FluanceSignature HiFi 2-Way Bookshelf Surround Sound Speakers for 2-Channel Stereo Listening or Home Theater System - Natural Walnut/Pair (HFSW)

I have owned thousands of dollars in stereo equipment in my life. IMHO these Fluance Signature Series are unrivaled for the price. The build quality is very nice. The enclosures offer a black lacquered front baffle that is very attractive displayed with or without the magnetic grills. The enclosures have rounded tapered sides that add a nice character. Most importantly the music reproduction is extremely accurate. I would consider these a flat response speaker. These speakers are definitely not boring. The midrange is very well defined and matched well to the highs and the bass response. I feel that for the money you will not find a speaker that competes with them. I have them paired with a 85 watt per channel Cambridge Audio Amp and I utilize an 8" Subwoofer that crosses over at 100hz.

Unbelievable detail and balance. These bookshelf speakers are as linear as you can get. They really come alive with a bit of volume. There's a fine line between needing power for these and exceeding the max excursion of the mid-driver. If you enjoy your music a bit louder, than I recommend a sub and pull back the bass from these. At lower listening volumes, a sub is not needed. Keep in mind these speaks need a break in period. When it comes to clarity, soundstage, detail, and distortion . These have the total package. They're also front ported so you can push them back against the wall if you have a smaller listening room like I do. They do very well with dialog so you don't need a center channel for movies.

For the money I don’t think you can find a better speaker. I have mine paired with B&W front speakers and they sound great.

These needed a short break in and some adjustment. I had some 14 gauge cable to start because my order for 12 gauge cable had not arrived yet. After I upgraded my DAC and cables these speakers came to life. Very nice sound detail I’m using them with a vintage Marantz receiver and they sound very good. Vinyl sounds rich and full when paired with an ART DJ Pre II preamp. They have descent bass but this is in my home office and I really don’t need that much bass right now. Plus you aren’t going to get much bass from a 5.25 woofer anyway. I think the bass is adequate. Thinking about a subwoofer later on. Very happy with this purchase and these speaker punch way above their price range. Especially when you look at the build quality and the styling. It’s hard to believe that these are 200 bucks. They fill the room with sound, have very nice clean sound detail and have a nice big sweet spot. The sound stage is excellent considering the price. Unless you are a snobby "audiophile" you will love these. I replaced $300 older speakers with these and I’m happy I did. Just get them before the prices go up.Update 11/1/2022: Added a small 8" subwoofer and WOW! I have pair of Definitive Technology speakers ($799.99ea.) in my main room and I swear these sound almost as good as the much more expensive ones, now that I have everything dialed in. Granted this is a much smaller room and I don't blast them. I can't imagine any speakers even at twice the price could sound better (maybe 3x as much would) needless to say I'm happy with this setup. I used to hate streaming music to my Airport Express but adding the DAC and these speakers with a budget sub have changed my mind. I'm listening to music much more now. I'm still a Vinyl lover though.

The past year or so I’ve been in the market for a new set of bookshelf speakers to use as my desktop monitors. I’m a Klipsch guy at heart and I’ve been searching for a pair of Heresy’s (currently have a pair La Scala’s as my mains in my living room, RB-81ii’ as surronds, the full RP-280F setup in my master bedrrom, RF-52’s in the garage, and had Cornwalls and Forte’s). Reality kicked in and I knew that the Heresy’s were just too big for my room and desk. So I decided to go for something smaller. I looked at the Sixes and the RP-160M’s. They were and still are getting rave reviews, but at close to $500 the RP’s and $800 for the Sixes (better prices on Ebay), it was a little out of reach at the moment, especially when holidays are right around the corner (it’s on my Christmas wish list: fingers crossed!).Out of the blue, after searching for affordable, budget minded bookshelves, I ran across Fluance, Elac, Pioneer’s Andrew Jones lineup, etc… The Fluance Signature Series piqued my interest, not only because of the great reviews it was getting, but because aesthetically, they look great! I finally came upon an open box set on Amazon for $149 shipped through Prime. What the hell right? What have I got to lose, if I don’t like them, I can always throw them in the garage or in the kitchen.When the package finally arrived, it was packed very well, double-boxed. No visible damage to the box itself, which was very surprising coming from UPS. Pulled the bookshelves out and they look great! Even better in person, especially with the grills off! That front glossy panel and the brushed aluminum tweeter housing and that yellow midrange, nice! Aesthetically, Fluance knocked it out of the ball park. The enclosure itself though left a little to be desired. Don’t quote me on this, but it feels like the cabinet was made out of 5/8” mdf. It just feels way too light for its size. I finally placed it on my desk, toed in towards the MLP and hooked it up to a Marantz NR1403 receiver. Fired up a few tracks I was familiar with, and the midrange immediately stood out. It was a little too hot, to the point where it sounded muffled, muddy and peaky; no matter the music choice, the midrange just didn’t sound right. Perhaps, it was because the cabinet didn’t have enough internal bracing and or the material used were not thick enough to help control the woofer. Either way, it’s very noticeable. The tweeter though, it’s nice; it’s smooth, laid back and somewhat airy. Turning the volume up, the tweeter shone right through, no harshness or peaks that I can tell. It’s just a very nice sound coming from the tweeter. It’s almost comparable to my car audio setup, which consists of a pair of Seas Lotus RT25A tweeters. Smooth, clean and airy.However, I knew I had to fix the midrange, so I opened up the EQ in Winamp and tweaked it a bit, ended up cutting a few db’s at 180hz, 320hz and 600hz. Everything else was left flat, and let me just say, after tweaking it, the midrange is now smoother. The muddiness and peaks disappeared and is now in tune with the tweeter, just an overall nice sound. Imaging on these are also very nice. For nearfield listening, these are pretty good! The vocals sound like it’s coming from dead center, right in front of you! Some tracks, the bookshelves themselves seem to disappear and the music seems like it’s coming at you, from behind the monitor. These don’t have much bass, but that’s what subwoofers are for. For $150, I don’t think these Fluance’s can be beat.All tracks played were .flac’s through Winamp, with a variety of music; rap, rock, pop, trance.