Review Details

Ai60 Powered 6.5” High Performance Bookshelf Speakers - Black & Walnut

Average Customer Rating:

Rating:
89 % of 100

Ai60 High Performance Powered 6.5” Bookshelf Speakers

Product Rating:

Product Rating
Overall Performance
40%

Product Review (submitted on August 19, 2019):

I bought these speakers with high hopes they would deliver the clear, distinct, and managed sound they were advertised to deliver. Even though there was no specific reference to their performance in computer station setups or as home DAW monitors, the pictures provided in the advertising suggested they were also recommended for these applications. Prior to testing these speakers, I decided to eliminate any concern with audio signal source quality by installing a new SBX ProStudio sound card and using audiophile gold plated connectors throughout. After setting the units up at my computer mixing station, I performed a six-hour speaker burn-in by playing various playlists at 70% volume. Then the real review began. The audio files I used for testing included the Test Speaker Hi End Audiophile Collection - 2018 from NbR Music, along with numerous FLAC audio files residing on my NAS. The speakers were mounted on foam isolation pads and placed at ear level on my desk speaker mounts and at 65 inches from my ears. Initially the speakers sounded slightly unbalanced, with midrange being noticeably confined and bass somewhat over-aggressive. I tried adjusting the levels on the speaker front, but I could not improve one without sacrificing another. I allowed the testing to continue anyway and soon began to experience a noticeable amount of listener fatigue. During the first hour of testing, I had to stop the music and restart it numerous times in order to adjust levels. It was during the stops that I noticed the hissing and static coming from the speakers when left idle. I tried adjusting the audio signal to the speakers and the resident speaker volume but could not eliminate the noise. I then tried to isolate each speaker to verify where the noise was coming from, only to find it was coming from both speakers at almost the same intensity. I subsequently tried isolating all the input sources to my workstation, but to no avail. That’s when I knew something was wrong. For a final test, I disconnected the Ai60’s and reinstalled my previous speaker system. Not surprisingly, the idle hissing and static heard with the Ai60’s was completely gone. The original speakers were absolutely silent when idle, even though the same audio input connections used with the Ai60’s remained intact. Sorry Fluance, but I think you’ve got a bit more work to do with these units before I could honestly recommend them.

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