Global Fluidity: After 20 years designing and developing speakers for companies like JBL, Cerwin-Vega and M-Audio, engineer, guitarist and recording enthusiast Kevin Zuccaro had grown frustrated by corporate oversight and launched his own independent company. After securing the trademark for Fluid Audio in 2010, then partnering with Norwegian based Kenneth Rustad (a former colleague at M-Audio) they began shipping their first products in 2013: The Fader Series F4 and F5. Before starting distribution in the US, Fluid secured its status as an indie audio force in the home studio market throughout Europe and Asia. “The design philosophy behind Fluid Audio has always been innovation and optimization,” Zuccaro says. “Where we think we’ve succeeded is in products like our Strum Buddy and coaxial speaker models––but most dramatically in the sound quality of every product we make.”
Initial Launch: Bringing great technology and value, the remarkably affordable 2-way, 5” F5 studio monitor is the model that started it all for Fluid Audio. The amp’s rear panel has XLR and TRS inputs for pro applications, but also includes an RCA input for more consumer-friendly applications. It also has a forward facing bass port and a generous heat sink for long mixing sessions. The F4 is essentially a miniaturized F5 using the same silk dome tweeter and waveguide, but with headphone out and aux in on the front panel for desktop applications. They have great imaging, clear articulate midrange and ample bass. The 8” in the line is the FX8 which uses a 2-way Coaxial design (or dual concentric) with the tweeter mounted in the center of the woofer.
Next Gen Products: Building upon the success of the FX8 8” Coaxial studio monitor, the 2nd generation FX80 monitor and FX50 5” version are set for release in May 2019. Now featuring Class D amplifiers with high and mid frequency adjustment knobs, acoustic space, low frequency roll off and optimized composite cone woofers, the FX series delivers outstanding imaging and off-axis response in a new, striking industrial design. DSP controlled crossover provides a perfect blending of the woofer to the soft dome tweeter and ensures that there is effectively zero variance amplifier to amplifier.
Strum Buddy: The Strum Buddy was born out of guitarists’ desire for convenience and portability. Mounting to your guitar using a rubber suction cup, the Strum Buddy is a 6W guitar amplifier, powered by an internal rechargeable battery. It lets the user hear and monitor their electric guitar while playing through the onboard guitar effect sounds: Crunch distortion, Chorus and Reverb. The company recently introduced the Strum Buddy “Heavy Metal Edition,” which uses the same basic design as the original (same speaker, amp, rechargeable battery and suction cup), but with two new effects to create a heavier metal vibe.
The SRI-2 Interface: Featuring a robust aluminum chassis and angled front panel, the SRI-2 interface is a sturdy piece of gear. Along with the striking design comes exceptional 21st-century audio quality and functionality. Best-in-class digital converters capture the detailed nuance of every recording. The large volume knob provides accurate control of the output level, and direct monitoring provides zero-latency tracking. The truly unique innovation of the SRI-2 is the speaker switching capability, which allows the user to A-B the mix on two sets of speakers.
Find Fluid Audio at your favorite e-tailer, or contact them
directly at [email protected], fluidaudio.com
