Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speaker Preview

See the complete review for the Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers.

‘You have to buy this component and then this other one to connect the first one and then there are all of these wires and blah blah blah…’. And really what a lot of non-audiophiles want is a solution that is easy, inexpensive and sounds pretty good. And they want a good recommendation. And I mostly respond with ‘Fluance’.

Fluance is an online Canadian company that has built a solid reputation of high quality, great sounding gear for not a lot of money.

To that end, the Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers will run you a measly $199 USD. And for that, you get an all in one music set up with good powerful sound. I had the good fortune of reviewing the Fluance Ai60 Powered Bookshelf Speaker—with which I had a great time—and now I have the pleasure of reviewing its smaller sibling. Who doesn’t like their smaller sibling? We’re small, we sound good and we’re affordable. 

Where Fluance positioned the Ai60 as ‘The Right Speaker for Any Experience’, I think the Ai40 follows suit albeit minus some connectivity. Essentially a stripped-down version of the Ai60, dispensing the digital TOSLink Optical input, Micro USB input, and Subwoofer output. What you’re left with is Bluetooth AptX for wireless streaming and a single RCA input. That’s it. And sometimes that’s all you need. Though it isn’t a Wi-Fi speaker, it also pairs via Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple TV. You can also connect via RCA to your turntable (providing you have a preamp), or a CD player.

Their size lets them happily sit on your desktop and if you choose to you can have them set up on a shelf, sideboard or anywhere else in your home. The Ai40s share the same elegant and premium styling as the Ai60s. I totally fell for the Ai60s with their beautifully crafted, acoustically tuned wood cabinets and these seem to be no different. These little cuties measure 10.9 x 6.5 x 7.6 inches and are a sealed box 2-way, 2-Driver design. They feature a 5-inch woven, glass fiber composite driver paired with a 1-inch Silk Soft dome Ferrofluid cooled tweeter. Each speaker gets 35 Watts of Class D power and the frequency response is 40Hz-20kHz via DSP Virtual Sound. 

Standard in the Fluance product line, everything you need to get started is included: The speakers, remote, 2x AAA batteries, power adaptor, speaker wire, RCA cable, and a start-up guide. You also get a 2-year Manufacturer’s Warranty and lifetime customer support. What’s not love?

Both the Ai40s and Ai60s are available in Black, Walnut and Bamboo. My review sample arrived in black. The cabinets are finished with a black veneer on sides, with a black faceplate. Dressed in all black they have an altogether different look than the Bamboo variant, not bad, just markedly different, slick. 

Reading this you can already guess I’m going to probably love these little speakers from Fluance. I’ve already set them up and am listening to them as I type this. Stay tuned, I’ll have more to share shortly!

See the complete review for the Fluance Ai40 Powered Bookshelf Speakers.