Fluance XLBP Bipolar Surround Sound Speakers Preview

Surround speakers, take these XLBP bipole's from Fluance for example, fill an important role in the modern home theater: they immerse you in the action with ambient noise and occasionally they're called to deliver some big effects. Still, in spite of their critical role, they're an area where people have a hard time justifying a big expenditure given that the bulk of the content in any surround mix, be it movies or music, remains on the front stage. So what's a guy to do if he doesn't have big bucks to blow on the surround channels, but he wants a good experience? Enter Fluance. Their XLBP Bipolar surround speakers are priced at a relatively low $200/pr, and each speaker boasts a pair of tweeters mated to a pair of 5" polymer mid/woofers in a vented enclosure. Does Fluance have the fix for your surround sound dilemma?

The Facts And Figures

The Fluance XLBP appears to be a relatively typical surround speaker, employing a bipole design featuring a 1" silk dome tweeter and 5" polymer mid/woofer on each of its pair of faces. The tweeters hands off to the mid/woofer units at 2,200Hz, which then deliver output, along with a quartet of ports, down to a respectably low 60Hz (no tolerance is given). Assuming the 60Hz figure is based in reality (it's certainly not an outlandish claim), we'd expect the Fluance XLBP should work quite well with the typical 80Hz crossover to a subwoofer. The XLBP has a rated sensitivity of 88dB and a nominal impedance of 8 ohms, suggesting that the speaker shouldn't be particularly difficult to drive, which is an important factor at this price point. All in all, just judging by what we can see at a glance, the Fluance XLBP seems to be a well executed surround speaker.

A close up view of the Fluance XLBP surround; even the little details like the grill posts don't look too shabby.

Aren't My Speakers Supposed To Match?

At this point some people might be wondering why we're looking at just a pair of surround speakers. Shouldn't you be buying surrounds that match your front stage? No doubt Fluance would be happy if you purchased more than just surround speakers from them, and they've got several models which would go well with the XLBP surround speaker. However, the surround channels are one area where you've got a bit of wiggle room in terms of matching speakers. The significant difference in location between your front stage and surround channels in and of itself is enough to throw off the possibility of perfect timbre matching. We'd not necessarily suggest these speakers if you've got a trio of Klipsch La Scalas up front, as a gross mismatch is still not advised. However, in most other instances, we'd imagine the majority of people wouldn't notice much difference between the "matching" surround speakers and a pair of Fluance XLBPs.

Summary

Unsurprisingly, Fluance seems to offer a heck of a lot for the money with their XLBP Bipolar Surround Speaker. For $199.99, you're getting a pair of speakers that don't appear to have any glaring faults upon initial examination, and don't look too bad to boot. We'd also opine that for folks who are on a budget, these might fit the bill for the surround channels even if you're not buying a full Fluance setup. If you're one of those people who can't justify spending big bucks on a pair of speakers that will mostly play ambient noise, the Fluance XLBP surround speakers might just be up your alley.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.