Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers – Most of the time when people find out that I do sound checks, they think it’s an expensive activity.
“You have to buy this component and then another to connect the first, and then there are all these wires and blah blah…”. And really, what many non-audiophiles want is a simple, inexpensive, and pretty good-sounding solution. And they want a good recommendation. And I usually respond to Fluance.
Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers
Fluance is a Canadian online company that has built a solid reputation for high quality, great sounding gear at reasonable prices.
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For that, the Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers will set you back $199. And for that you get all-in-one music with good, powerful sound. I was lucky enough to review the Fluance Ai60 bookshelf speaker, which I had a lot of fun with, and now I have the pleasure of reviewing its younger sibling. Who doesn’t love their little brother? We’re small, we sound great, and we’re affordable.
With Fluance referring to the Ai60 as “the right speaker for any experience”, I think the Ai40 will follow suit, albeit minus the connectivity. It’s basically a scaled-down version of the Ai60, offering a TOSLink digital optical input, a micro USB input and a subwoofer output. What remains is Bluetooth AptX for wireless streaming and one RCA input. All. And sometimes that’s all you need. While it’s not a Wi-Fi speaker, it also pairs with Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple TV. You can also connect via RCA to a record player (if you have a preamplifier) or a CD player.
Thanks to their size, they sit comfortably on your desk, and you can place them on a shelf, sideboard or anywhere else in your home if you want. The Ai40s shares the same elegant and premium style as the Ai60s. I’ve come to love the Ai60s with their beautifully crafted, acoustically matched wooden cabinets, and these seem to be no different. These little things measure 10.9″ x 6.5″ x 7.6″ and come in a 2-way, 2-driver sealed box. They feature a 5″ woven, fiberglass composite element mated to a 1″ Silk Soft Dome Ferrofluid- to a cooled tweeter.Each speaker receives 35 watts of Class D power and a frequency response of 40Hz-20kHz via DSP Virtual Audio.
The Fluance range comes standard with everything you need to get started: speakers, remote control, 2 x AAA batteries, power supply, speaker cable, RCA cable and a start-up guide. You also get a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty and lifetime customer support. What is not love?
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Both the Ai40s and Ai60s are available in black, walnut and bamboo. My review sample was black. The cabinets are finished on the sides with black veneer, black front panel. Dressed in all black, they look completely different to the Bamboo variant, not bad, just distinctly different, stylish.
As you can probably guess by reading this, I’m probably going to love these little Fluance speakers. I’ve already done them and I’m listening to them as I write. Stay tuned, I’ll have more to share soon!
Vinyl: The Use of Digital Intermediaries in LP Production and Is It a Problem or Not – An Analysis of the Digital Recording Process One of the most popular ways to listen to music today is through wireless speakers. They are convenient and take up little space. However, many people find that they have limitations when it comes to serious audio, especially when listening to music. This is very evident when the record player comes into the equation. You can beat the whole old-school analog music experience by converting vinyl audio to digital, compressing it, and playing it through a single wireless speaker. However, component systems that can utilize your recordings take up a lot of space and can be expensive. Fluance offers the perfect solution for the new Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers.
Component stereo systems have a receiver or amplifier that drives a pair (or more) of speakers. This is the best audio setting, but there are reasons why most people don’t go this route. Components take up a lot of space (my desktop receiver is 36 x 45 cm), can be expensive, and connecting everything correctly can be a pain.
Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers Review
In the Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers, the receiver is located in one of the speakers. You connect the speakers with one cable and that’s it. Two side-by-side Fluance bookshelf speakers are significantly smaller than this receiver. The only other physical connection you need to worry about is the input that connects the system to any audio source: TV, computer, CD player, record player, or whatever.
I love portable wireless speakers. However, they have several drawbacks, and their portability works against them in many ways. To be portable, they need to be relatively compact and as light as possible, they still need battery space and they need to be as efficient as possible to keep the batteries alive. This means less space for drivers, plastic construction and less power. As a result, many wireless speakers use a single full-range driver and the amplifier output is relatively low.
The bookshelf speakers used by the Fluance Ai40 are big and heavy (though still compact enough to be true bookshelf speakers), and that’s a good thing. Larger size means multiple drivers, in this case a 1 inch tweeter and a 5 inch driver. With a tweeter handling the high frequencies and a large driver handling the midrange and bass, the sound reproduction is better than when one driver tries to do it all. That means sharp highs and serious bass. These large, heavy enclosures also offer better acoustics and add warmth to the sound. They also have space for a high-powered amplifier. The Ai40 has 35W per channel, so you can get some serious volume.
Then there’s the stereo separation, which is huge. In order for the speakers to be in stereo, there must be a distance between them. A single wireless speaker does not produce stereo sound, even with multiple drivers. It can simulate stereo sound, but it will never be the same as the real thing. Fluance Ai40s allow you to easily set the correct 2-channel stereo spacing.
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The Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers combined with the Fluance RT81 turntable are a vinyl lover’s dream system.
I think the killer application for the Fluance Ai40 speaker would be part of a compact turntable setup. Vinyl is hot and more and more people are investing in turntables (Fluance makes nice ones by the way). However, not everyone has the space or budget for a component stereo system to get the most out of their turntable. While plugging it into a small portable speaker is physically functional, you lose a lot of what makes vinyl so special when you listen to records this way.
Fluance Ai40 would be a good choice. It is less complicated, cheaper and much smaller than a component stereo system. However, it offers 2-channel stereo and much better sound than a portable wireless stereo system. I had a Fluance turntable on hand and connected it to the Ai40 speakers and the result was impressive. It looked good and sounded even better.
So far, I’ve focused on the advantages of the Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers over wireless speakers. But the coolest thing is you
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Because the Ai40 also has Bluetooth connectivity. Pair them with your smartphone, select them like any other Bluetooth speaker, and stream Spotify playlists like any other wireless speaker.
The difference is that your music will sound better than ever because you still have all the benefits of the Ai40: great acoustics, 2-channel stereo with true stereo separation, multi-controller operation and generous volume at the touch of a button.
The only thing you give up is portability. If you don’t want to go to extremes with a stroller and a big power bank, you’ll probably want to keep a portable Bluetooth speaker for listening to music on the go.
I’ve had great experiences with Fluance products in the past, including the Fluance fi70 (which still holds the record as the best Bluetooth speaker I’ve ever reviewed) and of course the RT81 turntable featured as part of this review. The Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers continued the company’s tradition of surprising me with the quality and value of their products. The Ai40 speakers sounded amazing for the price and fit perfectly at the heart of a compact, powerful home stereo system.
Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers Review
If your home audio equipment could use an upgrade, be sure to check out Best Buy’s huge selection of systems, including speakers, powered speakers, receivers and turntables. Fluance creates a bit of a niche in the world of budget audio – as the title suggests. , they make great products at affordable prices.
Canadian online company offering a wide range of cost-effective products. I’ve reviewed several of their products in the past, including the bigger sibling
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