Skip to main content

Fluance’s Ai60 powered speakers are a cheap, convenient way to jam out

If you’re in the market for a great pair of bookshelf speakers to pair with that classy new turntable, you’re in luck: Fluance, the popular audio brand that has long made one of our favorite entry-level turntables and other affordable audio gear, has announced the Ai60, a pair of powered speakers that should help bring your favorite tunes to life.

With built-in 6.5-inch woofers and integrated 100-watt class D amplifiers, the compact speakers should provide a vivid full-frequency image of your music, and are aimed at those who are just getting into the world of high-end sound, but who don’t quite have the budget to leap into the deep end, where audio gear can quickly eat up their vacation (or even car) fund. The Ai60 will retail for just $300.

In addition to offering the ability to directly connect to a source device like a turntable, mp3 player, or CD player via RCA cables without the need for a separate amplifier, the Ai60 also feature built-in Bluetooth streaming with aptX, allowing you to wirelessly stream your favorite tunes in high fidelity. In addition, you can connect with optical and USB, and the speakers even have a subwoofer output port, should you want a bit more rumble.

The speakers also include a remote, not only allowing for convenient volume and input control from across the room, but also allowing them to easily double as TV speakers (via the optical port).

We also expect the speakers to offer great sound for the money, even without an added subwoofer. The Ai60 feature gorgeous wooden cabinets in numerous colors (our favorite is the natural bamboo look), with soft silk-dome tweeters designed to provide crisp, natural highs, and glass fiber woofers that the company claims provide vivid mids and deep bass.

We’ve loved many of the products we’ve seen from Fluance, and have always been impressed by the way the company is able to mix excellent sound with truly great value. We look forward to spending time with these new bookshelf speakers, as they seem like they could be a great all-in-one solution for the budding audiophile. After all, who doesn’t want a great-looking and great-sounding set of speakers that won’t cost an arm and a leg?

Updated on January 29, 2019: A previous version of this article stated that the speakers didn’t come with a remote. Updated to reflect that they do.

Editors' Recommendations

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
Google’s entire Pixel Buds line is heavily discounted right now
Google Pixel Buds A-Series

Google has been making a lot of inroads in the electronics category, whether it's their range of smart home devices or smartphones. In the last couple of years, Google has also started pushing into the earbuds space with the Pixel Buds series, which are surprisingly good quality, and great value, especially if you want additional access to the Google ecosystem.
Google Pixel Buds A-Series -- $79, was $99

The Google Pixel Buds A-Series are somewhat of a culmination of Google's attempts to create an affordable set of earbuds, and at a competitive price, many people might say they managed to hit the nail on the head. Audio fidelity is great in the higher ranges, making this great for calls and vocals-heavy music, although it does suffer a bit in the mid and lower ranges. It also does have ANC, although it's not competitive with some other earbuds, such as the ones from Samsung, but it does have a nice little feature that automatically changes the volume as you move through noisier and quieter environments. As for battery life, you can expect 5 hours in the earbuds and another 17 hours in the case, so you get about 24 hours of charge time in total, which is excellent.

Read more
Usually $2,500, the 65-inch LG C2 OLED TV is over $1,000 off
An African landscape on the LG C2 OLED.

LG is one of the most well-known panel-making companies in the industry, along with Samsung, so when we see a new TV from LG come out that promises to buckle the trends, we listen. Luckily, the LG C2 is a perfect entry into the premium TV category, and with the deal from Woot bringing it down to $1,395 from the usual $2,500, it's an incredible steal.

Why you should buy the 65-inch LG C2 OLED TV
The first thing you might notice when receiving the LG C2 OLED TV is how incredibly light it is, just 37 pounds or so with the stand, which seems too low for something as powerful as the C2. Luckily, the OLED panel is sublime, with the ability to reproduce deep blacks, and the Alpha 9 Gen 5 processor does a great job at pumping out brightness while still maintaining detail. That's interesting given OLED's propensity to do better with Contrast, while QLED does deep blacks better, and while we have a deeper breakdown of QLED vs. OLED technology, suffice to say that OLED has a lot of advantages, from being easier on the eyes, having better viewing angles, and generally lower response times and input lag.

Read more
Best Soundbar Deals: Save on Bose, Samsung, and Sonos
The Samsung 2.1-channel soundbar and included subwoofer set on a media cabinet.

If you're starting the new year with a brand new TV, you might be impressed by the picture but discover the sound is nothing short of disappointing. That's because the slim bezels that are popular on newer TVs leave little room for beefy speakers, so they can sound tinny and quiet. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this problem: Treat your new TV to a companion soundbar. These low-profile bars sit under your TV and provide a real boost in sound, and many even come with subwoofers for an even more immersive cinematic experience. To save some money on your next sound system purchase, we've rounded up some of the best soundbar deals to be found on the internet.
TCL Alto 6 -- $70, was $80

It's not often you find good quality and budget soundbars, and while the TCL Alto 6 won't win any awards for best soundbar, it's still a great option if you're on a shoestring budget. It's easy to set up, especially if you already have a Roku TV since it integrates easily and is compatible with the Roku remote, which is a big plus. As for streaming, you can do that wirelessly using Spotify, Pandora, and a few others so that you can use it as a standalone music player as well. The audio does well with voices, and you will need to change the mode to get more out of playing music. You will also likely have to pair it with a subwoofer to get the most sound out of it, but as a standalone device, it's still excellent for the price.

Read more