Fluance, a Canadian audio equipment manufacturer, is celebrating its 25th anniversary on August 13th, 2024. The company's journey from humble beginnings to an industry leader is a testament to its founder's passion for music and commitment to high-quality, accessible audio.
Established in 1999 in Niagara Falls, Fluance emerged from the vision of its founder, Deepak Jain. An avid audiophile with a deep passion for music since childhood, Jain frequently attended local concerts and soon recognized the disparity between live performances and his home listening experience. Constrained by the cost of high-end audio systems, he relied on portable stereo systems and headphones to enjoy his music.
As Jain's music collection grew, he sought to enhance his audio setup. However, through experimenting with various amplifiers and speakers, he was unable to replicate the immersive experience of live concerts. This led him to a pivotal goal: to create high-performance music systems that faithfully recreate the concert experience. From this aspiration, Fluance was born.
"Celebrating 25 years of Fluance is deeply personal for me," said Jain. "As a lifelong music lover, I've always cherished how a powerful piece of music can move us. This passion ignited my purpose and led to the creation of Fluance. Our journey began with a simple dream to deliver exceptional sound that captures the essence of music."
Over the past quarter-century, Fluance has grown from a small start-up to a recognized name in the industry. The company has expanded its product line to encompass 82 diverse offerings, spanning ten home audio lines, three music system series, and eight turntables with accessories. This growth reflects Fluance's commitment to quality sound and premium materials across different price points, making high-fidelity audio more accessible to a broader audience.
Fluance's products have reached approximately 500,000 customers worldwide, a testament to the company's success in fulfilling Jain's vision of recreating the live concert experience in home audio systems. "Today, as we mark this milestone, we are immensely grateful for our customers' continuous support and their trust in our product quality," Jain added. "We always strive to achieve the best performance in our products and look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of audio excellence."
Fluance's journey began with the launch of Fluance.com in 2000, introducing early models like the AV and SX Series speakers. These initial offerings set the stage for future innovations, garnering acclaim from industry experts for their exceptional performance at competitive prices. The company's product line evolved to include the FiSDK500 High-Performance iPod Speaker Dock in 2011, which earned the 2011 EXC!TE Award.
In 2012, Fluance further transformed the under $500 and $1,000 speaker categories with the introduction of the XL Series, including the XL7F Floorstanding Speakers. These speakers, along with the later XL8F model reviewed by William Kanner for HomeTheaterReview, set new benchmarks for performance in their price range.
Recognizing the growing importance of digital audio and streaming, Fluance has been at the forefront of powered speaker technology. The company's move into this space demonstrates its forward-thinking approach to value. Powered speakers, which integrate amplification directly into the speaker enclosure, offer consumers a simplified and space-efficient audio solution without sacrificing sound quality. This approach aligns with modern listening habits and the increasing prevalence of streaming.
The Elite Series of Powered Bookshelf Speakers, launched in 2020, exemplifies this philosophy. The series includes the Ai41 model, which Scott from HomeTheaterReview found impressive in his review. Building on this success, Fluance recently introduced the Ai61 and Ai81 powered speakers. The Ai61, priced at $299.99, offers a compact bookshelf design with a 120-watt amplifier and modern connectivity options. The larger Ai81, at $499, brings floor-standing power to the powered speaker market with dual 6.5-inch woven glass fiber woofers. HomeTheaterReview will be conducting an in-depth review of the Ai81 speakers in the coming months, providing further insights into Fluance's latest offerings in this category.
Fluance's commitment to audio excellence extends beyond speakers. In 2016, the company entered the turntable market with the RT80 and RT81 models, quickly establishing itself as a serious contender in the vinyl playback arena. Their success in this category was further cemented when in January 2024, The New York Times named the Fluance RT85N as the best turntable under $600, highlighting the company's ability to deliver high-quality products at competitive prices. Their latest offering, the RT81+ turntable, priced at $299, continues this tradition. It features a high-gloss walnut veneer plinth, a pre-installed Audio-Technica AT-VM95E cartridge, and thoughtful features like an auto-stop mechanism. HomeTheaterReview plans to review both the RT81+ and the acclaimed RT85N turntables in the near future, offering detailed analyses of their performance and value propositions.
As Fluance enters its next quarter-century, the company is focusing on environmental sustainability in its operations, using recycled materials for "eco packaging" and optimizing shipping efficiency. Here at HomeTheaterReview, we're excited to see what the future holds for Fluance. Given their track record of producing great-sounding products at competitive prices, we anticipate more innovative offerings that continue to push the boundaries of affordable high-fidelity audio. As the company evolves and introduces new products, we'll continue to provide in-depth reviews and updates, keeping you informed about the latest developments in Fluance's expanding audio lineup.
