Klipsch and Fluance are two renowned and well-respected brands in the audio industry that produce high-quality speakers, headphones, soundbars, and subwoofers.
In this article, we will cover a general overview of both brands, looking specifically at sound quality, durability, price, and so on. Of course, each brand has different devices at different price points, however, we will compare them as closely as we can.
Klipsch products are known for their powerful sound (bright-sounding speakers and high sensitivity) and high-quality construction, while Fluance products are known for their excellent sound quality and affordable prices.
Klipsch and Fluance Comparison Table
| Criteria | Klipsch | Fluance |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Reputation | Respected for high-performance audio speakers and home theater systems. | Growing reputation for delivering high-quality speakers with a focus on affordability. |
| Sound Quality | Known for powerful and dynamic sound, often with an emphasis on the cinematic experience. | Emphasizes high-fidelity sound reproduction with a focus on accurate and clear audio. |
| Build Quality/Design | Builds robust speakers with a classic and distinctive design, often featuring wood veneer finishes. | Focuses on durable construction and modern designs, often with a sleek and minimalist aesthetic. |
| Product Range | Specializes in a variety of audio products, including speakers, headphones, and home theater systems. | Offers a range of audio products, with a focus on speakers for home audio and home theater setups. |
| Pricing | Offers products across different price points, catering to both budget-conscious and high-end consumers. | Emphasizes affordability, providing high-quality speakers at competitive price points. |
| Features | Emphasizes powerful audio performance with features like horn-loaded tweeters and immersive surround sound. | Includes features like high-performance drivers and quality components at budget-friendly prices. |
Before we continue, you can check out similar comparisons in the series:
Pros and Cons of Klipsch:
- Pros: Known for producing high-quality speakers and headphones with excellent sound quality and strong bass response. Many of their products are designed to be aesthetically pleasing and can be a good fit for a home theater setup.
- Cons: Some of their products can be expensive, and some users have reported issues with durability.
Pros and Cons of Fluance:
- Pros: Known for producing high-quality speakers and home theater systems with excellent sound quality and strong bass response. Many of their products are well-regarded for their value for money.
- Cons: Some users have reported issues with the durability and reliability of some of their products.
Quick History
Klipsch Quick History
Klipsch Audio Technologies (also known as Klipsch Speakers or Klipsch Group, Inc.) is an American loudspeaker manufacturing company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company was founded in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 by Paul W. Klipsch. Klipsch Audio also makes loudspeaker drivers and enclosures, as well as complete loudspeakers for high-end, high-fidelity sound systems, public address systems, and personal computers.
It has expanded a lot and has undergone a lot of changes since its establishment. Klipsch Audio still manufactures some legacy speakers that have been around since the days when the genius of P.W. Klipsch made his first speakers.
Fluance Quick History
Fluance is a Canadian-based manufacturer of high-end home audio music systems and HiFi turntables. The brand was founded in 1999 by Deepak Jain in Niagara Falls, Canada.
The brand can be described by the company name, Fluance, from the Latin prefix and suffix ‘Flu’ and ‘ance’ which means a state of being fluid or wavy.
Sound Quality
Klipsch Sound Quality
Klipsch speakers are well-known for the high quality, stunningly precise sound they produce, which can be matched by only a few select brands. The speakers produce crisp highs, powerful bass, and full, encompassing sound with low distortion. However, many people don’t like the Klipsch sound because it tends to sound ‘bright’ or harsh.
Klipsch speakers use a horn tweeter (Klipschorn), which is what makes horns and brass instruments sound more realistic. They are ideal for higher frequencies, which is why Klipsch speakers are often recommended when dealing with high-frequency sounds (like movies and certain music genres). This is also why high-efficiency design is a core Klipsch design principle.
Klipschorn design, patented by the founder, Paul W. Klipsch himself, is a fully horn-loaded three-way speaker, which means that it houses three separate speaker units, each with its own diaphragm and horn in three frequency ranges: high, mid and low. Separating the frequencies in this way ensures less frequency modulation distortion. The Klipschorn design is still used in many Klipsch speakers, which explains their quality audio and energy efficiency.
Fluance Sound Quality
Fluance devices deliver a pure listening experience. They utilize top-notch components and expert engineering for audiophile-grade audio quality and the feel of live performances. This results in clean, undistorted bass, smooth midrange response, extraordinarily high frequencies, and accurate sound reproduction.
Features
Klipsch Features
Klipsch devices are best known for the premium sound they produce, but they also have a host of features to ensure a wholesome experience for users.
Below are some common features that Klipsch speakers are known for:
- HDMI-eARC connectivity: Single Cable, Single Remote
- Dolby Atmos Decoding for immersive surround sound, stereo multiple channel systems
- 8K Video Pass-Through
- Dialogue enhancement mode for crystal clear voices
- Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, HDMI, USB Audio, and Analog/AUX and optical audio input connectivity
- Built-in universal wifi for existing Smart Home ecosystems- featuring Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Spotify Connect
- Klipsch Connect and Klipsch Stream are two apps that can be used with your speakers. There are a lot of features included in the apps apart from controlling your Klipsch sound system. They are available for both iOS and Android.
- Efficiency and low power consumption: Due to the company’s use of horn-loaded speakers, they are able to manufacture speakers with high sensitivity (efficiency). It also makes the speakers consume less power compared to similarly performing speakers.
Fluance Features
All Fluance devices come fully featured for optimum performance and a pleasant user experience. Check them out below:
- Auto-Stop function on the turntables
- Digital Signal Processing (DSP) enhancement
- Versatile connectivity with the available options
- Internal Digital-to-Analogue Converter (DAC)
- Dolby Atmos support.
Build Quality
Klipsch Build Quality
High-efficiency design is a core Klipsch design principle, and this is evident in all their products. Klipsch devices are very popular for the quality and sturdy materials that are used in their construction. This gives their products excellent performance and remarkable durability.
The materials used in construction, such as wood, cerametallic material, or plastic, are carefully selected for their acoustic, aesthetic, and durability properties.
Fluance Build Quality
Fluance uses high-performance drive units, advanced enclosure techniques, and sophisticated crossovers to set new benchmarks in audio performance and design. Other sound-improving features include a silicone motor isolator, aluminum platter, and cartridge, wooden cabinet, and vibration-isolating feet.
As a sign of confidence in their device performance and durability, most Fluance devices have a minimum two-year warranty and a daring lifetime warranty on all passive speakers.
Ease of Use
Klipsch Ease Of Use
Klipsch devices are very easy to set up and use. With a wide range of ports for easy connectivity, such as the HDMI Arc port, setting up is as easy as plugging in and playing. Remote control support and iOS and Android apps also make it much easier to use your Klipsch devices.
Fluance Ease Of Use
Fluance devices are simple to operate, with clearly labeled and intuitive controls. The setup and installation is a different story. The lack of a web platform or mobile app makes finetuning a tedious task reliant only on onboard controls. This might not be easy for people who are new to Fluance products.
Cost
Klipsch Cost
Because of the materials used in Klipsch speakers, they tend to have premium prices, such as the RP-8000F floorstanding speaker, which costs from $800 to $1000 apiece. But they deliver much more than what you pay for. If you really care about the quality of the sound and the durability of your speaker, it is easy to overlook the cost.
There are also a few Klipsch product lines that do not cost as much (the Klipsch Reference RSB-3 home cinema speaker costs from $150 to $300, while a Klipsch Reference On-Ear headphone costs from $99 to $200), but sometimes this results in lesser than premium sound quality.
Fluance Cost
The price range for some classes of Fluance devices is given below:
- Turntables: $200 – $900
- Floorstanders: $400 – $800
- Bookshelf: $100 – $650
- Home theatres: $300 – $1700
Space Requirements
Klipsch Space Requirements
Klipsch speakers have a wide range of sizes and therefore require different amounts of space for effective operation. For example, there are portable PC speakers that can be easily placed on a desk while there are large cinematic models that require much more space.
Fluance Space Requirements
Fluance devices range in size from portable bookshelf speakers to gigantic floor standers. The RT82 Vinyl turntable measures 14.0×41.9×34.9 cm (HWD) and weighs 6.8 kg. The Signature HiFi floor standing speaker weighs 63.2 lbs and measures 120.1×27.7×39.1 cm (HWD).
Remote Controls
Klipsch Remote Controls
Klipsch supports some universal remote controllers as well as custom-made Klipsch remotes. This brings additional functionality to your devices.
Klipsch also has apps for both iOS and Android that can be used to control your Klipsch sound system remotely. The apps also allow for the use of voice assistants like Google Assistant, Spotify Connect, and Amazon Alexa, which respond to simple voice commands. Klips Stream allows you to stream directly from music platforms such as Spotify and Amazon Music.
Fluance Remote Controls
Fluance devices support custom and universal remotes. There is no dedicated mobile app or web platform for tuning and control currently, but there are some prototypes available that might be adopted soon.
Connectivity Options
Klipsch Connectivity Options
Klipsch devices have several connectivity options including both wired and wireless choices. These include Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, HDMI, USB Audio Analog/AUX, and so on.
This allows you to connect your Klipsch speaker to a lot of different devices such as phones, personal computers, TV or used as part of a system of other speakers. The support for voice assistants also allows quick WiFi connection for several different speakers.
Fluance Connectivity Options
3.5mm jack, Bluetooth Wireless, RCA, WiFi, HDMI, and optical TOSLINK are only a few of the ways Fluance devices can be connected.
Power Range
Klipsch Power Range
Klipsch speakers consume much less power compared to other speakers of the same performance range. This is largely due to the horn tweeter that is used in their speakers, which reduces the need for a high-powered amplifier to boost the sound produced. 1 Watt RMS produces a 105 decibel at 1 meter sound pressure level (SPL), which is about 14–20 decibels higher than ordinary speakers.
The power range is different for each of the various Klipsch devices, so it is advisable to check the information included in the user manual.
Fluance Power Range
The power range of Fluance devices ranges from 1.5W to 400W. The RT82 Vinyl turntable lies on the low end of the power scope at 1.5W. This is due to the lack of an internal amplifier while the Ai41 Powered Bookshelf Speakers max out at 90W.
Frequency Response
Klipsch Frequency Response
Klipsch speakers have very pleasing and natural frequency responses. The speakers all have frequency ranges that all lie within the recommended frequencies to produce full and natural sound.
Due to the diversity of devices produced by Klipsch, there is a wide range of frequencies ranging from about 30Hz to 15KHz. The information about the frequency response of a particular device can be obtained from the user manual.
Fluance Frequency Response
Fluance devices perform well at high frequencies thanks to their superb driver technology, but some of their devices skimp out on the bass, though this is rectified to an extent by the internal DSP. For example, the Ai41 Powered Bookshelf Speakers range from 35Hz to 20KHz. The general frequency ranges from 20Hz-25KHz.
Conclusion
Klipsch has been in the speaker component manufacturing business for over seventy years and they have the experience to make great-sounding speakers as shown in their array of quality devices. If premium quality sound is what you want, Klipsch speakers are great options to try out.
Fluance devices are adept at reproducing concert-level audio accurately. The weak bass makes them more suitable for classical music than bass-heavy modern music.