Fluance AV-938 Floorstanding Speakers
Fluance AV-938 Floorstanding Speakers
USER REVIEWS
[Sep 08, 2009]
shonuff68
Audio Enthusiast
I was looking for a decent speaker at a reasonable price. I searched several sites and ran across this company. I checked several reviews and thought I just might give them a try. Well I did, and could not believe the sound and the overall construction. I didn't mind the black finish because I wanted them to kind of blend in anyway. These speakers thump and the highs are crisp, I also bought the center channel,which adds a new dimension to my home theater system,contemplating the sub woofer now. |
[Sep 05, 2009]
Miguel
Audio Enthusiast
I am the type of person who likes to test out many speakers. After owning many type of speakers out there like Polk, Klipsch, JBL and even higher end models like B&W, Kef,Definitve Technology, Athena, Paradigm. I was very impressed with Fluance.AV-938. The performance was really good and it only cost me less than 300 dollars. The mids are good, the highs are very clear and crisp and the lows are pretty decent not too deep,but it picks up. I would definitely recommend this speaker to anyone. Fluance is not a white van speaker company they are very legit and make some real speakers. Trust me on this!! They are almost comparable to my B&W 800 series speakers. Call me nuts or crazy,but Fluance is serious business for the buck. |
[Mar 20, 2008]
ryan79
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
sound quality comparible to many of the brands that are two and three times more expensive.
Weakness:
center channel is a little weak, but it's worth the pricetag. other than that i don't have a complaint. I bought these speakers about a year and a half ago, I was a bit sceptical but I read nearly 200 good reviews. I think I only saw one complaint... these babies are almost flawless. I have av-938's in front the AV-SC center channel speaker and the av-f3 dynamic compact three way hi-fi speakers in the rear. I also bought 100 feet of 8 guage wire or 10 guage wire, can't remember which, but it looks like they only sell 12 guage now. Maybe it was 12? Mine was 100.00 for 100 feet. currently have them running on a Pioneer 7.1 surround receiver, and they sound phenominal! In my opinion they sound better with a sony 5.1 surround, but this is what I have now, so no worries. I went against the word of the gentleman from Fluance who suggested I not waste my money on hi-fi's for the back(because quality would be wasted) and go with the Bipolar Surrounds..I did this because at the time I planned on using them in a different room of the house. When they were hooked up by themselves, they sounded like their own set of surround sound speakers, they have a brilliant crisp sound, and surprisingly good amount of bass for such small woofers. Right now I have them hooked up to my surround in the rears, and I'm only running one set of wires to the rear, so they definitely are not getting used to their full potential, but still sound magnificent! The center channel can be a little flat, but I didn't expect a lot for $100.00, but it does the job better than most I've heard, and I just looked at their website and they're only 69.99, can't ask for a better deal than that. The av-938's sound great and offer up nice sound and bass mixture. I listen to a lot of jazz, as well as big band, and when you can hear ever beat, horn and bass note you know you've got some good speakers! I don't think I'll ever buy a different brand, they have nice customer service reps who are more worried about getting me the right product than making a larger sale, and they're very quick to respond when you email or call. I tell all of my friends about them now, because really nobody has ever heard of them. As far as I'm concerned you won't be dissapointed Customer Service AWESOME! Similar Products Used: JBL
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[Aug 20, 2005]
Owl256
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Price, good mids and highs, quality, looks.
Weakness:
Bass, crossover not set at best places, big and heavy. These speakers were purchased to be used in the inexpensive stereo setup in my bedroom. Initially I was not impressed by the sound, but I gave them time to break in and things got better. After about ten hours I analized the sound. The mids and highs are accurate and not exaggerated. When listening to vocals the speakers seem to vanish just leaving the sound. The quality of the higher frequency drivers seem to be very good for the cost of the speakers. What still does not impress me is the lower end of the speakers. The ten inch woofers do not push out as much low bass as I expected even though I have them bi-amped. The sound of the bass is murky and dark. I also think the crossovers on the woofers are way to high. If I was Fluance I would set the crossovers on the woofers at 150 hz put no crossovers on the 4" speakers and keep the tweeter where it is at. Nevertheless a sub kept at a low volume seems to keep me happy. The construction of the speaqkers is exceptional for the price. They are made of mdf, come with spikes, are bi-ampable, and come with high quality drivers. They are beautifull black monoliths a la 2001 space oddassy (Excuse my spelling). In all I think these speakers are great for the price but the bass section could be greatly improved. Similar Products Used: Yamaha Receiver Yamaha Sub Toshiba DVD Player |
[Jul 14, 2005]
the-good-servant
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Rich pleasant room filling sound, Great Bass with enough power (200w per channel Rotel 991)
Weakness:
Kind of a dull black finish but its not so bad. This is the reason for the 4 star review, sound quality is a 5! I've seen a few bad reviews on these on other sites by people whom do not even own them nor have they listened to them. I used these for 9 or months. The price seems to good to be true, but for $180 I thought I could throw them away if they sucked. I looked at polk, klipsch, paradigm and others priced much higher. Now obviously they are not B&W or dynaudio or macintosh! What they are is better sound quality than similar Klipsch or polk speakers but for a fraction of the cost. Why spend $600 - $800 for less clarity and a smaller soundstage. Fluance makes a superb speaker at an unbelievable price. Similar Products Used: paradigm, much time in listening rooms with the speakers listed in the summary above. |
[Jan 29, 2005]
mrjay223
Casual Listener
Strength:
Incredible sound for the price. Nice looking appearance. Solid build.
Weakness:
none in this price range Just had to do this review. Bought these speakers over a year ago. Did the research and went ahead and purchased. I also read from others that these speakers shined when biwiring/biamping. I'm not that versed, so never bothered to do this. The speakers sounded ok, but nothing spectacular, although very good for the price. Well, today I read an article and simply biwired the speakers using the b output from the receiver for one of the connectors after removing the bridge pieces. I fired up the system and all I can say is....WHOA!!! Extremely impressive difference. These speakers need to be biwired or biamped to be truly appreciated. I'm now using these for my music on one of my systems. If you have a pair of these, you've got to take the time and do this! Similar Products Used: Polk Audio RTi150 |
[Jan 20, 2005]
jrf83317
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Outstanding sound(Highs/Mids/Lows) Excellent construction Unbelievable price
Weakness:
need to be able to biwire the speaker to get the true sound I got an entire Fluance speaker package and have the SM-938s as my main speakers. I am very happy with this purchase and have impressed a lot of people with way more expensive setups. These speakers do require a good break in period (20 hrs) in order to come to life. These are biwired speakers and should really be biwired if you want to get the sound that is meant to come from them. I have a pioneer VSX D914K receiver which has a neat little feature of passive subwoofer out (option to have back surround speakers as subs ;-) )which I used to complete the biwire..... WOW is all I have to say. This made the biggest difference in the world, they sounded good before but now they sound great! The bass is very deep and tight. The people saying that an additional sub is needed need to try altering there setups. Construction build and quality is great and the shipping packaging is top notch. Fluance customer service is OUTSTANDING! I cannot remember the last time, if ever, that I have dealt with a customer service rep as responsive and friendly as this. I would recommend getting yourself a set of fluance speakers before you go and waste your money on the CRAP they have at best buy or circuit city or any store of that caliber. Trust me, you will thank me once you get these speakers. Similar Products Used: Sony Klipsch Infinity Polk Audio Bose MartinLogan |
[Nov 26, 2004]
vdubjb
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Narrow profile, repsonse, price!
Weakness:
Sensitivity is a bit on the low side Was very afraid that these were another "Theater Research" deal. I was pleasantly suprised. The cabinets are well braced, a bit of a hollow sond when you rap on the sides, but the other panesla re solid. The binding posts are vey robust and they are Biampable. They are fairly sensitive and I've had to adjust all my settings. They sound very good. For the money, they are an excellent buy. The low frequency crossover point is a bit high, but it seems to work. Similar Products Used: none |
[Apr 28, 2004]
kcantread
AudioPhile
Strength:
Great sound, tall enough to be at ear level, 5 way binding posts, fast delivery, great customer service, and these babies rock the house, too.
Weakness:
Heavy, and ominous looking (if you're into that), cumbersome to unbox but worth it once you have Like a lot of people who are hearing of Fluance for the first time, I was more than a bit nervous about purchasing the 938's, despite the insanely great reviews that Fluance speakers have been getting. I'm happy to report however, that everything from customer service to shipping was wonderful (ordered on a Friday, had them on Tuesday), and any concerns I had about the 938's have all but disappeared. Admittedly, I've only been using them for a few days, but here are some things to remember. They resemble the monolith from "2001" so if you're not into monolith-like speaker design, you should look elsewhere. They're heavy and arrive double boxed, so they take some work to remove, position, and set up. Fluance describes the 10" side firing woofers as subwoofers, but don't be concerned about too much bass if you're using a powered sub in concert with these. The side firing woofers don't get down as low as a subwoofer. Think of them as what they are. A pair of passive woofers, only arranged to be side firing instead of front firing. I bi-wired mine, though depending on your belief system as regards bi-wiring, you can do so or not. I do recommend you go the extra few bucks and get the 12 gauge wire and bananna plugs. I was warned by a few naysayers that using my Sony 100w amp wouldn't be enough given those passive side firing woofers. Fluance told me there were no negatives to buying these speaks, but they'd perhaps be more than I needed for my intimate home theater. Nothing to worry about though as both sound great, and when pushed, they rock out with no distoration. There's a review from someone here saying they hiss, but ignore that, no hissing except from my cat who didn't like the bass response and was disappointed to find that these tall monoliths can't double as scratching posts. As massive towers go, you won't find a better bargain than these. Similar Products Used: Bose cubes Yamaha subwoofer |
[Mar 22, 2004]
thequietroom
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
VERY SOLIDLY BUILT. VERY GOOD LOOKING AND SOUNDING. AND OF COURSE, AN EXTREME VALUE.
Weakness:
I HAD MONEY LEFT TO GO TO THE BAR AND DEVELOPE A HANGOVER I RECENTLY PURCHASED THE SM938/AVBP2/AVSC COMBINATION. I SUSPECTED >THAT I WOULD BE IMPRESSED WITH THE SERVICE AND THE PRODUCT AFTER READING >MANY REVIEWS ONLINE. I WAS OVERWHELMINGLY IMPRESSED WITH THEIR SERVICE >FROM THE START. THE PRODUCTS WERE VERY EASY TO ORDER, AND WAS SHIPPED >WITHIN 1 HR OF MY ORDER. THEY ARRIVED RIGHT ON TIME, AND IN PERFECT >CONDITION. THE PRICE/PERFORMANCE ON THESE SPEAKERS IS ASTRONOMICAL. >THESE ARE EXTREMELY WELL CRAFTED PRO AUDIO SPEAKERS AT VERY AFFORDABLE >PRICES. I WILL VIGOROUSLY RECOMMEND THEIR PRODUCTS TO ANYONE. THANK >YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FLUANCE |