Fantastic, Even Without an Amp

When you think of powered speakers, you probably envision Bluetooth speakers or bookshelf-style speakers. You most likely don’t think of tower speakers, but that is exactly what you’ll find in the Fluance Ai81 Elite Powered Floorstanding Tower Speakers, aimed at both stereo and home theater systems.

One of the advantages of larger speakers is more room to fit extra drivers and components, and the Ai81s take advantage of this with dual woofers, a bottom port for more powerful bass, and tons of connectivity options. The speakers are powered by a 150-watt built-in amplifier, offering a DSP-enhanced frequency response of 30Hz to 20kHz.

Looking at the size, technology, and features, you might expect the Ai81s to cost a fortune, but they’re surprisingly affordable at just $500 for a pair. Do they sound as good as they look on paper?

Great Looking, but Do You Have the Room?

• Dimensions: 37.8 x 8.50 x 10.24in (96 x 21.6 x 26cm)
• Weight (active speaker): 30.61lbs (13.88kg)
• Weight (passive speaker): 29.02lbs (13.16kg)

The Ai81 speakers have a striking look, and it’s not just their size. The case design is sleek and minimalist, but the speakers also come in a few finish varieties. The review unit I was sent was black ash, but the Ai81s are also available in white walnut, lucky bamboo, and natural walnut options.

No matter which finish you choose, the speakers are always the same deep black color. For the black ash model, this means they have a classy, black-on-black appearance. With brighter finishes, on the other hand, the black woofers stand out more, offering a unique appearance. The look may not appeal to everyone, but I had no complaints.

The speaker cabinets are constructed from MDF composite but feel quite solid. While it may have looked better to opt for solid wood, that would make the speakers considerably heavier and likely far more expensive as well.

One aspect of the construction that’s worth mentioning: the edges of the cases are quite sharp. While unboxing one of the speakers, I scraped my finger quite painfully. This is easy to avoid and won’t be a problem after the speakers are set up, but it’s worth being extra careful when you take them out of the box.

Playback From Almost Any Device

• Bluetooth version: 5.0
• Physical inputs: 2x RCA line-in, 1x optical digital in
• Subwoofer output: RCA, automatic crossover at 80Hz

Apart from being powered speakers, one of the more unique aspects of these speakers is that they also support Bluetooth connectivity. Here, you get Bluetooth 5.0, and while you don’t get Bluetooth LE Audio or other higher-quality codecs, the wireless audio sounds excellent.

When it comes to wired inputs, you get both analog and digital connectivity. On the back panel, you’ll find two RCA line-in jacks. Unfortunately, neither of these is a phono jack, so if you intend to hook up a turntable, you’ll need a standalone preamp or a turntable with a built-in preamp.

Just to the left of the two RCA jacks, you also get an optical digital audio input. It’s worth pointing out that this only supports basic PCM audio, as the speakers don’t feature Dolby or DTS decoders. I’ll explain when and how that may matter to you later in the review.

Finally, you get a speaker terminal to run from the active speaker to the passive speaker. In addition, there is a subwoofer output if you need extra bass. This output will automatically enable a built-in crossover, sending every signal from 80Hz and lower to the subwoofer.

Easy to Get Up and Running

Looking at the back of these speakers, with each featuring a speaker terminal, you may think that they’re a set of passive speakers. While the left speaker is passive, the right speaker is active, and there is no way to use the pair as passive speakers with another amp.

This makes them even easier to set up than your typical speakers. Plug the right speaker into a power outlet, then run the cable from the right speaker to the left speaker, and they’re ready to roll. All you need to do is connect your playback devices.

One thing worth noting before setting these up is that to hear them at their best, you’ll need to sit a fair distance from them. I found they sounded best from eight or more feet away, but you’ll want to put at least six feet between yourself and the speakers. Any closer and you’re not getting a proper stereo image.

Hands-on Controls and a Good Remote

• Onboard controls: Power switch, control dial
• Remote control included?: Yes

Looking at the back of the right speaker, which features all the inputs and controls, you may not think you can do much without the remote. All you get is a power switch near the bottom of the speaker and a single dial right at the top of the speaker.

This wheel doesn’t control volume, as you may expect, but allows you to switch between inputs by pressing it. You can control quite a few aspects of the speaker using just this wheel, but you’ll have a much easier time using the remote.

You get the basic features: volume control, playback control for connected Bluetooth devices, and the ability to switch between different inputs. Knowing which input you’re connected to still requires consulting the manual and a knowledge of what various colors on the front-panel LED mean.

You also get bass and treble controls to customize the EQ. It’s tough to have an idea of what you’re controlling at first, until you realize the LED flashes with each adjustment, flashing red if you’ve hit the maximum or minimum values for each of the adjustments.

Unlike many powered speakers, there is no app to download. All the controls are available either via the remote or on the speaker itself.

Sound Quality: Music to Your Ears

• Drivers: Dual 6.5-inch woven glass fiber composite woofers, 1-inch silk dome tweeters
• Onboard amplifier: Class D 150 watts continuous average output (2x 75 Watts RMS)
• THD (Total Harmonic Distortion): <0.1%
• Frequency response: DSP-enhanced, 30Hz to 20kHz

The Fluance Ai81s pack in dual glass fiber composite 6.5-inch woofers and a single one-inch soft dome tweeter into each speaker. A 150-watt internal class D amplifier provides 75 watts of power to each speaker. A downward-facing bass port underneath each speaker enhances bass response.

Inside the box, you’ll find a note from Fluance recommending that you break the speakers in for 10 hours for the best sound quality. I gave the speakers at least 10 hours before any critical listening, but while playing music, I noticed that the high frequencies sounded slightly softer after just a few hours. Before this, they had been leaning toward the crispy side, so it was a welcome adjustment.

“Journeyman” by Jethro Tull is a dense-sounding song with plenty of parts going on. The Ai81s take what can be a cramped-sounding mix on other speakers and present it largely as its component parts: guitar over to one side, snare drum directly in the middle, the string section off to another side. There is still plenty of cohesion, but the song sounds more clearly defined through these speakers.

Next up, I turned to Power Trip’s “Nightmare Logic” to see how the speakers dealt with heavier music. This is always an impactful-sounding album, but its emphasis on 80s production techniques keeps it permanently buried in reverb. The Ai81s still present the reverb, but the instruments have more heft. When the breakdown hits in the middle of the song, it sounds enormous.

After hearing how the Ai81s deconstructed dense mixes, I decided to try a more transparent-sounding mix with Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” There was nothing extra to reveal here, as this is a relatively sparse song that has always had a clean-sounding mix. That said, the song sounded as good as I’ve ever heard it. The acoustic guitars sounded like they were in the same room.

I’ve tested a fair number of speakers and headphones in my time. Every once in a while, I encounter a product that is just so fun to listen to that I can’t stop listening, even once I’ve done all the testing I needed to do. The Fluance Ai81s are, without a doubt, those types of speakers.

Excellent TV and Gaming Performance

Music is one thing, but you probably use speakers for more than just music. The Fluance Ai81s do a commendable job with most home theater tasks, just as they do with music. Only slightly hampering the speakers as your main home theater speakers is the lack of Dolby or DTS audio, as this limits your audio playback options.

That said, as long as you’re fine with stereo sound and PCM audio, the Ai81s will make your TV shows, movies, and games sound great. The same clarity that opens up dense musical mixes also makes for easy-to-understand dialog. Don’t expect them to offer surround sound, as there are no connections for satellite speakers.

The Ai81 speakers use digital signal processing (DSP) to extend the frequency response up to 30Hz to 20kHz, almost the entire average range of human hearing. This means the speakers are capable of pumping out rumbling engines, explosions in video games, and more.

While the Ai81s offer up all the bass most will want for music, home theater use and gaming are where you’ll want to add a subwoofer the most. You don’t need one, but if you’re looking for a more immersive experience, you’ll appreciate the ability to add a subwoofer.

Should You Buy the Fluance Ai81 Tower Speakers?

If you’re looking for the sound of larger speakers with the simplicity of a modern bookshelf speaker, the Fluance Ai81 Elite Powered Floorstanding Tower Speakers are a perfect option. They sound impressive, look great, and feature enough connectivity options to work equally well with both stereo and home theater systems alike.

There are two issues that may keep the Ai81s from being the best option for you. The first is the size, as not everyone has the space to hold two of these speakers and still have ample room between each speaker as well as a listening position at a proper distance from the speakers. The other issue is the lack of Dolby or DTS encoding, but this only really matters if you’re using them in a home theater context.

If the size is a problem for you, but you like the look of these speakers, you may want to consider the smaller Fluance Ai41 bookshelf speakers, which offer much of the same sound and features in a smaller package. That said, if you’ve got the room, the Fluance Ai81 are some of the best tower speakers you can buy.