Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8 – The smallest in the F1 Series

Come and meet the family… The Fyne Audio F1 Series presents itself with new blood, and in this case we can certainly talk about the new “little ones”, because compared to the previously available models Fyne Audio F1-10 and Fyne Audio F1-12, the new systems Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8 present themselves almost tiny, but equipped with the same virtues.

The Scottish loudspeaker manufacturer Fyne Audio has built up an impeccable reputation in a very short time. This is probably due in large part to the fact that a number of very, very experienced developers are behind it, who have come together here to implement their ideas. This not only leads to extraordinary design solutions, but above all to outstanding design features, as can be seen in the Fyne Audio F1 Series.

The Fyne Audio F1 Series is a prime example of the special design concepts and unique development philosophy at Fyne Audio. It is a celebration of the concept of the Fyne Audio Isoflare Point Source Driver as a point source in combination with another key feature, a special type of downward-facing bass reflex system, the Fyne Audio Basstrax Tractrix Diffuser System. All this will be offered in its purest form not only in the existing Fyne Audio F1-10 and Fyne Audio F1-12 models, but also in the new Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8 models, which extend the series downwards.

The Fyne Audio F1-10 is a powerful floor-standing speaker system, designed as a two-way solution with a downfiring bass reflex system, which weighs in at a whopping 72 kg with dimensions of 1,191 x 405 x 581 mm. The Fyne Audio F1-12 is also designed as a two-way bass reflex system, measuring 1,350 x 450 x 680 mm and weighing an impressive 93 kg.

The new Fyne Audio F1-8, a two-way bass reflex system measuring just 470 x 280 x 441 mm, weighing in at 15.2 kg, is almost “inconspicuous”. The new Fyne Audio F1-5 is even more compact, weighing 5.7 kg with dimensions of only 321 x 186 x 289 mm.

It is therefore only right to speak of the two new “little sisters” that Fyne Audio is introducing with the new Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8 solutions, which, given their dimensions, are the two bookshelf speaker systems in the range.

As described above, the new models, despite their much more compact dimensions, will of course have the same features that have already distinguished their larger siblings. This means that they are all two-way systems, using the Fyne Audio IsoFlare Point Source Driver coaxial chassis, which is typical of Fyne Audio and especially the Fyne Audio F1 Series. This means that the Fyne Audio F1-5 uses a 125 mm low/midrange driver with a 19 mm magnesium dome compression tweeter at its centre. The Fyne Audio F1-8 combines a 200 mm low/midrange driver with a 25 mm tweeter.

In both cases the special bass reflex system is used, which acts downwards and radiates evenly into the room via a Fyne Audio BassTrax Tractrix Diffuser centrally mounted on the base plate. The fact that this is also possible with this type of shelf speaker system is due to the same construction principle as with the stand speaker systems of the series, i.e. the already mentioned base plate, where the distance to the actual cabinet is achieved by means of elegant distances.

Thus the new Fyne Audio F1-5 can reproduce a frequency range between 48 Hz and 38 kHz, with the crossover intervening at 1.9 kHz. The impedance is specified at 8 ohms, the sensitivity at 87 dB, and the recommended output of the amplifier at 30 to 100 watts.

The Fyne Audio F1-8 should be able to reproduce a frequency range between 33 Hz and 34 kHz, with the crossover network operating at 1.8 kHz. This loudspeaker system also has an impedance of 8 ohms, but a markedly higher sensitivity of 91 dB. It is designed for amplifiers with an output between 30 and 180 Watts.

The crossovers are also based on features that have already caused a sensation among their bigger siblings, namely a so-called Bi-wired Passive Low Loss crossover with a 2nd order filter as Low Pass and a 1st order filter as High Pass. Only high-quality components are used in the crossover, including coils with a low-loss layered iron core, non-inductive thick-film resistors and top-quality polypropylene capacitors from Claritycap. The crossover is subjected to the so-called Deep Cryrogenically Treatment, one could also say it is “shock-frozen”, and then slowly warmed up to remove any voltage.

Both models, like the other members of the family, are equipped with a so-called Presence Ajustment, located directly on the lower baffle at the front. This allows the sound characteristics in the range between 2.5 kHz and 5 kHz to be raised or lowered by +/- 3 dB. Both models also feature high-quality connection panels that use next-gen WBT plugs and are equipped for bi-wiring or bi-amping, and are even designed for additional grounding via a further connection.

The veneered and lacquered cabinet is made of high-density birch plywood with high rigidity, it is low in discolouration thanks to curved side panels, as the manufacturer emphasises. Moreover, it looks, it must be said, extremely elegant, especially since it provides a kind of columnar base for the funnel-shaped coaxial drivers.

For the two smallest models, Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8, Fyne Audio unfortunately does not offer a large selection of design variants, only a high-gloss piano lacquer walnut version is available. The two floorstanding speaker systems Fyne Audio F-1-10 and Fyne Audio F1-12 are also available in piano lacquer black high gloss and piano lacquer white high gloss.

Of course Fyne Audio also offers a suitable stand for the new bookshelf speaker systems, namely the Fyne Audio FS8 Stand.

Getting to the point

The Fyne Audio F1 Series is a prime example of how the special design concepts and unique development philosophy at Fyne Audio are expressed. It celebrates the concept of a point source based on the Fyne Audio Isoflare Point Source Driver in conjunction with another key feature, a special type of downward bass reflex system, the Fyne Audio Basstrax Tractrix Diffuser System. All this will be offered in its purest form not only in the existing Fyne Audio F1-10 and Fyne Audio F1-12 models, but also in the new Fyne Audio F1-5 and Fyne Audio F1-8 models, which extend the series downwards.