Fluance SX6 Speakers - Opinions and Alternatives for aprox $100
Sep 13, 2014 at 10:48 PM Post #16 of 28
No doubt. You can take your own source material, but that doesn't help much. Have you ever looked closely at how they have all their electronics wired up through their speaker switching system? Yuck! And then I wonder about their receiver configuration. Since they have everything setup for listening to a subwoofer, do all the speakers have a crossover set? Do they have the speakers EQd or tone controls applied? LOL

BestBuy carries the Polk TSx series. Polk typically has made slight variations of their same speaker line: Polk Monitor, Polk Monitor II, Polk TSi. The differences are mostly cosmetic. I think the TSx may be the same in that line (not sure).
 
Sep 13, 2014 at 10:55 PM Post #17 of 28
I just found some Infinity P143 speakers for around $65/pair from Amazon.  Only drawback would be I would have to pay return shipping if I didn't like them.  Normally $65 each, so about 1/2 MSRP.
 
Sep 14, 2014 at 11:50 AM Post #19 of 28
Exactly. That's the whole point. Would you invest all your life savings in a company because of what one guy says on his YouTube channel? Or would you be better to invest your life savings in a company that has been reviewed professionally? The former is certainly a much, much riskier proposition.

For instance, you can find people on the Internet swearing up and down that Bose Acoustimass speakers are the greatest things ever. Yet consistently, when people are asked to compare them to other comparably priced top speaker sets, most people will find that the Bose don't sound as good--by a significant margin. Yet, there is always that rare person that likes the Bose better. For all you know, only 1 in 50 people would prefer the Fluance to the Pioneers, and that guy on his YouTube channel is that one person.

So I'm not saying the Fluance are bad. I'm saying that there's not enough evidence to support that they are as good as that guy claims. Might be/might not. But I guess if you like to go to the track and throw your money down on the long shot . . .
smily_headphones1.gif

He doesn't really seem all that incompetent (which is why i give him so much credibility)
Check out a few of his guides. You might end up liking or agreeing with them.
http://www.reddit.com/r/zeos
 
 
http://tascam.com/product/dr-40/specifications/
(his mic)
 
Sep 14, 2014 at 12:47 PM Post #20 of 28
He doesn't really seem all that incompetent (which is why i give him so much credibility)
Check out a few of his guides. You might end up liking or agreeing with them.
http://www.reddit.com/r/zeos


I think you have a fan boy crush :wink:

Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people buy speakers and subs over at AVS Forum, and have even written a speaker FAQ myself (all but the surround section, #6). If one of the AVS members over there that I know and respect said Speaker A is better than Speaker B in what looks to be the same class of speaker, I would still doubt it until we had many more comparisons come in. Personal listening tastes make too much of a difference. Room & placement makes too much of a difference. So even if your boy likes the Fluance better than the Pioneer, that does not mean that most people will for most uses. It only suggests that they might be equivalent in class. Particularly given Audioholics reviews of both speaker model series.

BTW: Your boy is wrong. .1 is a channel with movies and other multichannel audio. And his explanation of room correction software is a bit lame. Room correction software will almost always improve the frequency response of a speaker set by smoothing it, whether or not the listener prefers that. And it doesn't measure distance; the software measures delay and corrects for that. They just express the concept as distant (which is why you should never override it just because the distance seems off). The receiver brand explanation is rather lame, too. There are other things I would correct in that guide page--seems like the writing of someone who has been trying to assimilate all that they have read, but hasn't quite groked it all yet.

In fact, he seems to be trying to make a name for himself really, really hard to the extent of being a bit of an overachiever who is probably over reaching a bit. All of his guides are from this year (except one). And all of his YouTube reviews are from this year. Maybe in a few years I'll be more enamored of him like you are (lol)
 
Sep 14, 2014 at 1:10 PM Post #21 of 28
I think you have a fan boy crush
wink.gif


Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people buy speakers and subs over at AVS Forum, and have even written a speaker FAQ myself (all but the surround section, #6). If one of the AVS members over there that I know and respect said Speaker A is better than Speaker B in what looks to be the same class of speaker, I would still doubt it until we had many more comparisons come in. Personal listening tastes make too much of a difference. Room & placement makes too much of a difference. So even if your boy likes the Fluance better than the Pioneer, that does not mean that most people will for most uses. It only suggests that they might be equivalent in class. Particularly given Audioholics reviews of both speaker model series.

BTW: Your boy is wrong. .1 is a channel with movies and other multichannel audio. And his explanation of room correction software is a bit lame. Room correction software will almost always improve the frequency response of a speaker set by smoothing it, whether or not the listener prefers that. And it doesn't measure distance; the software measures delay and corrects for that. They just express the concept as distant (which is why you should never override it just because the distance seems off). The receiver brand explanation is rather lame, too. There are other things I would correct in that guide page--seems like the writing of someone who has been trying to assimilate all that they have read, but hasn't quite groked it all yet.

In fact, he seems to be trying to make a name for himself really, really hard to the extent of being a bit of an overachiever who is probably over reaching a bit. All of his guides are from this year (except one). And all of his YouTube reviews are from this year. Maybe in a few years I'll be more enamored of him like you are (lol)


Ouch
I think we need a few people to buy both and return one to test a bit of his competence.
 
Sep 14, 2014 at 1:46 PM Post #22 of 28
I think we need a few people to buy both and return one to test a bit of his competence.


I would bet that they are similar in class, and that personal preference and specific use would be the deciding factor. Although the descriptions in Audioholics reviews does lean toward the Pioneer series perhaps having higher quality drivers and tweeters (note their comments on treble and mid accuracy), but that's just a guess.

For instance, here are the measurements of the Pioneers from Stereophile's review and notice how the bass is tuned differently between them and the SX6:



Black trace is the sum response.

And then here is what Fluance says for the SX6



The Pioneers look to have more linear bass response down to 70hz (probably the tuning point) and then sharply fall off from there. That's probably an intentional tuning design with the idea that one would cross them over with a sub at 80hz. The Fluance seem to start to roll off starting around 100hz (probably the tuning point), with a more gradual decrease in bass. So one person might like the Fluance for their deeper bass extension, although diminished output in the midbass. And someone else might like the stronger midbass output of the Pioneers. The Fluance could benefit from boundary gain below 70hz, where the Pioneers have already rolled off, so the Fluance could have a good bit more audible bass extension that would make them sound pretty linear if they are getting boosted by the room. On the other hand, the higher tuning point is a tradeoff. Speakers/subs exhibit much higher levels of distortion below their tuning point. So the Pioneers could easily sound cleaner in bass response from 70 to 100hz because of the tuning, assuming that the drivers are otherwise comparable in SQ.

Consequently, even if the drivers are similar quality, these speakers are setup differently such that one person could like one or the other better when it comes to bass response based on personal preference, and for that matter, someone might like one or the other better in different setups in one's own home.
 
Sep 16, 2014 at 5:27 PM Post #24 of 28
Well, I have heard the Pioneer BS22s and even in person they didn't sound as good as the Fluance SX6's did in the Youtube video so I have heard the Pioneers and was not impressed with the sound signature.
cel4145
Do you think you could get away with hearing the two videos and comparing the differences in sound?
He uses the same
Room
Speaker placement
Mic placement
Mic (tascam dr40 which is rated at 20-40khz +1db/-3db)
 
Sep 16, 2014 at 11:17 PM Post #25 of 28
cel4145
Do you think you could get away with hearing the two videos and comparing the differences in sound?


It would be like listening to both speakers through a heavy EQ filter, only you don't know how they have been EQd, and you also cannot judge the soundstage and imaging. I just don't what you can get out of it.
 
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:40 AM Post #26 of 28
interesting. i was set on the pioneers but also found zeos review of the fluances and they do seems pretty nice. read on amazon a guy changing out the woofer on them to some peerless woofers and said they sound alot better and matched well with the tweeter but its one guy talking like cel said not sure if i can trust his judgement but like the guy said on amazon the cabinet on the fluances are probably worth a good bit so it maybe worth a try.
http://www.parts-express.com/peerless-830860-5-1-4-ppb-cone-hds-woofer--264-1080
 
Sep 24, 2014 at 11:41 AM Post #27 of 28
this is the amazon review im talking about:

SIMPLE MODIFICATION: Many have complained about the brightness of the 5.25" mid-woofer and their is a simple fix that will upgrade this speaker to be as good as any in this size. Parts Express sells the Danish made Peerless HDS PPB woofer $41/ea and you only need to unscrew the speaker and unplug the woofer and attach speaker wire (light colour is hot and dark is the ground). Drop it in and it fits in the cut out. It takes a drill for four (not six) holes, use only the top and bottom screw holes. The driver is truncated frame and exposes a small amount of the finished wood on the top and bottom of the speaker. These are high end drivers and they mate perfectly with the silk dome and crossover. They are better than the Wharfedale Diamond 2.2 at near 1/2 the price. The boxes alone are worth $129, and this $82 plus shipping will make it a true audiophile speaker. I have permanently replace my Swan copies because of the beautiful bass and smooth highs.

First let me say the ten hour break in is bogus. It takes more like 20-30 hours of use at a higher than normal volume to get these stiff components loosened up. My original AR 3A speakers took over fifty before they smoothed out, so these aren't as bad as those. The sound is just now smoothing out, but the instrument separation is truly amazing. The extended highs are something more expensive speakers would be proud of. I'm using a classic AKAI hand built 30 watt/channel amp and it takes all of it's power when played at high level. These are not like today's amp and simply won't clip when giving up their power, and they never gave head room power in the early seventies. I have a DIY version of the original Swan M1 and I thought they were the best small speakers I've ever heard, but now I must reserve that opinion until these SX6's get a good hundred hours to be a bit more relaxed. I've read many reviews on several sites, and I can't for the life of me understand what these people are listening to. A few years ago they began using this new tweeter and I hope they continue to use it in the future. I really think these speakers would best be used as stand alone stereo speakers with no sub.
 
Sep 24, 2014 at 4:33 PM Post #28 of 28
interesting. i was set on the pioneers but also found zeos review of the fluances and they do seems pretty nice. read on amazon a guy changing out the woofer on them to some peerless woofers and said they sound alot better and matched well with the tweeter but its one guy talking like cel said not sure if i can trust his judgement but like the guy said on amazon the cabinet on the fluances are probably worth a good bit so it maybe worth a try.
http://www.parts-express.com/peerless-830860-5-1-4-ppb-cone-hds-woofer--264-1080


A tweeter, driver, and crossover are all matched, and the inner enclosure volume is designed to support them. So there is much more to speaker design than simply sticking a new driver in a cabinet.

That being said, you could put together your own speaker using vetted designs and components. There's a large speaker DIY community on the web :)
 

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