I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
The Fluance Ai61 bookshelf speakers deliver rich, clear audio with true stereo separation in both wired and wireless configurations.
In a sea of wireless all-in-one Bluetooth speakers for the great outdoors or your smart home, the Fluance Ai61 speakers ($299.99) stand out for their classic design approach and support for both wired and wireless playback. The bookshelf-style speakers delivers natural and detailed audio, with true stereo separation—an increasingly rare quality. They aren't perfect, however, as some aspects seem a bit more outdated than retro, namely subpar Bluetooth codec support and the reliance on a physical remote instead of a companion app. We're bigger fans of the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks 4 for the same price, which come with a subwoofer, as well as Audioengine's A1-MR speakers ($229), which turn to Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. Nonetheless, if you want room-filling stereo sound and the convenience of Bluetooth audio, you should definitely consider the Fluance Ai61.
The Ai61 speakers each measure 13.1 by 7.8 by 9.2 inches (HWD) and are available in a few different finishes: black ash, dark brown walnut, white and brown (walnut), or white and tan (bamboo). The first color in the latter two models pertains to the front panel and the second is the color of the wood veneer on the enclosure. The drivers are black on all models and the system ships without a cloth grille to cover them. We fully support this aesthetic choice, though some people might prefer a more durable protective screen. The passive left speaker and active right speaker, respectively, weigh around 13.1 and 14.0 pounds.
Each speaker features a 1-inch silk soft dome neodymium tweeter and a 6.5-inch woven glass fiber composite driver with Butyl rubber surrounds. A Class D 120W amplifier powers the system and each channel receives 60W RMS. The speakers deliver a frequency range of 32Hz to 20KHz. They employ digital signal processing (DSP) for all sound sources (not just Bluetooth), which may not appeal to purists, but we found the audio performance relatively transparent.
The speakers are compatible with the slightly outdated Bluetooth 5.0 standard. They support the AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX, which means neither Android nor iPhone users get hi-res wireless audio streaming.
A combination knob and button on the right speaker’s front panel handles power (press and hold), audio source switching (press quickly to cycle between Bluetooth, RCA, optical, and USB sources), and volume (turn the knob). The IR sensor for the remote sits on the front, near the bottom.
The rear panel on the right speaker houses multiple connections and controls including USB-C, optical, and RCA inputs for audio, but Fluance doesn't include any of the related cables. Rounding out the connections is a subwoofer output with an 80Hz low-pass cutoff—Fluance offers two different subwoofer models (DB10(Opens in a new window) and DB12(Opens in a new window) ) that work with the system. Ports for the included 8-foot, 18-gauge speaker cable (that connects the right unit to the left one) and the 6-foot power cable sit on the bottom of the rear panel, along with a master power switch. Farther up, there’s a Bluetooth pairing reset button.
The included remote control runs on two AAA batteries. It has buttons for Power, Mute, Audio Source, and LED brightness (which dims the right speaker’s status LED, turns it off, or restores it to full brightness). It also features a standard multifunction circular control array—the central button handles playback, buttons to the left and right manage track navigation, and volume controls are above and below. Dedicated buttons to increase or decrease the treble and bass (each within a range of -5 to +5) reside farther down on the remote. The LED on the right speaker flashes red when you reach either extreme and flashes twice in blue when you return to the default setting.
The remote is easy to operate and more or less essential; Fluance doesn't offer a companion app, and not all of the controls on the remote are available on the physical control board. The buttons are responsive, but the IR-based technology can interfere with other similar devices nearby; this remote, for instance, also powered up a nearby LG television. Yes, there are sophisticated (universal remotes) and simple (covering IR sensors with black tape) workarounds for this issue, but it's another reason why an app would have improved the user experience. An app would also make sense for people who plan to stream audio directly from their phones anyway. And more sophisticated EQ controls wouldn't hurt, either.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Ai61 speakers deliver a palpable, but accurate, low-frequency response. The DSP does a good job of preventing bass distortion at top volume levels without thinning out the lows. The difference in bass response at moderate versus high volumes isn’t all that pronounced, which isn’t always the case for speakers with DSP.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the sound signature. The drums on this track sound far less heavy than on bass-forward speakers. In fact, it’s Callahan’s baritone vocals that seem to get the bulk of the lower-frequency attention—the vocals exhibit plenty of low-mid richness and crisp, higher-frequency presence. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits come across with plenty of bright detail. The speakers sound wonderful overall, with a balanced, relatively transparent signature. Some rich, low-mid anchoring is present, but the system never really digs down to the sub-bass level—hence the subwoofer output. If you want sub-bass without buying a separate subwoofer, you should choose different speakers.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives plenty of high-mid presence, allowing its attack to retain its punch, but the vinyl crackle and hiss also both take a slight step forward in the mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat aren't overly impactful—we hear their raspier top notes but not their rumble. It’s the drum loop that gets the most low-frequency heft, with plenty of thump to accompany its high-mid attack. The vocals on this track sound very clear without much additional sibilance. Of course, changing the bass and treble levels can affect the default sound fairly drastically. But although increasing the bass beefs up the drum loop here, it won’t suddenly add in the missing sub-bass.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, benefit from an ideal balance: The lower-register instrumentation sounds full and plays a subtle anchoring role to the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals. The speakers lean a bit into the low-mids on certain mixes, but we never noticed a drop in clarity.
One operational annoyance: When we streamed music from an iPhone via Apple Music, the speakers often clipped the very beginning of some tracks. This issue didn't seem as bad when we skipped to a different track within an album or playlist, but it showed up when we switched to non-sequential songs. Many older Bluetooth speakers and headphones used to have this issue, so we're a bit annoyed to see the problem occur here.
The Fluance Ai61 speakers deliver rich, crisp, and detailed audio that is highly adjustable. We also like the versatility of both wireless and wired connection options, though the Bluetooth implementation could be better and we'd prefer a companion app instead of (or in addition to) the physical remote. As mentioned, we're also fans of the Audioengine A1-MR speakers, which swap Bluetooth for Wi-Fi, and the Harman Kardon SoundSticks 4, which offer superior subwoofer depth. That said, the Ai61's excellent sound quality and attractive design make it easy to overlook any quirks.
The Fluance Ai61 bookshelf speakers deliver rich, clear audio with true stereo separation in both wired and wireless configurations.
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I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
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