Tower Speaker Reviews

Fluance XL7F Speaker System Test Bench

Test Bench

L/R Sensitivity: 86.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Center Sensitivity: 87 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Surround Sensitivity: 83.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

1013fluance.meas.jpg

This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the XL7F L/R (purple trace), XL7C center channel (green trace), and XL7S surround (red trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured with grilles at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.

The XL7F’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +2.76/–5.18 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3dB point is at 48 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 40 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 4.50 ohms at 135 Hz and a phase angle of +42.00 degrees at 700 Hz.

The XL7C’s listening-window response measures +2.66/–1.72 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses measures +2.88/–3.70 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3dB point is at 73 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 58 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 8.52 ohms at 186 Hz and a phase angle of –41.95 degrees at 111 Hz.

The XL7S’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +3.11/–2.16 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3dB point is at 58 Hz, and the –6dB point is at 49 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 8.35 ohms at 174 Hz and a phase angle of –34.84 degrees at 106 Hz. —MJP

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COMMENTS
eugovector's picture
Submitted by eugovector on October 13, 2013 - 9:40pm

Sure these look pretty, but they don't sound like they perform much better than the Pioneer's from Andrew Jones: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr-speaker-system

Are the pioneers, aesthetics aside, a better overall speaker or better value for half the price?

Brent Butterworth's picture
Submitted by Brent Butterworth on November 16, 2013 - 4:56pm
Hi, Eugovector. In my opinion, the Pioneers have better overall sound quality than the Fluance system, but the Fluance system plays louder and lower.
sukihock's picture
Submitted by sukihock on January 24, 2014 - 2:49pm

I've owned both and I like the Fluance more than the Pioneer's.

nkinsella's picture
Submitted by nkinsella on November 10, 2013 - 1:21pm

I'm very interested in these but I would like to hear from someone who owns them...

The review seemed to be far more concerned with the Audiophile, stereo experience, which is fine but I'm really more interested in how they work in a home theater environment. Also interested in the bipolar surrounds in the XL Series...

Any feedback would be great, thanks

Brent Butterworth's picture
Submitted by Brent Butterworth on November 16, 2013 - 5:05pm
Hi, nkinsella. I described the sound of the center speaker pretty well in the review. It has a couple of fairly minor issues, but overall it's pretty good and its timbre matches that of the tower speakers very well. IMHO that's the most important thing. We didn't review the surrounds, but my guess is the surrounds will be a better choice for the surround channels in a 5.1 or 7.1 system. The bookshelf speaker has crossover point of 6 kHz, which I consider to be far too high for good fidelity. The surround has a crossover point of 2.2 kHz, which is about where it should be for a speaker of this configuration. So while I haven't heard the surround, it's highly likely it will sound better than the bookshelves.
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