Customer Reviews

Fluance SXHTB+ 5 Speaker Surround Sound Home Theater System

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Build Quality and sound. That's really your 1-2 punch here. For a speaker set in this price range (even if it was just a LR stereo set) there is no earthly reason you should be getting anything as well made as this. I was trying to set up an "upgradeable, but functional now" surround system, and figured this would be a good bet for a few years til I got the money for a better speaker set. After hoking everything up though, these speakers will be around for a minute. Absolutely gorgeous, bomb proof quality, gorgeous sound. You will be amazed these came for this price.

Only 2 Caveats though. You will, if not now, then eventually, want to add a matched Sub. The Bass is decent, but not up to Par with what most people will want. Secondly, be aware that the speakers are big, and heavy. These are not going to work with most Theater in a Box targeted surround stands, made for light plastic rear speakers. Also, your two towers are imposing enough to dwarf smaller TV's. just something to consider if you're in the high 20's, low 30's range or smaller.

Couldn't believe the sound right out of the box. I read in other reviews the speakers needed about 10 hours to break in, maybe but I couldn't tell the difference. I put the speakers through a series of tests, my own. Music was incredible, Supertramp, Telivision movies,OnDemand Fios,new Terminator movie and several DVDs both regular and Blu Ray. I have had many spears systems AR's, Bose, Panisonic, Marantz. I don't believe any other speakers sounded this good. I did buy a seperate Dayton 12" sub to fill in the bass. Now everything is smooth. I recieved the set in 2 days after ordering, of courde I only lve across the border, the speakers were double boxed and everything was in tip top shape when it arrived. by the way I'm running the speakers through a563 Yamaha Receiver.

I've had these speakers for 5 years and I guess it's long enough to give them a review. I was looking for a chea... inexpensive set of speakers to go with my (then new) Denon receiver. After days of research I figured that big brands do not sell anything of quality that cheap, but I found an unknown company that people seemed to like, Fluance. So I went to the website and bought these speakers. A few days later they came in nice double boxes.

The mains looked pretty sturdy. They have golden plated connectors on the back and can be doubled-wired (not that I think anyone will bother to do it).

After I hooked them up (and after a break-in period) they started producing very clear sound. Bass is obviously not very deep. But you cannot expect it and Fluance has a matching subwoofer now so it shouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately backs and especially center are much smaller and less powerful (minus one star). Sound from the center is not that great especially with music. I wish they put a bigger one in the package but after all it's reasonably Ok with movies so I'm still keeping it. Although, again, Fluance has a matching center speaker for sale (I guess it's part of their marketing strategy).

After four years of using them I'm thinking of buying a "brand name" speakers but I cannot convince myself to spend 10 times more money to get something that is only 10 percent better. People seem to think that Fluance are "white van" speakers and they're obviously not. I'm yet to find something in this price range that sounds even remotely that good. And you can always put a fake logo on them to show them off to your friends...

My current rig as of 1/2011:
-Fluance SXHTB+
-JBL ES250PBK 400-Watt High-Powered 12-Inch Subwoofer
-Harman Kardon AVR 2600 Receiver
-PlayStation 3 using 1.4a HDMI cables from Amazon on Linear PCM settings(not MonsterRipOffs)

I went from Infinity TSS-750 series satellite speakers to these Fluance speakers, and I have to say, they're simply amazing. I can't really compare to any other bookshelf speakers, only satellite speakers. However, I have heard speakers like these in the store and frankly, I couldn't tell you the difference between these and Polk audio.

As for shipping, Fluance is a smaller company and you can only buy the speakers from them, so I was expecting a long wait time. Shipping from Canada (I assume, since they're based there), my speakers were there by the end of the week after ordering on a Monday. I considered that to be speedy delivery. Before ordering though, I did have to wait for several months because they were out of stock, but I wasn't ready to buy then anyway.

What's included are two bookshelf speakers, a center, and two rear/sides (whichever you prefer). On Fluance's website, you can order two more speakers for complete 7.1 audio for $39.99 a speaker. The picture doesn't do them justice. I was going to actually paint the speakers black, as I hate "wood" looking furniture, but these are a bit darker than the picture advertises them to be. They actually blend pretty well with darker furniture. This comes from my wife as well, who didn't want to buy these just because she hates the wood look. But she instantly liked the darker color they arrived in.

Setting these suckers up was a little new to me. Again, I never had bookshelf speakers before, so I didn't know I needed to have two wires per speaker, but I guess I should have figured that out. After I got them setup, my receiver did all the work as far as configuring them, with me tweaking them a bit.

Now, I bought the subwoofer mentioned above at the exact same time. That sucker is huge, and packs a nice punch. But after the first day, I turned it off so I could play games at night, and really, I haven't used the subwoofer hardly since. My Blu-rays and games manage to boom at the appropriate moments, without the subwoofer. Often times, I felt like I was using my old subwoofer for bass, just from the speakers. They're not going to rattle windows, and tear down the roof, but they're great if you don't want to be too loud because of neighbors/sleeping wife.

The price, the quality, and the look is perfect. If someone broke in my house and robbed me blind, I wouldn't think twice about buying these again. At $299 (plus about $80 shipping), these really feel like a steal. Everyone that has heard them has been greatly impressed, and I feel if you're planning on getting a Polk audio set, consider Fluance as a superior product than them since they sound the exact same and cost way less.

To begin, these speakers are better-built than a lot of "fine furniture". The joints are solid, and the laminate is well-nigh perfect. I'm not overly
fond of the color, but that's subjective. The weight alone indicates some-
thing more than cheap crap. Sound-wise, the big towers are very pleasing -
maybe a tinge of brightness, but for home-theater I find that to be a plus.
The midrange is clean & detailed. What surprised me the most was the bass-
it's actually quite satisfying. The bottom octave is missing,but above
that, everything comes through just fine. The center channel does a good job on dialogue, certainly better than some others I've heard that cost more than this whole system. The same can be said for the rears. All told, I consider this to be one of my better purchases. Now I'm curious
to try Fluance's separate center-channel & bipolar rears. We'll see.

Quality well built product, cabinets do not have a cheap appearance to them. Shipment was fast and damage free, speakers were double boxed not something you usually see. After seeing these speakers I want to order a subwoofer when available to go with them. Using them in a 5.1 surround system. I may also order two additional rear speakers to put away so if I decide to go 7.1 they will all match. A great value for your money.

The speakers came well packaged. They sound great. Later I will be adding their sub since these speakers have turned out so good.

This speaker set is the best quality and best looking set of speakers I have ever purchased. With the price being affordable, I was able to purchase a Sub to go with the set. I have had this set for over a year now and I still feel they are of better quality than any store bought brand. With the ability to double wire each speaker, I can provide more power to the speakers and thus there is more sound definition. I will buy Fluance for my speakers from now on.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical purchasing these speakers. Trying to get any quality from speakers that are less than $400 is unheard of. Well, I received them within 2 days of shipment and in perfect condition. I immediately hooked them up not expecting much but OMG what a joy to listen to CD's I haven't listened to in over 2 decades. I stopped listening because I thought my receiver was just bad until I realized my other speakers were just not enough and I paid a ton of money for them years and years ago. My receiver does not go into overload when I blast the volume as with my older speakers which were supposedly stronger than these. So now I am for the first time happy with my surround sound system and I can't wait to watch all my movies again listening to them with quality sound. My Pink Floyd, Elton John, and many other cd's sound unbelievable. You can't go wrong with these guys. Thank you Fluance and thank you Amazon for a perfect transaction.

I bought it a couple of months ago after reading all the good reviews. My expectation was probably too high for the price. Just so so sound quality that you can get from auto speakers. Again, not terribly bad considering money, but if you want nice home theater quality, I recommend investing a little bit more and go to other speaker sets.