Fluance Signature Series Speakers Preview

[theboogeydown]

Fluances?

Yes.

 

[Seth=L]

Yes.

InFluance

 

[Brian Mowka]

Oh boy... Well as you know Kurt I ordered the r55ti's yesterday as I'm not so happy with my elac f5's... Looks like I might as well get these as well and do a full on shootout between the Elac f5's/Fluances SS towers/Rbh R55ti's. I'd say that it's going to be one hell of a shootout. Who did you talk to to get the discount? May help to get 10% off. Let me know what you think!

 

[heroesunplugged]

X-over's transition from the bass driver to the mid-range seems very high at 1200 Hz. I'm not an expert, but the pricing seems too good to be true for good quality parts to be used. Are these speakers the "new & improved" "White Van" models?

I like the aesthetics of these speakers. If they sound as good as they look the HFFs will be a bargain at this price point, especially with free shipping and a Lifetime Warranty. May wait for the full review here so we can get a peak inside. Hope the review comes soon, but I know there are many products they have in their lineup for review. Maybe somebody will pull the trigger and we'll get some input from some forum members.

 

[KEW]

Oh boy... Well as you know Kurt I ordered the r55ti's yesterday as I'm not so happy with my elac f5's... Looks like I might as well get these as well and do a full on shootout between the Elac f5's/Fluances SS towers/Rbh R55ti's. I'd say that it's going to be one hell of a shootout. Who did you talk to to get the discount? May help to get 10% off. Let me know what you think!

I suspect he ordered straight from the manufacturer. If you click on the link to the preview in the first post of this thread then look for the blue "buy it now" link just under the summary, go to that website then give them a call and I bet they'll give you the 10% off if you ask them what they can do for you on the price.

 

[KEW]

Looks like I might as well get these as well and do a full on shootout between the Elac f5's/Fluances SS towers/Rbh R55ti's.

That would be great!
I love to read third party comparisons of speakers that fall in the same category/price range.

 

[Brian Mowka]

On order... Looks like r55ti may be the slowest to arrive, 17th-22nd I was quoted.

 

[TLS Guy]

The 6500Hz crossover for the 5" woofer is a strange design choice!
http://fluance.com/product/Signature_Series_HiFi_Two_way_Bookshelf_Surround_Sound_Speakers_Natural_Walnut.eng-176.html

It could be a very good choice. As I have been saying for ages, there is a dire shortage of wide band drivers.

If the Bass mid is a wide range driver and rolls off first or second order above 6 to 6.5 KHz without nasty break up peaks, then your crossover becomes just one cap and one or two resistors. This gets the price down and could create a superb speaker.

After all the old JW module that appeared in 1959 does just that. Thar driver full range or topped out like I describe, is better than 99.9% of bookshelves on the market today.

Remember crossovers are there to take care of the shortcomings of drivers. The best crossover is no crossover. The better the drivers the easier and simpler the crossover design. This translates to better speakers.

If I were in the driver design business my entire focus would be extending the bandwidth of drivers.

The narrow bandwidth of drivers is the limiting factor in pretty much all loudspeaker designs.

 

[KEW]

If the Bass mid is a wide range driver and rolls off first or second order above 6 to 6.5 KHz without nasty break up peaks, then your crossover becomes just one cap and one or two resistors. This gets the price down and could create a superb speaker.

After all the old JW module that appeared in 1959 does just that. Thar driver full range or topped out like I describe, is better than 99.9% of bookshelves on the market today.

I thought the beaming that is often a problem with a driver extending into upper range was more a function of the large-ish cone, so even if the driver can have good specs on-axis, it would be poor off-axis.
Is this wrong or is it not a major concern?

 

[TLS Guy]

I thought the beaming that is often a problem with a driver extending into upper range was more a function of the large-ish cone, so even if the driver can have good specs on-axis, it would be poor off-axis.
Is this wrong or is it not a major concern?

It is true for most drivers, but does not have to be. The falsehood is rigid driver obsession. You can never make a driver rigid enough not to break up. So the key is to accept break up and design it into the cone design. What you actually need is a cone radiating area that decreases in a controlled and predictable fashion as the frequency increases.

A rigid cone that goes into uncontrolled break up will beam severely after break up. A cone like I just described will not.

A soft dome tweeter does just that. The diaphragm does break up in a controlled manner and good soft dome tweeters do not beam.

 

[Brian Mowka]

Fwiw. Since I already have a set of elacs' (f5's, b5's and c5) that I need to get back by end of January and I'd really like a full system I just ordered a set of the Fluance signature series home theater. Basically the SS towers,mtower bookshelves for surrounds and center channel. I really hope these are great sounding speakers, it's a hell of a deal.

So sometime next week I should have the following speakers to do a shootout with.

1. Full Elac debut set as described.
2. Full Fluance signature set as described.
3. Rbh R55ti's

My primary testing is for quality of sound in stereo mode. I'll write up reviews for everyone to let you know my thoughts.

How long if a break in period do you suggest before testing? 50 hrs?

Also, as for price/discounts... If you are interested in Fluance signature series or other speakers from Fluance (my not work for others but I'm betting you can find compatible discounts on coupon sites) I used coupon code "jb20" to 10% off entire order. Shipping is free both ways if I end up not choosing them. Total with tax (yes they do charge tax, is $980)

 

[KEW]

Brian,
It is probably better to do comparison in new thread and provide links for those interested from this thread (and ELAC, and RBH threads). That way if the discussion from your comparison gets deep into the RBH or ELAC's you are not violating rules about off-topic in this thread.
Use the manufacturer's recommendations for break-in period. It is just easier to do that so no one can cry foul!

 

[gene]

Fwiw. Since I already have a set of elacs' (f5's, b5's and c5) that I need to get back by end of January and I'd really like a full system I just ordered a set of the Fluance signature series home theater. Basically the SS towers,mtower bookshelves for surrounds and center channel. I really hope these are great sounding speakers, it's a hell of a deal.

So sometime next week I should have the following speakers to do a shootout with.

1. Full Elac debut set as described.
2. Full Fluance signature set as described.
3. Rbh R55ti's

My primary testing is for quality of sound in stereo mode. I'll write up reviews for everyone to let you know my thoughts.

How long if a break in period do you suggest before testing? 50 hrs?

Also, as for price/discounts... If you are interested in Fluance signature series or other speakers from Fluance (my not work for others but I'm betting you can find compatible discounts on coupon sites) I used coupon code "jb20" to 10% off entire order. Shipping is free both ways if I end up not choosing them. Total with tax (yes they do charge tax, is $980)

Sounds like a great shootout which would be awesome if you posted as a new thread.

If you need a scorecard and or tips to properly level match, feel free to PM me. Please include lots of images in your shootout!

 

[Dennis Murphy]

It is true for most drivers, but does not have to be. The falsehood is rigid driver obsession. You can never make a driver rigid enough not to break up. So the key is to accept break up and design it into the cone design. What you actually need is a cone radiating area that decreases in a controlled and predictable fashion as the frequency increases.

A rigid cone that goes into uncontrolled break up will beam severely after break up. A cone like I just described will not.

A soft dome tweeter does just that. The diaphragm does break up in a controlled manner and good soft dome tweeters do not beam.

I usually agree with you, but I'm not following the reasoning here. First, I think KEW was referring to woofer beaming, not tweeter beaming. Second, dispersion is largely determined by cone size. The larger the cone, the sooner shorter-wave-length frequencies will start to beam and the narrower will be dispersion. As for tweeters, a soft dome and hard dome tweeter of the same diameter will start to narrow in dispersion at about the same point. They will have different break-up properties, but it's hard to predict what that will do to dispersion per se.

 

[shadyJ]

Fwiw. Since I already have a set of elacs' (f5's, b5's and c5) that I need to get back by end of January and I'd really like a full system I just ordered a set of the Fluance signature series home theater. Basically the SS towers,mtower bookshelves for surrounds and center channel. I really hope these are great sounding speakers, it's a hell of a deal.

So sometime next week I should have the following speakers to do a shootout with.

1. Full Elac debut set as described.
2. Full Fluance signature set as described.
3. Rbh R55ti's

My primary testing is for quality of sound in stereo mode. I'll write up reviews for everyone to let you know my thoughts.

How long if a break in period do you suggest before testing? 50 hrs?

Also, as for price/discounts... If you are interested in Fluance signature series or other speakers from Fluance (my not work for others but I'm betting you can find compatible discounts on coupon sites) I used coupon code "jb20" to 10% off entire order. Shipping is free both ways if I end up not choosing them. Total with tax (yes they do charge tax, is $980)

Level matching will be very important in doing a fair comparison, and it is harder to do than you may realize. Please do your homework in this area. Your shootout could be very good if performed correctly, but it could also be very counter-productive if you don't get the level matching right. I would seriously drop Gene a PM as he suggested. I have been involved in a bunch of speaker comparisons, and level matching is not as easy as it would seem to get right.

 

[Newguy52811]

If there is a way, can you guys let me know how hard it would be when you do get the speakers is to remove the drivers and get to the crossovers. If I do buy them eventually, I would want to modify the crossovers, but looks kinda difficult to get those open.

 

[Swerd]

If there is a way, can you guys let me know how hard it would be when you do get the speakers is to remove the drivers and get to the crossovers. If I do buy them eventually, I would want to modify the crossovers, but looks kinda difficult to get those open.

I'm not trying to bust on you, but considering that you may never have removed a speaker driver before and had to ask about that here, what kind of crossover modification do you have in mind?

 

[Newguy52811]

Maybe some Sonicaps, Auricap and Kimber Kaps in those puppy's. I've done modifications on other speakers, but nothing with a front baffle like that.

 

[Swerd]

Maybe some Sonicaps, Auricap and Kimber Kaps in those puppy's. I've done modifications on other speakers, but nothing with a front baffle like that.

My usual answer would be "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but those are your speakers and your money, not mine .

I don't want to derail this thread. If you have other questions, or want to post about your experience as you do this, why don't you start a new thread in the DIY forum?

 

[Newguy52811]

Sorry, just was wondering as this link showed how easy it was for other Fluance Speakers. And since it won't let me post links yet.