Fluance AB40 3D Surround Soundbase Preview

[gene]

It's a soundbar- No! It's a T.V. stand- No! It's a soundbase! Fluance made it's contribution to the dwindling array of soundbases recently with their AB40 Soundbase. For those of you not familiar with soundbases, they're kind of like a soundbar, but your T.V. sit on TOP of them instead of the speakers sitting in front of the T.V. or behind.

With 3D surround sound from a larger sturdier enclosure and a price point of $200, The Fluance AB40 might be right for your small space- if your T.V. will fit on it.

Read: Fluance AB40 3D Surround Soundbase Preview

 

[rojo]

I've got a sound base, the Andrew Jones designed discontinued Pioneer SP-SB03. I dig it. Although it's not going to fool anyone into thinking I have a subwoofer, it's still a profound improvement over my little Panasonic TV's built-in speakers. Its tone is reminiscent of old Zenith wooden cabinet televisions from my childhood.

Like the Fluance sound base, my Pioneer has an EXP mode which makes an expanded sound. When sitting in the sweet spot, EXP mode makes my sound base sound like LR separates sitting 60 degrees to my left and right. It really is a pleasing effect -- at least for one couch directly in front. The effect is lost off-axis, but the sound is still decent.

The frequency response of the Fluance sound bar is impressively flat if the manufacturer provided graph is any indication. (Edit: the graph Fluance provides is misleading, reading "Virtual curve perceived by ear" in the fine print.)

A sound base is not a substitute for a full home theater by any means. However, if the choice is sound base or nothing, definitely go sound base. The Fluance looks well worth considering from what I've seen.

Only concern is its lack of IR signal learning. My Pioneer sound base can learn and assign signals of an existing remote to each of its front panel buttons, as could a Polk sound bar I handed down to my in-laws. Looking at the manual for the Fluance, it seems this sound base doesn't offer such a feature. That hints of bad news for anyone looking to operate their audio device using an already familiar Xfinity or Charter cable tuner remote. For the tech savvy it might not be a big deal, but the lack of that feature might disqualify this sound base from being gifted to technologically challenged parents or similar.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

http://fluance.com/media/wysiwyg/Fluance/FluanceFREGraphs/AB40_Frequency_Response.jpg[/IMG]

A.

That's pretty impressive. Only 5 dB down at 20 Hz for $200. And +/- .5 dB to 15 kHz. I assume they've applied for a patent.

 

[shadyJ]

I wonder how that was measured? What is the proper way to measure a product like this? It looks to me like a two channel sound bar. Where is microphone placement? How is that sound projected from the sides captured? Call me cynical, but I am a bit skeptical of that response.

 

[MandM]

I call BS on that FR graph. Virtual curve perceived by ear...what ever that means.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

so this type of device, (whether a soundbar or soundbase) should not / could not be used as a center channel or presence speaker?

 

[matteos]

I just bought one for my GF. In fact it has come today.

I haven't heard it yet, but I cannot believe that FR is real. It is ruler straight. That is like Reference quality for a FR. I'm also 100 skeptical there is any real audible energy at 30hz. I guess I'll update you in a day or two.

Still for $200 with bluetooth as well, it is just what she wanted for her TV.

 

[rojo]

I just bought one for my GF. In fact it has come today.

I haven't heard it yet, but I cannot believe that FR is real. It is ruler straight. That is like Reference quality for a FR. I'm also 100 skeptical there is any real audible energy at 30hz. I guess I'll update you in a day or two.

Still for $200 with bluetooth as well, it is just what she wanted for her TV.

Thanks for taking one for the team. I'm eager to see your impressions.

 

[matteos]

Out of the box. It's a pretty nice looking unit, very understated. There is an LED on the front (Not too bright) that changes color depending on the input. White for optical, Blue for bluetooth and green for AUX. Very easy to setup, takes minutes. The Bluetooth is very easy to use indeed, was working instantly with my phone.

Soundwise, this needs to break in. I'm not going to judge it fully. The first hour it was incredibly boomy. I don't know about 30hz but the low bass was very surprising indeed. It was lower than I expected and also a lot more of it. The sound cleared up quite a lot after the first hour, the boom subsided substantially (Out of the box it did not sound that good). I'm going to give it longer to break in before rushing to judgement. I do think after break in this is going to sound pretty good and if it does. It will be exactly what my GF wanted and overall a good unit. More on SQ after break in. Overall it's looking promising.

Niggles: I wish you could control the volume on this with the TV remote. I don't think it's possible. I also wish the volume had some sort of display. The sound goes up and down as you use the remote, but there's no increments. I guess these aren't too important, but they'd be nice.

3D sound makes a bit of a difference, but I think its effects are limited due to the corner placement of the TV. The speaker hasn't broken in fully for me to remark on Bass boost. At the moment, with it on it is overkill.

This unit really is simple to setup and use, so it is nice for someone looking for something uncomplicated and easy. It is understated and you get used to it being there pretty quickly. If they refresh this in the future and took care of the two niggly things I mentioned it would be excellent in terms of functionality for people wanting easy easy easy.

 

[Henry Howards]

I am looking forward to the full Audioholics review of this new soundbase from Fluance. The $199 sale price seems to have ended, however. When I follow the link provided in the article, the listed price is shown as $249.

 

[matteos]

Spent more time with this at the weekend. The boom is gone. It's a lot louder and clearer than the TV speakers, the bass does go pretty deep and I think if you were coming from a HTiB you'd be pretty pleased with it. Really the bass is pretty remarkable knowing that the drivers are only 3" big. I wouldn't believe it honestly. Does it compare to my KEF R series surround sound and 15" sub in my home? No, obviously, how could it... But it certainly doesn't embarrass itself either. My GF is pretty pleased with it. As an upgrade to a TV and certainly for apartment living and for its low price, it's very good, I'm happy with the purchase and I think plenty of others would be too.