BIC Acoustech Owners Thread - Page 125

anyone have experience with the BIC Formula FH8-W 's? im thinking of using them as surrounds

Considering selling my BIC PL-89 (2) and BIC PL-28 also have a PL-200. Would prefer not to ship because it'll be alot. I am willing to meet up if you live in the PNW. I also have (4) PL-66 but plan on keeping them unless someone is really wanting a complete 7.1 package. Will be posting on CL as well.

Will you sell the pl-200 separately?

Where do you live? I really don't want to ship. Someone wanted it before and it was gonna be quite a bit. You can PM me so we don't clutter up the thread.

Well, when you write an email to BIC, you get a response from someone in their support section named Fred. Here's a copy, which speaks to the dissimilarity with reference to the appearance of the dual woofers on the PL-89 and their advert images and the non-rubber speaker surrounds:

Sir:

A speaker cone of pure platinum would work no better at all than the cone material used (which is a poly-imregnated material that is quite stiff enough to maintain rigidity throughout the frequency range covered by the woofers.) The speaker surround has been changed to a coated fabric impregnated with dilute Bakelite, in order to improve edge absorption for a smoother response and longer life than pure rubber can provide. I should also remind you that the speakers are covered by an 8-year warranty.

But if you are convinced that you've been misled, and the performance is not up to your expectations, I'd advise returning the speakers before the 30-day return privilege expires.

Fred for BIC America Service.


On 12/22/2012 10:50 AM, John Matthews wrote:
> Greetings!
>
> Perhaps you can answer a couple questions for me. My wife bought a pair of your PL-89 speakers for our HT setup for Christmas. The seller's description of the speakers (at Acoustic Sound Design's web site, acousticsouddesign.com) stated the eight inch woofers have butyl rubber surrounds. However, they appear to have cloth speaker surrounds. Also, the image of the PL-89 on the Acoustic Sound Design website (http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1530&sc=32) gives the appearance this speaker features some sort of spun or brushed metal (or metal finish, or composite) woofer cone. This is, by the say, the same image as on your own web site. After removing the grills, the woofer cones for this speaker actually appear to be nothing more than paper, which bear resemblance to those in your product image only in color.
>
> Why the discrepancies?
>
>
> Kindest Regards,
>
> John Matthews

That seems to be what my shop said. Overall, my set seems to sound fine after EQ, but I'm a bit concerned about how much EQ went in to the upper range. Audyssey added almost +10db across the board starting around 1KHz and up to 20KHz.

For anyone reading this who owns the PL-89s, PL-28, or PL-66s... did your speakers sound *great* (balanced highs, mids, lows) straight out of the box without any EQ? I noticed my speakers needed quite a bit of EQ in the upper range to get the highs out of the tweeters. I read a lot of about how this speaker sounds great, but I'm curious if that's pre-EQ or post-EQ.

IMO, they sounded great right out of the box, but, what I think sounds good might not sound all that great to you, so take it with a grain of salt.

EQ is affected by a lot of things from placement to how your room is furnished to seating position. Just make sure the tweeters are actually working, sometimes wires can come loose during shipping or you'll get the occasional bad driver.

anyone run 76s up front and the HT-8C in ceiling for surrounds?

I am setting up my sister and they have locations already in for surrounds in the ceiling so it would be the easiest to use these and go with towers in the front.

so I guess, has anyone mixed in ceiling surrounds and towers?

also, how do you install these ceiling speakers, I can't find install instructions on their website.
Edited by Breathing Borla - 12/27/12 at 3:37pm

Hi there, kindly looking for some recommendations.

I have the following speakers paired with this receiver.
Acoustech HT-88 Towers x2
Acoustech HT-85 Center
Acoustech Ht-64 Bookshelfs x2
Acoustech PL-200 x2 Woofers

What should I set the crossover frequency for each to maximize bass? I have the woofers set at phase = 0 and crossover dial at 30 kHz. There corner placed about 8 inches from the wall. Thanks for any input!

80 on the crossovers

""The speaker surround has been changed to a coated fabric impregnated with dilute Bakelite, in order to improve edge absorption for a smoother response and longer life than pure rubber can provide. I should also remind you that the speakers are covered by an 8-year warranty.""

Is anyone aware of how long ago they implemented this change? @j_matthews29 is there a chance you could post pictures of this newer version so we can see the difference in the new woofer and how it looks?

I can tomorrow if you'd like. I don't think the woofers look different than any I've seen in images taken by other PL-89 owners. The woofers do look different than the ones in the BIC, and Acoustic Sound Design web site advert images, however ( in those images they look more like the Klipsch metallic woofers).

In one of the first images posted in this thread, of a set of HT-88s, the woofers look pretty much the same. Doesn't appear the material has changed, since that's what my woofers look like, too. But what do I know? The material could have seen a few successive changes since it's introduction. How is one to know?

I honestly can't complain about the sound that comes out of them. Much broader frequency range, and better sounding, more detailed than my old L/R Sonys, I believe. I especially noticed they sound better since I've turned off any "effects" or "enhancements" in Windows 7 (all audio, music and movies, gets played on my HTPC, which is connected to my Denon AVR via HDMI). I've also noticed a distinct difference between my high quality rips and those at lower bit rates. CDs sound much better still. So, source quality makes a huge difference. I set them up with Audyssey (six positions, the max for my AVR) and they sound fine. My Boz Skaggs live recordings never sounded better .

Movie sound is by far superior than the old speakers. This is especially noticeable with DTS Master and Dolby HD soundtracks.

With an eight year ( ! ) warranty on parts and labor, I have quite a bit of confidence in these (eight years... who does that!?). Shoot, the Sony's I had were still working quite well, and without issue, after over 15 years and I'm not certain their warranty was over one year. I'll be clear; I don't feel as though I've been "taken" or cheated, nor do I believe anything was maliciously misrepresented (Fred's response had sort of a defensive "tone" to it, if you couldn't tell... Ha!) by either company. There is a difference between the woofer image and the actual item, however .

I just plan on enjoying them.

Greetings from a newbie!

Great forum, lots of great people and information here.
I have been reading quite a bit but have a lot of catching up to do.

Years ago I researched, bought and have enjoyed the BIC Venturi Series DV-62 CLRS center, DV-64 fronts, Dv62si bookshelf speakers for the rear and V-1220 subwoofer.

I am looking to upgrade my center speaker at minimum and possibly fronts also as I feel the midrange and dialog is a bit week in movies and thought about giving the horn tweeters a try as I have read the majority of people give the Acoustec line very high praise.

Is the PL-28 center and the PL-89 fronts still the best Acoustec options for a larger no space restrants room?

What are some good options for the rears?

Would I have to upgrade all speakers in my system to be horn tweeters or can I mix and match?

Should I also upgrade my sub to another BIC or is mine adequate? I was researching outside of BIC and thought the Polk PSW505 looked to be nice subwoofer with a lot of praise... just wondered if anyone had any experience with that sub?

Thanks in advance, your comments and advise are appreciated.
Edited by warndry - 12/29/12 at 11:17am

^^^ Yes the PL89s and PL28 are the best that BIC Acoustech offers... If it were me I'd replace all the speakers in the system to be the Acoustechs if money isn't that much of an issue. 2 - PL89s, 1 - PL28, and 4 PL-66s make an awsesome 7 channel setup.

As for the sub it depends on how much money you want to spend. I see 3 options for you that would be great upgrades. 1. Buy a 2nd V1220 (least recommended but cheapest), 2. Sell the V1220 and buy 2 - PL200s, 3. Sell the V1220 and upgrade to a low end "real" sub such as 2 - Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Pluses (most recommended but more expensive, also what I have). 2 identical subs is a huge upgrade over 1 sub. A nice 7.2 system will sound amazing.

I don't have any experience with any of BIC's surrounds, in-wall, or in-ceiling speakers. I do have their PL-89s and a PL-26 and I can say I'm very happy with them overall.

Well this is my first time posting in here and I must say I'm super pumped! I just ordered my Bic Acoustech PL-76 system with Pl-200 sub. Still waiting for my reciever but I happy I'm getting that setup and a onkyo tx-nr616 with 3 year warranty for approx 1k. I'm sure my man cave is pretty happy also Only down side is the pl200 is out of stock until the 15th when it will be shipped.

I would agree with flick. Th PL-66's are awesome for the surround sound and go with 4. I just upgraded to 4 and WOW what a difference. For a sub check out the SVS Subs. http://www.svsound.com/subwoofers

I have one and LOVE IT. What a difference. Compared it against higher end models like B&W, Velodyne, Def Techs and mid grade models like POL and Klipsch and this sounded just as good as the higher ends, if not better and blew away the mid level subs. Great company and reviews on the SVS subs.

Happy reviewing and shopping.

Which model SVS sub did you compare and end up with?

I HAVE A SERIOUS QUESTION!!! Does anyone know if acoustech will be making a replacement for the acoustech ht-64 bookshelf. I was looking to buy a pair but there are none available. Love the look and i have the PL-66 surrounds which sound great and was looking to possibly replace my polk tsi-100's. i do have a polk center and i am considering the PL-26 for my center. If anyone knows anything or has some idea if and when, i will hold out. Otherwise i can get the bic formula fh-65b's instead. i would just like to match everything and towers are not an option. Please help a new guy out with thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks,
Richw23 aka the new guy on the forum

lol If you think that's serious you're gonna fit right in here.
I did a search and can't find the 64s either. I have no idea about a replacement. Have you tried emailing Acoustech? Hopefully someone else will have more info. This is the time when everything is coming out so if nothing else if you can hold out for a month or so you should know.

On Dec 3rd, a pair of these sold on Ebay for $100 plus shipping. If I were you, and if you really want a pair of these speakers, I'd set up an alert on Ebay to inform you when some are posted.

I don't believe Acoustech is going to make a replacement bookshelf for their current lineup. Maybe they will if they ever revamp the whole speaker line.

Also check out the FH6-LCR, 3 of those across the front should sound good and they are sealed to hanging on wall won't be an issue at all, the bookshelf speakers are rear ported so not sure how that would affect the sound if they are close to a wall.

I wish Acoustech would have a "new" book shelf speaker and I wish they would have designed the centers to be LCR speakers that could be used horizontal or vertical. But for their price I guess you can't expect everything.

I listened to an fh6-lcr and a pl26 side by side at home and they sound identical.

^^^ I believe that. They use basically the same drivers. Just different color woofers and not as nice of finish on the cabinet. The horn may be a little different on the 2 speakers tho as the FH6-LCR is designed to be used vertically or horizontally with a square horn and I was told that the PL-26/28 are not truly square horns so they should only be used horizontally.

I guess i understand what you are saying but the lcr is just a bit too tall for my configuration. Appreciate the thought you put into it. I do certainly like the look of the acoustech line but if it is pretty much the exact same as formula fh-65b then i will go with them. If anyone has the fh-65b's please let me know about your review/experience with them.

Thanks everyone for your input - Richw23 and please keep it coming. I think i will be making my purchase by the end of january

Hey Rich,

The PL-26 is a very good center channel speaker. I bought one a couple months ago that replaced a Polk CSM center. I continue to be impressed by the PL-26 and I believe you will be too if you buy one. The only thing I'd do differently would have been springing for the PL-28 instead. As for the HT-64s, Overstock had some, but now they are understocked (...see what I did there). I agree with Flick; set yourself up an alert on Ebay for them if you really want them.

Yeah Flick...wonderful idea! You must be a genius or something. Brilliant!

Im going with the PL-26 due to space issues, the PL-26 will just fit in my tv stand. Im new to all this so would there be a significant advantage to running the PL-28 over the PL-26?