These sit in different price classes - Audioengine A5+ Wireless costs roughly 2x what Fluance Ai41 does. Expect it to lead on paper; the question is whether the gap is audible enough in your room to be worth it.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Bass | A | Fluance Ai41 digs deeper - 35Hz against 50Hz. |
| Built-in power | evenly matched | Similar onboard amplification (90W vs 100W RMS). |
| Connections | A | Fluance Ai41 adds digital inputs. |
| Size | depends | Fluance Ai41 is easier to place; Audioengine A5+ Wireless is bigger, which usually goes with fuller bass. Your room decides. |
| Expandability | depends | Fluance Ai41: a sub output; Audioengine A5+ Wireless: a sub output. Audioengine A5+ Wireless sits in a wider range (6 models), so a matched surround system is easier later. |
| Price | A | Fluance Ai41 is cheaper - $249 against $499, about 50% less; arguably a different class. |
A Fluance Ai41 B Audioengine A5+ Wireless
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both speakers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Fluance Ai41 is the easier recommendation: it leads on most of the measured areas and costs less. Take Audioengine A5+ Wireless if its size, looks or fit in your room suit you better. If a subwoofer is in your plans, the bass gap largely stops mattering - you would be crossing over above 50Hz anyway, so judge these on the other rows instead. In a large or open-plan room, Audioengine A5+ Wireless has the cabinet volume to fill it more easily; in a small room, near a wall or at desk distance, Fluance Ai41 is the easier speaker to get right.
And remember what a spec sheet cannot show: how each looks in your room and whether the finish suits it, what dealer support and warranty are like where you live, and how they actually sound to you. If you can hear them first - ideally with your own music - that will tell you more than any number above.