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BIC America DV62si Bookshelf Speaker Review

Dmitri

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Another interesting revelation would be a test of the Audio Note (AN-E) loudspeakers....even more interesting...a comparative test between all the AN-E upgraded versions. Any Rockefeller’s or Gates’s out there willing to finance such a series of tests?
Judging by what this relatively addled non technical mind has so far absorbed on this fascinating making me want to learn more website, I suspect cost/ value ratio would be breathtakingly bad.
BTW...I look forward to maybe some day actually speaking with a real knowledge base. Until then, I ask y’all to be patient with this old humanities major... ; )
 

zermak

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Really, is harshness a known attribute of ferrofluid tweeters? I’ve been rambling on about how much I like ADS speakers which do have ferrofluid tweeters. I’ve been getting the drivers rebuilt with new ferrofluid which smoothed then out a lot. (With the original tweeters the high end sounded almost distorted. ) They are a bit bright to my ear though, so I usually roll the highs off a bit, or notch filter if I have the EQ.

My experience with these drivers has convinced me that old tweeters with original ferrofluid a probably compromised.
Mine was more a joke because of the bad tweeter measurements in this implementation rather than a serious statement :)
 

Beershaun

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Well sure. But on the other hand they are small speakers made for near field listening. In the scenario where they are sitting at your working table, say 1m from your ears pointed directly at them listening angle won't change much as long as you're sitting in the chair without moving around too much. In that scenario this kind of EQ would help a great deal compared to the original.

Thanks @QMuse for posting your eq chart! Would you be willing to post your recommended parametric EQ settings that result in this graph? Target Frequency, Bandwith, and Gain? I think it's a valuable service to the community for people who have the tools to share recommended EQ settings for a given set of speakers (room correction independent). This will help people get the best they can out of the equipment they have as well as see what they have been missing.

The speakers are 9"x9"x14" tall for folks considering them for desk duty.
 

QMuse

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Thanks @QMuse for posting your eq chart! Would you be willing to post your recommended parametric EQ settings that result in this graph? Target Frequency, Bandwith, and Gain? I think it's a valuable service to the community for people who have the tools to share recommended EQ settings for a given set of speakers (room correction independent). This will help people get the best they can out of the equipment they have as well as see what they have been missing.

The speakers are 9"x9"x14" tall for folks considering them for desk duty.

Here it is. Be sure to apply 3dB of attenuation with this filter to avoid clipping. You should also be aware that this filter is EQ-ing the speaker so you still need to do room EQ to compensate for room influence below 300-400Hz.

Capture.JPG
 

Beershaun

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@QMuse Thanks! This is great. Understood, room correction is separate from speaker equalization and specific to an individuals actual room.
 

Blumlein 88

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Remember in the late 70's some of the BIC Venturi speakers being pretty good. A friend had the biggest Marantz receiver and a pair of these. He also had the BIC dual speed cassette. It offered the option of running double speed.
 

Dennis Murphy

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I'm in the midst of modding the Big Hog RTR Lease Breaker (15" woofer), which runs around $500/pr. The drivers are unbelievably cheap, particularly the closed-back midrange. I expected the horn tweeter to be a real screamer, but it has by far the best response of the lot. In stock form,the RTR has a colored, forward midrange and not all that much bass extension. It's just loud. I'm doing or have done 3 stages of tune (all of which void the warranty a la Golf R tunes). Stage I just reworks the Xover and does the best that can be done to tame the crappy midrange. Stage II replaces the red woofer with a much nicer unit from Parts Express that only costs $20. Stage III replaces the mid with a real driver, in this case a Dayton RS 5" firing into a plastic chamber, all from Parts Express. Stage 3 adds about $100/pr to the price, but I'm not sure there are any comparably priced 15" air movers that will sound as accurate. But all-in-all, the stock unit is just a reminder of how little parts cost goes into a speaker costing $500/pr. Maybe $50 + cabinets.
 
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Billy Budapest

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It does have a crossover. See this video:


Looks like first order though.
Well, there is dampening material in the box and on the wiring—probably to make sure they don’t rattle against each other.

I would like to see two budget kings reviewed:

NHT SuperZero 2.1
Chane A1.5
 

restorer-john

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He also had the BIC dual speed cassette. It offered the option of running double speed.

I've got a BIC 980 turntable sitting here to repair for my father that is running too fast! Synchronous motor which I can't ever believe ran at the correct speed in Australia (50Hz).

I remember the two speed BIC decks. Marantz did a two speed also- piano key mech.
 

restorer-john

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I'm in the midst of modding the Big Hog RTR Lease Breaker (15" woofer), which runs around $500/pr. The drivers are unbelievably cheap, particularly the closed-back midrange. I expected the horn tweeter to be a real screamer, but it has by far the best response of the lot. In stock form,the RTR has a colored, forward midrange and not all that much bass extension. It's just loud. I'm doing or have done 3 stages of tune (all of which void the warranty a la Golf R tunes). Stage I just reworks the Xover and does the best that can be done to tame the crappy midrange. Stage II replaces the red woofer with a much nicer unit from Parts Express that only costs $20. Stage III replaces the mid with a real driver, in this case a Dayton RS 5" firing into a plastic chamber, all from Parts Express. Stage 3 adds about $100/pr to the price, but I'm not sure there are any comparably priced 15" air movers that will sound as accurate. But all-in-all, the stock unit is just a reminder of how little parts costs goes into a speaker costing $500/pr. Maybe $50 + cabinets.

I have to ask. Why bother with modding horror boxes? Seriously. :)

At what point do they become Grandpa's Axe?

(I'm imagining the Auratone (horrortone) "mod": Replace the single driver with a Tang Band something, then replace the terminals, fill it with rock wool, peel off the vinyl, change out the front baffle and rear panel and while you are in there, make a new 1" thick MDF cabinet and new grille. Re-assemble, make a new DM Mod badge and call it done...)
 
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OP
amirm

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But on the other hand they are small speakers made for near field listening. In the scenario where they are sitting at your working table, say 1m from your ears pointed directly at them listening angle won't change much as long as you're sitting in the chair without moving around too much.
This is a HUGE speaker for desktop use. Its dimensions are: 14.25″ H x 8 7/8″ W x 9 1/8″ D

It is not remotely made for near-field use.

Angles also change a lot more rapidly at close distance than far.
 

restorer-john

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This is a HUGE speaker for desktop use.

Remember the Yamaha NS-1000M (31kg) and the JBL Century L100 (~20kg) were designated "Bookshelf" speakers back in the day...

You're gonna need a bigger desk. ;)
 
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amirm

amirm

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Remember the Yamaha NS-1000M (31kg) and the JBL Century L100 (~20kg) were designated "Bookshelf" speakers back in the day...

You're gonna need a bigger desk. ;)
Bookshelf speakers can be large. I am talking about putting them on a desk and listening near-field.
 

Dmitri

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Well I found the BIC Venturi that had the volume output leds and graph that I mentioned earlier... Behold! The Formula 7 Monitor Series. The top two images are of the adjustable crossover/ equalization panel as parted out and available on eBay, in case any of you DIY speaker designers want to really go the distance.
I do remember the felt surrounds on the tweeter/super tweeter(?) but not sure that it would make much difference as they are horn loaded? ...Definite blast from the past 70’s sell ya with the “wow” factor appeal.
I’m sure I salivated copiously.

22D0829C-B8A5-470E-BA4D-45AAFCC25DD5.jpeg
9C26FE40-DEB2-40A2-95C5-2F306B100E17.jpeg



77D621B0-D9EA-4512-8AAC-99695D6A1F97.jpeg
 

Dmitri

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They are obscene!
Yes they are. And, though I know I’m skidding off topic here...I remember seeing them at a place called Dixie Hifi in the mid 70’s. One of the sales people was figuring out a new cassette deck and asked me, while holding up the cassette, if I knew whether one could “record on both sides of this thing?” Questionable dealer network? ; )
 
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