xreaperx22

xreaperx22

Junior Audioholic
has anyone used any speakers from Fluance? i seen they have a 5.1 package for very cheap,may be good for like the garage or small room idk,what are your thoughts? i only have 1 room left to put a system in and it doesnt need anything fancy really,i just bought some canton 496.2's the other day for my computer room and i know the fluance wont even come close to there sound but no biggie,i was thinking maybe get them as 5.0 and add my own sub cuz the sub that comes with them are only like 80 watts i think not much lol.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
IIRC, you already have two 5.1 systems in different rooms, right?
If it was me, I would set up a nice little stereo in the small room. For the money of even a cheap 5.1 speaker system, you can get a comparatively good pair of bookshelf speakers and a sub for a nice 2.1 system. If you deliberately cheap out on a 5.1 system, I'm not sure when you are going to decide "I feel like listening to my crappy system today!"
I dunno, I just like to mix it up!
That said, ShadyJ reviewed the Fluance Signature and thinks fairly highly of them! Personally, Fluance has exceeded my standards of BS practices and I wouldn't buy their products anytime soon!
 
xreaperx22

xreaperx22

Junior Audioholic
true i could do a nice stereo setup dont really need it to be a theatre setup,hmm those 442's look interesting.
If i do go with a stereo setup are there 2.1 receivers?
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
true i could do a nice stereo setup dont really need it to be a theatre setup,hmm those 442's look interesting.
If i do go with a stereo setup are there 2.1 receivers?
Yes, there are, but they typically don't have proper sub management - they just have a simple full range mono signal RCA output on the back marked SW or SUB.
For this reason, many of us buy an inexpensive AVR even for 2 channels.

How's your patience?

If you keep your eyes open, something is liable to pop up given time. For example, the well regarded JBL Studio 580 series was deep discounted at $260/ea (MSRP $800)
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/jbl-studio-580-a-real-good-deal.108451/

Or the Canton Vento 820.2 for $600/pr (MSRP $1500)
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/canton-vento-820-2-2-way-6in-bookshelf-speaker.109838/

Or the Infinity Reference 162 for $200/pr (MSRP $450)
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/infinity-reference-speakers-serious-good-prices.111393/

You may notice a pattern forming, it's called @zieglj01 ! I don't know how he does it, but these deals don't seem to get by him! Also, he is the most consistent and the most experienced "reviewer" I have found. He has listened to a $hit-ton of speakers and seems to be able to somehow keep track of them and accurately rank-order them!

Last, Philharmonic Audio (Dennis Murphy) represents the best value (using regular pricing) in a speaker for music, IMHO.
I like his $230 Affordable Accuracy speakers better than the Elac UniFi speakers that cost $500! If you are in a smaller room and can spend a little more, his mini-monitors get you into a RAAL tweeter at about half the price anyone else can!
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
xreaperx22

xreaperx22

Junior Audioholic
nice! im going to go check all them out right now,I was eyeballing those bostons for awhile lol,I have not heard of Philharmonic before checking those out asap,sounds interesting.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Let me give you a quick background on Philharmonic Audio. It is Dennis Murphy's speaker making venture.
Dennis is retired.
Dennis first became a "name" in audio forum with his "Murphyblaster" DIY speaker website:
http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=main.html
His kits started to gain favor as among the best DIY options available in the DIY speaker circles.
Somewhere along the way, Jim Salk hired him to assist in designing Salk speakers. At this point, I think it is correct to say Dennis is behind the crossover design of every speaker Salk sells (which goes up to $16,000/pr):
http://www.salksound.com/type.php?format=Floorstanding

Of course anyone can advertise a speaker at a very high price, but the Salk's are reputed to be among the best bargains for their pricepoints.
More recently, Dennis decided he liked the idea of designing and building speakers to share high quality sound with people who otherwise might not readily afford it (or save money for those who can). Since Dennis is retired and has a good pension, he is not trying to make a career or grow a business empire the way an entrepreneur might. The last time I checked, he was paying himself less than minimum wage for the time he devotes to getting speakers out the door. He has often been a "one man show", but has also contracted the building of cabinets to others (including Salk if you wanted to pay for an exceptional furniture grade and suffer the lead time, which is usually more than 2 months). However, he likes it best when he can use one of the Parts Express cabinets which are sturdy and attractive at a great price. Lately, he is looking at contracting some cabinets directly from China.
Getting back to my point, this is a guy who is enjoying his retirement playing violin/viola in orchestral groups and designing, building, and selling speakers. Between you and me, I think he is crazy, but don't tell him; we don't want him getting any the wiser!;)

Compared to a typical speaker manufacturer, he has cut so much of the cost out of his speakers (advertising, payroll, warehousing, and profit) that it is only the deep discounts that get traditional speaker close to his level of value, IMHO.
 
xreaperx22

xreaperx22

Junior Audioholic
cool thanks for the info,i been looking for some crossover schematics as i am thinking of doing some DIY speakers,Im already familiar with electronics,soldering etc etc...i have worked at thumping car audio for 4 years,I know theres alot of difference in home and car audio but the basics are pretty much the same concept,So instead of going and buying some speakers for my last room i think ill start a nice DIY project.That should keep me busy for awhile lol.By the way what are your thoughts on Dayton audio products? I only ask because they have a few DIY kits also.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
cool thanks for the info,i been looking for some crossover schematics as i am thinking of doing some DIY speakers,Im already familiar with electronics,soldering etc etc...i have worked at thumping car audio for 4 years,I know theres alot of difference in home and car audio but the basics are pretty much the same concept,So instead of going and buying some speakers for my last room i think ill start a nice DIY project.That should keep me busy for awhile lol.By the way what are your thoughts on Dayton audio products? I only ask because they have a few DIY kits also.
For DIY, your background will be useful. The design of the crossover is something you probably don't want to attempt right away - you might build a couple of other people designs and read the designer's comments about them to get started developing the perspective from which to delve deeper.
I don't have the background to speak to Dayton Audio products, I know they have some great ones, but also suspect they have some losers.
If you are looking at DIY, I still think Dennis is a good option! Check out his DIY site:
http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=main.html

I'm not sure he invests much time there anymore, but speaker technology is not changing very fast, a great design from 5 years ago is still a great design. I have heard the CAOW1 and it is an impressive speaker:
http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=CAOW1.html
Note that the CAOW1 is a variation on the MBOW1, so you need to review both to understand what making one would be like.
http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=MBOW1.html

And, of course, the DIY sub-forum here is an excellent resource:
https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/audio/diy-corner-tips-techniques.22/
 
xreaperx22

xreaperx22

Junior Audioholic
sweet thanks KEW for the info and links,time to get my read on lol.
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
Let me give you a quick background on Philharmonic Audio. It is Dennis Murphy's speaker making venture.
Dennis is retired.
Dennis first became a "name" in audio forum with his "Murphyblaster" DIY speaker website:
http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=main.html
His kits started to gain favor as among the best DIY options available in the DIY speaker circles.
Somewhere along the way, Jim Salk hired him to assist in designing Salk speakers. At this point, I think it is correct to say Dennis is behind the crossover design of every speaker Salk sells (which goes up to $16,000/pr):
http://www.salksound.com/type.php?format=Floorstanding

Of course anyone can advertise a speaker at a very high price, but the Salk's are reputed to be among the best bargains for their pricepoints.
More recently, Dennis decided he liked the idea of designing and building speakers to share high quality sound with people who otherwise might not readily afford it (or save money for those who can). Since Dennis is retired and has a good pension, he is not trying to make a career or grow a business empire the way an entrepreneur might. The last time I checked, he was paying himself less than minimum wage for the time he devotes to getting speakers out the door. He has often been a "one man show", but has also contracted the building of cabinets to others (including Salk if you wanted to pay for an exceptional furniture grade and suffer the lead time, which is usually more than 2 months). However, he likes it best when he can use one of the Parts Express cabinets which are sturdy and attractive at a great price. Lately, he is looking at contracting some cabinets directly from China.
Getting back to my point, this is a guy who is enjoying his retirement playing violin/viola in orchestral groups and designing, building, and selling speakers. Between you and me, I think he is crazy, but don't tell him; we don't want him getting any the wiser!;)

Compared to a typical speaker manufacturer, he has cut so much of the cost out of his speakers (advertising, payroll, warehousing, and profit) that it is only the deep discounts that get traditional speaker close to his level of value, IMHO.
That's an amazing back story. What a class guy!
 
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