Review Details

Signature HiFi 2-Way Center Channel Speaker

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on August 9, 2016):

We recently moved into a new home (at least new for us). The prior owners already had the home wired for a surround sound system with 5 speakers placed in the ceiling. The speakers are Speakercraft in the front and Jamos in the rear. I was not pleased with the sound of the ceiling speakers - they tended to sound "tinny" (lacked lower frequencies), had to be driven at higher volumes to fill the room with sound and were a little unnatural (the center speaker was in the middle of the room; however, the TV was placed to the right). Moreover, if one was in the bedroom upstairs - one could hear the TV speakers playing through the floor.

To improve the sound, I decided to purchase a subwoofer and a new central channel speaker. With respect to the center channel, I auditioned B&W, Polk, Klipsch, Martin Logan and Definitive Technology. The B&Ws far and away sounded the best; however, they were priced to match. The others really weren't terribly exciting. After doing some research - I looked at some internet brands - ELAC, Micca and Fluance. I had just purchased the ELAC subwoofer; however, the Center speaker was sold out for several months. The Fluance Signature seemed to follow a similar philosophy to the B&Ws - kevlar (aramid) drivers (in yellow no less); solid construction to reduce resonance and big magnets in the tweeters. I ordered the Fluance center channel and it has completely transformed the sound of my home theater. The "tinniness" is completely gone, stereo imaging has dramatically improved and voices sound more natural. I really hear the difference in female vocalists (Diana Krall sounded like she was sucking on helium with the in-ceiling speakers), pianos and acoustic guitars. Since I placed the speaker under the TV, the dialogue now sounds like it is coming from the right place. Moreover, the center channel speaker and the sub-woofer work well together and there is no missing frequency.

I can't perform an A/B comparison between the B&Ws and Fluance; however, I don't think I would notice much of a difference in my house given the "mongrel" assortment of speakers, furniture placement, hard flooring surfaces, etc. My wallet certainly feels the difference - I was able to purchase a new Apple TV 4, the Fluance Center Speaker and the ELAC subwoofer for less than the price of the B&W center speaker. -Verified Store