Fluance’s new active stereo speakers look like a dream soundbar alternative, as well as being perfect for turntables or Bluetooth music
- Fluance launches bookshelf and tower speakers
- The Ri71 and Ri91 retail for $399 and $799 respectively
- Bluetooth aptX HD, HDMI ARC, RCA, and a sub out
With speakers this good, who needs a soundbar? That’s the argument for these new Fluance stereo speakers, which are thoroughly geared up with useful ports and connections to boost your home theater setup, or for modern music needs.
Fluance is a North American audio brand that’s been around since 1999, producing a long line of great ready to vie to be ranked among the best stereo speakers and best turntables – and the line now included the new Ri71 bookshelf and Ri91 tower models, which are both now available to buy in the US.
The Ri71 Reference Stereo Powered Bookshelf Speakers offer 120W of amplification, with five-inch “woven glass fiber drivers” that promise “a rich midrange and deep bass without distortion”, ‘Air Motion Transformer’ tweeters, and an MDF wooden cabinet to limit unwanted resonance – all for $399 (about £319 / AU$635).
You may like
However, the Ri91 speakers are where things get serious. These $799 (about £640 / AU$1,270 floorstanding speakers boast 150W of amplification, dual 6.5-inch woven glass fiber drivers per unit, ‘Air Motion Transformer’ tweeters again, and the built-in height, porting and air volume needed to blare out immersive cinema sound, as long as you’re happy with the larger footprint.
All about connections
While AV enthusiasts often have to choose between a well-connected, compact, all-in-one soundbar and the greater sonic potential of separate speaker units – which can be arranged to suit the layout and space of your own home – these Fluance speakers come with a host of ports for connecting other pieces of AV hardware.
Both models support HDMI ARC, for two-way communication between the speakers and your TV screen, as well as an RCA port for turntables (with no amp needed, because they’re active speakers), and a subwoofer output for upping the bass with another speaker unit.
You’ll also get support for Bluetooth aptX HD, for easy music streaming from whatever device you want, at a higher level of quality if your phone or laptop supports it.
Fluance is best known for starter and mid-range audio products, –such as the four-star Fluance Ai41 bookshelf speakers, or the Fluance RT81 turntable, which we called “the best starter turntable you can buy” – rather than truly high-end models. And Fluance’s Reference series spans $150-$1,100 speakers, offering a range of channel, bookshelf, floorstanding and surround sound speakers for different budgets.
But if you’re looking for a soundbar alternative for a three-figure sum, these decked-out speakers may be a suitable option – we’ll look to update you when we’ve had the chance to test them out ourselves.