ELAC Speakers

cvc

Enjoyed the Newport Beach Home Audio Show this weekend very much.. Did anyone else go?.. Yes, there are speakers that cost thousands and they sound fantastic and we expect them to for that amount and of course they're hooked up to more expensive amps, cables, etc..

I tell you, one of the rooms that blew me away and everyone else was the new ELAC speakers that Andrew Jones has designed.. They're amazing and only cost $229.00.. Mr. Jones himself was in the small demo room for all 3 days explaining his design and answering any questions people asked him regarding his speakers and audio in general.. He was not only there but the one playing the music tracks for us to listen to and explaining his design philosophy and such regarding these new bookshelf speakers.. Such a great guy and easy to listen to no matter what he talked about..

These speakers and the rest of the line are still in the manufacturing stage and will be available in Sept.. Very, very impressive!

http://elac.us/peopletechnology

tonyb

Interesting....for 229 bones yet they claim no off the shelf parts, customized crossovers and drivers ? Doesn't add up in my book. Anyone who has done upgraded crossovers alone know what that costs by itself.

They may very well sound fantastic though regardless of whats inside. We shall see come Sept., I'm sure at that price point someone here will snag a pair.

OldSchoolPolk

Well if anybody could do it I think most here agree Andrew Jones would be the one.

Its more surprising that he went to Elac to do it. It makes sense that Pioneer could use their massive resources to produce his designs for such low price points but I did not realize Elac had the depth of manufacturing to pull of such value products. Even the tower (w/ 3 5.25" mid woofers are $279 each)

Want to hear them....

cvc

Also, check out this video that shows how ELAC has a line of subwoofers coming out that you set up all controls using an app!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNL6u29B1V4

cvc

Michael Fremer gives a big shout out to the new speakers on his latest update at Analogplanet.. Here's a great video from the weekend of Mr. Jones describing his ideas regarding the new line..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK5fKs1-Abg

erniejade

Any runmor when they actualy hit the market since its pre-oder right now?

cvc

September..

erniejade

Best Sound (for the money): Former TAD helmer Andrew Jones is already working his renowned magic just months after joining Germany’s Elac. If the modest Debut B5 loudspeaker represents the shape of things to come, watch out! Price: $229. (Yes, that’s right, the price is NOT a typo.)


http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/neil-gader-reports-on-the-show-newport-beach/

iskandam

I went on Saturday. Didn't even know Andrew Jones was there, much less to debut his new Elac speakers until a friend who was working the Theta/Wilson room told me about them and gave a glowing review. I'd have to agree with everything that's been said about these bookshelves. I couldn't believe such good sound was achievable at less than 3 bills a pair.

vcwatkins

I kinda like the sound of the large eq subwoofer too.

cvc

I never heard the sub.. Let's be clear, there was no sub used in that demo room..

vcwatkins

Thanks. By "I kinda like the sound of", I meant I liked the description of the features of the sub in the second video.

concealer404

I'm actually intrigued by this for an HT scenario. Under $2000 MSRP for the whole set with all the bells and whistles? That sounds pretty nice to me.

erniejade

Brining this back since they should be out soon.

zingo

https://youtu.be/_j0vbUFHvNQ

adam2434

I think Andrew Jones joined Elac in Feb of this year. To develop the whole series (2 bookshelf models, center, floorstander, Atmos, and 3 subs) from the ground up, and have them ready for production and sales in 8 months is pretty amazing.

It makes me wonder if the series was already in development when he joined. That or he and his team must have worked tirelessly to pull this off.

Brilliant move for Elac to bring him in to develop a budget series on the heels of his very successful budget line for Pioneer.

I’m very curious to see/hear if these live up to the hype and set a new standard in their price class.

I wonder where these will be sold?

chumlie

Just a FYI. Amazon has the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers For $88.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008NCD2LG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

erniejade

I am interested In the 6. Just from hearing what he did with the pioneer, I am really curious on them.

adam2434

There will also be a second, larger floorstander (F6) out at the end of this ear.

I think I am going to pick up a pair of the B6 just to check them out and perhaps find a spot for them in the house somewhere.

adam2434

Meant at the end of this year. Duh!

felipe

Having owning the AJ Pio line, looks like these Debut Series will be winners for Andrew Jones..possibly besting the success and performance of th Pioneer Line??

adam2434

I pre-ordered the B6 from Amazon. They are supposed to be released on Oct 1.

Given that the Pioneer AJ's swing 2-3x above their price class, I'm definitely curious as to whether the Elac Debut series will live up to the Pioneer AJ's value proposition.

AJ is also designing the next level up Elac series. I have not heard anything regarding price points and design for this new series though.

cnh

OK, whoever gets the first pair. There is a MANDATORY "review" for this forum in "your" future!

OldSchoolPolk

This ^^^^

Also, cnh, how did you get the info that a T6 is to be introduced later in the year?

adam2434

FYI, there's an Elac North America thread on the AVS speaker forum. Elac's Chris Walker created the thread and posts regularly.

Looks like their next level series will be 2-3x the cost of the Debut series and will be shown at the CES. They also have 2 more series planned, as well as some electronics.

It's hard to fathom how they are cranking out so many speaker designs in such a short time period. I assume that a big part of it is that Andrew Jones' talent and experience allow for a very efficient development and design cycle.

bachmanr

I'm new to this forum. I came upon your thread for Elac. Just wanted to say that I have a set of B6's on their way. Hope they sound as good as everybody that has listened to them says they are. Ray

erniejade

Let us know what you think of them. What are you currently using?

[Deleted User]

Welcome Bach, do come back and tell us your experience.
Ironically, I picked up Wheatfield Soul by the Guess Who today.

adam2434

I posted some initial impressions of the B6 at AVS.

Post #206: avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2170761-elac-owners-thread-7.html

Mikey081057

I'm pretty intrigued about the B6's and may just order a pair just for S&G's. I mean how good can they sound for <$300 6 ohm, 87db, about the same size as an LSi9 (9's are couple inches deeper). I'm not expecting them to hang with the LSi9's but for $280 I don't know what to expect. I find myself being initially impressed with smaller speakers and then ...meh... But some have compared these to speakers costing 10 x more. From the pics tho it doesn't seem to have much in the way of looks. But beauty is in the eye (ear) of the beholder right?

madmax

I received the B6 pair over the weekend. After break-in I will do a review. I've found that until broken in everything can change (for better or worse) so right now my thoughts are just ramblings so I'm not so worried with all the gear. I put maybe 7 hours of listening on them. My initial thoughts at first listen were:

Majestic sounding, they really filled the room with tone and were way beyond my expectations. Majestic is the best word I could come up with to convey my thoughts while listening. Controlled is the word I would have used for the Pioneers.

Center imaging was amazing. The center image was full and complete. Unlike other setups I've heard even when I turn my head the image stays in the same place and does not change sound.

Room ambience when in the recording was readily apparent. This kinda knocked my socks off as I've not experienced this level of ambience in my own room.

Midrange was way beyond what I hoped for. It didn't stick out at all but was right.

The performance with low power/low volume is far better than I'm used to. The room remains sound filled down to very low levels.


These are all areas where the Pioneers could have been better. While the Pioneers did a lot of things very well they did not have the high end "magic" these B6 seem to provide. I would have almost thought they were already broken in except for a little roughness in the lower to mid treble region and some peakiness in the midrange at higher volumes. Fit and finish is nice, looks more like black anodized brushed alluminum than the typical fake woodgrain. They look at home with higher end equipment. They are also quite big for a bookshelf.