Attractive appearance, construction quality, decent binding posts

Sound reproduction sucks. Bitterly harsh and bright!

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE DV736 TOWER SPEAKER I purchased 4 of these from uBid.com. The price was so cheap, how could I possible go wrong? Well, I don't think I went too far wrong, since they can upgraded with a crossover network modification from EFE Technology. Thank Goodness! When I removed these from the boxes, and inspected them, I found one damaged corner (delivered by FedEx Home). The damage was right rear bottom, and not nearly bad enough to spend the shipping costs for return. However, the real damage was to my ears! These things are terrible out of the box. If you like listening to a battery powered pocket transistor radio, then perhaps these are the speakers for you. The bright harshness eminating from these speakers, especially at higher listening levels is not only annoying but painful. The "rip your face off" syndrome is fully active with these things. They are totally unlistenable for music. However, in a Home theater environment, they are tolerable. I've tried jazz, progressive jazz, rock & roll, folk, country, western, classical, bluegrass, and acapela. They all sound equally bad. Vocals both female and male sound as though sung through a megaphone or cardboard tube. At high listening levels, the crash of cymbals will make your eardrums shatter, and your brain will bleed! Low frequencies sound a bit better if you like somewhat loose and unimpressive bass. I made an appointment with Ed Frias of EFE Technoligies to audition speakers that he had modified. Ed was kind of enough to allow a late appointment, and then gave me the complete tour. I was able to compare the BIC's to his complete line of speakers, as well as several other brands. I was able to compare using different sources as well. He has a regimen of musical pieces he likes to follow, and at my request several times, interupted his regimen with additional pieces. I will state this conclusion: His own handmnade EFE Technology speakers are some of the best speakers I've ever heard, at any cost, and I've listened to most of the highly praised lines. But, what he did with the inexpensive BIC speakers, borders on phenomenal. I tell you, it's an outright miracle! The only resemblance they maintain to the original is the appearance! They sound so much better....so clear, so distinct, and handle so much more power WITHOUT distortion, it's unbelievable. They actually sound more like part of his own line of speakers, than a consumer grade product. I've been too busy of late to send him my own crossovers for the mods, but when I do, I'll update with a new report.

I suggest to anyone interested in these speakers, don't buy them unless you plan on having them modified. If the price of the speakers is a penny a piece, I would steer clear unless you fix them.

Similar Products Used:

DB Dynamics Eclipse 26610, Ultralinear 450, BIC RTR 123, Acoustic Research, Parasound perfect Image, Polk Audio, Pioneer, KEF, Magnaplanar, Vandersteen, Jamo, Canton

Outstanding bass from a tower speaker. Good high frequency/brightness without sounding harsh.

Needed a little boost in the treble from the equalizer

I bought these speaker because of there quoted frequency response down to 32 Hz, and they do just that. Amazing bass output from 2 6 inch drivers. The speakers work very well without a subwoofer. The high ends is also bright and crisp without sounding harsh. These speakers are an oustanding value and available at several places well below there $600 MSRP.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha 638 Speakers, Sony SAVA 29 sourrond system.

Good, refined bass for size. Clean sound in all ranges. Good value.

Not very efficient (needs lot of power). Fairly big for a tower.

This is a pretty good tower speaker for what it costs. I got 1 from Ubid in the same process as described below. I returned it since 1 did me no good, but I was able to compare it with my older Warfedales as well as the BIC 52si model. This model has very nice sound and great bass for it's size, but you need quite a bit of power to drive it's midrange. It also seems a little directional compared to others. If you have a fairly powerful receiver, I think this is a good choice and excellent value compared to others of a similar design. Construction is solid and seems as good as the sound. If you can find it for under $200 a pair, it would be a great front line speaker for music and HT. You probably won't need a sub-woofer unless you like heavy bass.

Similar Products Used:

Various other speakers including BIC 5&1/4 in. bookshelves, Warfedales.

crisp clear highs without being overly bright; nice, tight bass from two 6.5" woofers, good build quality for the price

none so far

This is a review for the newer BIC V736 speakers. I had requested this speaker be added to the list of BIC speakers but it doesn't look like anyone is running this site.

These speakers do not deserve to be sold on uBid for the price they are going for. I have seen some auctions where people paid as little as $49.00 a pair (before shipping). The MSRP is $450.00 a pair, and even this is a steal. These speakers sound excellent. They blow away my old Bose 601's which I thought were good speakers. The bass extension for 2 6.5" woofers is awesome. I know this has been said before, but I am hearing things in the music I never heard before. I can hear the delicate tapping of a drumstick on a cymbal. Acoustic guitar sounds totally natural. The Bose gave everything a warm sound, I now realize this was distortion. If you are limited on funds and want excellent sounding speakers I would definitely look into BIC. Their center channel and surround/bookshelf speakers sound great as well and are an excellent value. Something I cannot say for Bose.

Similar Products Used:

Bose 601 series I