Way again in 1999 two firms that might loom massive in CNET’s check labs bought their begin: Aperion Audio and Fluance. While Aperion has stayed on its dwelling theater path during the last couple a long time, Fluance has branched out to gadgets such because the RT82 turntable, winner of our Editors’ Choice award. The firm is on an actual tear, and the XL8F floor-standing speaker is the most recent instance.

LikeBig, generously proportioned speakersExcellent sound high quality excellent for lengthy binge sessionsNothing holds a candle to it for the cash

Don’t LikeCould be smoother, particularly with its decrease registerDustcaps did not fairly line up

The XL8 vary is a cheap dwelling theater speaker vary incorporating rears, facilities and bookshelves, led by these spectacular floor-standers. The match and end of the XL8F is opulent for $600 (£600) a pair, and its pure dimension is unmatched by different audio system at its degree. The sound of the XL8F is open and thrilling, however by no means shrill, and when fed a film soundtrack these audio system merely zing. They’re no slouch with music both.The XL8 presents significantly better worth than Fluance’s flagship $800 Signature collection and a greater design too. The sound can be higher balanced than what I recall from the Signature vary.

While the identical cash will purchase you a really good bookshelf speaker from title manufacturers like Elac or Klipsch, should you actually need the utmost speaker to your cash, the large Fluance XL8F has no equal.Design and featuresTwin 6.5-inch glass fiber drivers flank a 1-inch comfortable dome tweeter.
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The Fluance XL8F is a contemporary three-way floor-stander nevertheless it presents as a 2.5-way, with a bass driver hidden within the base. The Fluance has two, 6.5-inch glass-fiber drivers separated by a 1-inch cloth tweeter (known as a D’Appolito configuration, named after the designer who perfected the association, Joseph D’Appolito). I did discover that one of many mid driver’s mud caps appeared a bit of tough when seen up shut — they’re all constructed from a chunk of glass fiber, and this one wasn’t glued on sq.. But from the sofa I could not actually inform.Elsewhere the end is exemplary, and I want the design to the awkward Signature collection with its tiny, yellow midrange driver on the prime. The XL8F towers are fairly tall at 46 inches excessive, solely 1.5 inches shorter than the monster Signature. They’re deep, too, as a way to accommodate that bottom-mounted 8-inch bass driver. 

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The speaker cupboard tapers on the again, to cut back inside reflections, and culminates in two rear bass ports (so it really works higher should you go away a couple of toes distance from the wall). The entrance baffle encompasses a piano-black end in a alternative of both black ash or walnut for the edges. The fixtures are simply as luxurious as the remainder of the speaker, beginning with a magnetically attaching grille. The gold plated binding posts are solid-looking and there are two units in case you need to experiment with bi-wiring or bi-amping.The audio system are rated at a 87dB sensitivity, which means they might be pushed by most receivers or amps, and are able to a 35Hz-25KHz frequency response.While no-one is basically auditioning audio system in shops in the intervening time, the corporate helpfully presents a 30-day a reimbursement trial on audio system purchased through its web site.How does it sound?As I count on from a speaker with a bottom-firing bass driver, the Fluance has an enormous, daring sound, nevertheless it’s additionally able to subtlety I did not count on. That midrange-tweeter-midrange association is ready to reproduce loads of element in music and flicks, with a generously open character. I in contrast the speaker to my go-to reference speaker, the $900 Q Acoustics 3050i and located that the Fluance sounded higher in a number of key areas, particularly when it got here to watching movies.The Fluance XL8F’s mixture of deep bass and a revealing midrange made it an ideal associate for the foyer scene from The Matrix. This scene mixes balletic slow-mo, ricocheting bullet sound results and a pumping electro rating, and the Fluance welded them collectively in a satisfying manner. Though the Q Acoustics was capable of deal with the low-end portion higher, the Fluance delivered the shout of “Freeze” and its echoing tail in a extra revealing vogue.Watching Avatar, the Fluance demonstrated its eager ear with the plush rainforests of Pandora. During the Thanator chase scene the press of Jake’s machine gun was extra jarring when he realized the Thanator needed a cat-person meal as an alternative of the elephant-like Hammerhead Titanothere. The sound of the chase was merely extra visceral when heard on the Fluance than its counterpart. In comparability, the Q Acoustics had been a bit of extra inert, extra bass-focused and barely much less thrilling total.

When it got here to music the 2 had been shut, however the Q Acoustics’ extra laid-back high quality and top-to-bottom consistency gave it a slight edge. I listened to every little thing from Claude Debussy’s nocturnes to jazz to rock music, and located that the Fluance’s abilities lay in music with loads of element. The XL8F can actually provide you with a vivid sense of the efficiency area and make the audio system themselves disappear — so long as issues do not get too unfastened. For instance, the opening moments of Phoebe Bridgers’ Know The End gave me goosebumps when heard through the Fluance, and this continued because the chorused electrical guitar slithered round behind the singer. At 2:45 the bass drum that propels the second half of the track was deep and pulsing. Only when the track bought actually chaotic did the main points turn out to be a wash.Surprisingly the Q Acoustics offered a special track, and one which was in the end far more satisfying. The track’s intro guitars sounded larger, and as an alternative of staying in thrall they had been thrust outwards into the listening area, enveloping me. When the track bought hectic the audio system saved every little thing in focus higher than the Fluence, and the 3050i’s eager midrange on the chanted vocals and the enraged “rahhhhhh” had been extra finely expressed.Should you purchase it?Yes, you should buy your self a fairly killer soundbar for $600, however there is no manner it may match the Fluance XL8F for both bodily presence or the power to breed a thundering film soundtrack. There are few floor-standers that may do what the XL8F does — marry crushing bass energy with an open, detailed sound — and none of them value $600. The Q Acoustics 3050i is a extra refined speaker, particularly for music, nevertheless it prices $350 extra and it is not as well-designed. The Fluance XL8F presents an distinctive worth and in case your price range is beneath a grand, and you’ve got the room, these audio system ought to be on the prime of your audition checklist.