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Bic Venturi Formula 5 and 7

YamahaFreak

YamahaFreak

Super Member
I saw a pair of Formula 5's on eBay and was intrigued, so I did a little research, and the Formula 7 looks to be one of the most advanced speaker systems I've ever seen. Can someone enlighten me about these models? Maybe some pics?:scratch2:
 
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BIC seem to be driven more by marketing rather than engineering. They certainly knew how to target their markets well and advertise like crazy well before actually releasing a product. This was done with the original BIC turntables where, for months in advance, they would have glossy fold-out ads in Stereo Review, etc, of some sort of product under a sheet. The tag line would be something to the effect that it would be at a local dealer on a certain date. I can tell from being there, that I'd never seen a line of people waiting with boxes in hand to check out of the store where I worked.

Then once it was released, they would play up the features, most of which weren't really that interesting but looked flashy. That little control panel on that one BIC model is a good example.

Clearly, BIC's approach worked for a while but, without some serious R&D $$, they proved that marketing hype only goes so far.

Cheers,

David
 
On the sort of cheap recievers of the 70s that the BICs were usually used with (and no, I'm not calling the Sherwood in the ad cheap), the BICs were bright and tiring. But has anyone tried them on tube equipment? There are enough pieces of equipment everyone thought were dogs back when they came out, which have been found to be better than thought when used with different equipment than was common back then, that I would not rule out the BICs turning out to be listenable.
 
I had a BIC TT in the 70's, that turned out to such a poorly engineered dog, that it made their BIC speakers, sound like B&W speakers.....yes, THAT bad!!

Steve
 
I owned a pair of their speakers. Can't remember the model number but they were very efficient and good for rock and roll. They had way too much bass for anything else. They made Cerwin Vega's look great..
 
I just picked up a pair of Formula 7 BIC Venturi speakers at a thrift store. They looked to be in pretty good shape and given the $15 price thought I could in a worst case part them out and at least break even or make some $. I normally rebuild JBLs, so am always intrigued by how other speaker vendors do things. It is interesting that these were retailing for about $450 at the same time JBL L100s were going for twice that in the late 70s. That is a bunch of money in 1977, so can't imagine there are too many pairs out there of either, but I've got a pair of both right now. The L100 beats the BIC F7 hands down, but the BICs don't sound bad. I was impressed. They are 4 ways with two horn tweeters, an 8 inch midrange and a 12 inch woofer. They are ported through the bottom of the cabinet. There are breakers on the speakers. I've not put power (9VDC) to the display, but will try it. The cabinets are nice walnut veneer.
 
when the BIC speakers appeared in like '71 with that venturi port, i thought they might be great but hearing them was a disappointment. the bass was a little boomy but that was probably the sub-optimal listening area at the store. the harsh highs were not.

i would be curious to hear a pair of the big 6s with modern front end and playing CD.
 
BIC Venturi.

Love them or hate them are about the only options I ever see.

They tend to have strong bass. The 5 with the horns can be bright or sharp. They have adjustments on them and can be dialed in.

Good rock speakers.

On my to-do list is to try my 5s on tube.

I ran 4s and 66s with Marantz 2275 for years. It was all good. Never heard or had better until a few years ago but my BIC are still around and get used.

For their price point, BIC were not a bad deal. The TT are OK.
 
I run both the Formula 6 and Formula 7 BIC speakers and having replaced the drivers because of bad replacements or punched cones they have a nice even clean sound. I ended up replacing the woofers, mid-bass and the super tweeters. When I replaced the parts I replaced the parts with good quality units and the 7s are not overly bass heavy and the proper midbass/midrange brings the speakers alive. I would not pay the same price as Pioneer HPM100s but if you can get them cheap and use good judgement if you need the drivers they do yield quality sound.
I replaced the woofers on the Formula 7s because they were mis-matched replacements and replaced them with Eminence units (12") with a response from 25-2.5k, the mid-bass I replaced just to improve the sound (8") PRV units with a response 75-7.5k. One of the super tweeters (piezo unit) must have burned out and had a sloppy replacement so I used a 3/4 Peerless unit with a range from 2.5k-20k and left the crossover alone to split the signal as they were intended. I left the midrange/tweeter alone, that is in the vertical portion of the T slot, the horizontal slot is where the piezo units normally were. This combination ended up with a more balance sound than the Advent Heritage units that I have. You can play Eric Gale and get good reproduction and also play Phil Collins and get some serious bottom end when playing "In the Air Tonight"
 
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I presently run a pair of BIC Formula 5 Spec II behind a Marantz 2500, and a pair of Formula 6 Spec II also behind a Marantz 2500. What I love about both (5 and 6) is the tar/canvas surrounds which will outlive me. The Lows can be a bit heavy as both are in livingrooms with vaulted ceilings, so bass truly does "shine" to say the very least. That's easily helped with stands getting them 6-8 inches off the floor, and slight bass attenuation to offset the room effect. The highs are crisp and bright and I get good imaging in the sweet spot. They are dirt cheap used and so far I'm very happy with their performance and the price I've paid.

One other interesting note I found personally: They're nowhere rated near the output capabilities of the Marantz 2500, yet I've had the clipping indicator light more using my Marantz 2330B, 2275 and 2252B than with my 2500. Power, if it's clean, seems better than underpowered amplifiers put to their limits. I have been able to enjoy both my BIC Venturi Formula 5 and 6 Spec IIs with higher volume and so far not a single blown driver.

Also: I forgot: I have yet another pair of BIC Venturi Formula 5 Spec II in my Master Bedroom behind a Pioneer SX-1250. These are on pedestals at eye level so the bass is not so outrageous, the imaging is fantastic and I'm also pushing them well beyond their RMS Rated power with 160 watts/ch into each... again with absolute pleasing sound and no overload or clipping indication. Still sitting on another pair of 5 and 6 Spec II for future use. It truly is nice owning speakers that don't need surrounds replaced regularly like most made after 1975 or so! The old JBL 88s are also made with durable surrounds... and I'm equally happy with them behind a Model 19 Marantz.
 
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I love the sound of Formula 5s. I like West Coast punch and they fit the bill. Add to that the quality of the cabinet and the surrounds.
 
When I get a speaker it is usually for the long haul, I just rebuilt and gave the first set of speakers I bought in 1975 to my youngest daughter and her husband, a set of nice EPIs. I listen to music as I like it and that is the key to my use. No chasing an ultimate that one will never find for what I want to spend. Given the range of music I listen a speaker has to have some flexibility. I bought the BIC 5 and 7s when they first came out and still have them. I have had to replace the woofers in the 5s, but that is it. When these speakers came out they had a record that came with them. Most people didn't read the instructions and threw the record away. Big mistake. As an engineer I guess I always read the manual, so I did not throw the envelope away. The purpose of the record was to help you work with the speakers to set them up to get the maximum performance for where you place them and to match the power of the receiver or amp driving them. I was a little disappointed when I got the first ones, the 5s, home. After opening the envelope and using the record it was much better. When I change receivers or move them to another room the record comes out. I still have a BIC 1000 hooked to the receiver that drives them so the test if I need changes is simple. People give the old BIC turntables grief, but they are the easiest to work on turntable I have used and the 980 up make great bargains. Can get one for 10 bucks totally frozen up and usually have it running in 2 hours. Extra points if it has a Shure V15 type III HE BE cartridge on it that no one has tried to remove from the shell. I even got one free with a tonearm bent like a U just for the cartridge and cabinet. Stripped it for parts.
 
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