Review Details

Signature HiFi 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on November 6, 2016):

5 stars – Great value with excellent musical fidelity
We originally purchased the Signature tower floor speakers in February 2016 directly from Fluance, (as you can get a 10% discount buying direct from Fluance). This was prior to Fluance upgrading this speaker with a better crossover, which was done as of September, 2016. The upgraded crossover made a significant improvement to their sound. Initially we had mixed feelings about the sound, mainly involving the mid range, and we read about this issue on various forums. We contacted Fluance who assured us they were upgrading these Signatures, and they promised to upgrade our speakers at no cost to us when it was ready. They were true to their word, and we now have them back and they are indeed much improved. Please be aware that IF you are reading reviews about these speakers, you may be reading about the older models sold before September, 2016. Here are our findings on them now:
These Signature towers now sound quite nice with excellent overall musical fidelity. They present music in a balanced and neutral manner while maintaining enough excitement and clarity so that voices and instruments are clear and detailed enough to make it quite enjoyable. The sound stage is fairly wide, and the instruments are heard distinctly enough that it can almost sound live if the source material is good enough and you have them set up properly. You can hear subtle things, such as the ring of guitars, piano notes are natural sounding and music is never fatiguing or exaggerated. Details such as the wind and airiness of a flute, the strings of a violin, the snap of a snare drum and other instruments are distinct and natural sounding.
The lower end is good for tower speakers, nearly good enough to avoid a sub woofer if you are on a budget, (though a good sub woofer does improve things, especially with movies). The mids and highs are spacious and natural in tone. The overall musical detail is very nice, and even older analog recordings can sound very good. They do well with both music and movies, making movies exciting while keeping music natural enough to sound like it should without too much coloration or exaggeration.
We have noticed subtle details in music we did not hear before, even on fairly decent speakers. It makes you want to re-listen to your music collection. Somehow they are able to have a mellow and natural sound while maintaining good detail and excitement without exhibiting the usual drawbacks of some brighter speakers, such as unbalanced or fatiguing sound characteristics. They just sound “right”.
Another quality of these speakers is that they are beautiful in appearance. They fit in well in a living room environment if larger speakers are not an issue, but be warned, they are 4 feet tall. They also come with magnetic detachable grills, so you can easily show off the nice looking drivers if you wish. Some listeners prefer to have the grilles removed.
Like with real estate, location is important with any speaker, so experiment a bit with placement to get the best sound from them. I think they will sound best with the listener being at least 6 feet away from them. If you are in a small area they may be too close to disperse the sound to your ears properly. They need a little space to sound their best.
PROS: Very nice overall balanced sound with excellent musical fidelity, and a smooth response across the spectrum. They can also play very loud without distortion and handle power well. They do both movies/home theater and music equally well. They can also be bi-amped, (Delivering a separate signal to bass drivers and to the mid and tweeter section for possible improved sound). They are an excellent value at their price point. They have a 30 day in home listening trial period. Further, they have a life time warranty. They have good customer support, (as they updated our speakers for free after 8 months use). They are quite attractive. The magnetic grills are a nice touch, (despite a prior professional review stating they lacked grills). They seem to sound great with virtually anything thrown at them, and do well with both good source material and older analog recordings.
They can be used without a sub woofer, potentially saving you money.
CONS: These are minor, but worth noting. The magnetic grill can be easily knocked off if bumped hard, (such as a toddler ramming into them). The wiring terminals can be difficult for regular wiring due to the supplied jumpers being thick and the design of the terminals. I opted to just use my 12 gauge speaker wire to jump the terminals, which solves that issue and works fine. You can also use banana plugs, I just prefer bare wiring.
OVERALL: These Signature towers are a great value as they have really nice balanced sound with great musical fidelity. They are attractive and fit in well with most décor. They appear to have good build quality, and they have a life time warranty. They have enough punch and lower end to use without a sub woofer, though you may prefer a decent sub woofer with them. They really bring out good musical detail and seem to do almost everything well, (such as rock, classical, jazz, folk, pop, movies, etc). They are a good value at their price point. I think most people will be impressed with them. Happy listening.