Fluid Audio FX80 V2 - Returned Item (Condition: Good)

Active Studio Monitor in Coaxial Design!

The FX enclosure stays true to the original "keyhole" design of the F series, but features a complex, radiused front baffle that not only looks great but also reduces cabinet diffraction.

Coaxial Driver

A 30-mm silk-dome tweeter is mounted coaxially in the center of the woofer. This technology (unique in this price range) turns the speaker into a "Point Source" device — meaning all sound is emitted from a single point rather than from drivers spaced 10" apart. That is crucial for improving off-axis response and also allows a more compact enclosure. Another advantage of coaxial studio monitors is phase coherence, which significantly improves clarity and imaging.

Boundary Compensation DIP Switches

Sometimes the rooms we mix in aren't acoustically ideal (especially when working in a home studio). The FX-series monitors include DSP-controlled EQ switches for boundary compensation so you can correct rooms that might not be "tuned" or that need adjustment because of their proximity to the rear wall. A handy guide on the back explains how the DIP switches work; a more detailed explanation is available in the user manual.

Class-D and DSP-Controlled

The FX80v2 is a Class-D bi-amped studio monitor. Class D delivers clean, reliable power, more headroom, lower power consumption and less heat. It also features powerful, integrated DSP. The digitally controlled crossover provides more even and consistent playback from each monitor. The new FX series is a true 21st-century reference monitor that belongs in every recording studio.

Front LED Indicator

The illuminated LED on the front plate is not only a status indicator showing whether the FX monitor is on, off, or in standby, it also serves as an alignment aid to help you position your speakers at ear height.

V2 Improvements

Fluid Audio took constructive customer feedback to heart and implemented several improvements to the FX series. The biggest change is a general flattening of the frequency response: additional EQ biquads were identified and applied to areas that benefited from smoothing. The result is a more even frequency response, ideal for mixing. The other update is a refreshed front-panel graphic that is slightly larger and easier to read.

A Coaxial Monitor for the 21st Century

The Fluid Audio coaxial loudspeaker design differs significantly from conventional coaxial approaches. With coaxial studio monitors from the '50s and '60s, the tweeter sat behind the woofer so the high frequencies were "ported" through the woofer's voice-coil opening, effectively using the woofer cone as a waveguide or horn. Because the woofer cone is constantly moving (sometimes dramatically when reproducing bass), that design introduced considerable intermodulation distortion and audible smearing when the high frequencies radiated from the woofer cone.

In the Fluid Audio FX-series coaxial design the high-frequency device sits in front of the woofer and is mounted at a fixed point. The tweeter is housed in a hard-plastic waveguide that allows an uninterrupted flow of high frequencies so audio distortion from woofer motion is avoided. By using the integrated DSP, 48 and 36 dB-per-octave Linkwitz-Riley slopes not only ensure a perfect blend between low and high frequencies, they also help filter out acoustic anomalies that can occur with coaxial constructions (since the tweeter doesn't have a full-size baffle to radiate from). In addition to these unique advantages, users get all the usual benefits of a coaxial driver — symmetrical off-axis response (which creates a larger, more even and consistent sweet spot) and the point-source characteristic that enables better phase coherence between drivers, leading to extremely realistic imaging. Whether upright or on its side, the Fluid coaxial design performs the same, which makes placement in the studio easier and more user-friendly.