Fluance 5-piece speaker set for $259.99

[Kaido]

You can get the Fluance 5 Speaker Surround Sound Home Theater PC System SX-HTB direct for $259.99. UPS ground residential came up to $66.67, so $326.66 shipped. Fluance also offers speaker wire and banana plugs on the bottom of the page.

I've been considering these speakers over the Logitech z-680s for my HT setup. I'd also need a receiver and probably a sub, too, although some users say this system has pretty good bass already. The wood finish should give them a high WAF for all concerned

Here's a SubZeroTech review if you're interested.

Oakville Sound Advice also has these speakers, but for $249.99 plus $65 shipping, or $314.99 shipped. A little cheaper, except there's no info under the contact link. Oh well.

I'm looking at the Harman Kardon AVR 225 Dolby Digital Receiver to go along with these, priced at $279.88. It has Dolby Digital, DTS, and MP3 decoding, as well as Logic 7 and Dolby Pro-Logic II and a variety of inputs, including coaxial and optical digital inputs.

Here are a couple subwoofers I'm looking at that may match the system nicely:
$124.88 - Dayton 10" 100 watt powered subwoofer
$181 - Harman Audio PB10 10" 150 watt powered subwoofer (Harmon/Kardon sub with a JBL cone)

Edit: I got an email back from Fluance as to what subwoofer they recommended to match the system. They said "the DB150 will match the SXHTB perfeectly in sound." The Fluance DB150 subwoofer is a 10" 150 watt powered subwoofer, and it comes in black. Costs $199.99 direct. I'd be more inclined to go with their subwoofer as they make the speakers and their subwoofer probably matches it pretty well.

Anyone know where to get some good FLAT speaker wire? I want to try out the stuff that lays flat and hides easy

 

[dc]

i remember hearing that you could get these off of ebay for cheaper.

edit: nevermind, it was the AV-HTB that was $199 on ebay, the SX-HTB's are also $260

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14993&item=5707697536&rd=1

 

[jpeyton]

I like the look of these speakers, but is there any chance the "Fluance" tag is removeable from the grilles and speakers?

They should've stuck with a logo instead of the crappy lettering.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I like the look of these speakers, but is there any chance the "Fluance" tag is removeable from the grilles and speakers?

They should've stuck with a logo instead of the crappy lettering.

hahaha

you could probably pry it off...if it looked like trash underneath maybe try goof-off or rubbing alcohol or something. if that doesn't do it (like if it rips some of the finish off), buy a chrome UT fan grill and stick it on...then you'll have the most l33t speakers in town! hahaha

 

[echow87]

wow...nice speakers! will hav to get two set...10.2 surround...hehe after i move

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: dc
i remember hearing that you could get these off of ebay for cheaper.

edit: nevermind, it was the AV-HTB that was $199 on ebay, the SX-HTB's are also $260

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14993&item=5707697536&rd=1

yeah kinda weird, their ebay presence sells the speakers for the same price, but you save $6 or $7 in shipping...$259.99 starting and Buy-It-Now, with $60 shipping. If I get these, I think I'll go with their website rather than ebay...although the ebay auction does say "new with a 5 year warranty"...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: echow87
wow...nice speakers! will hav to get two set...10.2 surround...hehe after i move

just remember to pick up a sub...this is just a matched 5-speaker set, no sub (so like 5.0, not 5.1, lol). So if you buy em, break em in, then decide if you really need a sub.

The SubZero tech reviewer had this to say:

On last note on the specs, they are just within the boundaries of human hearing. The bass touches into the frequencies where you stop hearing and start feeling. This leaves me with one comment: I had anxiety about a lack of bass response. In fact I was worried the entire unit would have clear highs, but lack a meaty undertone. I was really wrong though. With the speakers positioned in a large room it was actually enough bass, without too much stress on the volume knob, to make you feel the palpitations in some parts of your body as the sound waves carried on. This isn?t to say that a full powered subwoofer wouldn?t compliment it with some LFE action, but I can give advice on this. First of all, if you aren?t a bass freak you won?t need it. If you do not listen to poorly equalized rap music it won?t be a factor, and if you don?t literally deafen yourself with movies it will also be ok. But for the rest of you who need that really POUNDING BASS, I am talking about the sort of thing that isn?t well looked upon by neighbors within 200 yards, then you will have some requirements in choosing a subwoofer. First of all the subwoofer will have to be quite powerful, anything less and it will simply be overshadowed by the towers. You will have to buy something that will really touch into the 20 kHz range to make it worthwhile.

Either on that review or another, the reviewer said to cut out the LFE on the receiver and set the speakers to "large" and that will give you better bass. Or something to that effect

 

[pulse8]

I own these speakers and LOOOOOVE them.

 

[Kaido]

I added a response from Fluance about a matching subwoofer, they responded - see original post above for details.

 

[mrrman]

Keep in mind that these are low end speakers and without a sub they suck. I bought a set for a friend as he wanted CHEAP speakers. I would save up a buy better quality speakers if you want them to last. These are entry level in my mind.

KAIDO..if you want to buy decent audio equipment, then pass on this...not worth the $
My 1st set of Pioneer 6" 5 piece wall speakers sounded better than these and it costed about the same with a 8" sub woofer

Pulse8...like my post states...I set them up for a friend and wasnt inpressed at all, my wall speakers sounded better than these...thats my opinion as i would not recommend these to anyone. You can pick up Mission or Wharfdales at Ubid.com that perform much better.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mrrman
Keep in mind that these are low end speakers and without a sub they suck. I bought a set for a friend as he wanted CHEAP speakers. I would save up a buy better quality speakers if you want them to last. These are entry level in my mind.

just how bad are they? I mean, compared to what? I'm coming from Logitech z-640s, and I like how they sound, lol. would they be better or worse than them?

 

[Slick5150]

Fluance is certainly not "low end" speakers. That's silly to even say that. You can find many home theater forums where even "audiophiles" admit these things sound quite good. Are they as good as a $5000 set? Probably not, but considering the price different, they're worth every penny and then some.

And compared to a Logitech 640 set? Night and day difference. Logitechs are not known for producing accurate sound (they get loud for sure, but are sorely lacking in the midrange. Good PC speakers, but not great for music and movies).

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: PinwiZ
Fluance is certainly not "low end" speakers. That's silly to even say that. You can find many home theater forums where even "audiophiles" admit these things sound quite good. Are they as good as a $5000 set? Probably not, but considering the price different, they're worth every penny and then some.

And compared to a Logitech 640 set? Night and day difference. Logitechs are not known for producing accurate sound (they get loud for sure, but are sorely lacking in the midrange. Good PC speakers, but not great for music and movies).

Wow, that's good to know. I've been reading more about them on AVS Forums, and lots of people seem to like them.

And as for my liking the z-640 set...well, that just tells you how hard I am to please, huh

Would balancing it with one of the Fluance DB150 subs be a good way to go? My goal is to buy decent equipment and then not worry about it ever again

 

[SpaceHulk]

For a sub, you may want to try this HKSUB12 Brand new direct from Harmon Kardon. I have one and I think it sounds great.

 

[hevnsnt]

Originally posted by: pulse8
I own these speakers and LOOOOOVE them.

me too!

 

[stoner87]

Hey, I've got a set of those, too. Pretty nice stuff.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: stoner87
Hey, I've got a set of those, too. Pretty nice stuff.

How do you do the wiring on these speakers? I've only used speakers with either RCA connections or minijack connections. The website said you can get banana plugs with them, which looks like a plug-in solution so you don't have to wire everything when you want to add different wiring.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: SpaceHulk
For a sub, you may want to try this HKSUB12 Brand new direct from Harmon Kardon. I have one and I think it sounds great.

Would that one be better than the Fluance DB150 subwoofer? Link

Also, would it be better than Harman's own PB10? Link

The PB10 also has 150 watts, but only has a 10" cone instead of a 12" like the HKSUB. Is bigger better? The 10" is a down-firing sub while the 12" is a front-firing sub...does that mean that the bass sound comes into the floor or out the front?

 

[CyberTron]

I cant speak for these but from all the research I've done, the AV-HTB setup kicks major ass. a number of review threads can be found including cnet itself, giving them an 8 i believe.

 

[hevnsnt]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: stoner87
Hey, I've got a set of those, too. Pretty nice stuff.

How do you do the wiring on these speakers? I've only used speakers with either RCA connections or minijack connections. The website said you can get banana plugs with them, which looks like a plug-in solution so you don't have to wire everything when you want to add different wiring.

I just used normal ol monster wire.. They have screw in plugs, so you strip 1/2" off the wire, and then just screw it in on the back of the speaker.

 

[huesmann]

To me, a sub is a sub is a sub. As long as it's got sufficient power, one sub sounds much like any other. Low-frequency sound doesn't vary all that much, compared to your mids and tweeters.

 

[austin316]

are the AV-HTB and the wood SX-HTB basically the same sounding speakers? just one has a wood finish?

 

[pulse8]

Originally posted by: mrrman
Keep in mind that these are low end speakers and without a sub they suck. I bought a set for a friend as he wanted CHEAP speakers. I would save up a buy better quality speakers if you want them to last. These are entry level in my mind.

KAIDO..if you want to buy decent audio equipment, then pass on this...not worth the $
My 1st set of Pioneer 6" 5 piece wall speakers sounded better than these and it costed about the same with a 8" sub woofer

Have you even heard these?

 

[exster]

These aren't bad speakers.

Some people had some great results with these speakers but someone stated that these were just cheap drivers in a cheap box, so YMMV.

Ideally, you should spend as much on the speakers as the rest of your HT system combined.

I personally swear by B&W loudspeakers and measure other speakers against that.

 

[VudooCrush]

I can also vouch for Fluance.. I bought the AV_HTB ( $199.00 set ) and they are excellent for the price. Everyone who comes over to my place is very impressed.