New system on a $700 Budget

[brian32672]

It looks as though you want someone to purchase these speakers to make yourself feel better for owning them? I am not here to knock what you have spent your money on, but if I can help someone else not waste their money, I will try my best. Sorry I have offended you and your Fluance.

Sorry to say, I have listened to some MB Quart's and for the money I was not impressed.

The whole thread started with the fellow looking for best bang for his buck.

You have in no way offended me, I have owned many sets. I try to do it for the little guy with minimal money, and give him/her a value rating on what they are about to spend their hard earned money on. I am now thinking of also getting the Panny X55 to see if it is worth the money for any fellow with little money. Its not like I have tons of money to spend, but I come into money here and there.

Like I said you have in no way offended me. But your attitude of what you have no apparent interest (other than to degrade a company that you have never tried is kinda unappealing)

 

[zumbo]

Sorry to say, I have listened to some MB Quart's and for the money I was not impressed.

The whole thread started with the fellow looking for best bang for his buck.

I would agree that the MB Quarts are not the best sounding speakers for the money. But, I got mine at a huge discount. Also, it's a sound. Alot like B&W. There are many who don't care for that sound. I do. I wanted B&W 700 Series. Dreamed of the 800 Series. I don't have that kind of money, so I was going to get Monitor Audio Silver Series. Then, I was offered a deal on the Quarts with a NHT sub I couldn't refuse. I was pleased with the sound, but not blown away. They were running off my Yamaha 1400. I added an Adcom 7605 amp. Now I am blown away. These speakers need power. They are 4ohm with 87db sensitivity. If you heard them on a receiver without a sub, I bet they did suck.

OTOH(about this thread) For what was needed at the money mentioned, I believe the Infinity system was the best option, along with the Pioneer I recommended.(post #16)
The Pioneer was the reason for the 1k link.(post#29) Now, I see he has upped his budget. That was a good idea.

 

[ct_guy]

Greatly Interested

I have been watching this post with great interest as I'm in essentially the same situation. I have an old bookshelf system that finally died and am looking to replace it with something a bit more "grown up" but I'm a graduate student and am on a very tight budget. I'm planning on going with the Pioneer receiver, but am still undecided on the speakers. I certainly understand the concern over the Fluance speakers considering the ease of someone posting a review to those sites as mentioned and most of the reviewers tones seem to give the impression that they are probably bargain shoppers and would be happy with most things at that price and probably haven't compared tons of speakers.

Even after all of that these speakers are still on my list as it seems that they will at least perform adequately. I am wondering if anyone has compared the Micra 6 system with the Fluance? I am sure that would have come out in this thread by now if someone had, but I thought I would take a shot and ask. I will be listening to probably 60% movies and 40% music on my system. Unfortunately I live in a 2nd story apartment so subs probably won't make my downstairs neighbors too happy and I will deal with adequate base for quite some time. If any of you have additional thoughts between these systems I would appreciate it. Unfortunatley I can't really streach my budget to get into the other speakers that have been discussed.

One route that I am considering is building speakers. Do any of you have any thoughts on that route and if it's even possible to build something decent in the price range of the speakers discussed here?

 

[brian32672]

Well if you go by 'others' indications (whom have not heard or seen) a Fluance speaker, then I am sure you will be on the assumption it is garbage.
Trust me, I have heard and seen, and taken apart, and thouroghly tested a Fluance set.

Also I wonder if 'others' have even tried the Micra system?

Anyhow, IMO unless you spend about 600+ on 5 speakers you will not be able to beat the quality of sound and build of the Fluance.
I really don't know how they can sell so low. They are built very well, including the drivers....

I can honestly and easily recommend these for someone on a tight budget.
And as I had said, they for music have plenty of bass.
So in your situation (not being able to get a sub) these would suffice.

As a college student, I am sure you will enjoy these. And also not worry to much if your friends come over and get a little rowdy in the room.
The mains are bi-ampable, with 2 set of gold 5 way binding posts. The center and surrounds as well have 5 way binding posts. The first revisions of this set did not have the 5 way, but all newer models do have them. So hooking them up is with ease. IMO, they are very musical and have very good transition.

Oh, by no means can you compare them with a 1,000 set of speakers. But for 200.00 they are worth every penny.
IMO, they are probably worth about 500 to 600 worth of speakers.....
The mains are the strongest part of that set, and the center is the weakest.
However, I would just recommend to pick up the upgraded center.

PM, me if you have any personal questions on my audition of this set.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I have been watching this post with great interest as I'm in essentially the same situation. I have an old bookshelf system that finally died and am looking to replace it with something a bit more "grown up" but I'm a graduate student and am on a very tight budget. I'm planning on going with the Pioneer receiver, but am still undecided on the speakers. I certainly understand the concern over the Fluance speakers considering the ease of someone posting a review to those sites as mentioned and most of the reviewers tones seem to give the impression that they are probably bargain shoppers and would be happy with most things at that price and probably haven't compared tons of speakers.

Even after all of that these speakers are still on my list as it seems that they will at least perform adequately. I am wondering if anyone has compared the Micra 6 system with the Fluance? I am sure that would have come out in this thread by now if someone had, but I thought I would take a shot and ask. I will be listening to probably 60% movies and 40% music on my system. Unfortunately I live in a 2nd story apartment so subs probably won't make my downstairs neighbors too happy and I will deal with adequate base for quite some time. If any of you have additional thoughts between these systems I would appreciate it. Unfortunatley I can't really streach my budget to get into the other speakers that have been discussed.

One route that I am considering is building speakers. Do any of you have any thoughts on that route and if it's even possible to build something decent in the price range of the speakers discussed here?

You couldn't build speakers of decent quality for just over $300 (1 center and 4 bookshelves) compared to this Venturi setup, which will provide plenty of bass in an apartment. Ask Jaxvon - he's running this now.

 

[brian32672]

You couldn't build speakers of decent quality for just over $300 (1 center and 4 bookshelves) compared to this Venturi setup, which will provide plenty of bass in an apartment. Ask Jaxvon - he's running this now.

Now I am sure they do provide bass. And I do know Jaxvon runs a sub with his.
However, these I had 'not in a college dorm room'. They were in my condo in a fairly large room (considering, it is open to all other rooms).
And they did provide quite a bit of bass.
They actualy provide more bass than my Acoustech HT-75 that has dual 6.5's.
One HT-75 will provide 101db at 50Hz (by chance I recently tested it, because of Mule). I did not take spl measurements of the Fluance set. (I wish I had)
Not like the 101db at 50Hz is a lot, but factor in the +6db for the second speaker.
And also 50Hz is actually a pretty low frequency, at 60Hz I am not 100% sure but I think I recorded 109db for the single speaker.
And remember, like I said the Fluance actually had more bass......
Anyhow thats just my 0.02....

 

[MacManNM]

Now I am sure they do provide bass. And I do know Jaxvon runs a sub with his.
However, these I had 'not in a college dorm room'. They were in my condo in a fairly large room (considering, it is open to all other rooms).
And they did provide quite a bit of bass.
They actualy provide more bass than my Acoustech HT-75 that has dual 6.5's.
One HT-75 will provide 101db at 50Hz (by chance I recently tested it, because of Mule). I did not take spl measurements of the Fluance set. (I wish I had)
Not like the 101db at 50Hz is a lot, but factor in the +6db for the second speaker.
And also 50Hz is actually a pretty low frequency, at 60Hz I am not 100% sure but I think I recorded 109db for the single speaker.
And remember, like I said the Fluance actually had more bass......
Anyhow thats just my 0.02....

You don't get 6db of gain from adding another speaker. And I have heard that Fluance setup, it wasn't bad, but I dont think it can hang with the BIC setup Buck pointed out. The DV series, IMO puts out better bass than the acoustech speakers.

 

[brian32672]

You don't get 6db of gain from adding another speaker. And I have heard that Fluance setup, it wasn't bad, but I dont think it can hang with the BIC setup Buck pointed out. The DV series, IMO puts out better bass than the acoustech speakers.

You are correct, I just tested it. 5 seconds ago.
I am getting a +3db gain.

Anyhow, one thing I have always said is even with the dual 6.5's in the Acoustech. They IMO do not have much bass, and the Fluance was much stronger in the low end. The good thing with the Acoustechs, is that there is no hole in the sound from the mid-bass, mids, low-highs, highs, to the super highs.
IMO, the Acoustechs do need a sub for music or HT, but the Fluance you can get by without one.
However (but figure the price) the Fluance do have a slight hole in the low mid bass.
So by no means are the perfect speakers, but they are superb for the budget.
All the talk on the 62's I will have to get a set for my own satisfaction.

 

[zumbo]

I found a place with new and used speakers. I hope you haven't purchased yet. This looks like just what the doctor ordered.http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/TSTO.storefront/43bea5f1007c80c62740ac10034106b3/Catalog/1012

 

[Rtstrider]

Already purchased and have the acoustech's on hand, and LOVING THEM!!! I can crank them no prob, and with my sony sub, it's AMAZING!!!! I didn't think the difference would be that noticeable with my setup, but boy, was I WRONG! I love it, and thanx guy's!!!!

 

[Matt34]

Already purchased and have the acoustech's on hand, and LOVING THEM!!! I can crank them no prob, and with my sony sub, it's AMAZING!!!! I didn't think the difference would be that noticeable with my setup, but boy, was I WRONG! I love it, and thanx guy's!!!!

Congrats!!l My mains are on my way, the last part of my setup.

 

[Hanse18]

That's awesome RTstrider. It's always nice to see people appreciate their speakers. What are you currently running them with... Did you already get a new receiver? Lucky for you, those acoustechs are extremely efficient, so almost anything will run them. Also, from what I've heard, you can claim those suckers cost $2,000 and most people will believe you. Enjoy your speakers.

Hanse

 

[Rtstrider]

Well I think I may have already semi blown one of the woofers in the towers....I notice whenever I get bass heavy songs or anything that I play more than 75% of the way up on my amp sounds really staticky out of that one woofer. Should I show concern and request a new tower?

 

[brian32672]

Absolutely, the company you bought them from is a authorized dealer.
VERY STRANGE.
Are you playing them full range even with the sub?
Are they set to large?
I am assuming you are running cable that is thicker than 24AWG. (16AWG minimum)
What receiver are you running them with now?
Very funny, because for test purposes I had run a 50Hz signal to my mains and got 101db. (from one single main)
If there is buzzing going on, there is clearly something wrong.

 

[Rtstrider]

Well I have them all set to SMALL and I'm using 16 AWG wire. Should I look into possibly getting a heavier guage wire before I rma these speakers?

EDIT: One weird thing is that it doesn't buzz until I start "straining" them. I think I may just have the speaker out of it's comfort zone, but...I mean it doesn't buzz at the levels I usually listen to them at. So should I still worry?

EDIT #2: Actually it's just this one song that buzzes. Brian do you have aim and if so could you pm me your sn so I can send you that mp3 and see if that's just the cause? I mean it's just in the first 10 seconds of the song that has the buzz in it...That way we could eliminate the speaker possibility

 

[brian32672]

No on the wire, that is fine.
"Probably" ?? You don't know??
It really should not matter, obviously when I did my tests I had set my speaker(s) to large.
I would certainly call the company on Monday (they may be closed Monday - so call Tuesday)

 

[brian32672]

EDIT: One weird thing is that it doesn't buzz until I start "straining" them. I think I may just have the speaker out of it's comfort zone, but...I mean it doesn't buzz at the levels I usually listen to them at. So should I still worry?

After saying this, have you used a Avia or DVE disc to check for (in your home) rattle and buzzing?

EDIT:: It might be easier if you just add a new post, I don't always go back and read edits.

EDIT #2: Actually it's just this one song that buzzes. Brian do you have aim and if so could you pm me your sn so I can send you that mp3 and see if that's just the cause? I mean it's just in the first 10 seconds of the song that has the buzz in it...That way we could eliminate the speaker possibility

Sure no problem, I sent a PM.

 

[jaxvon]

EDIT #2: Actually it's just this one song that buzzes. Brian do you have aim and if so could you pm me your sn so I can send you that mp3 and see if that's just the cause? I mean it's just in the first 10 seconds of the song that has the buzz in it...That way we could eliminate the speaker possibility

A quick check would be to swap your speaker cables at the receiver terminals. If the buzz switches sides, then it's the recording.

 

[Rtstrider]

And no I'm not using the Pioneer, I'm still using my stock sony reciever. It's a cheap htib reciever

 

[brian32672]

Ok got the email.
I will put it on a cdwr disc and play it, in about 10 minutes.

Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz Northwood Processor w/ Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu and some
Arctic Silver 5

Problem with this, is AMD will not support warranty if any Artic Silver is used.
Including their ceramique.