Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 review

Fyne Audio made waves in our hi-fi testing room with its F501E floorstanding speakers, earning a coveted Product of the Year title in 2025. You can, therefore, imagine our excitement when Fyne revealed that it offers a full 5.1 surround sound system that features these speakers in the headlining spot.

However, as any concert-goer knows, a good headliner is even better when it's backed up by a talented support act, and with the Fyne Audio F5E scoring a still admirable, but not perfect, four stars recently, we do have some reservations about whether this system can rival the likes of the Award-winning KEF and Bowers & Wilkins systems.

And we can’t forget about the centre channel and subwoofer, as these components take two pairs of stereo speakers and make them into a fully fledged surround sound system, which Fyne is calling the F500E AV Pack 2. Yes, an AV Pack 1 exists, though it swaps the front speakers for an additional pair of F5E speakers.

With all that in mind, can Fyne Audio deliver a 5.1 system that ticks all of our boxes? Simply put, the F500E AV Pack 2 is certainly cinematic, but it’s also a little rough around the edges…

Price

Breaking that £2500 total price down, we have the F501E floorstanders for £999, the F5E surround speakers for £399, the F502E LCR centre speaker for £600, and the F3.10 subwoofer for £500.

At the time of writing, Peter Tyson is offering the speakers as a bundle, somewhat confusingly under the name 'Fyne Audio F501e 5.1 Speaker Package', but with a big discount that takes the all-in price down to £2249.

Other retailers may soon offer a bundle, too, and even those that don't might well be willing to match the Peter Tyson price if you ask nicely.

You’ll notice that we’re only including UK pricing here. That's because certain components – namely the centre channel and subwoofer – don’t seem to be available in the US and Australia.

Competition in this price range is surprisingly fierce. The Fyne Audio package is among Award-winning peers, including the Bowers & Wilkins 606/607 S3 speaker package, which we reviewed at £2496 but can now be found for around £1999.

KEF also sells its mighty Q Concerto Meta 5.1 package for £2549 at select retailers. While that is a step up in price, the performance increase may well justify the additional outlay, as we’ll find out later in this review.

Build

If we had to distil our feelings towards the styling of the F501E system down to one word, it would be “functional”.

The floorstanding speakers that make up a predominant portion of this system look neat, and the black ash vinyl finish feels high-quality enough to the touch, but they don’t spark the same allure that the trendy KEF Q Concerto Meta speakers do in that Award-winning 5.1 system.

You’ll also need to ensure you have ample space, as they measure in at a substantial 98 x 25 x 29cm (hwd).

Thankfully, the modest F5E bookshelf speakers are less demanding, as they only measure 27 x 17 x 23cm, though you will have to provide and factor in the space requirements for a pair of speaker stands, or you can wall-mount them if your space allows.

Furthermore, they’re wrapped in the same black ash vinyl, which looks smart enough, but doesn’t exude a luxurious feel, as is present with the similarly priced KEF and B&W packages.

This sentiment is most felt in the bulky F502E LCR centre speaker, which measures in at 25 x 68 x 25cm. It’s designed to be wall-mounted, and it features screw hooks on the back to support this, but the sheer size of it means that your TV or projector screen will have to be fairly high up to accommodate its height.

Also, we could not find any attachable rubber feet in the box to use this in a tabletop set-up. However, as the sound section of this review will reveal, that may be intentional.

The F3.10 subwoofer measures 34 x 41 x 39cm, and it’s wrapped in a matching black ash vinyl finish, which complements the rest of the components nicely.

Overall, the exposed screws, basic styling and mismatch of speaker sizes can make this system look somewhat slapdash, which is slightly disappointing when we look at Fyne Audio’s wider range of eye-catching hi-fi speakers.

Features

Fyne Audio’s IsoFlare point source driver array is front and centre in this system, literally, and it’s also found in the surround speakers too.

This proprietary driver, in which the tweeter sits in the throat of the mid/bass unit, has previously been reserved for higher-end models within Fyne’s speaker ranges; however, it’s trickled down to the more affordable F501E and F5E stereo speakers, as well as the F502 LCR centre speaker.

The F501E speakers sport a 2.5-way design, with a downward-firing port that utilises the company’s BassTrax Tractrix diffuser technology, which aims to deliver more uniform bass dispersion around your listening space.

These floorstanders each sport a 15cm multi-fibre mid/bass driver with a 25mm titanium dome compression tweeter, paired with a 15cm multi-fibre bass driver.

The F5E, on the other hand, feature a 2-way design, with a 125mm IsoFlare, multi-fibre mid/bass driver, with a 19mm titanium dome compression tweeter. Much like their floorstanding counterparts, these bookshelf speakers also have a downward-firing port with Fyne Audio’s BassTrax Tractix diffuser.

The F502 LCR, on the other hand, sports a 2.5-way design with a 200mm IsoFlare multi-fibre mid/bass driver with a 25mm titanium dome compression tweeter, flanked by electromagnetically damped 20cm bass and 20cm ABR drivers.

Rounding things out with the F3.10 subwoofer, which pairs a 25cm woofer with 450W of amplification. Fyne has outfitted a down-firing low-turbulence port, which it says will deliver “consistent in-room performance”.

Sound

The most important aspect of any home cinema speaker system is, of course, how it sounds. Considering that the F501E proved to be a hit in our hi-fi testing room, and the F5E also scored admirably, we have high hopes (and expectations) for the sonic capabilities of this system.

We’ve paired the F501E package with our reference Marantz Cinema 30 amplifier, alongside the Oppo UDP 203 4K Blu-ray player, which is sadly no longer on sale. We also have the KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1, and Bowers & Wilkins 606/607 S3 speaker packages on hand as two Award-winning reference points to compare the Fyne system with.

Starting with Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, we immediately deduce that the main objective of this speaker system is to deliver a sound with immense cinematic scale. The sequence in which the group of anti-heroes escape a facility with the seemingly non-super-powered Bob is conveyed with a serious dose of punch, which heightens the excitement throughout.

As the thunderous score reaches its crescendo after a shocking revelation about Bob, we find it hard not to get drawn into the scene, thanks to the Fyne’s bold and dramatic dynamic shifts.

While scale is prioritised, we’re pleased to find that detail isn’t sacrificed as a result. The crispness and clarity of the F501E floorstanders are a huge benefit to the system as a whole, as details are captured throughout the scene with plenty of texture.

Switching to Blade Runner 2049 to assess the low-end capabilities of the subwoofer, we find the F3.10 to deliver weighty and agile bass that does a solid job of building tension in the infamous chapter two sequence.

Some fuzz does creep in during the deepest parts of the sequence, and it isn’t as taut or snappy as its rivals. Nevertheless, the Fyne subwoofer does a solid job of adding some low-end oomph to the system.

What's more, this system nails the “surround” aspect of “surround sound”. The cat and mouse chase sequence in No Time To Die, in which 007 has to evade a group of henchmen in 4x4s and on motorcycles, is presented in a way that puts us immediately into the centre of the action, with effects passing around our seating position and towards the surround speakers with solid accuracy and fluidity.

This does, however, bring us to the biggest drawback of the system. While the surround effect is convincing, we wouldn’t necessarily say that there is much cohesion when it comes to the sonic character of each component.

This is most felt with the centre speaker, which can sometimes feel at odds with the rest of the system. While the F501E floorstanders deliver quite a clean, clear and engaging sound, the F502 LCR can sound a bit softer and less defined.

We should note that this centre speaker seems to perform better when placed against a wall; however, even in the optimal position, we find that voices lack purity and can sound somewhat recessed.

The F5E surround speakers aren’t a perfect match either, meaning that we sometimes notice a slight sonic mismatch here, too.

This becomes more evident when we compare this system with the KEF and B&W alternatives, both of which feature stellar sonic cohesion across their respective components, and handle dialogue with detail and consideration in equal measures.

We find that both of these systems offer a more agile and precise sound, too, whereas the Fyne package continues to prioritise scale and cinematic punch at the expense of some dexterity.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The F500E package proves to be an exciting and engaging surround sound system throughout our testing, and we find ourselves appreciating the sheer magnitude of the sound this system produces. That being said, its Award-winning peers offer a bit more in terms of sonic subtlety.

Verdict

The Fyne Audio F500E Pack 2 has many positive attributes, and it will appeal to anyone who favours big, punchy and broad cinematic sound. It can be fairly revealing thanks to the detailed and crisp F501E front speakers, but as good as these floorstanders are, we feel as though the rest of the system can let them down.

The F5E surrounds aren’t miles off, and they play a key role in delivering a truly impressive surround sound effect, but the centre channel is less appealing, thanks to its bulky frame and softer sonic characteristics.

Still, while the system as a whole falls short of true greatness, there's still much enjoyment to be found in its bold delivery.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 4
• Features 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Bowers & Wilkins 606/607 S3 Speaker Package

Also consider the KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System

Read our Dali Oberon 5 5.1 Speaker Package review

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