Fluid Audio Image 2

Fluid Audio might well be known for less costly speakers, but Image 2 will certainly change that… and possibly the world of studio monitoring

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£1,799 PC MAC

With studio speakers like the FX80 and C5 costing no more than $249 a pop, Fluid Audio are one of many speaker manufacturers battling for the cash of a home or project studio user. Good speakers, at sensible prices. With their Image 2s, they are turning their backs on low prices and welcoming a new future. And at the best part of £2,000, they ruddy well should be.

It’s fair to say that it’s rare that we include gear of this price, but we do like cutting edge technology and not only do the new Image 2’s offer a novel twist on studio monitoring, they also come with a big software option: Fluid have teamed up with Sonarworks, so you can use their SoundID Reference room calibration software which is embedded in the DSP inside the Image 2. And there’s more...

A new world

Studio monitors are supposed to deliver flat responses so you can hear all the detail in your mix and act accordingly; they should be honest so you mix perfectly. However, many studios like to have a secondary set of (arguably) not so good monitors to emulate the typical midrange playback speaker systems used by many people – we don’t all have great studio monitors to listen to music, after all. Some studios therefore mix with a second set of midrange speakers like Auratones, NS10s or Avantone Mixcubes, as these emulate more real world situations. If you can get your music sounding great on these