If I recall correctly, they were well respected in their day. I think that many years ago I read a positive review of one of the models in Audio magazine. I seem to remember that they had a stepped baffle, with the tweeter set back farther than the woofer. |
Hi Tom,
I believe they were made in Atlanta. Larry Avant had a pair. His had three tweeters arranged in an odd 3d array (see to appreciate). They imaged well behind the speakers so he sat almost between them, perhaps two or three feet back from the center line. I suspect they were early adopters of the midrange depression that simulates depth. All that said, they sounded very competitive at the time (late 80's) and were well made. |
I remember reading about them in the Absolute Sound in the early 80's. They compared well with the Thiels and Vandersteens of the time according to the article. I was just thinking that I never had such luck at any Estate sale that I have ever been to! Bob |
Fat Julian in Roswell sold Fuselier, don't know if there were any other dealers. |
I can give you the whole story if interested. I knew John back in the day. The 3.8D was the largest of the Signature series and the only one to use all Dynaudio drivers. John's speakers were time aligned and phase coherent and pulsed quite cleanly. They imaged with the best of them. He was an audio treasure who was ahead of his time and under-recognized. Let me know if you want ot sell them. |
Vdotman,
Boy, would I like more info about Mr. Fuselier.
The fuseliers are great speakers.
Tom |
Yes, I bought a pair of Fuselier 2's (that's all the invoice says) from Julian in 1984. They were some of the first ones John Fuselier made I understand. John was a pilot, thus the name of his hand made speakers. Julian also sold me stands made for them, they are called bookcase speakers, but are too deep for a normal bookcase and of course sit on the floor on the stands slightly tipped upward.
Wonder how Julian is doing these days. I fear he may have pass on or be ill. He always welcomed us to hear experimental speakers in his shop even after we purchased our system. He had a tremendous LP collection and swore by LP's, said CD's could never truly replace LPs. |
Had a pair of Model 3 in the mid 80s. Great speakers! They had a series crossover that made the speakers fast, coherent, and dynamic. It is reputed that John Fuselier voiced them to sound like live music. And they did! Really regret selling them. |
I have owned a pair of 2.6d since since the late 80's these babies are hard to beat. I do believe Fat Julian is still alive and kicking although he may not be in the best of health. If anyone owns a pair of 3.8d's I would be interested in purchasing. |
I bought a pair of 3.3's in 1983 from Sound By Singer in NYC and used them for 15 years- they were terrific, dynamic and coherent with an uncanny ability to "let go of the notes", to quote a well known reviewer who's name escapes me (maybe that Stereophile guy who nom de plume is his real name reversed..). Perhaps the series crossover was the secret, whatever, they were great and a great value to boot.. |
I have had my 3.8d bookshelf speakers since I bought them new in 1987 and they still sound amazing. Bought from Fat Julian in Roswell. |
John Fuselier was an airline pilot by profession, a speaker builder by passion. His speaker boxes were made by a cabinet manufacturer friend of his in Dothan Al. An electronics repair company, Audio Lab, installed the drivers and cross-overs in Atlanta. Fat Julian was probably one of his largest, in more than one sense, dealer of his products. I know there was a dealer in Washington D.C. at one time and few others around the country. I came to know Julian in the late 70s, when I bought some Magneplanars from him. I meet John in the mid 80s. The 2.5s, 2.6s 3.8s and 3.8Ds were the lineup at that time. The 2.5s used a dual voice coil focal mid/bass with the individual voice coils crossed over at different frequencies to an Audax tweeter. The 2.6 used a Dynaudio tweeter and Seas woofer. The 3.8, used an Audax tweeter, Dynaudio dome mid range and a 8" Vifa woofer. The 3.8d used the same tweeter and mid range, but replaced the Vifa with a 8-1/2" Dynaudio woofer. The 3.8s were reviewed by an audio magazine perhaps TAS or Stereophile and garnered an very positive review. I helped Julian and John put together and packet to try and drum some more dealers on the strength of that review, but not much came of that effort. John was just too small of a manufacturer and was running on a small budget. Julian commented on more than one occasion that John enjoyed the designing and experimenting more than the business side of making loud speakers.
I eventually bought a pair of his speakers, a prototype called the 4.3i. Three pairs were built, at least one pair had a Vifa aluminum dome (which I have) and the other variation was using a Dynaudio tweeter. They all had a 5" Focal mid range and twin Vifa 8" woofer in a clam shell isobaric configuration. The tweeter, mid range and woofer were all in separate enclosures that plugged into each other. I found this very unstable and bolted all three boxes together, with a cork thin pad between the cabinets. Being a "prototype", they had a major problem in the upper woofer response below the cross-over point, which was cured with the purchase of an equalizer. Back to the drawing board John went. The second generation of this design, with the isobaric woofer, used 10" woofers in one box with 3" mid range and tweeter in second box. They looked similar to the Wilson Watt Puppy box design. I know at least 8-10 pairs were sold by Julian in the 1990-91 time frame and possibly more of these were produced. |
I have a pair of 3.8E's I bought in 1992 from Fat Julian's Audio in Roswell, GA. They are three-way, time-aligned, phase-correct, circuit-matched, 3.8 ohm (so they are hungry), floor standing speakers. I am driving them through a pair of Denon POA-S10's at 300+ watts each and would not trade them for any other. I also have a pair of Fuselier Basic 8's (8in two-way) and a pair of Basic 6's (two-way 6in) both of which are incredible. (I have Focal in my boat, so I actually have other brands.) There is a fellow named Benny who owns modular Electronics, (www.aminaaudio.com) that actually built the last few pair of Basic 8's in conjunction with Julian and still has the circuit designs. Benny repaired my 3.8's and built a pair of front ported bookshelf's for my girlfriend; he absolutely understands Fusilier and sound.
A friend of mine bought a pair of Model 9's (I think that is what they were called) in the 80's and another friend of mine bought a pair of original design 6in two-way's that are still truly unbelievable. (Probably from the 70's and the SOB will not sell them to me!) Another friend had a pair that were multi-component that I think were called the Model 5; need some further reference on those.
Someone mentioned a pair of 3.8D's that were the precursor to the E's and a bit larger. If they are the speaker I saw at Julian's shop on many, many occasions, they have a mid-range driver with a protruding center from the cone. They are a hoss and definitely need some solid juice.
I compared my Basic 8's to a similarily configured pair of 8in two-way Sonus Faber and I believe the Fuselier's are a better speaker; transparency, less coloration, better imaging, broader stage, effortless bass.
The 3.8E's I have might be the last and the pinnacle of the Fuselier line. Absolutely clear, accurate, transparent, full, SICK GOOD and I have heard a lot of $$$ speakers - Thiel, Vandersteens, and many, many high-end sets. (My B&W's provide adequate sound for my garage.)
I was listening to a live studio recording on my 3.8's and heard what sounded like a slight crackle as if one of the drivers was giving way. OMG, a blown speaker! I took the recording and played it on my Basic 8's and there was a blown speaker - in the freaking recording studio! That's how accurate and revealing they are.
The Fuselier's are all hand built and luckily, Benny at Modular Electronics can provide service for them. Enjoy!!! |
I have a pair of Fuselier's marked 3-BS. Anyone hear of those? |
Also have floor model 3.3 purchased in 1983. They are currently in use as my rear surrounds and do pretty well with my Maggie 1.6 mains and Maggie center. A great speaker that I can not part with. The closest in my opinion to the clarity of presence you get the Maggies. If they only wet a little lower they could have been a perfect speaker and the greatest bang for the buck ever. |
Absolutely amazing! I was reading a review on a C-J preamp and saw
"I tested both the Conrad-Johnson and Audio Research combinations using top quality turntables like the Goldmund and SOTA-Sumiko arm combination, top quality cartridges, and speakers like the modified Quad ESL-63s, Thiel CS3s, Spica TC-50s, and Fuselier 3.3s."
WHAT? Fuselier? I thought I had search the Gon before for any reference to the Fuseliers but obviously missed some things because now I stumble upon this thread.
I bought some 3.8's from Julian when I was in college at Auburn in '91 or so. I listened to a lot of different speakers at the time but nothing really hit me like John's. I have since moved on to a different design but I still have these pristine speakers in the original box. Which, by the way, was one of the best pack jobs I have seen! My newest speakers at $5k were not constructed or protected as well.
Anyone have a clue what these things are worth these days? |
Cloud,
I do not know their worth anymore than my fuselier 3 bs's but I would love to see some pics of your Fuseliers. If you cannot post, send the to my email.
Andrew.Latham@me.com |
Sorry this is late; Im new to the site. I'm really glad to hear that others have heard - and even own - Fuselier speakers, because they were superb, but not widely known.
The information from Jgruesen (01-05-11) was exactly as I remembered it. I lived in Atlanta for a couple of years in the mid-to-late 1980s, and I met John Fuselier - an ex-American Airlines (or was it Delta?) pilot - on a few occasions at Julian's Audio in Roswell, GA, just north of Atlanta. Both men were great guys. Julian said that John often listened to live music in clubs near the airport after flights, and developed an ear for the sound of live music.
Because reproduced music no longer "did it" for him, John began designing his own speakers. The drivers he used - and he supposedly tested just about everything available - were often Dynaudio and Seas, and I think Julian mentioned that Rich Acoustics in Alabama had made the cabinets for John. If I remember correctly, the Fuseliers had third- or fourth-order crossovers. (I think I still have a small brochure around somewhere.) The workmanship on all the speakers was first-rate.
One of my favorite models for the price was the 2.6, with a Dynaudio tweeter and a Seas woofer. However, all the Fuselier models were well-balanced, similar-sounding speakers, without the typical bass bump of many ported speakers. For me, it was their clarity and their reproduction of all the depth available in the recording that really made them stand out. Simply put, they sounded like live music. Once, while listening to a Billy Joel recording, I told Julian that I could almost see the sweat on Joels brow - the Fuseliers were that realistic.
As for the test by a major magazine, it was Audio magazine that tested the 3.8 (in 1989, I believe), giving it a very good review. I frankly thought the speaker sounded even better than its test results, good though they were.
I moved to California before I was able to buy a pair of the 2.6s, and when I couldn't find any in the Golden State, I bought Kevin Voecks-designed Snell Type Q speakers, which I still have and love. However, I wish that Fuselier had been more of a success, and had been more readily available. John had some great design ideas, and everyone who I dragged into the store to hear them (and there were several) was blown away. |
I have an amazing story, I too have owned several Fusilier speakers, and after many years, I went on a search to find John Fusilier . My thoughts were to contact him to share my joy that his speakers provided me. As luck would have it I was able to reach him. We talked for hours on end as if we were long lost friends, and at the conclusion of our conversation he provided me an opportunity to purchase what he deemed one of his favorite prototype speaker designs named the Darth Vader. Without hesitation I met up with John to complete the transaction. Needless to say he was right,and still to this day we remain friends and chat about the wonderful world of audio. |
That is a very neat story DKgolf! I was lucky enough to purchase a pair of Fuselier speakers at a yard sale! The badges that have the model numbers on the back of them indicate that this pair is/was made as a "custom" and they are numbers 1 & 2. I know very very little about them but I have been reading about John Fuselier on this site (and any that have any kind of info about him and his work.) I did have to purchase a replacement woofer for one of the towers and was able to find a Vifa like was originally installed. I certainly love the speakers and I would love to find out more about them! |
Hello -- I have a pair of Fuselier speakers I bought in about 1984 (I have the receipt somewhere). They are attached to a Berning EA-230 Dual 30 watt amplifier and an OTS Yamaha Receiver RX-V680. I'm looking to move the whole set. What is the best way to sell them?
Off line replies to crstroup at gmail dot com.
THANKS
Cindy
Northern VA |
Place an ad in the classifieds here. |
I was fortunate enough to know John as well have lost contact would love to speak with him I own the following models 5. 9. And basic8 all STILL more than competitive with 2 pairs of big buck speakers from different manufactures anyone that has had the pleasure of listening to any of johns speakers would agree with the following assessment They Just Sound Like 'Music ! |
Still glad folks are happy with their Fuselier Speakers. I’ve still got mine, from (Fat) Julian’s Audio when he was in The Prado on Roswell Rd. They were hand made, bought from from Fat Julian in 1984. They were some of the first speakers John Fuselier made as they have no marks on them indicating they are Fuselier 2 as Julian marked on the invoice. They were considered bookshelf speakers, 14" H x 9" W x 12" D but Julian sold me some stands for them. Just reposting this, since perhaps folks did not see my original post.
Does anyone remember Belles equipment? Julian sold that brand to me also with my system. Primo!!
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whiteint,
Not only do I remember Belles, I am a dealer for David Belle’s current company Power Modules INC. All still 100% David Belles designed and built. Google Power Modules Inc. Belles and see theiur offerings.
David is an underappreciated designer and IMHO his Statement products will hang with anything out there under $50,000.
Mike
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I knew John in the late 60's and early 70's when he flew. He built a set of speakers, including the cases, for my husband and me, sometime in the early 70's! I remember that he came to our apartment and set them up for us. As he left, he drawled in that classic NOLA accent......" Well, you guys gonna' have the loudest most un-distorted music on the planet!" He was so sweet and unassuming....really innocent, in a way. One day, when I was VERY pregnant, in the summer of 1973, he came to the door and invited me for a ride in his new car. It was a banana yellow Panatera(not sure of how to spell it). I climbed in with a lot of help, and off we went! I don't believe that car was meant to go less than 100 mph, but he was careful with me. I held onto the seat for dear life and when we finished our 30 minute ride on the south expressway, he leaned over and said "Sorta' rides like a buckboard, doesn't it?" Sorry, folks....my ex got the speakers in the divorce!
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Just for kicks and to help anyone...I live in the Roswell, GA area where Julian's Audio moved eventually; late 80's early 90's. Because of that, I have many friends owning Fuselier speakers as do I. What some of us have been able to do in the last couple of years is to find brand new "old stock" drivers to replace and rebuild our Fuseliers essentially making them new again. And this is done with the help of Benny Amina of Modular Electronics in Roswell, GA. As noted in my previous post which is now 12 years old, Benny has the circuit diagrams and actually built the last few Fuselier speakers with Julian. (Benny built me a pair of true Bookshelf speakers leveraging John's circuitry for my girlfrend and used the same cabinet builder that John used in AL. They were/are unbelievable although Benny said he would never do that again - lost money.) He is still in business. What a treasure to have this resource. So, to be able to have a "new" pair of 1992 Fuselier 3.8E (41" H x 13 1/2" D x 11" W) with the ability to access studio level resolution music files (Tidal) is a wonder. So the message is, if you have older Fuseliers and look long and hard enough, they can be resurrected. Every time I sit down for thirty minutes to listen to them, three hours later I am still truly amazed!
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Hi srdowney,
I'm from Acworth, Ga. and I have a pair of the Fuselier 3.3d speakers. I was wondering if you knew what the difference is between the 3.3d and the Model 5.Cosmedically speaking the only difference I could see is that they rounded the four corners of the midrange faceplate and added another horizontal brace behind the top tweeter.
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Wow! Just found this thread. I have an old set of Fuselier 5s, one of which I believe needs a woofer replacement. Any ideas where I can get one (or maybe 2)?
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I would call Benny at Modular Electronics in Roswell, Ga, @ 770-410-1122
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