BIC America Venturi DV84 2-Way Tower Speaker, Black (Single)

My review here is based on my test of this speaker against 3 others. I tested it against JBL ES80, Klipsch Icon KF-26 and Bic FH—6T speakers directly. I know that this is an 8inch speaker as against the 6.5 woofers in the others, but I wanted to also include an 8-inch speaker and try to factor its “advantage” in my comparison. Interestingly, all speakers had similar tonality. I tested them using Jazz-instrumental, soft rock, hip-hop and RnB. APPEARANCE: As expected, this is a bigger speaker, although it is only taller than the JBLs by one inch! It is quite basic in design with more of ash- brownish faux wood finish (instead of black) cabinet. I like the curved bottom of the grill but I must say that the material for the grill seems kind of cheap and too transparent (even more conspicuous when next to other speakers) (see my pix). The rear has only 2 wiring posts with no option for bi-wiring. Interestingly, this is a non-ported speaker and I was curious how that may affect the bass quality. SOUND ASSESSMENT: Granted that this was a bigger speaker than the ones I compared, I was nonetheless very impressed with how airy and good the highs of this speaker sounded! While the Klipsch was clearly ahead in sound projection and the highs, the Venturi DV-84 (whose tweeter is same with the DV-64 by the way) was right 2nd in my test. More precisely, it seemed a tie with the JBLs (despite the JBLs have a “super tweeter”). Sometimes, it was obviously better and other times, the JBLs were better in projection. So, I declare it a tie. I must also note that the highs of the DV-84 sounded just right without the harshness or tendency to fatigue the ears. Mids: This was where the DV-84 was in my opinion clearly the top in the group. It just sounded “there” compared to the others. It did feel like a full range sound even when compared to the Klipsch which was my overall best. Stage presence: While I will not make much comparison in bass due to the woofer-size differences, the DV-84 had good bass which surprisingly did not at all overwhelm, when compared with the other speakers. Abit more bass was noticed in bass heavy tracks. That aside, this speaker had one of the nicest sound presence of the 4. You felt a nicely balanced high-mid-bass together. Its mid-range sounded the nicest though not out of balance. The bass was readily filling. Let me add that even without using the DV-64 (6.5 inch size of this venture line), both are clearly superior to the Bic FH-6T. The horn tweeter on that speaker was just noticeably subpar and was clearly the least overall of the 4 in comparison. Conclusion: I had never seen the Bic speakers at any store and despite online reviews, was skeptical since reviews (including this) are very subjective. The venture line however really impressed me. While they may not be the very best speakers out there, they are very much a solidly competing speaker costing a lot less that many for the same sound. A side note however is that I noticed the dome of the speaker cones were soft, as such can be dented. It was also the least attractive in design (which is subjective) and in my opinion, the JBLs were clearly the most visually appealing with grills on and the Klipsch with the grills off. I hope this review is in some way helpful to you.

I purchased a pair of DV84's to replace my former Polk M10 surround sound speakers. The Polk M10 is an excellent speaker but was much too small to match the timbre of my large front speakers. My DV84 purchase was the first time I ordered speakers that I had never heard or seen before. In this day and age it is difficult, if not impossible, to be able to go into a store and audition speakers. Even if you can find a suitable audio store, the selection is usually very limited. Thus my selection of the DV84 was solely based on extensive online research and reading hundreds of (mostly customer) reviews from various sites. I also spent a lot of time researching the DV84's "littler brother" the DV64. Three factors though weighed in favor of the DV84. First, looking at the overall "H x W x D" dimensions, I was concerned the DV64 would be a bit "wobbly". Though it stands 5 inches higher than the DV64, the DV84 also has nearly 2 additional inches in the width and depth dimensions. I find my DV84's to be rock solid in their balance. Secondly, I don't have any place for a sub-woofer and don't want one. The DV84s with their larger woofers should have the edge in bass performance versus the 64s. Finally, at the time of my purchase, the DV84s were significantly cheaper than the DV64s. These speakers arrived well packed, in excellent condition, and are (in my opinion) downright beautiful. Construction seems top-notch. I can't really tell if the speaker grilles are removable but I don't care as I always use my speakers with the grilles on. I'm expecting these speakers to last 20 years or more! BIC America provides a small manual with the speakers that offers excellent advice on speaker set up and positioning. I noticed that the manual is copyrighted 2002. The DV84s and DV64s must be very successful products for BIC America to be making them now for well over a decade! Sound quality is excellent! My DV84s have really brought my surround system to life! I'm especially impressed with the deep lows (down to 27 Hz) that the DV84s are easily capable of. I now get a much better recreation of the acoustic space that a recording has been made in. Often I listen to classical music concerts. With the DV84s as my surround speakers, the deep bass basses and double basses come thru beautifully from the appropriate channel(s). The midrange sound from my DV84s is glorious and the tweeters sparkle. I did find that the overall sound of the speakers improved dramatically after about 40 hours or so of "break-in". (Initially the tweeters sounded a bit too bright and the bass extension seemed to improved dramatically over the first few weeks of play.) If I had to do it again, I would not hesitate to buy another pair!

Purchased these because of all the good reviews and how much bass there is but I am not impressed. I bought an entire surround system by "Fluance" for $250 and the floor speaker from that surround system are much louder mid and treble ranges, bass are about equal. These speakers do seem to get to much higher volume without distortion. These seem to be good if you have them really loud for a good movie or loud music, but for standard sound, the price tag is overkill for the speakers.

I saw nothing in the literature that came with these speakers to indicate that they needed a specific number of hours of "break-in" time, but all loudspeakers do sort of "loosen up" after a certain amount of use. So: 50 hours, a hundred? I can't say, but I've used them a lot since receiving them three weeks ago. They are wonderful. If you're an audiophile with very sensitive, learned ears, you can tell the difference between these and, say, B&W 802. But that's thousands of dollars' difference. For the money BIC asks ... these simply cannot be beat. Others have mentioned their small footprint, and whether they might be susceptible to tipping over. I have hardwood floors, and from that perspective, no, they won't tip over. And I have a two-year-old to prove it. The DV-84's greatest strength, I think, is still in the highs, much like the 64's. Because the hype on their bass handling was so great, I ran them through some heavy stuff: First, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. Real cannons from the Detroit Symphony, and the DV-84's handled them manfully. Tight, but not persuasive. I tried again recently, and the response was better, but you'll still need a good sub to fill in the deeper stuff. Next, the Brandenburg Concertos. The brass was present, absolutely there, but not overly bright. The DV-84's tweeters are amazing that way: you could listen all day long and never get fatigued. The sound staging is better than what you should expect from speakers in this price range. All of my music demos, I did in two-channel stereo, direct source, no cheating. Quite frankly, they're just not as "musical" as BIC's PL series. The 890s are built for music. The DV-84s will serve your music well, if you're upgrading from, say, a bookshelf setup, or an otherwise lower-performing speaker combination, but the 890s exist -- and are accordingly priced -- for a reason. Where these speakers really shine is movies. Blu-Ray/DVD ... and if that's what you're looking for, then you can't hit the "purchase" button fast enough. Although the DV-84's aren't the most "musical" (if you listen to acoustic music, and even then they are still very good), they sure are suited to movie soundtracks. You just cannot go wrong with these, if you're building a home theater. Especially at this price range. The warranty is seven years, for heaven's sake. I just bought a GE refrigerator, one year warranty. BIC is truly the best value in loudspeakers. Just wish they wouldn't actually print that on the back of them.

These speakers are worth what I paid for them. Fairly inexpensive as far as floor standing speakers go. I'm not blown away. They're just ok. A little bright sounding and lacking a solid mid-range. I also own JBL Stadium speakers and the JBL's actually sound richer and warmer with more mid-range but they cost more so go figure. Remember the BIC's are 2-way speakers. I run them with a Harmon Kardan 3490 and a Polk Audio 110 sub. It's sounds great for nice loud background music. If I wanted to dig down and really listen I'd probably want a slightly better speaker. No complaints for the money but if you want high fidelity you may want to upgrade a little. I will also say that BIC did a great job of packing and shipping the speakers. I'd definitely look at some of their higher end product next time around. Good value.

i have not had a pair of decent tower speakers in a long time. i was always a polk fan and always bought them. out of the box polk could just be driven. i started my first home theater room in 2005 with an all polk setup and it always sounded great, but now no more 5.1 i just wanted a good pair of speakers with no sub to listen to good music. i saw alot of online videos on the dv64 saying they were perfect with enough bottom end to not need a sub depending on your music. so i jumped on amazon and saw BIC speakers that looked like the 64's but after i ordered them i realized when i looked at the speakers dimensions i ordered the DV 84's and they looked big, ( gotta make the wife happy too lol ), So these BAD BOYS came in. the UPS guy wanted to kill me, they were packed well. and they looked very big and very nice. Not a lightweight at all. removed all the wires from my Harmon Kardon AV 145 and popped in some 14G wire. plugged them in and started with some Phil Collins. so at low level out of the box they were perfect, you hear everything correctly. then as i raised the volume i noticed the brightness people are talking about and yes with a out 30 to 50 hours of break in that will stop. one cd down and every thing was good bass was quick and hit pretty hard you do not need a sub with these at all. then i went to my online music account and tied some edm and dance and WOW. the came to life. it sounded like a club in my house at 60% volume. the Bass was awesome the sound was great. i been missing this sound for a long time. i will apolgize to my neighbors when i see them ubt right now im like a kid in a candy store. so if your looking for a really well priced nice size speaker please do not hesitate on getting these they will make you happy if you have a good ear for music. amazon does it again. nice work.

Bought two towers and one speaker out of the 8 has dent in the dust cap. It rattles when the bass picks up which annoys me to no end.

I've owned Klipsch, B&W and KEF speakers. My friend has PSB speakers, $700 for the pair . These speakers equal all of those or do better. I only paid $130 ea. for these but they are worth all of the retail price of $375 ea. The thing you have to know about speakers is placement in the room is VERY VERY VERY important. You cannot just slap them on the floor and leave them there. Read the manual on these speakers. They suggest you put them 2-3 feet AWAY from the wall and it does make a difference. These are not a pair of speakers for a little room. The presence and sound stage on these speakers is just breath taking. If you close your eyes you can see the muscians playing their instruments and the depth of sound is just amazing. I had my friend come over and do a blind sound test. He asked me after the first song I played if I was sure I didn't have a center channel speaker on because the music sounds like it's coming right in front of you. I will give this information about the room I'm playing them in (the room makeup makes a HUGE diffence in how speakers sound). The living room is about 20 X 30 with tile floors, an area rug, and large vaulted ceilings (which really add to the sound stage). I have large leather furniture, paintings on the walls, and lots of large plants. I can't stress enough how much room compistion and placement of speakers effect the sound. On any pair of speakers you get, make sure you try them in lots of different positions: point them up, point them in, point them out, and pull them away from the wall varying lengths. Hard flooring and uneven wall surfaces (meaning you have pictures or things hanging on the walls or plants in front of the walls) make a big difference in spreading the sound. If you have a subwoofer please please don't crank it up. When you read reviews and people sometimes list them as 'boomy' I wonder if they just have the subwoofer turned up too high. You shouldn't HEAR a sub as much as you should feel it. You shouldn't hear boom boom boom and not much else, you should feel a nice tight thump that extends sound. I always like to say that a sub drops the bass from your knees to your feet. Also location IS important in a sub and make sure you move it around too A sub being too close to the wall will also lend it to being 'boomy'. I know this review is long, but I hope these tips help you out in making your system sound better.

Excellent speaker... Punchy bass

Delivery was on time but amazon would only sell me one with 4 in stock had to go to different supplier plus cost more not impressed speakers sound great thow