Thoughts on Fosgate Audionics Point Zero Series - FA61.0 & FA62.0

powert · 02-23-05, 01:26 PM

I have search high and low for info on these speakers. All the company propaganda sounds good but I like to hear from someone away from the retail stores.

Per the company website http://www.fosgateaudionics.com/products/FA61_0.asp
they are "modeled after the critically acclaimed Hafler TRM6 active monitor ", a well respected monitor.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Troy

nmo · 02-24-05, 03:33 PM

I was curious about these too but never found anything about them. I've talked to a few people about how they are based on a Monitor speaker and the discussion ended up at how being based on a studio monitor speaker they would sound totally flat. I guess studio monitors are meant to reproduce sound without any coloration what-so-ever. The flip side being having no life to the speakers. Just sound reproduction. Now, this is not my opinion at all. Just what a few people I know ended up discussing. Thought I'd share it.

On another note, I had my eye on a set at Onecall where they were on clearance. A while later I see them gone and then back again as an open box. Draw your own conclusions.

PHSJason · 02-28-05, 10:20 AM

We are a Fosgate dealer and have sold quite a few of their speakers. They are good for the price point, come with a good warranty and are well built. With that in mind I prefer the 51 and 52 to the 6" version. In all the systems we have put the 6" into, we have thought they sounded "middy". Too much midrange and lacking on the upper end regardless of tweeter switch position. For it's price, the 5" is a great performer and we are sad to see it going away. We used a lot of these on our entry-level jobs and I have a set in my house.

Jason

socalforever · 10-18-05, 12:42 AM

While I hate to dig up a dirt old thread, I own these monitors currently, and have posted my impressions at audioreview:

(Unfortunatly, the new poster limitation wont let me post the url, so you'll have to get there on your own.

)

For $150, they're great. If you can get them for $100, they're quite the steal. I have no idea what I'll be replacing them with, though.

kblee · 02-07-06, 05:16 PM

I buddy of mine has a similar set of Fosgate speakers and I loved the sound.

I did some reserach the past few days and was almost ready to pull the trigger of a pair of FA61.0 bookshelf and a FA62.0 center from accessories4less.com. I decided to check ebay and found a brand new 5.1 set that included a pair of FA61.0 and a trio of FA52.0 for $300 (free shipping). For the $$, I figured I couldn't pass it up.

My question: In the set there are 3 FA52.0 (LCR) and each has dual 5.25" mid/woofers and the pair of FA61.0 (surround) have single 6.25" woofers. Is there anything inherently problematic with this? I've always been accustomed to larger woofers in the mains and smaller in surrounds, but maybe having 2 smaller woofers in the D'Appolitto alignment in all 3 speakers across the front sound stage might work well. If not, I guess I can run the FA61.0 pair as mains and use one of the centers.

Anyway, I can't wait until they arrive...

jcathc00 · 02-08-06, 11:07 AM

Let us know how this package turns out! I saw the same offer on Ebay a few weeks ago and it looks like a great deal. The company appears to be a Fosgate dealership.

These monitors remind me of Definitive Technologies Procinema monitors. They use the same crossover networks and the design appears to be much the same.

kblee · 02-08-06, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcathc00

Let us know how this package turns out! I saw the same offer on Ebay a few weeks ago and it looks like a great deal. The company appears to be a Fosgate dealership.

I think they may even be more than a dealership, as the shiping info I just received had an email address that ended in "@rockfordcorp.com".

kblee · 02-10-06, 09:28 AM

All I can say is "WOW". I hooked up the 3 FA52.0s across the front and ran the Ezset EQ on my HK635 and I was instantly impressed. I was finally hearing what I was never able to in the Athena set up I ended sending back to Audio Advisor. I will connect the FA61.0s this weekend and see what the entire set sounds like, but I can't imagine I'm going to be disappointed.

This package really seems to be a steal (btw - the seller has it listed again on Ebay). Each speaker is built very solid. The only caveat is that these are not exactly "small" speakers. The FA52.0 are 22" wide / tall (depending horizontal / vertical orientation) and weigh 21 lbs. each and the FA61.0 are 13" tall and weigh 15 lbs. each (which will make my mounting task a little more difficult).

James W. Johnson · 02-10-06, 10:54 AM

I could not buy anything associated with Rockford Fosgate. I checked out the website and the marketing and the fact that these sold on Woot! at one point raises a big flag for me.

There are zero recent reviews from trusted sources on these anywhere, IMO these are borderline white van speakers.

The slot porting does not look like its sufficient , even for a speaker that only extends down to 60-70hz. I would bet one would hear some chuffing if you pushed those hard enough.

I would stay away.

BTW ive seen a number of white van speakers that were build very well, seriously they could fool anyone. Looks and build dont mean anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kblee

I was finally hearing what I was never able to in the Athena set up I ended sending back to Audio Advisor.

Which Athena's , tell me what exactly it is you were not hearing because to tell you the truth you probably cannot buy a larger effort for that kind of money anywhere.

Athena's are very impressive speakers and ive had LOTS of them.

kblee · 02-10-06, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James W. Johnson

I could not buy anything associated with Rockford Fosgate. I checked out the website and the marketing and the fact that these sold on Woot! at one point raises a big flag for me.

There are zero recent reviews from trusted sources on these anywhere, IMO these are borderline white van speakers.

I would stay away.

BTW ive seen a number of white van speakers that were build very well, seriously they could fool anyone. Looks and build dont mean anything.

Well - your post just proved how little research you did before posting. How many "white van" speaker manufacturers have the insights of the individual who created the Dolby Pro-Logic II decoding technology? I can tell you - NONE. The technology in these speakers comes from Hafler, which is a sister company to Fosgate Audionics. Hafler monitors have had great reviews over the years. FA dropped its speaker line a couple of years ago to concentrate on pre-amps / amps.

kblee · 02-10-06, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James W. Johnson

Which Athena's , tell me what exactly it is you were not hearing because to tell you the truth you probably cannot buy a larger effort for that kind of money anywhere.

Athena's are very impressive speakers and ive had LOTS of them.

I had the original Audition Series (4 B1's and a C1) and thought they had a very muddy mid-range and all around were not very musical. The opened up a little after the break-in period, but any type of rock music had no depth and metal sounded horrible. For home theater use they were more than adaquate with my Mirage S10 sub, but I was looking for something that could do the music as well as the HT...and I have found it in these Fosgate Audionics speakers. YMMV.

James W. Johnson · 02-10-06, 11:08 AM

I know who Jim Fosgate is and I also know what products Rockford Fosgate produce. A name on a product means nothing.

James W. Johnson · 02-10-06, 11:13 AM

Bottom line...if those speakers were even remotely decent then there would be at least one review from a trusted home theater reviewer somewhere...Sound and Vision , Home Theater , Audioholics , Home Theater Hi-Fi ..someone.

If there is one, not including small obscure reviews posted on the Fosgate site, then show me. I will admit I am wrong.

I am just looking out for my fellow AVSer, ive been had before and frankly there are too many other good speakers out there to have to take a chance on something like these.

kblee · 02-10-06, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James W. Johnson

Bottom line...if those speakers were even remotely decent then there would be at least one review from a trusted home theater reviewer somewhere...Sound and Vision , Home Theater , Audioholics , Home Theater Hi-Fi ..someone.

If there is one, not including small obscure reviews posted on the Fosgate site, then show me. I will admit I am wrong.

I am just looking out for my fellow AVSer, ive been had before and frankly there are too many other good speakers out there to have to take a chance on something like these.

This bottom of these 2 FA62.0 Reviews I believe is by AVS member socalforever mentioned above.

This is just 2 opinions. If you don't like them, then don't buy them. All we are saying is that they are quality speakers for a very reasonable price.

jcathc00 · 02-10-06, 12:32 PM

The slot porting does not look like its sufficient , even for a speaker that only extends down to 60-70hz. I would bet one would hear some chuffing if you pushed those hard enough.

----

Slot porting is certainly not a new concept.

For example, look at the Definitive Procinema series. There are plenty of reviews on those. You will also notice that the Definitives use the same internal networks.

Robbie E · 02-16-06, 07:55 PM

I ended up buying the same FA52.0 and FA 61.0 set from the same ebay store. Great buy. I also bought two FA62.0s from A4Less. I have pushed them pretty hard and no chuffing at all. If I could only same the same for my sub.

The fosgates are speakers are top notch. I also picked up a pair of the exact same Haflers 5" version for fairly cheap on ebay. High Desert Audio is the rockford "clearinghouse" and the only place on ebay I would get them.

For $300 the set is a steal.

ace5000 · 11-17-06, 08:54 AM

I own (3) 5.2 's across the front and 5.1 's in the back. After going throough many sets of "heavily reviewed" more popular speaker brands, these are the ones for me. At $300 for a set, it is flat out amazing! I paid more. They were discontinued because fosgate was purchased by another company. They are warm, smooth, dynamic and detailed, with no harshness. The Fosgates are built like tanks with the highest quality components.

ace5000 · 01-21-07, 11:00 PM

The line was designed around the Hafler M5, a well known studio monitor. In fact, the FA51.0 is identical to the M5 except with a grill and color. Fosgate was soon purchased and it was decided to drop the home theater line before it had a chance. See a review on the M5:

http://www.hafler.com/reviews/review...sp?ArticleID=2

mplj9091 · 03-09-07, 11:15 AM

I bought one 5.2 as a center channel from Second Act. The speaker is very neutral, or monitor like; however, it is tweakable if you have an equalizer on your receiver. For the $50 + shipping, the speaker is built well, though I'm not sure of why the trapezoidal grill.

jz4h3m · 03-09-07, 01:37 PM

I needed a budget system for my fishing shack and a pair of FA51.0 ($140 @ AC4L) + a refurb HK 3380 ($120 @ eBay) and a Polk PSW10 ($100 @ Fry's) and my old Sony CD-XP 400 CD player gave me a stereo system, which while not for critical listening, it is great for our cabin.

02-23-05, 01:26 PM	#1 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a4ac4393' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:30&n=a4ac4393' border='0' alt=''></a>
powert New Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 12	Thoughts on Fosgate Audionics Point Zero Series - FA61.0 & FA62.0 I have search high and low for info on these speakers. All the company propaganda sounds good but I like to hear from someone away from the retail stores. Per the company website http://www.fosgateaudionics.com/products/FA61_0.asp they are "modeled after the critically acclaimed Hafler TRM6 active monitor ", a well respected monitor. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Troy __________________ "never send a pilot to do a robots job"

02-24-05, 03:33 PM	#2 \| Link
nmo Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Earth, Milky Way Posts: 321	I was curious about these too but never found anything about them. I've talked to a few people about how they are based on a Monitor speaker and the discussion ended up at how being based on a studio monitor speaker they would sound totally flat. I guess studio monitors are meant to reproduce sound without any coloration what-so-ever. The flip side being having no life to the speakers. Just sound reproduction. Now, this is not my opinion at all. Just what a few people I know ended up discussing. Thought I'd share it. On another note, I had my eye on a set at Onecall where they were on clearance. A while later I see them gone and then back again as an open box. Draw your own conclusions. __________________ Happiness is merely the remission of pain.

02-28-05, 10:20 AM	#3 \| Link
PHSJason Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Central Oregon Posts: 255	We are a Fosgate dealer and have sold quite a few of their speakers. They are good for the price point, come with a good warranty and are well built. With that in mind I prefer the 51 and 52 to the 6" version. In all the systems we have put the 6" into, we have thought they sounded "middy". Too much midrange and lacking on the upper end regardless of tweeter switch position. For it's price, the 5" is a great performer and we are sad to see it going away. We used a lot of these on our entry-level jobs and I have a set in my house. Jason __________________ PHSJason on RC , AVS ,IP, BT , XBL, and elsewhere Jason Gillette on Cedia and elsewhere

02-07-06, 05:16 PM	#5 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
kblee Illini Fan Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Montgomery, IL Posts: 698	I buddy of mine has a similar set of Fosgate speakers and I loved the sound. I did some reserach the past few days and was almost ready to pull the trigger of a pair of FA61.0 bookshelf and a FA62.0 center from accessories4less.com. I decided to check ebay and found a brand new 5.1 set that included a pair of FA61.0 and a trio of FA52.0 for $300 (free shipping). For the $$, I figured I couldn't pass it up. My question: In the set there are 3 FA52.0 (LCR) and each has dual 5.25" mid/woofers and the pair of FA61.0 (surround) have single 6.25" woofers. Is there anything inherently problematic with this? I've always been accustomed to larger woofers in the mains and smaller in surrounds, but maybe having 2 smaller woofers in the D'Appolitto alignment in all 3 speakers across the front sound stage might work well. If not, I guess I can run the FA61.0 pair as mains and use one of the centers. Anyway, I can't wait until they arrive... __________________ Xbox Live GT = jackalopes

02-10-06, 09:28 AM	#8 \| Link
kblee Illini Fan Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Montgomery, IL Posts: 698	All I can say is "WOW". I hooked up the 3 FA52.0s across the front and ran the Ezset EQ on my HK635 and I was instantly impressed. I was finally hearing what I was never able to in the Athena set up I ended sending back to Audio Advisor. I will connect the FA61.0s this weekend and see what the entire set sounds like, but I can't imagine I'm going to be disappointed. This package really seems to be a steal (btw - the seller has it listed again on Ebay). Each speaker is built very solid. The only caveat is that these are not exactly "small" speakers. The FA52.0 are 22" wide / tall (depending horizontal / vertical orientation) and weigh 21 lbs. each and the FA61.0 are 13" tall and weigh 15 lbs. each (which will make my mounting task a little more difficult). __________________ Xbox Live GT = jackalopes

10-18-05, 12:42 AM	#4 \| Link
socalforever New Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 11	While I hate to dig up a dirt old thread, I own these monitors currently, and have posted my impressions at audioreview: (Unfortunatly, the new poster limitation wont let me post the url, so you'll have to get there on your own. ) For $150, they're great. If you can get them for $100, they're quite the steal. I have no idea what I'll be replacing them with, though.

02-08-06, 11:07 AM	#6 \| Link
jcathc00 Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: richmond va Posts: 15	Let us know how this package turns out! I saw the same offer on Ebay a few weeks ago and it looks like a great deal. The company appears to be a Fosgate dealership. These monitors remind me of Definitive Technologies Procinema monitors. They use the same crossover networks and the design appears to be much the same.

02-10-06, 11:08 AM	#12 \| Link
James W. Johnson Long Time Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Blaine WA Posts: 2,955	I know who Jim Fosgate is and I also know what products Rockford Fosgate produce. A name on a product means nothing.

02-10-06, 11:13 AM	#13 \| Link
James W. Johnson Long Time Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Blaine WA Posts: 2,955	Bottom line...if those speakers were even remotely decent then there would be at least one review from a trusted home theater reviewer somewhere...Sound and Vision , Home Theater , Audioholics , Home Theater Hi-Fi ..someone. If there is one, not including small obscure reviews posted on the Fosgate site, then show me. I will admit I am wrong. I am just looking out for my fellow AVSer, ive been had before and frankly there are too many other good speakers out there to have to take a chance on something like these.

02-10-06, 12:32 PM	#15 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a591f81a' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:36&n=a591f81a' border='0' alt=''></a>
jcathc00 Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: richmond va Posts: 15	The slot porting does not look like its sufficient , even for a speaker that only extends down to 60-70hz. I would bet one would hear some chuffing if you pushed those hard enough. ---- Slot porting is certainly not a new concept. For example, look at the Definitive Procinema series. There are plenty of reviews on those. You will also notice that the Definitives use the same internal networks.

02-16-06, 07:55 PM	#16 \| Link
Robbie E Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Centreville, VA Posts: 51	I ended up buying the same FA52.0 and FA 61.0 set from the same ebay store. Great buy. I also bought two FA62.0s from A4Less. I have pushed them pretty hard and no chuffing at all. If I could only same the same for my sub. The fosgates are speakers are top notch. I also picked up a pair of the exact same Haflers 5" version for fairly cheap on ebay. High Desert Audio is the rockford "clearinghouse" and the only place on ebay I would get them. For $300 the set is a steal.

11-17-06, 08:54 AM	#17 \| Link
ace5000 Advanced Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 647	I own (3) 5.2 's across the front and 5.1 's in the back. After going throough many sets of "heavily reviewed" more popular speaker brands, these are the ones for me. At $300 for a set, it is flat out amazing! I paid more. They were discontinued because fosgate was purchased by another company. They are warm, smooth, dynamic and detailed, with no harshness. The Fosgates are built like tanks with the highest quality components.

01-21-07, 11:00 PM	#18 \| Link
ace5000 Advanced Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ohio Posts: 647	The line was designed around the Hafler M5, a well known studio monitor. In fact, the FA51.0 is identical to the M5 except with a grill and color. Fosgate was soon purchased and it was decided to drop the home theater line before it had a chance. See a review on the M5: http://www.hafler.com/reviews/review...sp?ArticleID=2

03-09-07, 11:15 AM	#19 \| Link
mplj9091 New Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1	I bought one 5.2 as a center channel from Second Act. The speaker is very neutral, or monitor like; however, it is tweakable if you have an equalizer on your receiver. For the $50 + shipping, the speaker is built well, though I'm not sure of why the trapezoidal grill.

03-09-07, 01:37 PM	#20 \| Link
jz4h3m Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 133	I needed a budget system for my fishing shack and a pair of FA51.0 ($140 @ AC4L) + a refurb HK 3380 ($120 @ eBay) and a Polk PSW10 ($100 @ Fry's) and my old Sony CD-XP 400 CD player gave me a stereo system, which while not for critical listening, it is great for our cabin.