Fluance goes big with XL8 home theater speakers - CNET

Following the release of Fluance's excellent range of turntables, including CNET's pick the RT-82, the Canadian company is going back to its first love: loudspeakers. One Wednesday it announced a brand-new range of home theater speakers, the XL8, which start at $150.

The XL8 series are a step-down from the company's flagship Signature Series, which was released in 2016. The XL8 is not as flashy, replacing the bright yellow drivers with white woven glass fiber composite drivers, but they still appear elegant. The tweeters, meanwhile, are 1-inch silk domes. 

The range includes:

• XL8F: Three-way floorstanding speakers, $600 a pair
• XL8S: Two-way surround speakers (wall mountable), $180 a pair
• XL8C: Two-way center channel, $150
• XL8BP: Two-way bipolar surround speakers, $200

The most intriguing speaker in the range is the XL8F floorstander, which offers two 6.5-inch glass fiber drivers in a D'Appolito arrangement and a down-firing 8-inch woofer. It offers a frequency response of 35Hz-25KHz and an 87 decibel sensitivity.

The XL8S is a surround speaker that can also be used as a standmount speaker. It's capable of 50Hz to 25kHz and has an 85 db sensitivity.

The remaining center channel and bipolar speakers are for dedicated home theater systems, and they can be bought separately or as part of the Reference Surround Sound Home Theater 5.0 set for $899. Given this is only $100 more than the Signature Series floorstanders are by themselves, this could be a really good deal.

At $600 the XL8F speaker has plenty of competition, especially from brands like Bowers and Wilkins, Elac and Q Acoustics, but its blend of good looks and apparent value could make it a winner. They're available now and I look forward to testing them soon.