The Amazing Elac Debut 5.2 $329 pair Loudspeakers with Critical Rave Reviews from Crtics That Evaluate Insanely Expensive speakers.
Elac was founded in Germany in 1916. In 1948 they introduced a turntable and during the hey day of the Hi-Fi era, Elac Miracord turntables was a leading brand. As turntables went away, Elac focused on speakers, but due to their high price, had little market in the USA. World reknowned speaker designer and engineer, Andrew Jones joined Elac and introduced these ultra affordable, really musical speakers. The Debut 5.2 is the second version of these critically acclaimed speakers. It is a 2 way design with a complex 7 element crossover. The woofer is 5 1/4 in. Aramid fibers are used for a iightweight, yet rigid cone for excellent bass. A cloth tweeter with deep spheroid waveguide blends with the woofer. Check for latest price.
Upgrade... Debut Reference $699 pair. After the success of the Debut Series, Andrew Jones created an upgrade. The cabinet rigidity was improved with better bracing. A new 6 1/2 in woofer with cast basket, as found in more expensive speakers is used. Dual flared port reduces residual port noise and smoothes the bass response. Also a re-designed waveguide smooths the high frequencies from the tweeter. They also look ten times better. Shown here is the oak finish with white baffle with real woodgrain looking finish. Also, they come in dark walnut with a black baffle and black grille. Also available as tower floor stander $1200 pair. more
The KLH Albany Series II $299. The "K" in KLH stands for Henry Kloss, a man who has shaped the Hi-Fi and TV industry, more than perhaps any other. In the 1960s, KLH was the world's largest speaker maker. When a big company bought them, KLH dwindled, but a few years ago, a leading industry veteran bought all the patents, name sakes, rights and designs of KLH with the intent of bringing KLH back as a leading speaker company. At $300 a pair this is a great loudspeaker. It uses Kevlar for the woofer. Not unique, but generally found on speakers many times more expensive. Kevlar is light and rigid, and used in bullet proof vests for that reason. A high quality aluminum dome tweeter reproduces highs. There a very real looking walnut vinyl cabinet. Bass is outstanding for this compact speakers. HIgsh wonderfully clear. They are very efficient so almost any amp can drive them. Plus, they have a TEN YEAR WARRANTY1
ELAC UniFi Series 2 $699 pair
These are the 2nd generation of Andrew Jones Uni-Fi Series. They get their name from the concentric tweeter mounted inside the mid-woofer. Since high frequencies and mid bass originate fromt the same point in space, stereo imaging is improved. All the drivers are a new deisigh including a wide surround tweeter. A single dish aluminum cone 5 1/4 in woofer and 4 inch mid woofer. This is a true 3-way design. Floor standing tower adds 2 more 5 1/4 in woofers. $1200 pair.
Elac Carina with JET Tweeter $1400 pair. The JET tweeter is totally different than 99% of all other speakers. It is a folded, ultra thin sheet of plastic. If you spread it out, it is much larger than the regular one inch round tweeter. So, it radiates sound over a much larger area. Music does not seem to be coming out of the box. The thin plastic is much lighter too, so it can move much faster. It is mated with an aluminum woofer. These speakers reproduce music with a much higher level of musical integrity. Hooked up to a good amp, small speakers create amazing sound. Tower version: $2800 pair. They come in black or white. .
GoldenEar BRX Bookshelf Reference with Heil Tweeter. $1600 pair The new BRX, Bookshelf Reference uses essentially the same tweeter and woofer from a Reference level $10,000 speaker, introduced a few years ago (and considered by critics one of the best speakers you can buy. Period.) It has the same hand rubbed piano gloss black finish. Thanks to the GoldenEar HVFH High Velocity Folded Horn Tweeter, which radiates sound over an area about 25 times greater than regular round tweeters, music does not sound like it is coming out of a box. The ultra thin diaphragm has 100 times less inertia than a regular round really good tweeter, so high frequencies are far more realistic. Bass from this 12 in tall speaker is outstanding. These speakers are easy to drive, play loud and are simply outstanding. They stand 12 inches tall and the bass from these small speakers is excellent. Upgrade adding the matching SuperSub X for complete audiophile grade full range sound. .
German made, ELAC Vela Bookshelf with JET Tweeter. $2800 pair. Like the Elac Carina, the GoldenEar BRX, the Elac Vela uses the Heil Air Motion Transformer HEIL tweeter. Elac calls it a JET Tweeter. This 2 way speaker matches the JET tweeter to a special aluminum dual layer sandwhich cone woofer. It is called a Crystal Membrane and is patent pending. It is ultra rigid and ultra lightweight to match up to the ultra lightweight, ultra fast JET tweeter. These cabinets are real walnut veneer, not a vinyl wood looking finish. Available in high gloss walnut, as shown black or white. . The cabinet is very well braced and the result is deep, fast bass out of a small cabinet bookshelf speaker. The floor model is $5000 pair.
SVS Prime Bookshelf. $599 pair. The SVS Prime Bookshelf is a very well made speaker from a very up and coming loudspeaker company. Based out of Ohio, SVS has gotten rave reviews. Their Prime Pinnacle Tower was Loudspeaker of the Year. These are a bookshelf sized version. They are easy to drive, and play loud and clear with the ultra affordable Sony STRDH190 $169 stereo receiver. The cabinet is well braced. There is a aluminum dome tweeter. The woofer is 6 1/2 inch, while most of the others shown here are only 5 1/4 inch. They come in a hand rubbed piano black gloss for an extra $100 pair. e
