Fluance Ai61 Powered Bookshelf Speaker Review

Well, Fluance did it. They've updated a great speaker and made it better. And have now got me wanting to upgrade.

INTRODUCTION

To say that I was looking forward to this review is an understatement. Fluance has updated their Ai Series Powered Bookshelf Speakers, the Ai41, and Ai61. I got to review the larger of the two, the Ai61. I look forward to it as I own the original Ai60 which sits pretty on the media unit at our cottage. Fluance hailed it as the best speaker for any occasion. And this statement held true. I own the original Ai60 and keep it at our cottage so we can have great sound there. Our cottage is awkwardly shaped and there isn't a great place to have a two-channel setup. But, the Ai60 works well in our space. Being an active speaker, the Ai60 negates the need for an outboard amp and keeps the tv area relatively clutter-free. I sometimes bring them upstairs and place them on opposite ends of our kitchen counter. It's served us well having great sound at the cottage as my family has gotten quite used to having better sound for music, tv, and movies at home. There are a good variety of powered speakers on the market, Fluance has managed to enter the segment at a much lower cost than the competition but with a whole lot of speaker.

DESIGN

The Ai61 is driven by an integrated 120 Watt Class D amplifier (up from 100 in the Ai60). The industrial design of the Ai series is largely unchanged. From the front, everything looks just as it was on the originals. It's only when you take a look at its rear that you notice something is different. Like the previous gen, the right speaker is the control speaker where all of the connections are made. The port configuration has changed. Notably, there is now a power switch (To turn off the speaker entirely), and a USB-C input for playback of audio. Returning from the previous generation are the Optical and RCA inputs, remain. As does the Bluetooth pairing Subwoofer output. The subwoofer output has gained a much appreciated 80 Hz Low-pass Frequency Cutoff making the connection to a subwoofer much easier. I used it in conjunction with my B&W 610. A 10" Sealed box sub.

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