mconn

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Picked them up for $109 Amazon. Did not "need" new speakers but they had good reviews and the price was right. Considering the price, I couldn't be happier. I did add poly fill to the acoustic insulation already there. I can't say that it helped but it had been suggested by many. The run with a velodyne cht12 sub so low bass is no a factor. A little brightness that is easily corrected with the treb. control. Right now, I would be hard pressed to find a better buy. Even though you should always audition speakers, it's just too good a deal to let slip by. As stand alone stereo for music only, they are impressive. There are a lot of speakers hundreds more that they could give a run for the money. The name isn't cool with the audiophile set, but many would be embarrassed picking another over them in A-B test..

allstar720

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Although I was tempted to grab them for $100 from amazon I just had to hear what Ed Frias was doing. I figured in the end I'd have sent them to him anyway so instead of all of that s+h I ordered a pair of highly modified's directly from him. Boy are these things nice. I'm extremely happy with the sound. They are very warm, rich, and natural sounding speakers as modified by Mr. Frias. If you go to amazon's page I have uploaded some pictures of them.

donrday

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $109.00 from Amazon.com

Summary:
This is a story of two products, actually: the BIC America DV62sei speakers I purchased from Amazon.com and the crossover upgrade from Ed Frias.

I bought the speakers originally because I had learned only last year about the outstanding, low-cost Sonic Impact T-Amp, which I modified in the usual way (supply bypass and input caps, improved enclosure, etc..), upon which I needed a better set of speakers to better appreciate the great tonality of that little amplifier. The DV62si speakers had consistent praise, both unmodified and with the Ed Frias crossover modification. I purchased my pair for $109 from Amazon.com and got them in about a week with the free included shipping. I used these for several months, building my own appreciation for well-recorded music during that time and reading as much as I could about other speakers and the T-Amp technology in general.

This spring, I finally sent a note to Ed expressing my skepticism about whether I could really hear anything better than what I thought I was already getting out of the speakers. He made the point that the benefit may depend mostly on my own comfort with how the speakers delivered mid quality and known high brightness, and reminded me that with the smoothing of the mid-to-high corrections of his crossovers, the low end would relatively come out a bit more. I listed carefully to several test albums for a week, and then sent off the original crossovers for modification.

Exactly a week later, they arrived in a small box. I put them into the speakers and began re-listening to my test albums. Right away I heard the difference, best expressed in this following note that I sent to Ed shortly after I finished my listening:

"Hi, Ed. I received the BIC DV62si crossovers on Wednesday, true to the 1 week turnaround that others have mentioned. Listening carefully the next day to the before/after music pieces I had prepared, I could tell quite a bit of improvement in the overall balance, and indeed, even my unsophisticated ears could hear the improved smoothness of the midrange. But the biggest surprise is what I DIDN'T hear--the speakers! The BICs were very good before, but now, they are completely transparent--I hear music coming from their direction, but it plays across a wide and detailed sound stage, with much better imaging than before--a most pleasant surprise. Very good for a $32 upgrade on a $109 pair of speakers. I'm more than satisfied!"

I am still appreciating new nuances in my older music, and finding joy in new recordings. Currently listening to Robert Glasper Trio's album Mood from eMusic--a very nice, smooth-sounding jazz performance for this amp/speaker combination. The speakers are very good for vocals as well!

BTW, I recently sold my older Bose 301 bookshelf speakers after I heard what these could do. I had thought those speakers would do at the time, but the modified BICs truly out-imaged the Bose speakers across all types of music and let me hear music with much more of an "ahh" experience. By comparison, the Bose speakers now sounded hugely disappointing and flat.

As a related footnote, I can't say enough about the T-Amp, which is truly the poor man's entry into quality musical reproduction. Compared to my previous systems, now I know what a good listening experience is really like, and feel I can move up later with better understanding of what to listen for.

Strengths:
Smooth tonality, great low end for bookshelf speakers (on foot high stands on my desktop), good sensitivity for low-power amps like the T-Amp, realistic imaging (I still look around when hearing whispers or recorded ambient sounds).

Weaknesses:
Relative to other speakers at the same price, none.

Similar Products Used:
Radio Shack Minimus 7s with Soundaids crossover modification; Bose 301s (stock).

blantto

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Online

Summary:
I bought these over 3 years ago and was not quite happy at first. They sounded a bit bright. I, like many others on here, sent the crossovers to Ed Frias for modification. Made a big difference in extended listening periods by eliminating the brightness. Excellent speaker for the money. I am a tinkerer though and I had 4 brand new NHT superone tweeters laying around and they looked like they would fit, so I tried them out, they fit perfectly. What was even better was that the imaging and 'depth' was improved drastically!!!!!! I did that swap 3 years ago, I have never even thought about switching back or upgrading to a different speaker, these are perfect the way they are. These are an absolute steal at this price, my younger brother thought so too, he bought a pair after hearing mine.

Strengths:
Price, sound and built well. Nothing even close to this for $100

Weaknesses:
Stock tweeter is a bit weak allowing for a very small sweet spot.

Similar Products Used:
NHT Superone, KEF Cresta 2

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ungerjp

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $272.00 from EFE Technology

Summary:
I've had these for just over a week. After a few days of break-in and trialing some different placement options with my stands, the speakers have smoothed out and opened up a bit, and bass even seems better. My ears are getting used to them as well, which I'm sure is part (albeit a more subjective part) of the break-in process.

My take at this point: I am more than impressed - I can't believe they sound as good as they do. My wife is even impressed. She always downplayed the value of good speakers, until we got these; now she can hear things in her favorite music she never noticed before. Up and down the sound spectrum, instrumental, male/female vocal, etc., music is clean, well-spaced/placed, and reproduced impeccably. Granted they don't get down to 20hz, but they go plenty low enough with solid, clean bass. Throughout my "pseudo-audiophile" years I've listened to the old Bose, Klipsch, Epicure, Boston Acoustics (when they were good), Polk, Phase Linear, B&W, Paradigm, and others in the mid-price range ($400-$800/pr). Maybe I'm naive or forgetful, but I honestly can't remember hearing speakers that sound as good as these, ever, much less at this price.

Strengths:
Just about everything. See above.

Weaknesses:
For the price, none.

Similar Products Used:
Epicure 11, Boston Acoustics A40, Aurasound (Lineaum) LS2, Wharfedale Diamond 8.4