Warm,detailed sound. Wide, deep, 3D soundstage. Exceptional imaging. Dual ports give deep, tight bass for a speaker this size. Solid cabinet construction made of 1/2" MDF, not cheap particle board found in sub $1000 speakers like Paradigm, B&W etc - eliminates cabinet resonance. Clear highs. Very real, and natural voicing! Superb midrange performance...midrange should not be as good at this price! GREAT VALUE!!!

Looks, she ain't pretty. Size...might provide difficulty on smaller TV sets. Bass tends to boom a bit below 50 Hz like many other speakers below $1000. But if using the receiver's LFE cutoff and a sub, this goes away!

This is review 1 of 2 of the Extensively Modified BIC DV62CLRS bought from Ed Frias, my cousin and I each ordered 1, and at Ed's suggestion, gave them a thorough listening as “bookshelf” stereo speakers for a week next to my cousin Greg's Paradigm Monitor 5's so we could do some quick a/b switching. The Monitor 5 (v.3) sell for over $600 USD, and I would describe them as one of the better bookshelf speakers in the $500-$750 range I’ve heard. I must admit, we found this comparison quite surprising. Upon placing the BICs on 29” stands, we both had to admit that they looked a little odd compared to what we’re use to. It looks much better as a center channel placed horizontally than vertically, but it’s not an eyesore. We felt we’d best reserve our judgment for how they SOUND, because let’s face it, BIC is a virtual no-name brand to most people, with pretty average looks. Throwing in some classical music (the Deutsche Grammophon recording of "Carmina Burana", Gladiator, Rachmaninov Piano Concertos 2-4 etc) a few differences became immediately obvious. The Paradigms are just a tad bit brighter (which some may prefer) and a bit more airy. This lends itself to providing a bit more detail on some instruments, but becomes a bit scratchy and too harsh at times as well, a trade-off I’m not too fond of. The BICs don’t share the slight hissy sibilance in vocals that the Paradigms exhibit. Points earned there! I found the bass response of the DV62CLRS to be just as smooth, and even a bit tighter, though perhaps not quite having the same bottom end extension. Compared to the BICs the Paradigms seem to carry just a bit of "boom and sizzle" and didn't image quite as well (in truth, the BICs seemed to image almost as well as my $1200 Paradigm Studio 40’s!!!). The DV62CLRS had just as wide a soundstage as the Monitor 5’s but had a more distinct separation of instruments. This in my opinion was the most obvious difference, the Monitor 5’s have a reasonably wide soundstage and decent imaging, but compared to the BICs they lack depth and transparency. The midrange was warmer sounding and arguably a bit more natural in the BICs. The voicing on DV62CLRS is very well suited to music. I also found the DV62CLRS to be not quite as forward sounding, and I dare say a bit more pleasing for a lot of the female jazz singers I listen too than the Monitor 5’s, though some may prefer the punchy, forward sound of the Monitors 5’s for rock music. We played Diana Krall’s “Love Scenes” and “The Girl In the Other Room”, and a few Norah Jones CD’s we were familiar with to get a feel for the female vocals, and some good acoustic instruments. The Bics do well! One thing I noticed immediately was the Paradigms sounded relatively boxy, and you could definitely tell the music was coming from the speakers...the BICs had a tendency to "disappear" a bit more... If the Monitors 5’s had anything on the BIC DV62CLRS it would be efficiency and the ability to play ear-bleeding loud. The Monitor 5’s I believe would perform a little better in a very large room. The room we used is a spacious 20 X 18, and in a much larger room, I would probably recommend that people consider going with Ed Frias's Extensively Modified BIC DV64 towers, or the BIC DV62si’s and a good subwoofer. Given these subtle nuances, I can honestly say at $320 a pair, the “extensively modified” DV62CLRS is quite an impressive value, and a great performer as bookshelf speakers...and that’s not even what we purchased them for!!! Surprise, surprise!!! In a stereo setup, I would argue these easily match the performance, if not outperform the Monitor 5’s. This may reflect my personal taste for a slightly neutral to warm sounding speaker…the Paradigm’s certainly exhibit more brightness, and have a bit more bass extension. I’d still use a subwoofer for both speakers, so the bass becomes a moot point. Eliminating these slight differences, it’s impossible for me to say that the Monitor 5’s are really any better than the Extensively Modified BIC DV62CLRS, and given that the price for two extensively modified DV62CLRS speakers is about HALF that of the Paradigm Monitor 5's, I really feel the extensively modified DV62CLRS is one of the best kept secrets in the industry. These DV62CLRS are far beyond what I’ve come to expect from speakers in this price range. Sure, they’re not perfect, but they exceed expectations...For people looking at a decent set of speakers in the $400-$600 range, these would be perfect! These DO NOT sound like a $320 pair of speakers and rival many more costly models I’ve owned!! NOTE: I often believe reviewers compare with speakers they DON'T OWN! I personally have all the speakers named in this review, and will provid anyone PROOF via pictures to validate my claims!!! Just e-mail me. This review does not refer to the stock BIC DV62CLRS, just the EFE modified one! My hope is to prove these are real GIANT KILLERS!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Monitor 5's (v.3), Studio 20's and Studio 40's (v.2) Secondary stereo system in basement - Wharfedale Emerald 93's. Dining room system - Axiom M3Ti's.

Sound quality, well built and good looking,good price.

None that I have noticed yet.

Purchased this speaker back in August 04,from www.acousticsounddesign.com.Sounds better today, four months later.Price was right and unit looks and sounds good.Now I need to upgrade my front speakers to the quality of the center speaker. I will be purchasing the Bic America DV-64 tower speakers,which is a perfect match to the DV-62CLRS.I will also get these speakers from www.acousticsounddesign.com

Similar Products Used:

Sony,Marantz,Polk Audio

Loud, powerfull and costs next to nothing. The sound is truley flawless.

It's big, very big for a center channel. Measure twice to see if it will fit. (My wife still complains.)

Bought it based upon all the great reviews. It's big, but it sounds great. Lords of the Rings was very impressive. It really goes down low (indeed the manual specs 38Hz). I thought about getting the crossover mod, but decided against it. Check out GTX SlotCar's webpage and his thoughts about the DV62-CLR-S. I've never talked to him, but he seems to have done his BIC homework. http://www.slottweak.com/bic/bic.htm

Natural sounding Powerful

none

I ordered the Bic Dv26clr-s based on the reviews and I was not disappointed. The sound is dead on. I had to strain to hear the dialogue before and now I hear every minute detail. I had to lower the setting for the Bic as it was picking up the rustling of clothing as the actors walked and moved in X2. I don't want to take any chances and mess up these perfect speakers with any crossover modification as others have mentioned. Very pleased with purchase.

Playing jurrasic park III, the scene where the allisauris (SP) fights & defeats the t-rex with a NECK_KRUNCHING BITE! YOU CAN FEEL THE DEPTH OF THE ALLISAURIS'S JAWS SINKING INTO THE T-REX'S NECK!!! IT'S INCREDIBLE FOR A $100.00 CENTER SPEAKER!!!!

i'm sure that there are better sounding centers that disperse the sound much better than the bic america dv62clrs. however, after all of my testing, i'm convinced that one would have spend over 600 or 700 dollars to achieve the difference and i'm not entirely convinced that the difference would be day vs night...

I have spent over a year auditioning center speakers from a variety of brands for under $500.00. I received the dv62clrs on time, brand new and did A/B comparisons with a friend's $600.00 Phase tech center. I thought the bic dv62clrs was as good for $500.00 less!!! Although my friend believes the phase tech is warmer and more forgiving to the program source and not as bright as the bic center. While I may agree partly, for $500.00 less, I'll deal with the so-called shortcomings and wait for that 60-100 hours of burn-in time that will smooth out those difficulties.

Similar Products Used:

phase tech,polk,psb,paradigm,klh

Major bargin

Become a surround sound junkie and makes the dog bark.

Used the speaker a lot for 5 weeks and have been impressed enough to write a review. I have been fortunate to have BIC speakers for years (25). Being a relentless value shopper and also fortunate to find EFE Technology on this site to get the best value possible in sound reproduction. Listened to an unmodified 62clr-s and thought it was a touch bright and harsh but still good. Previously I had Ed Frias at EFE Tech (efespeakers@commspeed.com he moved to AZ) modify a pair of BIC DV62si speaker crossovers for me and was so impressed by the modification that I purchased his highly modified 62clr-s. Great value decission! You can buy these cheaper off the web, but the sound reproduction with this full modification is outstanding. This speaker is perfectly smooth through it's full range which is extended by the mod, clear, crisp with no sound coloration (except from the media employed). Voices sound full and natural from high to bass. This speaker gives additionl debth to my alredy large soundstage and enhances and works seamlessly with my other speakers. Somtimes I forget that I'm listenig to speakers and the sounds are so real that they are live and in my family room. I have actually looked arround many many times to see what that sound was. The dog is constantly fooled by them. The detail and clarity of sound brought a new demension to all media; movies,CDs DVDs, computer mp3s, music and singers and even my old vinyl collection became surprisingly renewed. Everyone who has heard my system is blown away by it and I didn't spend a lot. I cheaped out and spent the $160, what a bargin! All the other reviews are true. I plan to enjoy it for years to come. The biggest problem is that I have become even more of a music junkie and I think my 9 mo old 32" Sony HD TV isn't enough for the rest of the surround system. Also the dog barks more: at the sounds. I may add a better subwoofer than the JBL 1200 in the future but that will be a minor adjustment as it works well to 23Hrz. I use the BIC dv62si bookshelf speakers as surrounds which hardly touches their capabilities as they appear transparent when producing volums of sound and my anchient but still excellent Formula V as mains. The BIC dv62si could be used as mains with the 62clr-s center for an excellent budget system.

Power handling(175 watts),Build quality, wide freq. response, Price

Crossover mod a must. No high dollar nameplate.

This review is for the smaller DV62CLR-S speaker. I purchased this speaker to match my DV62si main speakers, which have had the crossovers modified by Ed Frias. Out of the box I would give this speaker 3.5 out of 5 stars. It exhibited the same brightness/harshness that my DV62's had before I sent the crossovers to EFE for modification. After the crossover fix the speaker sounded great and matched well across the front with the 62's. Voices are warm and natural sounding. Three of these across the front would sound awesome! The EFE mod. is $20.00, the speaker cost $82.00 delivered. What a steal!

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Opitmus/Realistic, Pioneer,

Price, Sound, Looks, it's a monster

None Yet

I read all the reviews on this site and based on what I read decided to give the DV62clrs a shot. The speaker was to replace my Sony SS-CN550H. The BIC speaker arrived in a timely manner and in great condition. I knew the speaker was going to be big but when I opened the box I was shocked, it was huge. It made my 50in Proscan look small. This speaker is great it's sound range is huge and gave great depth to my system. I dont know how but it make my rears come alive. Action movies with gun shots and car chases seem to come alive and the sound is more realistic compared to my old Sony. For the price you cant beat what you get.

Excellent and clear sound.Low price and brand new when buy at acousticsoundesign.

A bit heavy and was made in China. However, it is designed by US engineers,and China is improving their product quality lately.

Bought this center speaker last week from www.acousticsounddesign.com. Came in less than a week and in brandnew condition.Paid $99 for this. Hooked up to JVC A/V receiver and the sound is more than my expectation. Now, I happily heard many new sound in the DVD movies by using this speaker. The previous center speaker from famous name brand and much more expensive could not compare to this one which is cost much less and perform much more. Recommended to buy this speaker at acousticsoundesign.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, CambridgeSoundWork

Price, sound quality, looks.... did I mention price?

Needs adequate time to break in (if you can consider this a weakness)

Purchased this speaker new from a local independant dealer who gave me a great deal ($135 dollars including shipping!)and even better service (you can e-mail him at avallonebay@yahoo.com to pick one of these puppies up). I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical as to the probability of sub $200 center channel speaker reproducing sound even remotely acceptable by my standards but the BIC dv62slrs has made a believer out of me. Like some of the other reviewers have stated, I think that the speaker sounds very good out of the box but requires a decent degree of burn in time (60-100 hours) to really shine. I am using it for home theater only (for serious music listening I lock myself in a room with my martin logans) although it also performs very well musically in a 5 channel stereo configuration. So far it seems to compliment my phase technology pc series mains and surrounds quite well. Voice matching is a bit off but very close and again, after burn in, may not be an issue. The cabinet build is adequate (black laminate over 1/4" MDF) and I can detect no annoying structural resonances. The 3/4 inch ferro fluid cooled soft dome tweeter is crisp sounding adding extra articulation to the snaps, crackles and pops generated by the most demanding movie soundtracks and very rarely sounds too harsh. The 6 1/2" bass drivers emit gobs of tight accurate base (partly due to the two rear ports located directly behind each driver) and are very solidly constructed (I popped one of them out for a closer look and "suprise again" they incorporate high excursion cones with oversized magnets and a suprisingly high quality crossover network). I could see this speaker selling, easily for hundreds of dollars more (BIC has to be paying their employees in donuts or something). My advice is pick up one of these speakers, allow it enough time to break itself in and I promise you will not believe your ears. One of the best kept secrets in audio. My system: Marantz SR9000 (used as preamp) 3 carver TFM 25's amps(run bridged mono to mains and center- 360 watt each!) 2 rotel rb980bx (bridged mono to rears - 200 watts each) Phase technology pc3 center Phase technology pc9 tower mains Phase technology pc3 rears Hitachi 60" hight def monitor

Similar Products Used:

Phase tech, Lower end B&W and Boston Acoustics, Polk