Fluance AV-HTB Review
| Company Info: Fluance Category: Home Electronics Price: $199.00 Rating: 5.0/5.0 Reviewer: Wayne Eggert Date: March 07, 2005 |
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Introduction
You've probably never heard of Fluance.. you certainly won't find their
speakers in Circuit City, Best Buy, or many other retail stores. That's
because they're based in Canada and are one of the lesser known speaker
manufacturers. In this case, just because they're not a name-brand
company we're all familiar with isn't necessarily a bad thing. While
the general rule of thumb with anything you purchase is "You get what
you pay for", there are usually a few exceptions -- Fluance is one of
them. They're primarily based online, but are also adding brick and
mortar dealers. The speakers we're reviewing are the Fluance AV-HTB's,
which are a measily $199 online.
What's Included
(2) Front Floorstanding Main Speakers - 3 Way, 3 Driver
(2) Rear Surround Satellite Speakers - 2 Way, 3 Driver
(1) Center Channel Speaker - 2 Way, 2 Driver
Build Quality
For $200, you might expect shoddy light-weight
speakers -- they have to cut costs somewhere, right? Wrong. The 33-inch
tall tower speakers are a hefty 27lbs each. The entire system weighs in
at 80lbs.. which is less than your average boxer, but certainly up in
the same weight class as other higher quality speaker systems. The
entire system ships in a single box for around $50 (could differ
depending upon location).
No Subwoofer
You might have noticed by now that there is no
mention of a subwoofer being included with this home theater system.
Fluance does carry subwoofers on their site now (DB-10 10-inch sub
& DB-12 12-inc sub), but does not include it with this set of
speakers. I suppose they wanted to leave it as an option to shoppers,
since many people don't want a subwoofer, already own one, or plan to
add that component to their system later down the road. I purchased a
10-inch subwoofer, but in retrospect I would have been perfectly fine
with just the 5-speaker system, as the two tower speakers produce
enough bass to annoy my neighbors as it is.
Setup
You'll need to purchase a few things before being able
to hook your speakers up. If you don't already have one, you'll need a
receiver.. otherwise you'll have nothing to hook your speakers up to
and that could be kinda boring =) Additionally, you'll have to buy some
12-Gauge heavy-duty speaker wire and possibly a wire stripper. The
hardest part to home theater system setup is figuring out where to run
the speaker wire and how to hide it. Luckily I have a basement and was
able to drill holes in the floor and run speaker cable under my living
room. The only other recommendation is to go into your receiver's
speaker setup and select "Large" for the tower speakers and Small for
the center and rear surround speakers. Also remember to select Off or
None if you do not have a subwoofer.
Features
The speakers are matched perfectly for home cinema.
Each speaker is constructed from wood to reduce cabinet resonance and
contains a ferro-fluid cooled tweeter for longer life. All speakers
have now been upgraded with banana plug compatible connectors. The
speakers are also magnetically shielded to reduce disruption of video
monitors.
Performance
I've owned these speakers for several years now
and have put them through their paces. All three Lord of the Rings
movies, The Matrix, Jurassic Park.. you name it -- I'm still shocked
that I didn't pay twice as much for the quality. While I'm not an
audiophile, I also don't have an audiophile's budget. I've read
testimonies from a large number which compare these speakers to some
$500 or $600 home theater sets and say the Fluance speakers are every
bit as good. While a $1200 or $2000 budget could get you nicer sounding
speakers, you aren't going to find a better on-the-cheap set for the
money. If you're looking to be blown away by bass, you'll want to pick
up a nice 10-inch or 12-inch subwoofer.. add that to these speakers and
you will have a very nice home theater that you will have a hard time
outgrowing.
Overall
For the price, many name-brand manufacturers will
surely find it hard to beat the performance of these speakers. The
build quality is amazing for a $200 set of speakers and they are
aesthetically appealing. I have owned them for 2 years now and they've
outlasted several DVD players, but have never failed to impress me
while watching movies or listening to music. Definitely make sure you
consider them if you're looking for a home theater set and on a budget
-- I know I'm glad I did.
Final Rating: 5.0/5.0
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