[Neccros]

Has GR Research or anyone else done any mods for these speakers? 

Got a pair at ELAC's B-stock sale and was curious what can be done to them...

Thanks!

Brian

[maty]

The tweeter... bad idea: distorts at high volumes.

http://noaudiophile.com/ELAC_UB5/

http://noaudiophile.com/ELAC_UB5_Listening_Impressions/

Final thoughts:

I asked ELAC why the speaker shits the bed is such a unique way at 92dB, and did not get a response. My instinct here is that this limitation is because of driver design, maybe not enough magnet or copper on the midrange. I requested rear photos of the coaxial driver, but did not get them from ELAC. I only have the limited knowledge of an obsessed hobbyist, but I don't think a crossover component would create this issue. As such, I don't think the all active DSP version of the UB5 that ELAC has planned for future release will solve this problem. If anyone out there has a better idea of what is going on with the speaker let me know.

Back to the story of Daedalus and Icarus. Icarus's wings were amazing in design, but limited. If only he would not have flown so close to the sun, the story would have a happy ending. The ELAC UB5 speakers are technical marvels, that Jones and the team at ELAC should be proud of, but will perform well as long as you don't turn them up too much.

Coaxials, only the little 5.25" by KEF and few more.

[Neccros]

Mine are used for near field on my PC so doesn't go very high volume wise...

[Danny Richie]

I don't mind taking a look at them. Just send one over.

[maty]

Optimized



http://noaudiophile.com/ELAC_UB5/

From what I could see there are 3 large steel laminate inductors, and 3 air core inductors. For capacitors there are 3 poly, and 4 electrolytic. Looks like 4 wire wound resistors making up 2 L-pads to volume match the midrange and tweeter. If I had to guess it looks like the steel laminate inductors are for the high pass on the midrange, and low pass on the woofer. The three air core are for the low pass on the midrange and the high pass on the tweeter. The crossover looks like 3rd order 18db/octave crossover all around...

And the cemented resistors.

[Neccros]

Wish I knew what I was looking at when looking at all these graphs... No one explains it... LOL

[wushuliu]

The trick with the UB5 is going to be fitting a modified 3way crossover in that cabinet. It will probably have to be external. But it will sound great though. The stock crossover parts are pretty bad (I know there was no choice but to use them to save money).

[Neccros]

I probably dont know what I am talking about, but so far I love how they sound... I was just curious since I been looking into modding my X-LS's, if there was any mods for the UB5's out there.

Danny mentioned sending him the speakers but not sure I could live without them for too long!  Wish I lived close by.

[wushuliu]

I probably dont know what I am talking about, but so far I love how they sound... I was just curious since I been looking into modding my X-LS's, if there was any mods for the UB5's out there.

Danny mentioned sending him the speakers but not sure I could live without them for too long!  Wish I lived close by.

If sending them to Danny is an option I would really, REALLY consider doing so. All those electrolytics and low quality inductors and resistors are leaving a lot of performance on the table. Trust me.

[Neccros]

Sucks... Wish someone has already sent them to him and he has measured and modded some.  I'm in Calif and I know he is in Texas... Plus I dont have the original box anymore....

Damn I'm tempted...

[wushuliu]

Sucks... Wish someone has already sent them to him and he has measured and modded some.  I'm in Calif and I know he is in Texas... Plus I dont have the original box anymore....

Damn I'm tempted...

I'm guessing you don't have any soldering/diy skills or I'd say just give it a go replacing the parts yourself.  Think of it this way, once modded you will have a 3way with performance value way higher than what you paid. No question. Andrew Jones squeezed blood from a rock to make something this good for so little, but the trade-off is the cheap crossover parts. It's only because my speaker setup is doing TV duty that I haven't bought a pair of UB5s and upgraded them myself.

[Neccros]

No I have Soldering skills, but measuring speakers, and knowing what to swap out on a crossover, I dont know. Also the bezel they use around the drivers is a little tricky. I will have to reach out to my contact over at ELAC and ask how to remove it.

I got my UB5s for $200 at their B-stock sale so any improvements will make the deal even sweeter...

[wushuliu]

No I have Soldering skills, but measuring speakers, and knowing what to swap out on a crossover, I dont know. Also the bezel they use around the drivers is a little tricky. I will have to reach out to my contact over at ELAC and ask how to remove it.

I got my UB5s for $200 at their B-stock sale so any improvements will make the deal even sweeter...

$200? Oh man. Then it's a no-brainer... at minimum Danny can just substitute the parts for ones with the exact same values, just higher quality and some minor adjustments due to inductor gauge.

[Danny Richie]

He's right. If you can get a hold of a schematic then I can provide you with higher quality parts, wire, tube connectors, or even a sheet of No Rez. And you can build them out and install it all.

[Wind Chaser]

Or... couldn’t he just remove one crossover, send it to you (Danny), send it back with the appropriate up graded parts, he puts it together, installs it and then does the other?

[Neccros]

$200? Oh man. Then it's a no-brainer... at minimum Danny can just substitute the parts for ones with the exact same values, just higher quality and some minor adjustments due to inductor gauge.

The kicker is my pair was pulled from stock for a show, measured by Andrew Jones, and sealed back up. They were never used so I essentially got a brand new pair!

[Neccros]

He's right. If you can get a hold of a schematic then I can provide you with higher quality parts, wire, tube connectors, or even a sheet of No Rez. And you can build them out and install it all.

Hmmm I chat with people at ELAC but not sure they would be willing to give me a schematic... Unless its not some secret document... LOL

[wushuliu]

Or... couldn’t he just remove one crossover, send it to you (Danny), send it back with the appropriate up graded parts, he puts it together, installs it and then does the other?

There you go.

[maty]

The other bookshelf 3-way coaxial is the KEF R3 (and the old R300). Much more expensive.

Both was measured and listened to by the same person, napilopez. I would ask his opinion. BTW, Probably KEF R3 has cheap components too like the older, R300.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-of-the-kef-r3s.7867/post-189744

KEF R3




ELAC Uni-Fi UB5




KEF R300 crossover



Maybe two crossover to ELAC is a good idea. BTW, R300 without something like No-rez!!!

[maty]

[German] https://www.lowbeats.de/test-elac-uni-fi-bs-u5-koax-fuer-700-euro/

to English: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowbeats.de%2Ftest-elac-uni-fi-bs-u5-koax-fuer-700-euro%2F

The coax mid-high-range speaker sits in its own chamber, which is completely lined with a felt acoustic wool. The baffle, like the entire housing, is made of 18 millimeter thick MDF. Both drivers are - not so nice - only anchored in the baffle with wood screws. But you can't see that: The screws and the baskets of bass and coax are covered by a plastic cover.

[German] https://www.hifi-regler.de/shop/elac/elac_uni-fi_bs_u5-schwarz_matt-100007523-sw-mt.php



https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/binding-posts/dynavox-insulated-terminals-gold-plated-19mm-pair-p-7945.html

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/binding-posts/jantzen-audio-gold-plated-binding-posts-25mm-pair-p-9734.html