If you’re looking for big sound but don’t want to fill a room with huge speakers, bookshelf speakers are a great option, as they’re big enough to pump out bass, but small enough to fit on, well, a bookshelf. Fluance’s new Ai40 bookshelf speakers are of the powered variety, so you don’t even need a receiver to make the most of them, and based on the specs and materials used, they should sound fantastic.
The Ai40s are two-channel, 5-inch active speakers, packed with a 70-watt integrated class D amplifier, providing 35 watts per channel of power. This powers silk soft-dome tweeters for clear, crisp highs, combined with woven glass fiber drivers for detailed midrange and deep bass. The frequency range is 40 Hz to 20,000 Hz, and Fluance says that no matter whether you’re into smooth jazz or hard rock, the Ai40 speakers carefully re-create every note.
The speakers are seated in sleek-looking MDF wood cabinets, acoustically designed to produce sound that is precise and warm-sounding, with as little distortion as possible. The 10.9 x 6.5 x 7.6-inch enclosures use an acoustic suspension design to reduce unwanted resonance and vibrations. The speakers weigh in at 15.1 pounds, so while they are light enough to easily move, they are heavy enough to ensure full-bodied sound.
One of the advantages of powered bookshelf speakers is that you don’t need to worry about using a complex A/V receiver setup just to properly hear your music. The RCA jacks on the Ai40 speakers mean you can easily use them with a turntable for a compact vinyl listening setup for record collectors, as computer speakers, or even use them to replace your TV’s built-in speakers. In addition to the analog RCA jack, the Ai40 speakers also feature Bluetooth connectivity with aptX, so if you’re looking for an easy bedroom stereo, all you need are the speakers and your phone and you’re good to go.
The Fluance Ai40 bookshelf speakers are available through the company’s website, retailing for $200, and available in black, lucky bamboo, or walnut finishes. For more information on speakers in general, check out our guide to the various types of speakers available and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.