ELAC Uni-Fi - UF5 or UB5?
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If you have a thousand perfectly capable drivers that were just off in color, you'd toss them all? This is an opportunity for people to get into these speakers for even less than they originally anticipated. There is nothing poor about the quality of the drivers... It's just a dye mistake. I guess I don't see where this is something they should be given grief over as B-stock happens. The only thing going against them is the massive publicity and customers foaming at the mouth to get them in hand.
That's why they should be given grief, and this isn't just something that "happens." This was the first run, past date, and they made promises to consumers. Most B-stock items I see show up on items with existing inventory or an established supply chain, thus B-stock turns lemons into lemonade. Here everyone paid for, and was promised the real deal up front.
I see this as the down side of driving so much hype around speakers, doing pre-orders, establishing an aggressive delivery date - all of those are promises you have to keep. When you start to default on a few of the promises (delivery date, error-free execution), people begin to doubt some of the others (quality of product overall). ELAC deserves some of the benefit of the doubt, sure, but they deserve some derision. Otherwise there's no incentive for anyone to be honest with their deliver timeframes, etc. -
I think I'm good with the anomally. If nothing else its an item of interest in history.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
That's why they should be given grief, and this isn't just something that "happens." This was the first run, past date, and they made promises to consumers. Most B-stock items I see show up on items with existing inventory or an established supply chain, thus B-stock turns lemons into lemonade. Here everyone paid for, and was promised the real deal up front.
I see this as the down side of driving so much hype around speakers, doing pre-orders, establishing an aggressive delivery date - all of those are promises you have to keep. When you start to default on a few of the promises (delivery date, error-free execution), people begin to doubt some of the others (quality of product overall). ELAC deserves some of the benefit of the doubt, sure, but they deserve some derision. Otherwise there's no incentive for anyone to be honest with their deliver timeframes, etc.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
Good luck Victor and others. Hopefully they make it right and the product ends up being a winner. It's sooooooooo hard for start ups in the audio business these days. Lots of good companies never seem to make it very long even though they have a great product.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I'm with Skip on this one. It's not like they're trying to pass these off and ship them out to consumers, that I could certainly see getting pissed about but it's simply not the case here. Any time you pre order a product you do so with the understanding that it's a pre order and **** happens and there may be a delay, I can't remember the last pre order I placed that showed up on time. If you're not comfortable with that risk going in then don't pre order, simple as that.
It's unfortunate there was a production issue, but ultimately things are run by humans and humans make mistakes. The issue sucks, but I can't think of a better way they should go about handling it.
I also wouldn't be worried about QC issues in general, their other products including the entry level Debut line have been fine, and if anything they're probably less likely to make a mistake going forward after this issue...plus I'm sure those responsible for the mistake and those responsible for the people responsible for making the mistake have all been sacked -
At least it wasn't super bright green or a purple box.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
I saw some purple boxes that sounded phenomenal. -
Can you say Monkey Pod
Delays are normal for the most part, Life is never prefect or on time!2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge
HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD -
Check out Ty Pendlebury's UB5s review on CNet. In the video you can see a slight green hue to the mid but it does not seem as pronounced as the photo above.
Whats more concerning is the vinyl wrap that has frayed on one, if not two corners. Ty states that they move their test units around a lot and that may have contributed to the peeling vinyl. But for Pete's sake, they've had 'em for what, 3 - 4 weeks? Uncovered MDF is not what you want. Can you imagine the results 3 years from now?
I'll admit it, I'm as big of a Andrew Jones fan as I was a fan of Matthew Polk back in the day, but this does not look good for ELAC.
These B stock units might be C stock units soon.HT: Marantz NR-1603, Oppo 981, Def Tech SM55, SVS PB-1000
BR: iPad Mini, Audio Engine A5+
2C: Parasound ZDAC V.2, Sony DA80ES, Sony XDR-F1HD, SVS Prime Tower, JSE .6 Infinite Slope
Office: MBAir, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, JBL LSR-308
Projects: Polk RTA12, Polk Monitor 7, Revox B225CD, BIC 3-TM -
OldSchoolPolk wrote: »Check out Ty Pendlebury's UB5s review on CNet. In the video you can see a slight green hue to the mid but it does not seem as pronounced as the photo above.
Whats more concerning is the vinyl wrap that has frayed on one, if not two corners. Ty states that they move their test units around a lot and that may have contributed to the peeling vinyl. But for Pete's sake, they've had 'em for what, 3 - 4 weeks? Uncovered MDF is not what you want. Can you imagine the results 3 years from now?
I'll admit it, I'm as big of a Andrew Jones fan as I was a fan of Matthew Polk back in the day, but this does not look good for ELAC.
These B stock units might be C stock units soon.
I saw and heard the demo models at AXPONA in April. No discolored mid or mismatch on the color.
I have to disagree with @AsSiMiLaTeD - pre orders don't mean "hey, throw whatever you have together and send it my way ASAP!" Of course, I am exaggerating but I do expect a quality product from a company that's been in business for 80 years.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
Good luck Victor and others. Hopefully they make it right and the product ends up being a winner. It's sooooooooo hard for start ups in the audio business these days. Lots of good companies never seem to make it very long even though they have a great product.
H9
Thanks Brock.
ELAC is hardly a start up company. They've been in business for a long time. This is their 90th anniversary! elac.com/aboutAudio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
My bad on the "start-up" comment. But then there is no excuse!"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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I have to disagree with @AsSiMiLaTeD - pre orders don't mean "hey, throw whatever you have together and send it my way ASAP!" Of course, I am exaggerating but I do expect a quality product from a company that's been in business for 80 years.
I'm actually not a big fan of pre orders in general, but I do understand the associated risk going in.
ELAC has been around a while, but mass produced products built in China are a fairly new thug for them, so I'm not too concerned about this issue.
FWIW, I don't own any ELAC gear and don't care either way, just trying to add an alternative perspective. -
They are worth the wait, and the green.
I put some really good electronics and cables/interconnects with the B6s over the weekend and they kept up easily with the upgrades, responded like champs to it.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
Well,
I couldn't wait and pre-ordered the new MITs.
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rednedtugent wrote: »Well,
I couldn't wait and pre-ordered the new MITs.
I got 5% off of my pre-order because the wire colors were green and blue instead of red and black like they were supposed to be.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
Wasn't there a run of MIT EXp wires that had the arrows facing the wrong direction so they sold them at a discount? Seems to me it's just something that happens from time to time, not a reason to discount an entire brand over.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
I like things with a historic past.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
@AsSiMiLaTeD - I appreciate your opinion and your perspective.
I do expect more from ELAC based on their history and, at the same time, I'm not thrilled with a further delay for a properly finished product.
I've decided to take them up on their discount offer and I'd like to get a matching Green E**** Mid driver Center Channel Speaker so I can have a matching front row.
I still don't know if these will best the Energy speakers that I have now but I'm hopeful that the ELAC speakers will work well in my environment. Time will tell.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
That off color driver would bug me.
I've waited over a year for a pre-order, so 8 more weeks ain't nutin'
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
That off color driver would bug me.
I've waited over a year for a pre-order, so 8 more weeks ain't nutin'
That's with the assumption that the problem would be rectified in 8 weeks. lol.
It's a decent discount so I'm taking the leap. I can always leave the grills on the speakers. The important thing is the sound quality; I mean, that's what I'm after.Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
I wonder what they will do with the amazon pre-orders? Maybe just wait until they are black? Charge more cause they are green?Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
I wonder what they will do with the amazon pre-orders? Maybe just wait until they are black? Charge more cause they are green?
I placed my order for a pair of the "blemished" UF5 floorstanding speakers and a "blemished" UC5 center channel speaker.
I'm still thinking about grabbing a pair of the UB5 at the discounted price as well for use in the bedroom.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
Man. $100 off green UB5's. That's a pretty significant concession. It doesn't even look too terribly unnatural. I respect what they're doing here. That's quite a nice customer service move.
http://elac-america.myshopify.com/products/cosmetically-blemished-elac-ub5-bookshelf-speakers?variant=20105012870
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Green is the new gold!Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
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I wonder if they will become collector items?I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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I now have my new digital system set up with the KEF LS50s. I will be substituting the ELAC greens when I get them to compare. This is the stiffest competition for the ELACs that I can imagine.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
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Yes, my particular ELACs will have a special order exotic material green cone, not your run of the mill piece of crap aluminum look-alike driver.Vinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want...