Review Details

Reference Series High Performance Three-way Floorstanding Loudspeakers

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on November 20, 2015):

Through the decades, I have had quite a succession of high-end stereo speakers, too numerous to mention. In the early 1990s, I chose a pair of Speakerlab 7s for my main system and greatly enjoyed them until one more interstate move was imminent, and I decided to finally sell them for various reasons. After settling down, I set about replacing them and listened to several attractive candidates (some of them very pricey), read a lot of reviews and consulted friends more knowledgeable in recent choices. I heard and read many good things about the Fluance XL7Fs and decided to order a pair: given the price and the return option this seemed a fairly low-risk way to go.The speakers arrived in record time. Packaging (double-boxed with Styrofoam padding) was great, everything in perfect order. The speakers are quite pleasing to the eye and appear to be well made, right down to the mighty gold-plated (?) connections on the back and the commendable spikes to be attached to the bottoms. The hookup to my Carver Sunfire pre-amp and power amplifier was a cinch. Fluance (in the skimpy flyer enclosed with the speakers) recommends a break-in period of only 10 hours - perhaps somewhat unrealistically. I played the speakers at moderate to reasonable levels of orchestral (classical CDs and DVDs, some movies) music during the break-in time and beyond, then ventured to a somewhat higher volume and pieces including the human voice, both solo and in choral settings. Needless to say: the Carver amp has no trouble driving the speakers to fairly loud levels with the volume control still below the one-fourth mark. I figured out that the Fluances sound best about a foot away from the wall: this gives them plenty of room to breathe, but I am still experimenting a bit with speaker placement and my optimal listening position - for now I am satisfied with a roughly equidistant 6-feet+ triangle.As to the sound, the Fluances - after the initial break-in time - are absolutely amazing and seem to be getting better every day. The tweeters have settled in and are sounding both crystal clear and sweet: no small feat for any tweeter. There appears to be a very slight boost in the upper and lower midrange, favoring woodwinds, brass and timpani. The deep bass is truly impressive, no doubt due to the down-firing woofers, never diffuse and always focused. With these speakers, you won't need a subwoofer unless you have a surround/movie setup and crave special effects. All in all, the Fluances are detailed, transparent, even analytical speakers and, at the same time, highly musical in their reproduction and integration of complex orchestral textures. Instrumental groups and solos shine out without any undue spotlighting. Be forewarned: they are not forgiving (as inferior speakers are by default) to poor recordings -- you hear precisely what is there, even the slightest acoustic glitches on recent Blu-ray DVDs. These are wonderful speakers, regardless of their price, which easily outclass some of the "big" names. I could go on with my praise, but I'll cut it short. Hearing is believing. In case you are still sitting on the fence, do go ahead and get them while you can! -Verified purchase from Fluance trusted store.