Fyne Audio F1-8: A Standmount for Floorstander-lovers

Fyne Audio is nothing if not prolific. In the time since they were founded, they have brought to market a set of subwoofers, two lines of home installation speakers, a value-based speaker line, a mid-range speaker line (plus a special production line), a higher-end loudspeaker line, and their reference F1 series of loudspeakers. The F1 series originally consisted of two floorstanders, the F1-10 and the larger F1-12. But, last year Fyne decided to expand the line to meet the needs of their fans. Fyne added two standmount speakers to the line the smaller F1-5 and the bigger F1-8. In a recent review for Hi-Fi Choice, David Vivian had the opportunity to try the F1-8. Here's what he had to say.

The first thing David Vivian discusses in his review is the sheer size of the F1-8. While the F1-5 with it's 5" IsoFlare driver is a more traditional and manageable size, the F1-8 is close in size to its floor standing line mate the F1-10 than the F1-5. Of course, there are larger standmounters out there, but the size of the F1-8 does lead to some consideration in regards to room placement. Through the use of Fyne's BassTrax Tractrix diffuser system, the F1-8 does have some additional leeway in room positioning, so you'll just need to find enough room for the F1-8s and their FS8 stands. Once positioned and hooked up to a digital streaming playback system starring the Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 DAC, it was time for the listening test:

When it comes to speakers, I suppose the holy grail is to have your cake and eat it. There are two possibilities. One is a large, broad bandwidth floorstander with the agility, focus and coherence of a tautly built, monitor-class standmount. Not an easy thing. The other is a meticulously on-point standmount with the scale, authority, dynamic reach and a strong hint of the former's bass extension. No easier. But the F1-8 gets as close to pulling it off as any standmount I've heard.

Noting that the fit and finish of the Fyne F1-8 is on par with far more expensive speakers, David also finds that the sonic performance is also in a class higher than expected. "The speaker conjures scale and dynamic freedom that would be remarkable in a strapping tower," he states in the review, "but also incorporates an ability to unearth detail right down to noise floor and project solid, full-blooded images into the room with almost tangible dimensionality and exacting precision." 

The Fyne F1-8 is a standmounted loudspeaker, but it is the standmounter for those who think only floorstanders can give adequate performance. While it may seem steep for a standmount with an MSRP of $8,995, listening to this speaker may have you pulling out your wallet sooner than you expect. Hi-Fi Choice gives the Fyne F1-8 speaker an overall score of 5 Stars, with perfect marks in Sound Quality, Value for the Money, Build Quality, and Ease of Drive.

Read the full review here, courtesy of Hi-Fi Choice and Fyne Audio.