Do you want to select some home theater speaker, then this article will go some way to helping you with your selection. The speakers that I'm looking into are made by a company called Accusound Australia Pty Ltd they are Australian company and they make 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers. I am writing this review to share my experience with the quality and the set up of these accusound speakers. Some of the points that I will cover are how well do they look, also how well do they sound and how easy they are to set-up the speakers.
The accusound review will be of the 2009 model signature series reference 8.5 speakers. these speakers consist of two front main speakers two rear speakers a center speaker and a Sub woofer, or a LFE “low frequency effect” as my Yamaha RXV663 amp calls it. I was on a very tight budget so these speakers came at a bargain price I wasn't expecting too much the way of audiophile performance. I was impressed by the claim from the manufacturers that all the speakers in this package were completely tone matched. the front speakers are the main speakers each tower comes with 2x 200mm bass drivers also it comes with a mid range 150mm driver and a 25mm elliptical soft done tweeter. the center speaker comprises of 2x165mm drivers and also a 25mm elliptical soft dome tweeter this gives excellent bass response also Clear vocals and crisp highs. the rear speakers have 165 mm bass driver and a 25 mm elliptical soft dome tweeter identical to the main in the center speakers. the sub woofer is designed to use the 300 mm long throw high-power Sub bass driver it also has a built-in 200W amplifier with volume and phase and frequency adjustments, so these are the components that come in the package that will make up your sound system.
Before I get into the guts of un-boxing and setting up my speakers want to make mention of the guys at Audio Australia who have the exclusive on the signature series accusound speakers. I was very impressed with the speed of communication from them, I fired of an e-mail question and within hours I get a detailed response, I am not sure about you but it makes me feel more comfortable to buy from these guys when I get that kind of speedy response.
These are one of the best deals around for the price, though i wouldn't class myself as a hi-fi guru or a audiophile but I do know what I like and take time out to make comparisons of similar products before I part with my hard earned. My Home Theater Setup consisted of my Panasonic 50inch Plasma and XBOX as my media center and DVD player, and a Yamaha RXV 663 Receiver, and now the Accusound Reference series 8.5. These speaker really look the part meaning that they don't look cheap, I was impressed with the build quality of the cabinets and the finish was overall very good. I must mention that the ones I bought did state that they are box damaged and this was true as the box for the sub woofer did have a big dent in it. Holding my breath I took the sub out of the damaged box and yes did find a small dent in the cabinet I was devastated for the first half hour then I got over it. Looking at the speaker terminals they were nice and big and will accept the now standard banana plug, the accusound cables I decided on was the 12 gauge.
Well how do they sound? Not having a Blue Ray Player as yet ( its on my list though ) I call up my son and asked him to come over and check out my new 5.1 speakers and by the way bring your Playstation 3 and your blue ray disks with you. Setting up the PS3 is dead simple just plug the HDMI cable into the amp and your done. We decided to watch Resident Evil 3 as this movie has got the uncompressed audio on it and my Yamaha RXV 663 will happily decode that, we sat though the whole movie marveling at the added sound effects that we missed or didn't hear before, the bit were Alice takes out all the crows was absolutely stunning, great rumble from the sub woofer also the fronts themselves generate a fair amount of bass effect and great effect from the rears and the center. The manual says that the speakers need to have a burn in time and indeed I have found this to true the sound does seem to be a bit more richer more so listening to music than movies. The fronts are capable of being bi-amped and my RXV643 is capable of this configuration but as yet I haven't got around to doing this but I will.
In conclusion, would I recommend these to anyone else?, yes I would, and have, my son likes the sound of the accusound speakers and the price is great so he is keen on getting a setup soon. You are getting a good quality product for a really great price. I like to buy the odd gadget every now and again and I must say that these Signature Series Reference 8.5 Speakers give me a fantastic bang for my buck ask my neighbors.
