GREAT DEAL IMPRESSIVE SOUND FULL RANGE AND SOLID BASS QUALITY COMPONENTS (considering $) SOLID CABINENTS (3/4" MDF)

not the best looking front port kinda ugly (the dv64 resolved) I wanted to hear the original 736's not a deal breaker....

For all of you that are considering the EFE crossover mod (I used to be one), do yourselves a favor and do it!! The transformation is well worth the money. I have a total of $290 into these speakers, where can you find a great pair of speakers for less than $300?? His re-build is not a simple change of a capacitor, he totally changes the crossover points and adds several components, coils, and resistors. Not a simple fix! The new sound is so much warmer, fuller, and I can now actually enjoy these speakers and listen to them. The dv-62clr-s center is also an amazing center channel, spend the $20 and have Ed fix as well. Matched timberance is important. You will not be dissapointed. There are a lot of speakers out there that do sound better, but you have to spend $800-1,200 to get even close to these after the modifications..... Contact ed, IT IS WORTH IT. efespkrs@aol.com

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Inexpensive, great sounding

none that i've found, although i'm no audiophile.

I purchased these speakers in February of 2001 (I know, took me a little while to get to writing the review). I'm a huge fan of techno music, and to me, the brightness of these speakers is wonderful. I normally have to crank the treble nearly as far as it goes to get the crispness and brightness that I desire. I've heard of Ed Frias' modification, and haven't had a chance to sit down and listen to an unmodified set vs a modified set. My brother did purchase the upgrade for his pair, and I've listened to them, but the difference is not as perceptible as I would have thought. Granted, I'm not listening to them side by side, but going from my home to his, I cannot tell an "immediate and shocking" difference. I will be dis-assembling my brothers speakers and measuring the modifications that Ed has performed on them, to see what this so-called "magic" is. I'll probably post pictures of the difference between them too.

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Polk, PSB

excellent speaker but overly or overtly bright. send the crossovers to ed frias or try to fix them yourself. (parts + 30-45 mins to do the pair)

mentioned above...if your mechanically challenged DEFINETLY send them to ED. (side not I have heard eds fixes on the 736 and on the dv52 and dv62 bookshelves.. definitely an improvement.) but the capacitor switch on the 736 and the ed fix does sound about the same.

well all i can say is that there isnt much to a ctossover. so changing the value of the capacitor DEFINETLY makes the difference. as far a 1mf or a 1.5 mf cap eliminates the highs.. the 736 has so much lobing that you will NOT loose any of the frequencies... Like mentioned somewhere else .. there isnt much you can do to change a crossover. change the values of the caps and resistors.. add zoebels and chokes.. or change the drivers elements (speakers).. There is no magic wand for these or any speakers.. If the ed frias fix were that great dont you think BIC would have paid him for the idea and modified there crossovers..also dropping the value of the cap.. (I have done this myself 2x to test the difference) does inhance the bass... it does not flatten the sound..UNLESS you didnt remove the old cap.. or havent soldered it in correctly... if you cant do that make a zoebel.. 1.25 each. and place it between the positive post of the speaker and the crossover. If you don't believe tis. Get a speaker building handbook.. anyone can make a 2/3 way crossover in 5 mins.

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many..currently using ar s-50 fronts wharedale em97 rears mission ds-77 centers (surround) and dahlquist 1500 sub and a good ole bic dv-62clr for my center channel.

Smooth, natural sounding mids and highs. Tight, articulate bass (even with the front bass port).

The only weaknesses I have found have been from poor amplification.

I wrote a review of these speakers after the Ed Frias modification back in May, (under sixtox) but have since then made many component changes in my system. Here is my story for those who are looking for just the right sound. Let me first say, these speakers can deliver. When I first bought these speakers back in 2000 I was driving them with a Denon AVR-1801. The speakers did not yet have the EFE mod, but they sounded O.K. driven by the Denon. The sound was nowhere near the quality neccessary for serious music listening, but they sounded good for HT. In March of 2001 I added an external 2 channel amp to the Denon, which improved the sound but there was still something missing, I could not just sit and listen to music with any enjoyment. I sent the crossovers to Ed in May and he did his magic. With the new crossovers installed there was a very noticeable improvement, but the sound I was looking for was just not there yet. In July I bought a used Harman Kardon PM665vxi integrated amp off ebay. Wow, I had found the sound I was looking for. Warm, yet detailed, tight bass, and very natural sounding mids and highs. The DV736 and PM665 team was a keeper, but I started to have problems with the amp. I took it to a repair shop, and started to use an HK3370 stereo amp for music. Once again I did not find enjoyment in serious music listening. The repair shop tried to fix the PM665 but failed, so I bought the new NAD C320BEE integrated amp. I am now very satisified with the sound. The NAD and DV736 team give me the sound I had been searching for. This review was meant to inform people that the DV736, with the mod performed by Ed Frias, can be a very satisfying speaker. Many times after the mod I had thought of upgrading my speakers, but all along it was my components that were the problem. During the period between acquiring the PM665 and the NAD C320BEE, I had made a couple of small changes to my system as well, such as adding an external DAC to my Denon DCM-370. This also made an improvement that was easily noticeable through the DV736 speakers. Now that Ed has experimented with the new DV64, there is a new speaker to replace the DV736 for those who enjoy serious music listening but cannot afford the high price tags. I highly recommend this route if money is tight, yet high quality sound is what you are looking for. It is also advisable to experiment with amplification.

Bass response, good looking speaker.

None.

I've been very happy with the 736's, playing both music and Dolby Digital / DTS movies through them. Good bass response (though a sub really is needed), clear, crisp highs, and they can get louder than I would want them to be anyway. All these folks blabbing about Ed must work for the guy, or have been recruited. I'm sure his mod probably does make them sound even better, but who needs it when they sound good already. Most of the tweeking can be done at the receiver level anyway. I'd highly recommend these. Nice looking too. Running these with a Denon 1801 receiver, Toshiba 2805 DVD/CD player and 8 gauge speaker cable.

Price!

Stock from the factory sound - fatiguing after long listening or at high volumes.

Many have E-mailed me asking how the new BIC DV-64 towers compare to the now discontinued DV-736 towers. The new DV-64 is a repackaged DV-736! BIC has eliminated the front port on the 736 and replaced it with dual 6 1/2" passive radiators, increasing the height of the speaker by 2 inches to 38 inches tall and extending the grill to just a couple of inches short of full length. The depth of the new 64 has also been decreased to 9 inches compared to 12 inches on the 736. The overall weight of the 64 is a few pounds lighter than the 736, obviously caused by the 3 inches cut off from the depth. Personally I thought the front port on the 736 was quite ugly and could have been covered with a longer grill. Now the grill on the 64 covers all drivers and looks nicer. Does the dual passive radiators on the new 64's sound better than the front port on the old 736's? In my opinion, yes! The bass may not go any lower but is definitely a little tighter. As for the overall sound quality? The DV-64 has the exact same crossover from its predecessor, so the overly bright thin sound is inherited in the new speaker. For those who desire the modification, it will be the same as for the 736. After spending some time listening to the newly modified DV-64, I was satisfied with the same smooth sound as the modified DV-736, but was pleasantly surprised with the tighter bass. BIC has another winner when modified, but straight from the factory plan on being fatigued after a little while of listening! Ed Frias EFE TECHNOLOGY EFESPKRS@aol.com

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DV-736 Towers

Can be a wonderful speaker with a modification. Strong low frequency response.

Mids and highs are shrill, harsh and over bearing. Most vocals sound like someone singing through a cardboard tube.

This is to clarify some of the reviewer's tricks to make these speakers listenalbe. First, as these come from the box, they are absolutely useless. They are overly bright in mids and highs. So much so, your ears will bleed and you'll become totally fatigued in 10 minutes or so. Secondly, the capacitor changeouts suggested here are also useless. Ed Frias (also mentioned here) rebuilds the crossovers. I have tried nearly every value of capacitor available in the OEM crossovers, and changing the caps DOES NOT IMPROVE THE RESPONSE! The speakers are still overly bright and harsh with most value capacitors, and with other values suddenly miss portions of the frequency range. I've heard speakers with Ed's mod done, and the difference is nothing short of a miracle. These speakers have great potential, but I can't imagine what B.I.C. has in mind by marketing them the way are. I have two pairs of these, and have played them side by side with several other comparable speaker systems. I've even compared them to bookshelf systems, and the B.I.C.'s sound like crap. If you own these or are interested, do yourself a favor. Rebuild, replace or send the crossovers to Ed. You won't believe the differenc. As it stands now, my B.I.C.'s have been shoved into a corner for over a year, and one of these days, I'll get around to sending them to Ed. They are indeed useless as they are.

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After the mod by Ed Frias the speakers sound natural. Many of the CDs in my collection feature piano, and before the mod these speakers did not do them justice. Now all instruments, and voices included, sound natural and non-fatiguing. Bass was always a strength with these speakers, but now the lows, mids, and highs are blend together.

None after the mod.

This review is for the BIC DV736 after being modified by Ed Frias. For almost two years I have owned these speakers and thought their sound was missing something. I wanted to replace a pair of old speakers but did not have the budget for audiophile sound. I found the DV736 for auction on ubid and bought them unheard. In order to make the speakers sound their best I had to run them as small in my pre/pro. Not because they did not have adequate bass, I think the problem was more the cutoff frequency being used between tweeter and woofer. The highs and the midrange just didn''''t sound natural. After the modification I would never consider running them as small again. These speakers were tranformed by Ed''''s magic. I can listen to these speakers for hours now, and not become tired of their sound. The treble has been tamed, and the midrange is more pronounced. Prior to the mod the treble and midrange sort of ran together. It''''s hard to explain. I would like to let anyone who cannot afford audiophile sound know that there is a way to get it at a budget price. I have not seen the speakers on ubid for awhile, but you can get them other places such as directly from Ed (with a more complete mod) or go to Yahoo! Shopping. If you buy the speakers yourself you simply send the crossovers to Ed for modification. The turn-around time was only a matter a days, but I live in California. Do yourself a favor and email Ed about his modifications to all the BIC speakers, his email is EFESPKRS@aol.com

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None

Price...

highs...

I just got the bic 736''s and I definately noticed the brightness of the speaker and I''m interested in the mod by Ed Frias. Would anyone mind telling me how I can get a hold of this famour Ed Frias??

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klipsch, jbl, yamaha...

below

below

This is something I think may be interesting that I found:

Let me clarify changing the capacitor like Raymond mentions
does fix this speaker. changing to a 1.5 cap sets the cross over of the tweeter at 2800 (originally it was around 1700)
this causes the brightness all 3 speakers are producing the 1700-3000 frequencies. changing to a 1.5 cap changes the lobing of frequencies to 2800-3000 this effectively flattens the sound.. of course there are other ways to do this if you are not handy with a soldering iron.. just make a zoebel and place it in between the positive line going into the tweeter. If you want to know more. get a speaker builders guide at any local library. As far as doing anything else to the crossovers..there isnt much else you can do..EXCEPT turn the 2 way speaker system into a 3-way system.. No real benefit. just a bit more freq. dedication for indivdual drivers. You may also want to buy better woofers than the oems. Parts express has 6.5 woofers from 19-39.. replace the lower or replace them both.. a much better product. Remember most manufacturers of loadspeakers put in the most cost effective units in their enclosures that will give them an EXCEPTABLE product.. not necessarily the best.
Final thought: there are only 3 ways to modify 2-way speakers.. changing values on the crossover, putting zoebels and chokes in the speaker leads, Or replacing the driver units themselves. Capacitors (to set crossover for the tweeter) are about a $1 (mylar caps (better) about $3) Resistors (to choke off the woofer) $1-$4. I dont know of any miracle that can be performed to make these speakers sound better. They are what they are. Get some books on speaker building before ever attempting to modify ANY LOUDSPEAKER!

just something I found interesting and actually (after getting a speaker building book from the library myself) makes sense

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none