Fluid Audio may not be a well-known Hi-Fi name, but the founders of the company have been designing speakers for over 25 years. Now, after careful adjustments and fine-tuning, Fluid Audio is proud to present the CX7 Hi-Fi active monitor.
You may recognize this speaker, as it is a close relative of the studio monitor FPX7. Following in the footsteps of its relative (which can be found in recording studios around the world), the CX7 is another coaxial monitor with an AMT tweeter. Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeters have been legendary in the audio industry due to their transparent sound, fast response, and high efficiency. Designed by Dr. Oskar Heil, the folded diaphragm in the AMT acts like bellows that "push" the sound out in a bellows-like motion. This design results in an extremely fast response and fine details.
By mounting the AMT tweeter in the center of the bass driver, the CX7 benefits from all the advantages of a coaxial design: a compact footprint, a "point-centered" soundstage, and a good off-axis response. This, combined with a 7" powerful bass driver, creates a monitor with full-frequency response. The specially designed 140W amplifier has two EQ options for flexibility: the Tweeter Trim switch and the Acoustic Space switch to adjust placement in your home. Like the other Fluid models, the amplifier also has a generous heat sink and a standby function to save energy. All these features make the CX7 monitor the best choice for a premium Hi-Fi experience at home.
Amplification and Crossover
The specially designed Class A/B bi-amplifier drives the low and high-frequency drivers separately, allowing each to work independently and more efficiently. Like the FPX7, the CX7 uses an oversized toroidal transformer for the power supply. This provides plenty of clean power with lots of headroom. The use of an external heat sink on the amplifier keeps heat away from the cabinet, allowing both the amplifier and drivers to operate at lower temperatures. When the speaker is not in use, an integrated standby function switches off the amplifier to save energy. Combined with phase-optimized crossover networks, the speakers blend seamlessly, resulting in a cohesive soundstage across the DSP-controlled frequency spectrum.
Bass Driver
The bass driver is 7" (178 mm) in diameter and uses a low-distortion magnet structure. This magnet drives a highly temperature-resistant voice coil, mounted on a polypropylene-coated paper diaphragm. The diaphragm is attached to the frame with a flexible butyl rubber surround that minimizes high-frequency resonance peaks that could be transferred from the diaphragm. Although many claim to use "space-age materials" in their diaphragms, paper pulp has been the most popular material for bass drivers since the 1920s. Why? Not only does it offer an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, but it also has outstanding damping properties, providing a cleaner sound without ringing resonances.
Tweeter
The tweeter in the CX7 is what makes this speaker so unique and extraordinary in its sound. The yellow part in the center of the speaker is a 28mm x 43mm Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter with a neodymium magnet. AMT tweeters have long been known for their precise detail and lightning-fast response. What makes the CX7 so special is that it is mounted in the center of the bass driver in a coaxial configuration. This not only ensures that the "acoustic center" is the same for both the bass driver and the tweeter, dramatically improving the speaker's vertical off-axis response, but it also allows the speaker cabinet to be a little shorter and more compact. Beyond the extremely refined detail, the AMT tweeter provides outstanding imaging and depth.
Bass Reflex Port
The circular hole at the bottom of the front panel of the CX7 is the bass reflex port. It is designed to efficiently tune the speaker cabinet to a specific frequency and maximize bass output from the speaker. Positioned on the front panel to fire directly toward the listener, it also offers greater flexibility in terms of placement (a rear-facing port could interfere with the wall behind it).
Cabinet and Protective Grille
The cabinet design of the CX7 plays an important role in shaping the speaker's overall sound response. In addition to being made from acoustically efficient MDF, it is internally braced to dampen internal standing waves within the cabinet. This reduces audible distortion that could degrade the soundstage. The front panel also features a fabric grille that attaches with neodymium magnets. This grille is acoustically transparent but protects the drivers from damage.
