Fluid image7/26/2023 ![]() ![]() The two 8” bass drivers are coupled internally, creating a structural element which braces the big side panels. If I were keeping them I’d definitely invert the logo and keep them upside down rather than invest in different stands. The Waveguide itself is symmetrical horizontally but not vertically and I found that on my desktop stands they sounded better used upside down which brought the tweeter to the correct height relative to my ear. ![]() The tweeter is set back 3 or so inches from the front baffle at the end of a deep waveguide which as well as loading the tweeter also time aligns it with the voice coil of the midrange driver. The AMT tweeter and the aluminium midrange driver occupy a separate sealed enclosure in the cabinet with the influence of the two bass drivers being isolated from the others by a separating baffle a few inches behind the front baffle. The physical arrangement of these drivers is worth mentioning. ![]() As previously mentioned, the crossover points are 115Hz and 2.8KHz, the crossover is realised in DSP and the filters for the mid to high are Linkwitz-Riley 24db/oct and Butterworth 12db/per oct on both slopes between the low and mid bands. This gives a maximum SPL of 116dB with quoted frequency response of 28Hz-20KHz +/- 4.8dB. Amplification is courtesy of class D units with 75W for the tweeter, 150W for the midrange and two separate 225W amps driving each bass driver independently. The drivers are an interesting combination of a 5” aluminium midrange cone covering 115Hz-2.8KHz, an AMT folded ribbon handling everything above 2.8K and dual, side-mounted, long excursion bass drivers handling the low stuff. It’s good to see that mounting options have been properly catered for with the inclusion of substantial threaded inserts on both sides for Sound Anchor floor stands and for ceiling-mounting. The Image 2s are deep with a relatively small front baffle (H 14.25″ x W 9.5″ x D 13.75″ / H 351 x W 241 x D 363 mm) and aren’t as heavy as I’d expected them to be (27.8 lb / 12.6 kg) but the woodwork is reassuringly solid and I was pleased to discover that these monitors are sealed cabinets, something I like about my KH310s. Construction And Driversīefore we get to the sound, let’s consider the construction. If they sound good then they definitely deserve a place on a list of prospective new monitors. My regular monitors, Neumann KH310s, are a sealed cabinet 3 way design but the Image 2s are 75% of the price of my Neumanns and offer onboard speaker calibration. To offer these features in a 3 way design at this price point is worth paying attention to. ![]() The Genelec and Neumann monitors offer DSP and the Focal offers a 2 in 1 Focus mode similar to the Image 2’s Cubemix mode. But how far up the price ladder does this ‘value goodwill’ extend?Īt nearly $2K per box the Image 2s have some very respectable competition from well known manufacturers, for example the Genelec 8340A, Neumann KH150 or Focal Solo6. Great value is something of a killer feature and products which are built to a price should always be viewed as such, with the inevitable compromises being correctly seen as a consequence of their good value. These monitors, particularly the FX80, offered a good sounding monitor which represented really impressive value at just $249 each. I’ve previously auditioned both the FX80 and FX50 from Fluid. The Fluid Audio Image 2 is a 3 way nearfield monitor with some interesting features including built in DSP which can host Sonarworks SoundID Reference calibration and a Cubemix mode which gives you two pairs of monitors in one.Īfter a few days with them, Julian found them to be solid performers with great control of the bottom end all the way to 40Hz, the onboard hosting of Sonarworks Sound ID Reference speaker calibration further improves an already good monitor and the Cubemix mode which restricts and shapes the frequency response to focus on the midrange was genuinely useful.Įxcellent performance, particularly at the bottom endĪt present the software is less polished than the hardware ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |