Customer Reviews

BIC AMERICA RTR-1530 15-Inch 3-Way Floor Standing Speaker (BIC AMERICA RTR1530)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned a pair of these Bics for over 5 years now and still continue to be in awe of them for the price I paid, ($90 a piece at the time). These speakers are a throwback to a time when the quality of a speaker was measured in how big and impressive it was in reproducing sound as close to a level of real life as possible. No downsizing going on here folks. These babies are open for business when placed in your room and need the space to do it. I refer to these speakers as old time for they have not been suckered in by the new fangled dwarfism that is prevalent in speaker systems these days. Somewhere in the late 80s most speaker manufacturers decided that people were more interested in speakers being heard than seen. So they greatly reduced their dimensions by separating the woofer by frequency and gave you two smaller ones and calling it better. The true audio enthusiast was never fooled. One 12" woofer can beat the time of two 6" imitations any time. And there has never been anything before or since that matches the pure earth shaking bass power of a 15" woofer. (To my knowledge the largest woofer ever offered in home speakers at any time). These bics have a 15" monster woofer that will leave your jaw agape. Though it is true that at times the protection system can kick in a little unexpectedly and cut your bass off, in all honesty it takes one hell of a walloping amount of volume versus bass to do them in. And be thankful for that in any event. In the old days when speakers this size and power were prevalent, protection circuits were something offered up in only very high end equipment, or not at all. Your woofer just sizzled and went silent during some heavy use and that was all she wrote 'till you installed a new one. Turning off your music even for a couple of seconds is enough to have you back in business with these bad boys. Appearance wise these speakers are very attractive for something that will take up so much of your floor, and very quality built. The grill material is very thick, and the cabinet is not some kind of ugly resin like a pair of Kerwin Vegas I owned, but 100% hard wood. Stained black to match anything.

Overall these speakers sound as crisp and clean from the treble all the way down below as any I have ever heard. And trust me, I have been around this stuff for a long time. Don't be fooled by the book shelf systems and such that are small and expensive but promise big sound. If you are one to demand big sound over being stylish, these speakers are made for you...

I have had these for 4 months and they are excellent in sound reproduction, the 15 inch bass woofer, produces nice bass, and most the time i dont even have to use my subwoofer at all. Very well constructed. Be sure to uderstand that the price is for only one speaker, Amazon shows a pair, but that price is for each one, not a pair, but still its a excellant buy, compared to higher name brands. Only con is that try to find a online store that uses Fed Ex, I had one speaker shipped by UPS and the carton was tore,and the top of the speaker had lite damage. The other speaker I bought to match I had shipped by Fed EX with no damage.Trick is to find a closer vender to you with less freight handling from mulitple trucks. Happy listening. You will be very happy.

I have an older amplifier that doesn't have a subwoofer output. I couldn't find any speakers locally that had 15" woofers like my orginal sonys (and sony doesn't make them any more). I did find some speakers with 12" woofers but they were cheap and I blew the midranges in 2 days.
Took a chance on these and have no regrets. The midranges and the tweeters are crisp and clear and the bass rocks the house. I love them so much that I have 4 of them for my right and left front channels. There is also protection built in to prevent damage when I get too wild.

These speakers are simply fantastic. The bass really does shake the house. Extremely clear mids and highs. I don't see the need for any other speakers if you have a pair of these bad mothers. If you want sheer, raw power then this is the speaker for you. For the price, it's phenomenal.

Just one tiny con. The cut-off protection sometimes kicks in before I can reach the ultimate level of sound. It's just a hair too senstive in my opinion. The good side to this is you could never blow out the elements, but I wish I could override it somehow.

I recieved mine for Xmas 2003 and they still sound as good as the day I hooked them up. I was thinking of geting another pair to hook up to my receiver but I wasn't sure if they were still being made. Low and behold here they are. I guess you make a fantastic product and it will stick around.

These speakers are decent. They do not hit the low notes (roughly less than 50hz) which is a let down, considering Cerwin Vega's 12" models can easily accomplish this. But, the notes the 15" woofers can hit are hit hard. The self resetting feature for the woofer is nice so you don't have to worry much about damaging them accidentally. If you are looking for speakers that provide deep bass, keep looking. I would recommend purchasing a sub woofer to compensate for the lack of "not hitting the low low notes."

these speakers really do sound good. low punchy bass with smooth midrange and detailed highs without being too bright. for the price paid you cannot go wrong with these speakers. they really do deliver!

I bought these to use in my home theater.
I have a front projection setup and have a very large screen and wanted the sound to match the size of the screen. These speakers did not let me down they are great. I use them for the front left and right of my 7.1 surround sound and I could not be happier. You really get that big movie theater feeling using these. I have also listened to some cd's and no matter how hard I push these speakers they come across smooth and clear. I can't beleive how much you get for such a low price.

I researched these speakers quite a bit before I bought them. I was unsure of whether to trust the reviews because all of them were praising these speakers. I chose to purchase them and take a chance. I received them in about 4 days and set them up immediately. I've got a 500 watt surround sound receiver (100 per channel). Honestly, these things were freaking awesome when I turned them on. The bass is very loud and deep. I had to sit and watch a couple of movies (Star Wars and Batman) to test them out. Simply amazing - makes you think that you're in the movie theater. You won't be disappointed in these speakers...

Pros: Good highs, decent midrange, combined with rich, solid bass to boot.I am using a pair of them for my front left and right speakers. These speakers provide heavy bass to movies, music, and even everyday t.v. watching.

And they really complement a powered subwoofer quite well. I use mine along side a 15" powered subwoofer and the sound from both of them is awe inspiring. I am very, very satisfied with these speakers. They sound great with music, shine with movies, and add depth to everyday T.V. watching.

Cons: Average effiency at around 90db per watt. Midrange is undersized at 4" which is too small to pair with a woofer this size. Midrange should have been around 5"-6.5" for better balance between mids and lows. Speakers have slim cabinets for a 15" woofer however they still are comparatively BIG and take up a substantial amount of space when compared to today's more conventional slim towers.

These speakers are fairly efficient and sound very good on lower power receivers(50-75 watts) but they will blow your socks off if given a little more power 100 watts or more. I can only imagine how these would sound if one were to run them on a high powered amp around 250 - 300 watts a channel pushing them to their full potential at their max 325 watts. Either way I am now a BIC fan for life.

i HAVE BOUGHT AND SOLD VINTAGE SPEAKERS FOR SOME YEARS NOW , AND HAVE BEEN ON THE LOOK OUT FOR A PAIR OF SPEAKERS THAT COULD RIVAL MY CERWIN-VEGA DX-9'S. NOW LET'S NOT FANTACIZE THAT THESE BIC'S CAN SURPASS THAT SOUND QUALITY BUT... BUT..BUT, THEY COME CLOSE , AND THE PRICE IS A FRACTION OF A NEW SET OF C-V'S WITH 15'S I PUT THESE UP AGAINST MANY OTHER SPEAKERS IN THE $1,00 RANGE AND WATCH MY FREINDS JAWS DROP WHEN I TELL THEM WHAT I PAID. BUY THESE SPEAKERS WITH CONFIDENCE AND THEN GRAB YOUR OLD DEEP PURPLE MADE IN JAPAN LP AND BE TRANSPORTED BACK IN TIME WHEN , THE SOUND OF METAL CRUSHING YOUR BRAIN PAN WAS CALLED ENTERTAINMENT!!