I just tested these epic powered speakers: Don't buy a $400 soundbar, buy these instead

I do like soundbars. They’re a solid way of getting surround sound for less than a full home cinema setup, and they don’t take up much space — perfect for smaller spaces.

But when given the choice and a $400 budget, I'd still opt for the Fluance Ri71 powered speakers. If you’ve got the space, these stereo speakers are capable of a wider, more immersive soundstage than the best cheap soundbars, and they play music much better than even more expensive soundbar options.

They are positively affordable — and given their versatility and style, I think they’re an excellent soundbar alternative.

Fluance Ri71 review: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A pair of attractive powered stereo speakers
• Who is it for? Those who want an alternative way to listen to music and watch TV.
• What does it cost? $399/£339
• What we like: Great physical connectivity options, good sound
• What we don’t like: Slightly boomy bass and WiFi would have been a nice addition

Fluance Ri71 review: Price and Availability

At $399, the Ri71 aren't exactly cheap but neither are they expensive or even mid-range — they’re affordable. They cost around the same as the Polk Audio Signa S4, the Bose Smart Soundbar, and the Sonos Beam Gen 2. For the price, you get an unrivalled music-listening experience and a very competent movie and TV-watching time that outmatches the more space-conscious soundbar options.

You’ll find a more flexible unit in the Ri71 as well, with some useful inputs on the back than the TV-stand-based competition. If you want to listen to music as much as you watch movies, it’s a no brainer.

They’re even well-priced compared to other powered speakers. They’re around the same as the Kanto Ora4, and those are more suited to closer listening — they won’t fill a room as well. Audio Engines A5+ cost around the same as well, but they lack the HDMI port.

To that end, the Ri71 are an incredible value proposition, matching up incredibly well and often surpassing the units you’ll find a similar price.

Fluance Ri71 review: Design and Build

• Slightly nerdy looking
• Well-judged cabinet shape
• No speaker grilles

First thing's first: If you’ve got curious little ones (be they human or otherwise) around the house, the Ri71 might not be the best thing to put on the floor. There are no speaker grilles to attach to the front, so little fingers (or claws) will easily find their way to driver units.

Beyond that strange omission though, the Ri71 are a speaker that feel a whole lot better built than you might expect from their slightly lower price. Their MDF cabinets are weighty enough to give some heft to proceedings, and the plastic quality of the horn-wave guide for the tweeter feels premium.

The edges are angular as opposed to the smoother edges of some of the competition, making for a more brutish speaker. You’ll want to watch those corners though — if they ever take a fall, they’re likely to either damage the floor they contact or break off in a whole chunk.

There are pre-attached rubber feet as well, so you don’t have to worry about fiddling about with those annoying little sticky feet that some speakers come packaged with.

Beyond the build, the speakers look good too — well, to some. I happen to enjoy their “this is a piece of audio equipment, deal with it” vibe, but others might not be too enamored with their white glass fibre drivers and bright yellow AMT tweeters.

To belabor the point slightly, a pair of speaker grilles could have covered up this potentially divisive audio-nerdery, but you’re otherwise stuck with the more overt styling given their absence.

The cabinets themselves are attractive, with three different color options. I like this walnut option that I’ve got here. It’s a high-quality veneer over the MDF cabinet, and it looks and feels great.

There’s some nice subtle shaping as well, rather than just a big wooden cuboid. The sides of the speaker are slightly curved, which likely aids the internal acoustics while making sure they’ve got some interesting design touches.

All that said, if you want them to sound their best (and believe me, you do), you should really mount them on vibration-dampening speaker stands. I’ll explain why later, but for now, I’ll just remind you that those take up room and add cost to the speakers.

Fluance Ri71 review: Controls

• Useful remote control
• On-device dials
• No app

As you’d hope with something that sits across the room from you, there are ways to control the Fluance Ri71 without leaving the comfort of your chair. The most useful is HDMI ARC, which uses your TV remote to control the volume when you’re watching movies or TV shows.

There’s also a compact remote control in the box for more granular control. From here, you can access the volume, playback controls for Bluetooth, source select, and bass and treble adjustment. You can also swap the powered speaker channel between left and right.

The controller is a nice unit. It’s made of plastic, but it feels good in the hand and there’s a brushed metal-style finish to its top surface. The rubberized buttons are clicky and positive as well, so you’ll never wonder if a press registered.

If you’re near the speaker, you’ve got a couple of options as well. On the rear top edge of the powered speaker unit, there’s a dial that changes the volume, swaps source, and turns the unit on and off.

Below that, just above the inputs on the rear of the speaker, you’ll find two dials. Those change the bass and treble levels — although be careful. The input is digital, so the dials turn freely. There is no stopper when you reach the top level.

You’ll have to watch for 2 red flashes of the status LED on the front of the speaker to tell you when they’re set to their max (or minimum), and then look out for a double flash of the source color to tell you they’re at 0.

The final control is a power switch next to the power input socket.

It would be nice if there was some way to control the speaker on my phone, however. There’s no Fluance app, so you’re left with the dials and remote control if you want to change the settings or change the source.

Fluance Ri71 review: Connectivity

• HDMI ARC
• RCA input and Bluetooth
• WiFi would have been a nice bonus

If you’re used to the relatively inflexible connectivity options of soundbars, then the extra connection options with the Ri71 might seem like a bonus. First is the HDMI ARC port, which hooks up to the TV for much better TV audio.

That’s more than you’ll find with the Audioengine and Kanto speakers that cost the same price, and it makes the Ri71 a compelling living room speaker system. The ARC functionality also makes it a whole lot more useful, making it effectively a drag-and-drop TV audio solution.

Beyond the HDMI port there’s an RCA connector — although it’s not a phono input. That means you can hook up a separate device, like a CD player, separate streamer, or even a vinyl player, but you’ll need a separate phono stage for the latter.

That’s it for the physical connections, but there’s also a Bluetooth 5.0 connection that serves wireless duties. It supports aptX HD for hi-res playback, which is always a bonus for folks looking for improved audio over Bluetooth (kind of an oxymoron, but I digress). Just remember that the best iPhones don’t support aptX.

I didn’t have any problems connecting to the powered speaker with Bluetooth, and initiating the connection was easy: You start pairing with the little button on the back, or with the Bluetooth button on the remote control. From there you find the speakers in your companion devices settings; and you’re done.

The physical connection list is good, and better than you’ll find on most soundbars, but there are a couple gaps that would’ve been nice to see filled. A phono port, like you find on Kanto’s YU, series would have been nice, or even an optical port for slightly older TVs.

Then there’s the wireless elephant in the room — there’s no WiFi. Now, WiFi could well have made the price rise more than Fluance found comfortable, but it remains a great way to connect to a speaker system that's sadly missing here.

You can hook up a streaming separate, as I did, but it would have been great to see some form of internet connection of the Ri71. Perhaps this is a feature for a more expensive and more premium model in the line.

Fluance Ri71 review: Sound Quality

• Front-facing bass ports great for speaker placement…
• But there is some honkiness at loud volumes
• Otherwise excellent sound

There are a couple of sound benefits to the Fluance Ri71's separate, stereo nature over an all-in-one soundbar unit. First and foremost is that you can literally separate the two channels out much further than is physically possible with a soundbar.

That means your music, and by extension, your TV and movie watching, are going to feature a much wider, more spacious sound stage. Stereo separation is going to be better just by virtue of the two channels being much further apart.

Then there’s the size of the drivers. Soundbars have to fit under a TV, so it’s much harder to fit decently sized drivers inside. A speaker cabinet can fit much bigger drivers, and, as a result, you get a much beefier, richer sound.

There are some big benefits to the design of the Ri71 in terms of driver tech as well. Those big white drivers are made of glass fiber for a tighter response, and there’s an AMT tweeter above to keep those highs lovely and clear, and especially bright and airy.

Below the main driver units are the bass ports, which are usually found on the rear of most speaker cabinets. This adds a benefit — you can place the speakers much more easily, without having to worry about them being too close to the wall.

It does add a problem, however. They can get a little honky at louder volumes. There’s a habit of the lowest frequencies to overtake the lower mid-range, and that can put extra emphasis on some bass notes or explosions and rumbles in movies.

It’s not a massive issue — I only found it when exceeding around 90db, which is more than loud enough for even the largest of rooms. However, it's something to watch out for if you like to really crank the volume.

Once you’ve got them setup, you can enjoy some music — as I did, with some hi-res Qobuz streams. Spiritbox’s latest, Fara Morgana, brings some irresistible crunch and body to proceedings, with devilishly distorted guitars. Courtney’s growls and screams are effortlessly impressive and terrifying with plenty of depth, and her clean vocals are smooth and well-defined.

The drums hit like a freight train thanks to those front-facing bass ports, while the cymbals ring out with clarity over the AMT tweeters. It’s a great, heavy musical experience and it shows some well-judged tuning.

Meanwhile, Highway Superstar’s Gentle Breeze lulls you into an 80s-themed slumber beneath a pop-art palm tree. The synth lines a silky smooth, but pack in some proper depth thanks to the speaker's lower-end weight. The digital drums are perfectly effective, with that signature thud.

The Ri71 feature a confident musical performance, that’s for sure — and it’s one I’m sure loads of different people are going to really like.

How does it stack up against a soundbar?

When you remember that most of the best soundbars at this price point feature very rudimentary forms of Dolby Atmos and virtual surround, I’m convinced you’ll prefer the extra sound quality and physically wider sound you’ll get with the Ri71.

There’s better depth for explosions without the need for a separate sub, and I’ve generally found a good stereo setup better than a comparatively cheap virtual surround setup.

Watching the opening scene of "Top Gun Maverick" revealed some excellent detail, and track separation. The deck of the ship, alive with activity, was clear under the roaring jet engines and snapping cables. Thanks to that excellent musical prowess, Danger Zone was thick and meaty — just how you’d want it.

Stereo placement is good as well. The voices are lodged firmly in the center of the soundscape, and the music sounds much larger than the two speakers might suggest.

If you watch movies as much as you listen to music, the Ri71 are going to be a treat.

Fluance Ri71 review: Verdict

There’s no amount of soundbar competition at this price. If you want to spend $400 and you absolutely need something that fits under the TV and does it’s best with Dolby Atmos mixes, then you’ll want to look at the Polk Signa 4.

That’s a solid soundbar for the price, and features surround and a subwoofer in the box. You’ll miss the increased musicality of the Ri71, however, and there won’t be quite as many useful inputs on the back should you want to plug in another device.

As I’ve said before, however, a good, lower-cost stereo system is always going to sound better than a cheap, small soundbar — and the Ri71 have proven exactly why.

I can’t think of a better use of $399 if you want to make your TV sound excellent, and listen to music when you’re not watching movies. The Ri71 are a great pair of powered speakers, with plenty of grunt for big rooms — and they should be on your shortlist.

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