[drphoto]

I saw some guy on youtube talking about how ELAC makes these amazing speakers that are pretty cheap. Maybe this has been discussed but I've been away from the forum for a long time.

thanks.

[JLM]

Andrew Jones (inventor of the current/cheaper ELAC's and previously the Pioneer BS-22) is the latest audio rock star.

My friend has B6's and they do sound good (in the modern thin/constipated/uptilted way), but seemed to require very careful placement.  They represent very good value.  I'm looking forward to hearing more from the Uni-Fi line and the active speakers that were on static display in Munich recently.

[hifitommy]

i never tire os espousing the virtues of the ELAC designed by andrew jones.  the BS22s were better than they should be for $129/pr but the extra hundred for the elac b5s is MORE than worth the additional $.  i have had the pleasure of hearing them early on and i intend to eventually having a pair which may become my main speakers. 

current system here: http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/588.html

it is because i will have to shrink my system but i intend to keep it at a high standard which the ELACs qualify for.  the first quality that i admire is how deep the bass goes from such a small enclosure.  and as the line develops, things get better there and let me say that the rest of the frequency band is quite nice.  these speakers honor whatever electronics you power them with, don't be afraid to go high end with them.

[JLM]

Yes my same friend has BS-22's set up in a bedroom (NAD amp, less than ideal layout).  I heard them briefly but they didn't click with me (maybe just too cheap to interest me).  But he replaced $1500 stand-mounts with the B6 in his main $5000 system.  And we recently went to an audio shop to hear the Uni-Fi UF5 (poor layout, unknown associated gear so I wouldn't comment on sound quality).  But I did get a very quick listen to the Uni-Fi UF5 in a crowded room at Axpona this past April and first impression (of mine and a friend) was most impressive, so perhaps they need to be well fed to sound their best.

[trianglezerius]

I don't think that this forum has given Elac its due for what they manage to achieve for so little money. Is this forum becoming too much of a fanboy forum of just a few manufacturers? I am really starting to wonder. For me along with some of my other audiophile friends we are all wondering why Elac isn't getting more over the top praise here. Elac is a budget speaker that is a game changer in high end audio, plain and simple. And we aren't alone in our opinion of Elac either. Two of my hard core audiophile buddies who go to most of the audio shows throughout the country have told me that they hear more people  saying to others, "have you heard the Elac room yet?" I now get why this is said so frequently.

As the owner myself of the B6's I was completely surprised by their musicality and completeness that I only could find otherwise in my $1200 GR Research monitors which I've owned for years. And those GR's were built with all the best parts installed, etc. The GR's do have that unique tweeter and crossover parts for sure and you can hear it but for $700 more and almost 3X the cost I would hope they do some things much better. But the fact that i enjoyed the B6 just stupid in-expensive monitor comparably has surprised me! There is no other monitor that could hold its own in any way to the GR's musicality and completeness without showing glaring sonic flaws by other companies.

I had actually bought the B6 for my bedroom system without really considering to ever hear them in my main system. It was a complete surprise when I decided to hear what they would do with $1500 to $10K depending on the system, of electronics behind them.  What occurred for me was almost mind blowing - How can this be for almost no money? Possibly the best thing I am hearing is how any sonic warts these in-expensive speakers have are not showing. And the tonality and low bass from them is quite surprising for there size.Without hardly any mid-fi boom unless you have them directly on the back wall.  Never heard cheap speakers do so many things so well before, ever! And I've heard a ton over the years. 

Elac is now my "go to" speaker to recommend to all my newbie audiophile buddies who aren't yet ready to spend upward of $1000 or more on speakers. I still am scratching my head to how these can hold up to other speakers that cost so much comparably. I am now thinking Andrew Jones may be one of the most talented speaker engineers today.

[RDavidson]

I don't think the lack of Elac discussion here has anything to do with fanboyness for other brands whatsoever. I think it may be more that we have grown a bit accustomed to expecting big things from Andrew Jones and we've taken his Elac effort a bit for granted. I also think that the HUGE hype for the Elacs prior to launch may have turned a few people away. In general, I think many here are just not as interested in budget sector speakers as maybe a few years ago when the recession was heavily affecting a lot of people. I'd personally like to see a KEF LS50 challenger from Elac and Andrew Jones ; Something that is better built, better engineered, and has better performance, but still affordable in the grand scheme. That'd greatly interest me.

[hifitommy]

the last time i heard the ELACs was at the newport show (2016) in a poor room for demos.  they went down to th bottom but they were boomy in that room which was assigned to andrew with low priority because ELAC was a new to brand to the newport show unlike pioneer which had more seniority for room choice.   

to show how inadequate show conditions can be in comparison, the year before, in 2015 andrew had a better sounding demo room with the smaller B5s driven with belcanto electronics of 100wpc.  they sounded tremendous reaching lows that belied their size.. 

to bypass inexpensive products just because of their "status" can be a big mistake, vide the NAD3020 wich was way better than it should have been for its price.  the BS22s are not quite as good as the ELACs but for their list price od $130/pr, fantastic. 

i look forward to the more aggressive designs andrew comes up with.

[wushuliu]

Lol. I think what tends to happen is that discussions of budget speakers tend to get funneled advice-wise and upgrade wise in a certain direction...

[luckyguy]

I no longer use my B-5s after a couple of weeks.  Hoped to use them as part of a small bdrm system but found the sound too edgy and thin for me even with tube equipment.  Tried them in 3 different rooms and set ups--just couldn't get them kicking.  IMO and also in the opinion of my rapidly deteriorating ears.

[poseidonsvoice]

I have great respect for Andrew Jones. You won't find him talking about tweaking a cap or resistor for one name brand or another! This guy understands proper crossover design, driver design, directivity control, etc...you can talk plain engineering with him compared to other manufacturers who will brag about all their efforts in veneering and cabinet construction. Yes that IS important but a lot of cabinets have already reached the point of limiting returns. Then what? That's when the real engineering starts IMHO.


I believe what comes with the Unifi series will clearly compete with KEF, etc...I look forward to it.


The biggest deterrent I have to completely endorsing AJ's designs is their inefficiency. But that's okay. There are better and better higher powered amps coming out (>100 watts), not only commercial but DIY designs as well. Knowing the limitations of inefficiency, Andrew knows how to design herculean drivers and is dabbling in the active crossover world as well. It is one way around that problem. It isn't what I would do personally but that's just a matter of opinion.

Best,

Anand.

[CELT in AR]

I, for one, am looking forward to the Uni 6 floor standers.

[RoadTripper]

Do these exist: https://elac.com/product-category/active/air-x/

Or are they so new that none of the online retailers listed by Elac carry them yet?

I'm buying if I could.

[JLM]

?:  Why does the UF5 and UB5 have nearly identical performance specifications (only difference I could find is F3 = 42 Hz in the UF5 versus 46 Hz in the UB5)?

[poseidonsvoice]

?:  Why does the UF5 and UB5 have nearly identical performance specifications (only difference I could find is F3 = 42 Hz in the UF5 versus 46 Hz in the UB5)?

It's a design choice. Cleaner bass extension while maintaining a reasonable efficiency versus deeper bass extension. Just because you parallel a few 5.25 inch drivers, you don't gain that much in deeper bass extension if you are doing things right (Three 5.25 inch drivers is about the piston area of a 9 inch driver). I think AJ is probably being conservative here as you don't really know the real extension until measured in room. The UF5 will clearly be able to play louder (far less excursion and lower distortion) and will sound more visceral in the mid-bass. Piston area is important! Sound-staging will also improve as it always does when you get the low end of the spectrum right. Imaging will be similar between the two.

As an aside, bass is 30% of the performance. I pity the fellows who have +/- 10 dB response swings in the area from 20-300 Hz. They are missing a lot and erroneously compensating for this response by making other changes in their system and not concentrating their efforts on room acoustics, speaker setup, use of multiple bass sources, etc...

The moral? I wouldn't read too much into the low end spec in this case. And make in room measurements with a calibrated mic, REW, etc...you will learn something about your system guaranteed!

Best,
Anand.

[JLM]

Anand,

Agree about flat bass response and that specifications don't tell the whole story.  And it only makes sense that more piston area is better (less movement per sound pressure so distortion should be lower).

But in this case the rated power and efficiency are identical while the on F3 are nearly the same, so I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it.  OTOH in-room bass response is dependent on many factors.

[RoadTripper]

No answers for my question:

Do these exist: https://elac.com/product-category/active/air-x/

Or are they so new that none of the online retailers listed by Elac carry them yet?

I'm buying if I could.

[srb]

Do these exist: https://elac.com/product-category/active/air-x/
Or are they so new that none of the online retailers listed by Elac carry them yet?

I would say not available yet, because when you click on the menu item "SHOP", only the Debut and Uni-fi speakers are shown.

[WGH]

No answers for my question:

Do these exist: https://elac.com/product-category/active/air-x/

Or are they so new that none of the online retailers listed by Elac carry them yet?

I'm buying if I could.

And if Elac could incorporate 2 Dewalt Flexvolt batteries for 120 volts you would have a kick-ass truly wireless speaker
http://flexvolt.dewalt.com/en-us

[hifitommy]

here is the amazon ad for the b5:

https://www.amazon.com/Debut-Bookshelf-Speakers-Andrew-Jones/dp/B014GSER6O

there are other products there in the line including two subwoofers.  perhaps the wording of your search was too specific.

[JLM]

No answers for my question:

Do these exist: https://elac.com/product-category/active/air-x/

Or are they so new that none of the online retailers listed by Elac carry them yet?

I'm buying if I could.

I'm a fan of active design too.  But other well respected companies with lots of active speaker experience offer similar products, why so focused on ELAC?