[Droid6]

 BIC America Formula FH56-BAR


Price (MSRP): $599/Each (Street Price ~$250)

Design: 625 wat 3 or 5 Discrete Channel Bar Speaker System with wall mounts

Frequency Response: 37Hz-23kHz

Sensitivity: 96dB @ 1 watt, 1 meter, high efficiency output to 116dB

Drivers:

(2) 6 1/2" injection molded woofers, (3) 6 1/2" mid/high frequency horns, (2) 4 1/4" side mounted surrounds.


Magnetic Shielding: YES

Gold-Plated Terminals:YES

Recommended Power: 10- 125 watts RMS per channel, 625 watts peak power

Impedance: 8 ohms

Dimensions: 8"H x 42"W x 6 1/2"D

Weight: 35 Pounds

Warranty: 5 Years Parts and Labor

 

[Droid6]

So I made a leap of faith and ordered this sound bar. There seemed to be a hesitation for anyone to purchase this item because of the lack of any user input on the quality of this thing. I will post my impressions over the next week once I get everything setup and get some time to demo a wider range of material.

 

[Droid6]

I ran the Audyssey setup on my receiver and now I have to say I'm extremely happy with this sound bar. I watched a little bit of A Scanner Darkly and listened to a few CDs and I have a little sense of what this sound bar can do. As far a surround goes, it doesn't simulate speakers directly to the side or anything amazing like that but it does manage to spread the soundstage out quite a bit. Instead of sounding like everything was coming at me from straight ahead (which truthfully is what I was half expecting) it sounded more like I had 5 speakers spread about 15' wide. Nothing sounded spacey or thin, just nice solid wide sound. I have it teamed up with a BIC F-12 which is an awesome sub but I left it unhooked for a bit of my listening to make sure it wasn't covering any holes in the FH56-BARs sound. Let me know if I can answer any questions and I'll do my best.

 

[av addiction]

Thank You Droid6. I'm sure your review will help a lot of people looking for sound bar. Keep up the good work.

BTW, What type of AV receiver did you use for this sound bar?

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by av addiction /forum/post/20869008


Thank You Droid6. I'm sure your review will help a lot of people looking for sound bar. Keep up the good work.

BTW, What type of AV receiver did you use for this sound bar?

You're welcome. I'm using an Onkyo HT-R680 7.1 receiver that came bundled in a HT in a box setup.

 

[Radio81]

So this can be used as an LCR speaker? I already have rear speakers that I love, but wouldn't mind swapping out my LCR soundbar for something else.

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio81 /forum/post/20893060


So this can be used as an LCR speaker? I already have rear speakers that I love, but wouldn't mind swapping out my LCR soundbar for something else.

Yes it can, you just hook up the LCR inputs. I would also like to point out that this sound bar is listed for use in a 6.1 setup (one in the front and one in the back) but it is pretty large to be hanging on the wall.

 

[Radio81]

Nice. Could you possibly post a pic with the grill cover on? I can't seem to find any online. Also, how's the build quality?

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio81 /forum/post/20893823


Nice. Could you possibly post a pic with the grill cover on? I can't seem to find any online. Also, how's the build quality?

Yeah, I'll take a pic tomorrow. The build quality is great, no complaints. I love the "dry" sound of the horn tweeters, I think I'm a horn tweeter guy now!

 

[guammer]

Do you use this bar for everyday tv viewing as well as movies and music? Also, how have you mounted the bar?

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by guammer /forum/post/0


Do you use this bar for everyday tv viewing as well as movies and music? Also, how have you mounted the bar?

I have it sitting on a smaller tv stand my wife bought from IKEA for $20 and it has mount holes on the back if you want to hang it. I use the soundbar for my projector and for listening to music but I wish I could have the same setup in my living room for everyday use.

 

[Droid6]

Here's the sounbar with its cover and one of it sitting below my 92" screen and next to the BIC F-12.

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Droid6 /forum/post/20912469


Here's the sounbar with its cover and one of it sitting below my 92" screen and next to the BIC F-12.

Sorry for the crappy phone pics but you get the point.

 

[guammer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Droid6 /forum/post/20912481


Sorry for the crappy phone pics but you get the point.

Pics are fine. How does the bar sound for music? I see the instruments in the pic so I'm curious. Although this is a soundbar thread, how does the F12 pair with the bar for music.

 

[sea21]

Interested in buying this, mainly for movies. Can you speak about its dialogue clarity in movies etc? Seems its overall size with its cabinet would give it an edge over many of the skinny soundbars out there.

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by guammer /forum/post/20913445


Pics are fine. How does the bar sound for music? I see the instruments in the pic so I'm curious. Although this is a soundbar thread, how does the F12 pair with the bar for music.

It does great for music, just as long as you run your receiver in stereo not a 5.1 up mix setting. The F-12 is an amazing sub with tight controlled bass and I can't believe it's only $200.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sea21 /forum/post/20914040


Interested in buying this, mainly for movies. Can you speak about its dialogue clarity in movies etc? Seems its overall size with its cabinet would give it an edge over many of the skinny soundbars out there.

No complaints in the dialogue department. The size definitely gives an edge as it's a real wood speaker cabinet setup as the others are generally tweeters in a plastic shell.

 

[sea21]

Thanks for the info. This thing looks like quite a deal compared to similar soundbars like the Polk 50 all around $600 and up. Could you post a pic showing a close up of the back with its connections and mounting setup? Its bass capability is impressive from the specs on this thing as I probably won't be using a sub for a awhile, is that legit?

 

[Droid6]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sea21 /forum/post/20919028


Thanks for the info. This thing looks like quite a deal compared to similar soundbars like the Polk 50 all around $600 and up. Could you post a pic showing a close up of the back with its connections and mounting setup? Its bass capability is impressive from the specs on this thing as I probably won't be using a sub for a awhile, is that legit?

It does pretty well without a sub.

 

[Radio81]

Honestly, this soundbar seems like one of the best options for the price. I do wish it was gloss black, but that can be overlooked.


I have the Pinnacle QP-9 soundbar. It's nice for movies. However, it's not the best for music with it's small drivers. The BIC seems like it would be much better for all-around use.


Thanks for the review and pictures.

 

[Roger Dressler]

Is there somewhere I can download the user manual? Can't find any support area at their website.