In this review, we will be comparing Ai81 and A700, two Powered Floor-standing speakers from Fluance and Buchardt. Being Powered speakers, they both have built-in amplifiers so you don't need an external power amp or an integrated amp to power them. Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Fluance Ai81 and Buchardt A700 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
In the following sections, we will get into more detail in order to better understand how the Fluance Ai81 and Buchardt A700 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one of these loudspeakers is the better choice for you.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Ai81 is a 2-way design whereas the A700 is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
| Driver |
Fluance Ai81 |
Buchardt A700 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1-inch
|
0.74-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
1 x 6-inch |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 6.5-inch
|
4 x 6-inch
|
Ai81 features a 1" Silk Neodymium Ferrofluid Cooled Soft Dome Tweeter and 2 x 6.5" Woven, Glass Fiber Composite Woofer . On the other hand, the A700 features a 0.74" fine weave soft fabric textile aluminum waveguide Tweeter , a 6" Midrange and 4 x 6" paper Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 100-250Hz and 2800Hz.
Frequency Response
Ai81 has a frequency range of 30-20k Hz whereas A700 has a frequency range of 17-40k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 17Hz, the A700 can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Ai81's min frequency of 30Hz.
Below graphs depict how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average values of the Min and Max Frequencies of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Size of a speaker can sometimes become an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Fluance Ai81's and Buchardt A700's external dimensions. Fluance Ai81 has external dimensions of 96 x 21.6 x 26 cm ( 37.8 x 8.50 x 10.24 inches) whereas Buchardt A700 has external dimensions of 1000.0 x 180.0 x 280.0mm ( 40.0 x 7 x 11inch) .
Fluance Ai81 is 40mm shorter and 20mm less deeper than Buchardt A700 but it is also 36mm wider.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Fluance Ai81 is approximately 561.0cm2 / 87.0inch2 and base area of the Buchardt A700 is approximately 504.0cm2 / 78.1inch2. The Ai81 requires 11% more surface area than the A700 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.
Weight Comparison The weight of a loudspeaker can become an important factor if you need to move and reposition the unit often. Weight of a speaker can also "sometimes" be an indicator of the rigidity of the enclosure and the quality of the internal components used. The Fluance Ai81 weighs 13.16kg / 29lbs and the Buchardt A700 weighs 28.00kg / 61.6lbs. This makes the A700 113% heavier than the Ai81.
Here is a comparison of how Ai81 and A700's weights compare with the average, max and min weights in Powered Floor-standing class.
Weight
All Floor-standing Speakers
What's in the Box of Fluance Ai81?
Here are the items that are included inside the box of Ai81:
Ai81 Powered Tower Speakers (pair)Remote Control1x CR2032 Battery6ft Power Cable8ft 18 Gauge Speaker WireQuick Start GuideFluance CatalogLifetime Customer Support2 Year Manufacturer’s Warranty