-s having more bass is still valid. I believe the comment still has merit.

There was another comment about the DV84 having more bass in the 60-80Hz region than the DV64. However, all of the above speakers should be flat to way lower than that. Still it would seem to me that larger drivers always seem to handle bass better. Any thoughts on why this feeling seems to go against the specs.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I just found Bic speakers today.
The comments on this site are compelling me to buy something.
The comments on bass response are intriguing to me.
The specifications state the following:

DV62clr-s -- 38Hz
DV64 -- 29 Hz
DV84 -- 27 Hz

I know that specifications rarely prove useful in evaluating audio.

The specs would indicate that the DV64 goes lower than the DV62clr-s. So I wonder if the comment about the DV62clr-s having more bass is still valid. I believe the comment still has merit.

There was another comment about the DV84 having more bass in the 60-80Hz region than the DV64. However, all of the above speakers should be flat to way lower than that. Still it would seem to me that larger drivers always seem to handle bass better. Any thoughts on why this feeling seems to go against the specs.

Don't forget, the 62 CLR-S is ported, while the two towers, the DV64 and DV84 each have equally sized passive radiators (no ports). Ports extend bass response, while passive radiators keep the existing woofers in check.

 

[MacManNM]

I just found Bic speakers today.
The comments on this site are compelling me to buy something.
The comments on bass response are intriguing to me.
The specifications state the following:

DV62clr-s -- 38Hz
DV64 -- 29 Hz
DV84 -- 27 Hz

I know that specifications rarely prove useful in evaluating audio.

The specs would indicate that the DV64 goes lower than the DV62clr-s. So I wonder if the comment about the DV62clr-s having more bass is still valid. I believe the comment still has merit.

There was another comment about the DV84 having more bass in the 60-80Hz region than the DV64. However, all of the above speakers should be flat to way lower than that. Still it would seem to me that larger drivers always seem to handle bass better. Any thoughts on why this feeling seems to go against the specs.

The rolloff on the DV62clr is much sharper than the 64 or 84's, so they may go lower but the clr kind of fools you.

 

[silversurfer]

I would take those low hz specs with a grain of salt. They do not list the variance, ie. +-3dB and whether they are anechoic specs. There is no way of knowing by looking at the specs as to what the rolloff may be.

Porting and passive radiators both try to achieve the same thing.
http://www.abluesky.com/p_s_gb/p5s9.html

 

[MacManNM]

I would take those low hz specs with a grain of salt. They do not list the variance, ie. +-3dB and whether they are anechoic specs. There is no way of knowing by looking at the specs as to what the rolloff may be.

Porting and passive radiators both try to achieve the same thing.
http://www.abluesky.com/p_s_gb/p5s9.html

I would take that with a grain of salt.

The Best enclosure design IMO is a seald, over damped, enclosure with a low freq boost.

"But they fall short on other real world transient signals; such as drums, bass slaps, face punches, body slam etc. "

This is sales crap. Those transient signals are reproduced by the mids and tweets.

A passive radiator design is a good compromise between accuracy and low end response.

 

[silversurfer]

OK Mac....here is a link to a non-marketing description.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_1_1/v1n1spk.html

I respect your opinion, I am not going to say one is better than the other, but ports and passive radiators attempt to acheive the same thing in different manners. I have heard good and bad implementations of both.

Saying one speaker is going to sound better than the other due to design makes a non-biased opinion difficult to acheive.

 

[MacManNM]

OK Mac....here is a link to a non-marketing description.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_1_1/v1n1spk.html

I respect your opinion, I am not going to say one is better than the other, but ports and passive radiators attempt to acheive the same thing in different manners. I have heard good and bad implementations of both.

Saying one speaker is going to sound better than the other due to design makes a non-biased opinion difficult to acheive.

I agree, if I were to rate them in order of quality I'd say:

1. Over damped sealed enclosure, with electronic help.

2. Normal sealed enclosure

3. Passive radiator design

4 Vented


These are in terms of accuracy, not bass output.

I believe it is much easier to correct a linear problem with electronics, rather than enclosure design.

(I'm going to get into trouble for that statement)

 

[silversurfer]

I wouldn't even rate them. A speaker is an implementation of parts and design decisions. If you rate them, you are biased before you even hear the speaker.

When you say "electronic help" do you mean EQing?

Take a look at these independent speaker measurements:
http://www.soundstageav.com/speakermeasurements.html

Can you tell me which are ported, sealed, or passive radiator designs without looking at the reviews? One of the most "accurate" speakers in that list is ported, and also one of the least expensive.

 

[MacManNM]

I wouldn't even rate them. A speaker is an implementation of parts and design decisions. If you rate them, you are biased before you even hear the speaker.

When you say "electronic help" do you mean EQing?

Yes

Take a look at these independent speaker measurements:
http://www.soundstageav.com/speakermeasurements.html

Can you tell me which are ported, sealed, or passive radiator designs without looking at the reviews? One of the most "accurate" speakers in that list is ported, and also one of the least expensive.

I am only speaking from years of listening experience and engineering knowkedge.

From an engineering perspective, vented enclosures are the easiest, cheapest way to get a decent sounding loudspeaker.

I've listened to thousands of speakers in my time, and I can almost always piont out the ported units.