Elac Adante AF-61 (took some diy to make perfect)
joecoulson
Posts: 4,950
in Speakers
So let me preface this by saying that I am very happy with these speakers (now) and for the price I got them new I have nothing to complain about BUT:
When I got them home, I unboxed them which took quite a bit of work. They were double boxed and styrofoam packed along with velvet bags to protect the finish. Nicely packed.
The bases were separated from the boxes and had to be screwed on. The finish and overall look of these towers is absolutely amazing.
So I was listening to them last night and they sounded fabulous. I started reading more about an issue I had read before I purchased them and went ahead and tested for the problem:
Apparently either in production or in shipping, a small leak developed between chambers. Meaning that the supposed sealed driver/passive radiator boxes which should be sealed from each other were actually letting a little air between them. Only two of these bass drivers next to each other were leaking to the point when you pushed on one of the passive radiators, the one above it would move. Not ideal. To make things worse, I had read about a larger issue. In some cases the sir could leak between the top bass driver and the mid/tweet enclosure. This was harder to test for. I saw a video of one fella who had the issue test with a lighter in front of the mid and pushed on the passive radiator below to see if the flame moved. Which it did on both of my towers.
Now keep in mind I had already played them and thought they sounded leaps above the lsim’s.
I had three options in my mind, 1st was to do what most sane individuals who spent this much on speakers would do, pack them all back up and take them back to the dealer. 2nd was to deal with it which is not something I think any of us would do. And 3rd is quite possibly the option that no one else in their right mind would consider- fix it!
I slept on this decision as I knew if I did this, most likely returning them would be out of the cards. I weighed some options:
I love the sound already
I got them for a fantastic price
I don’t think that (besides this thread) they could deny me a warranty claim for any replacement drivers down the road should they be needed as I purchased them from an authorized Elac dealer.
All of these gave me the confidence to fix this issue.
So I knew that if I was doing this, I would do it very very carefully and trace all steps to ale sure all went back EXACTLY as it was.
First step was to remove the aluminum plate from the front and expose the driver screws. Then remove the mid/tweet and the three passive radiators.
Then remove the three internal 6.5” woofers.
I did this to both towers and prepped the area for working with the latex quick dry caulk I had purchased for $8 (two tubes)
I then proceeded to sleal all corners I could reach. Every gap and seal between chambers.
This took about 1 hour to do.
One of the problem areas was the plate they used to seal the wires for the mid/tweet. It only had a foam gasket around it and was an obvious weak point.
I sealed it with the same caulk.
I did notice that all components inside were fantastic quality (enclosure QC not withstanding)
Taking my time to put all back after the caulk dried.
When I got done all was exactly as it looked before I started.
Is when I tested the lighter, nothing. And pushing on the passive radiators is like pushing on the SVS SB16 , moves very slowly in and out. Just as they should.
Now most of you are going to say that you would never put up with that, and your right. I don’t argue that point. I just know that now (after 2 1/2 hours of work and $8 ) they are EXACTLY how they should be. Sound even better (I would hope) than before.
I am very happy with these towers and I’m not sure anyone else might even notice the issue when they purchased these if it wasn’t for a* retentive folks out there.
Great towers and phenomenal imaging and mids. Leaps and bounds above the polks.
Just disappointed that the QC (or shipping, but less likely) is sub par for this level or speaker.
I am still breaking them in and am listening to DSOTM on Sacd now. Time and money wow. Like I have never heard them.
Thanks for reading
When I got them home, I unboxed them which took quite a bit of work. They were double boxed and styrofoam packed along with velvet bags to protect the finish. Nicely packed.
The bases were separated from the boxes and had to be screwed on. The finish and overall look of these towers is absolutely amazing.
So I was listening to them last night and they sounded fabulous. I started reading more about an issue I had read before I purchased them and went ahead and tested for the problem:
Apparently either in production or in shipping, a small leak developed between chambers. Meaning that the supposed sealed driver/passive radiator boxes which should be sealed from each other were actually letting a little air between them. Only two of these bass drivers next to each other were leaking to the point when you pushed on one of the passive radiators, the one above it would move. Not ideal. To make things worse, I had read about a larger issue. In some cases the sir could leak between the top bass driver and the mid/tweet enclosure. This was harder to test for. I saw a video of one fella who had the issue test with a lighter in front of the mid and pushed on the passive radiator below to see if the flame moved. Which it did on both of my towers.
Now keep in mind I had already played them and thought they sounded leaps above the lsim’s.
I had three options in my mind, 1st was to do what most sane individuals who spent this much on speakers would do, pack them all back up and take them back to the dealer. 2nd was to deal with it which is not something I think any of us would do. And 3rd is quite possibly the option that no one else in their right mind would consider- fix it!
I slept on this decision as I knew if I did this, most likely returning them would be out of the cards. I weighed some options:
I love the sound already
I got them for a fantastic price
I don’t think that (besides this thread) they could deny me a warranty claim for any replacement drivers down the road should they be needed as I purchased them from an authorized Elac dealer.
All of these gave me the confidence to fix this issue.
So I knew that if I was doing this, I would do it very very carefully and trace all steps to ale sure all went back EXACTLY as it was.
First step was to remove the aluminum plate from the front and expose the driver screws. Then remove the mid/tweet and the three passive radiators.
Then remove the three internal 6.5” woofers.
I did this to both towers and prepped the area for working with the latex quick dry caulk I had purchased for $8 (two tubes)
I then proceeded to sleal all corners I could reach. Every gap and seal between chambers.
This took about 1 hour to do.
One of the problem areas was the plate they used to seal the wires for the mid/tweet. It only had a foam gasket around it and was an obvious weak point.
I sealed it with the same caulk.
I did notice that all components inside were fantastic quality (enclosure QC not withstanding)
Taking my time to put all back after the caulk dried.
When I got done all was exactly as it looked before I started.
Is when I tested the lighter, nothing. And pushing on the passive radiators is like pushing on the SVS SB16 , moves very slowly in and out. Just as they should.
Now most of you are going to say that you would never put up with that, and your right. I don’t argue that point. I just know that now (after 2 1/2 hours of work and $8 ) they are EXACTLY how they should be. Sound even better (I would hope) than before.
I am very happy with these towers and I’m not sure anyone else might even notice the issue when they purchased these if it wasn’t for a* retentive folks out there.
Great towers and phenomenal imaging and mids. Leaps and bounds above the polks.
Just disappointed that the QC (or shipping, but less likely) is sub par for this level or speaker.
I am still breaking them in and am listening to DSOTM on Sacd now. Time and money wow. Like I have never heard them.
Thanks for reading
Comments
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I’m not sure if you can tell Mark but those are approximately 8 inches wide. The boards. If that gives you reference.
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I rescinded my comment because it was not particularly helpful nor nice
Things do look pretty good inside, especially considering (even) their full list price --
and, heck, I am playin' with a pair of their very little siblings even as I type this.
I'd have probably done the same thing you did, FWIW (and I probably would've scratched 'em up, or put a screwdriver through a speaker cone while I was at it).
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Well Thank You sir because i felt it was the path of least resistance and I felt confident in the outcome. And the outcome is a stunning set of towers.
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Congrats on your new speakers Joe!
Way to go by taking control of the situation and improving upon the OE speakers by sealing the cabinet to where it should've been.
Looking forward to hearing more about these as they break in.Audio: Von Schweikert VR-2 * Musical Fidelity M2si * Bluesound Node 2i * APC H10
Vinyl: Fluance RT82 * Bottlehead Reduction + Integration Upgrade * KAB RF1
Video: VIZIO M55Q8-H1 * Panasonic DMP-UB200 * ROKU SS+ * Z-line Designs Elektra -
Thank You sir!!
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Can't tell from the pics. Was there any factory sealant between chambers, or did it rely on the mating surfaces being tight for the seal?
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The side panels were channeled to accept the width of the dividers. Those were then glued in place but no other sealant was added, the problem is some of them did not have any glue in them at all.
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Just to add to this thread, I sent a copy of this post to Elac -
I commend you sir for fixing a known problem with those speakers.
Thanks for the pictures too!
If I bought them for a good price, I'd do exactly the same. Fix the known QC oversight.
I sure wish I could've taught you how to caulk. I taught my step daughter the trick to caulking. I've caulked a couple of miles worth I'm sure when I painted for a living. A great painter taught me the trick in the beginning of my apprenticeship you could say.
Your caulking is inside and it's sealed. It worked.
You did good then. 
Aren't they Andrew Jones Designed speakers? I'm going to go look. Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I meant to post these in the original post. Here are some images I took before I fixed the issue. You can clearly see no adhesive in these areas.
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That's funny!...I sure wish I could've taught you how to caulk. I though the same thing as I've recently done bathroom, flooring, and molding projects throughout my entire home. This tool saved me:
Anyway, great speakers you have there. Do give impressions as they break in.
FAMILY ROOM
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster -
Not sure you guys know the amount of space I had to work with. There was no tip application possible. Finger application only for most of it.
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Great work, enjoy your speakers!!Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 ch. 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony Bravia KDL-40R510C TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Boston VR-920 Center Channel, SVS NSD-12 SB12 Subwoofer, Polk DSW 400 Subwoofer, Polk FXi-3 Surround Speakers
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joecoulson wrote: »Not sure you guys know the amount of space I had to work with. There was no tip application possible. Finger application only for most of it.
It looks like Elac's gluing procedures are the opposite of what Polk's used to be. I don't know how Polk is nowadays. Just the older models we've seen here on the forum with all the mod pictures over the years.
I have to admit, Squeeze tubes are a lot harder to handle in a way and then in a tight space, I understand.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
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Great job Joe!
I know it was probably disappointing to tear em apart so soon, but a straightforward fix. Instead of packing em back up and returning them, that would've have taken some time too.
Congrats!Basement: Polk SDA SRS, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,Enlightened Audio Designs CD Transport, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, Marantz SA-14 SACD, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Digital Cables, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, Wireworld Oasis 8 RCA IC's, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner -
Thanks Dave.
To be perfectly honest I was thinking I was going to get slammed for doing this. I pondered not posting what I did but Drew talked me into it.
Glad to see some solidarity here.
Thank You all -
Sounds like what I would have done. They look great man, enjoy!
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loose Quality Assurance.
They didn't even sweep out their hair that got stuck!
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loose Quality Assurance.
They didn't even sweep out their hair that got stuck!
To say nothing of the fact that it appears to be of the short and curly kind...
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FWIW, I nearly always use my index finger (with or without a protective nitrile glove, depending upon how macho I'm feeling) slightly moistened with water, to smooth caulk beads like a boss.
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In an attempt to get on track, did you read the December Stereophile review of said speakers. ELAC makes a sub to work with the AF-61's. It has an "auto-equalization"
app that reads the output of the sub in front then the listening position. The reviewer liked the integration results.
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I will say that with the SVS, I set the cutoff at 80hz with a 12db curve and love the integration. It produces cleaner top to bottom results than the previous 705’s. I could never dial in the SVS to work seamlessly with them like I can these. Probably because of the port tuning on the polks.
The end result is synergy with the towers and sub like I have not heard before. Beautiful. -
And I think you were just being funny, but that was leftover batten inside from the glue that held it in place. I replaced that with gorilla glue when RE-assembling
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joecoulson wrote: »And I think you were just being funny, but that was leftover batten inside from the glue that held it in place. I replaced that with gorilla glue when RE-assembling
Pretty sure he was -- darned sure that I was (or, at least, trying to be).
So, you are using those with a subwoofer at present?
(see, I can be on topic, at least occasionally!)
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Yes. SVS SB16 ultra (sealed) so I think the combo of sealed towers and sealed sub are contributing to the synergy.
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joecoulson wrote: »Thanks Dave.
To be perfectly honest I was thinking I was going to get slammed for doing this.
Hey Joe, I for one, and IMO a lot of the folks here, appreciate and admire the fact that you decided to fix it, rather than return em. Hopefully no affect on warranty.Basement: Polk SDA SRS, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,Enlightened Audio Designs CD Transport, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, Marantz SA-14 SACD, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Digital Cables, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, Wireworld Oasis 8 RCA IC's, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner -
invaluable really. I forgot how this speaker was built and couldn't for
the life of my account for all the woofers in the pics.
joecoulson wrote: »Thanks Dave.
To be perfectly honest I was thinking I was going to get slammed for doing this.
Hey Joe, I for one, and IMO a lot of the folks here, appreciate and admire the fact that you decided to fix it, rather than return em. Hopefully no affect on warranty.
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I’m hoping the same. I decided to go ahead and email Elac with the issue. I pointed them to this thread and maybe they will honor my product registration. If not, although I will still be happy with my purchase, I will make it a point to make sure all know about their problem and how they treated me. But I don’t want to project any behavior that has not happened yet.
