B.I.C. America DV736 Floorstanding Speakers

B.I.C. America DV736 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

The slim profile DV736 towers deliver identical performance to the DV62CLR center channel, but with much deeper bass in a new tower speaker design. Dual 6 1/2" poly/graphite woofers handle the bass & the lower midrange, while the 3/4" soft dome tweeter delivers silky, airy treble. Available in black.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 11-20 of 24  
[Jul 17, 2001]
sidamo
Audio Enthusiast

Wayne is correct when he says these speakers are harsh right out of the box. I have been listening to these speakers for almost a year now, and they are no longer harsh. A close friend of mine has an older pair (probably 3-4 years old) of Paradigm floor standing speakers and the BICs compare very favorably to these. I have the V736s on the rubber feet (spikes I guess you could call them) and sitting on a ceramic patio block. Sitting the speakers directly on carpet, with spikes or not, will make them sound harsh and fatiguing. The patio block may be decoupling the speakers from the floor, I don't know, but it sure makes a difference.

I still plan to look into the Ed Frias mod, but for now these speakers suit me just fine.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 05, 2001]
sidamo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

clean, tight bass. Can be a little bright, but this has alot to do with the recording

Weakness:

none for the price

I decided to ditch the Bose and order a pair of BIC DV736 speakers. While these may not be audiophile quality, they sound too good for the price uBid is selling them for. The bass response for two 6.5" woofers is amazing. Tight and very detailed. I can see how one of the reviewers complained of the highs right out of the box, they are a bit harsh, but in my experience they smoothed out after a couple of weeks. I would also be interested in the Ed Frias mod, as long as it does not affect the bass response too much. A little toning down of the highs would be acceptable, but as they are now this speaker is well worth the money. The recording itself has alot to do with the sound that finally reaches your ears. These speakers make a good recording sound good, and a bad one sound bad. If you are looking for inexpensive speakers and quality of sound matters, give these a try. BIC is known for making a good product at a low price, and their customer service is top-notch. They will answer any questions you have about their products.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 601

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 18, 2001]
Doug Loethen
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Low price, build quality. Good sound before modified. EXCELLENT sound after modified.

Weakness:

None after the modification. Definitely bright unmodified.

When I first got these I was very impressed with the sound quality but was afraid that I pushed them too hard too early and somehow blew the tweeters because of their harshness. After reading more about them on this website I realized that I didn't damage them, it was just the speakers themselves. I read NUMEROUS reviews of other BIC speakers and the modification that Ed Frias had made. EVERYBODY was pleased with the mod so I decided to take the plunge and send Ed my crossovers.

I just got them back today and I am VERY pleased with the result. When people say they are much more balanced after the mod now they are not kidding. Previously I was powering these with a Technics amp and using an equalizer to achieve the sound I desired. While I was waiting to get the crossovers back from Ed I invested in a Yamaha HTR-5460 (identical to the RXV-620) home theater receiver. Maybe it's a combination of both the new receiver and Ed's modification but these sound awesome now. They were good before but I'm noticing a substantial improvement.

If you have these speakers unmodified do yourself a favor and contact Ed. He charged $80 to modify these and $15 for my DV53CLR center channel speaker. (Haven't got to test it yet but I'm sure the sound will also be much improved). Yes, the modification for the DV736's costs more than some of the other speakers but in my humble opinion its worth it.

My system:
Yamaha HTR-5460 (got it for only $350 brand new, what a deal)
BIC DV736's main
BIC DV53CLR center
DCM OW-1's rear
Jensen JS1000A sub (yeah, I know, Jensen? Got it for only $49 on ubid though so I can't complain)
Toshiba SD-2700 DVD player
Sony 35" TV

Similar Products Used:

Acoustic Research SRT-170 (great sound but lacking bass), Cerwin vega 250SE (CV speakers blow, I'm glad I unloaded these)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 23, 2001]
Ray
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

a Good speaker before any modifications

Weakness:

Not a Audiophile speaker by any stretch..modest bass.. tweeter is very shrill out of the box

Like everyone else commented on it is a speaker that needs a fix (a do it yourselfer to boot) I found the speaker out of the box absolutely horrible.. like an am radio speaker in a 63 chevy. After about 6 hrs of progressive jazz at a moderate volume.. the beast was tamed.. now at this point the sound better than the bose 401.. but those tweeters!..
This is what you need to fix the things, like mentioned elsewhere about a bic fix. open up the back panel where the speaker wire screws in at.. pull the section out and look at the cross over. It has in it a 2.7 uF capacitor.... this is what you need to replace.. get a 1.5 uF/100v non-polorized capacitor and replace the 2.7. put the thing back together... WOW A NEW SPEAKER.. MORE BASS and the tweeter settles right down.. I dont know if this is the ed fix but for 39 cents a cap. Its like the whole speaker, sound flattens right out.. I have a set of Warfedale MFM-5s and i really cant tell much of a difference.. warfs have more bass than even the modded Bics and a bigger price tag to boot.. but thats about it.

Similar Products Used:

bose 401 301 201

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 10, 2002]
SHAWN
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

looks good great buy

Weakness:

none

get the tweak, you wont regret it.

Similar Products Used:

klipsch

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 27, 2001]
Andy Ray
Audiophile

Strength:

Sharp and clean sound after Ed Frias modification.

Weakness:

Throttled sound amost noise before crossover modificatoin.

I have owned these speakers for about 7 months now. Off the box they did not sound all that good but given the price ($49 a piece from ubid) I did not have a whole lot to complain. The sound was rather throttled as if it hasn’t warmed up properly enough – especially the highs. I read through all these reviews and decided to send the crossovers over to Ed. Yesterday I got them back modified and hooked them up last evening. Wow - what a difference that makes. They are not the same speakers any more. My cds seem to have more music to offer now, qualitatively speaking. The highs and the mids are crisp and clear. Tested out with ‘Speak No Evil’ (Wayne Shorter) and ‘Two Against Nature’ (Steely Dan). They both sounded so different from the way they used to. Mind you ‘Speak….’ is cut out of an old master. Yet it sounded so much better defined – cymbals sounded sharper and the chops are much more lively. I guess I’ll have to listen to all my albums once again for this newly built crossovers – to gather the new dimension that it is offering now. For anyone with an ‘untweaked’ BIC 736, Ed Frias modification is a must. As far as I am concerned it is more than just a tweak it has brought life to my music. Thanks Ed.

Similar Products Used:

The only product used before that are Wharfedale diamnond 7.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 28, 2001]
L Steere
Casual Listener

Strength:

Impressively tight sounding bass - especially for a ported design. Great BIC service! Low cost.

Weakness:

Harsh sounding out-of-the-box

I agree with all the other reviewers here. These speakers are overly bright and unnatural sounding before Ed Frias works his magic on them, but unbelievably good sounding after!

I've never cared for ported speakers since they seem to always have boomy nasty-sounding bass. But the BIC 736, though it is a ported design, is noted for its wonderfully smooth, tight-sounding bass.

As for the mids and highs...they sound absolutely fantastic after Ed works his magic on them - very warm, and natural, blending perfectly with the 736s superior bass. I really love these speakers!

In case you were wondering...Ed Frias "tweek" is more than just a simple adjustment. He pretty much completely rebuilds the crossover and the resulting sound quality is well worth the cost!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 07, 2001]
Yev
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price, drivers, build, sound after mod

Weakness:

Sound before modifications

Recently I decided to let Ed Frias modify crossovers in my DV736 towers. I tested them out yesterday. The difference is very noticeable - the missing frequencies are back and more. I don't notice gaps and jumps in sound. My towers don't irritate my ear any more. Perfect. My tower speakers sound much more articulate now and they match perfectly my DV62CLR center. If you have DV736 and you are disappointed with the sound - contact Ed.

Previously I had MFM-5 for several months. They sounded very good after I broke them in. However, they sounded somewhat different from my BIC center - my friends couldn't hear the difference, but I could. I wanted to achieve a perfect blend of all speakers in my system, so I bought DV736.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale MFM-5

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 06, 2001]
Moe
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

warm and smooth

Weakness:

harsh out of the box

I have owned these speakers for about 8 months now. I didnt think they sounded bad out of the box. After reading so much on the Ed Frias tweak, I decided to go ahead and do it. I just got the crossovers back yesterday and hooked them up right away. WOW what a difference. They were smooth and warm and brought my music to life. I can now hear what everyone is talking about. The tweak is worth the money. I highly recommend it. Thanks Ed.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 03, 2001]
Moe
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

They look great, very dynamic

Weakness:

A bit bright at times

I've had these speakers for a few weeks. I think these sound great out of the box. They can be a bit harsh at times but I dont think they are as bad as the first reviewer mentioned. I will get the Ed Tweak although, because if it makes as big a difference as everyone says, its worth it. All in all, these speakers rock and for the price, the best buy in speakers. BIC puts out quality products at a great price. I would recomend these to anyone on a budget.

Similar Products Used:

BIC, RTR, BOSE, KLIPSCH

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 11-20 of 24  

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