Review Details

Fluance HFF Signature Series Floorstanding Speakers Main

Average Customer Rating:

Rating:
89 % of 100

Signature HiFi 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers

Product Rating:

Product Rating
Overall Performance
80%

Product Review (submitted on May 28, 2017):

Let me begin by stating that I own the entire Fluance Signature Series speaker system. These towers completed my home theater, which also include the matching center, bookshelves and bipolar surrounds. I also own their entry level bipolar surrounds (the AVBP2s, used in a different setup) as well as their newly released AB40 soundbase. I’ve been quite pleased with the Fluance products overall – I’ve been giving them plenty of business over the past couple of years. And before I get to the meat of this review, I can report that Fluance’s customer service (well, really Circus World Displays’ customer service – Fluance is just one of their brands) is top-notch. I probably made 10 orders with them over the course of 18 months before I finally ran into a quality control issue, and that was with the AB40 soundbase, which arrived damaged. However, they quickly responded to my e-mail and I received a pristine replacement within days.And with that I’ll get my review. Once these arrived, it probably took me close to two hours to get these inside of my house and upstairs to my theater room as they are absolutely massive. But, that’s also with me doing all of the work as I didn’t have any help. The other setup issue (if you plan to buy these and have a go at these alone like I did), is the installation of the floor spikes. There was no installation documentation included, and while I was able to determine what needed to be done by handling them, it was really difficult – almost impossible for one person. What’s worse is, once I got them up and running, one of the speakers was defective, exhibiting loud pops & crackles coming from the midrange woofer even at low volumes. And this was not the crossover issue that plagued these speakers when they were initially released – this midrange speaker was just a lemon. Normally, this wouldn’t be that big a deal as long as you’ve got some experience with the company, but having to re-box one of these and find a way to get it to UPS to send it back was a real chore. But, with that said, once again, their customer service quickly responded to my e-mail, sent me a paid return shipping label (which, I think was nearly $80), and had my replacement on the way within a day or two. The replacement arrived pristine, just like the other one I had waiting in my theater room.The attractiveness of these speakers, given their enormous size, is pretty remarkable. The craftsmanship and build quality are very good – but the rest of the Fluance Signature Series speakers share these qualities, aside from size. You’ll definitely need plenty of space if you plan on purchasing these.I’ve learned to tame my initial expectations when it comes to auditioning Fluance speakers. They really do take some time to break in. I think this is generally true for most speakers, but in my experience, it’s more extreme with Fluance speakers. The Signature Series center, bookshelves, and bipolars all took at least 50 hours of airplay before I began to notice sonic improvement and those speakers really didn’t fully open up until nearly 100 hours. These floor speakers, however, didn’t take quite as long to break in. Initially, they weren’t bad, but the two 8-inch woofers were pretty stiff. So, I did what I’ve always done with their speakers – as I left for work each morning beginning on a Monday, I cued up a song in repeat mode and played it at moderately high volume until I returned home from work, about 10 hours of continuous play per day. By the end of the week, they were really sounding nice, perfect for my taste. I prefer a laid back, warm sounding speaker that can also provide a balanced midrange with some clean, airy highs that aren’t overly harsh or fatiguing. That’s exactly what these are to my ears.The rest of the Signature Series, in my opinion, is more suited for home theater than for music. However, these towers perform equally well with both and perhaps even better with two-channel music. I use these as my fronts in home theater, but also for my two-channel music (driven by a different amp) and they are definitely full-range speakers that have a nice soundstage. If they’re paired with some clean power, I think you’ll really enjoy these.The final thing I’ll mention is regarding the stock bi-wiring jumper that’s included with each speaker. There was nothing about the jumper that screamed “cheap” to me and I had been enjoying the sound of these for weeks with the stock jumpers. But I came across some quality jumpers on Amazon for $30 (for the set of four, two for each of these towers) and thought for that price, I’d take the chance. I hate to even admit that the replacement jumpers made any difference at all, because I never buy into snake oil like that. But…. they really, REALLY did make a considerable difference and this was after the break-in period. If you’re considering these Fluance towers and want to know which jumpers I purchased, just post a comment to my review and I’ll respond.I was close to giving these towers five stars, but I took away a star due to three factors: 1) The floor spikes are poorly designed, have no installation documentation, and are virtually impossible to install alone, especially if you’re anal (like me) when it comes to getting something completely level; 2) despite my praise for the Fluance customer service, the fact that I had endure the return process for a speaker this large was really a big headache; not only do you need help getting the speaker unboxed and then re-boxed, you have to find a way to transport it to a UPS location and you’ll need a truck or a van, neither of which I have; 3) the fact that replacing the stock jumpers made as a big a difference as it did makes me wonder about their attention to detail. I’m unsure if the stock jumpers are that bad, or if the replacements are just that good. Only time will tell.I can wholeheartedly recommend these speakers though. Be prepared to do some leg-work and have some patience when it comes to setup and break-in time. In the end, they are definitely worth it. And you can rest assured knowing that Fluance will take care of your concerns should issues arise. - Verified Store

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