Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review

Fyne Audio has impressed us before. Across the nine years that the company has been producing speakers, we have awarded five stars to varied products such as the high-end F701SP standmounts, the compact Vintage Five, and the F501E floorstanders, which are current What Hi-Fi? Award winners.

With the release of the entry-level F5E standmount speakers (tested at £399 / $699 / AU$895), Fyne’s proprietary IsoFlare technology only recently became available at a more affordable price. At that point, however, the company still hadn’t made an entrance into the growing market for active, Bluetooth-enabled stereo speakers.

Enter the Cubitt 5. With a good spread of connectivity options, Fyne’s first active speakers do an awful lot for their desk-friendly proportions. How will they measure up against more established rivals?

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Price

Currently available at £549 / $749 / AU$1495, the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 sit in between two strong five-star rivals.

Those are the smaller, Award-winning Ruark MR1 Mk3 (£399 / $579 / AU$899), which we praised for their punchy sound and good quality phono stage, and the larger KEF Coda W (£799 / $1000 / AU$1450), with their elegant build quality and excellent dynamic handling.

Build & design

The first thing we notice about the 26cm-tall Cubitt 5 is their rather stylish design, featuring curved edges and a sleek chrome surround to the main driver. With a minimal, modern look and shoebox-sized dimensions, they make an unobtrusive addition to our test room.

We are also struck by how these speakers look just as comfortable on speaker stands as they do sitting on our desk.

Our test pair arrived in Olive Green, but the Cubitt 5 are also available in Midnight Black, Pearl Titanium, Pebble Grey and Arctic White finishes. Our pair look well finished and feel solidly constructed, with a reassuring but easily transportable weight of approximately 4kg per speaker.

Despite their robust and satisfyingly minimal design, we are somewhat disappointed to find that the speakers feature no onboard controls. Although the included remote is a handy addition while listening from a distance, in a desktop setting, where the speakers are close to hand, it becomes frustrating to have to find the remote every time we want to change source or volume.

In contrast to the sturdy speakers, the black plastic remote feels somewhat insubstantial, but nonetheless does its job well, allowing for easy switching between sources, volume adjustment and activating standby mode. In a thoughtful touch from Fyne, the remote can also be stored in a small metal holder attached to the back of the right speaker so you don’t lose it.

But let’s get into the nitty gritty. Taking a closer look at their fully active design, we find that each of the enclosures houses two 60W Class D amplifiers, one dedicated to each drive unit.

The speaker’s IsoFlare driver array sees a 19mm titanium dome tweeter mounted at the centre of a 12.5cm multi-fibre mid/bass unit to improve sound dispersion and integration between drivers. IsoFlare positions the drivers’ acoustic centres (the point at which the drive unit appears to generate sound) on the same axis, rather than above one another as they would be in a conventional design.

As with Fyne’s other IsoFlare products, the mid/bass driver’s rubber surround exhibits the company’s patented fluting, which it claims damps down energy from the driver more effectively, reducing distortion and improving clarity. The speakers also employ a front-firing bass port to reinforce the low end.

Similar to active speakers such as the KEF Coda W, the Cubitt 5 feature one master speaker housing power connection, amplification, DAC and connections, with a wired connection to the other speaker. A 3m cable comes included in the box, but Fyne also offers a longer 8m version, which is available to purchase for £39.99 / €44.99 / $49.99.

Pleasingly, all inputs are clearly labelled, making the Cubitt 5 an accessible option for music fans of all technical abilities. On the front panel, however, we begin to feel that the minimalist design, which includes just a single LED that turns red during standby, doesn’t provide us with enough information.

Without any visual indication of volume, we found it all too easy to return from a break after listening at high levels, and get unexpectedly blasted away when we turn them back on. Similarly, when switching between sources, we would have liked some way of knowing which source was currently selected.

Features

The Cubitt 5 are equipped for wireless playback via Bluetooth 5.0, which supports the standard AAC and higher-quality aptX HD codecs.

In terms of wired connections, the speakers house stereo RCA analogue inputs, an optical input that handles hi-res files up to 24-bit/96kHz PCM, and an HDMI eARC input for hooking up to a television, and an integrated moving magnet phono stage for use with a record player.

Our first pair of test speakers had issues with clipping when using the analogue RCA inputs. Fyne sent us another sample though, which performed without a hitch – so we’ll give these speakers the benefit of the doubt.

We find that the Cubitt 5’s Bluetooth connection works well with both our Macbook and smartphone, entering pairing mode easily with one click of the remote and maintaining a stable connection throughout testing. The speakers remember their last connection, so you can pick up where you left off when switching between devices.

Further reflecting their versatile design, the built-in moving magnet phono stage means these speakers can be connected to a turntable without the need for any extra boxes – ideal for vinyl enthusiasts with limited space. A phono ground output is also included on the primary speaker’s rear panel.

For those wanting to extend the speakers’ already impressively controlled and punchy bass, a subwoofer output is also available.

Unlike some of their rivals, the Cubitt 5 do not offer any kind of tonal equalisation or the option of a control app. Fortunately, though, the speakers are sufficiently well balanced and simple to use that these omissions don’t feel like a major issue.

Sound

The Fyne Cubitt 5 sound best placed against our listening room’s rear wall, mounted on speaker stands. It is worth noting, however, that they also cope remarkably well on a desktop, resisting both low-frequency blurring and excessive desk vibration better than most rivals.

Across every input, the speakers deliver an impressively taut sound, with a vibrant, airy top end. Bass performance is at once impactful and satisfyingly neat, considering the constraints of their size.

We are immediately impressed by their textural fidelity, with the acoustic guitars of Adrienne Lenker’s Sadness As A Gift showcasing their animated and vivid presentation.

Equally propulsive and contextually sensitive, the Cubitt 5’s rhythmic drive is nothing short of impressive for their price. When listening to Fcukers’ I Like It Like That, we are immediately struck by the manner in which powerful hits of synthesised sub bass drive the song relentlessly forward without ever compromising the gossamer quality of the lead vocals.

Notably, the Cubitt 5 hold their own at high volume, staying composed even when pushed hard.

The Cubitt 5’s soundstage is impressively stable. Listening to David Bowie’s Blackstar, we note the speakers’ precise stereo presentation, with instruments sitting firmly in their places across the left/right axis.

Moving the speakers further apart, we find they are capable of significant width before any central holes begin to appear in the stereo image. With an unexaggerated sense of depth, the Cubitt 5 allow Lazarus’s smooth, layered drums to sit comfortably behind Bowie’s pained vocal.

Moving further away from the speakers, we find they retain a satisfying sense of spatial reality, even as we walk around the room.

Dynamically, the Cubitt 5 are highly responsive. Listening to Talk Talk’s The Rainbow, transitions between delicate piano chords and the brash roar of a distorted harmonica are reproduced with equivalent ease. Similarly, large jumps in volume during Radiohead’s Palo Alto are delivered with an impact that seems to sit comfortably within the speakers’ ability.

The Cubitt 5’s MM phono stage sounds pleasantly detailed and energetic when we tried it with the Rega Planar 3 RS Edition, and will be fine for most users. However, if vinyl is your main source, we think it would be worth upgrading to a standalone phono stage for an extra touch of dynamic sensitivity.

An additional word of caution: we do note that the Cubitt 5 produce a slightly higher level of hiss than their rivals, which is apparent when no music is playing, but which isn’t, ultimately, loud enough to bother us during playback.

Compared to the smaller Ruark MR1 Mk3, we feel that the Cubitt 5 offer superior bass handling in terms of agility and grip, and a more faithful, if slightly less energetic, sound signature.

With a responsibly vivacious presentation, these speakers provide an honourable, if not entirely threatening, challenge to more expensive active designs such as the KEF Coda W. However, given the price difference between the two, we are happy to accept any compromises.

Verdict

With the Cubitt 5, Fyne Audio is an accomplished addition to the growing market for active speakers with Bluetooth. Their compact proportions, ease of use and feature set make them an ideal addition to a home audio set-up, especially if you have limited space.

While we would have liked to see on-board controls and a visual volume display included, these speakers nonetheless deliver an enjoyable and immersive listening experience for the price.

Review published: 26th June 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our Ruark MR1 Mk3 review

Also consider the step-up KEF Coda W active speakers

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