Andrew Jones and Chris Walker now with ELAC

[zieglj01]

This should be interesting.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1999074-elac-opens-north-american-design-facility-headed-andrew-jones.html

 

[j_garcia]

“My design objective was to achieve the most accurate sound possible in speakers that deliver performance far exceeding their cost,” said Jones. “I’ve employed materials and design specifications not found in speakers in this price range. From cone materials to driver geometry to subwooferamplification, we built serious value into the Debut series,”.

Looking forward to hearing what comes out of this

 

[zieglj01]

Looking forward to hearing what comes out of this

It should be interesting - maybe now we can get something between the
$250 and $400 range for bookshelf speakers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Elac is not Pioneer, vast difference in scale = no more $100 wonders

 

[Chris Walker]

Elac is not Pioneer, vast difference in scale = no more $100 wonders

Don't worry BoredSysadmin. I think we will have you covered (Almost).

We will announce products and pricing on May 28th/29th......

Thanks,

Chris Walker
ELAC America

 

[SWSW]

I'm looking forward to what they can bring to the market! 2 great minds and ears with some innovative ideas starting with a fresh perspective. Congratulations to them!

 

[DD66000]

Get real....as if any of Pioneer speakers were anything to write home about.

 

[Chris Walker]

Well, the Pioneer products have gotten rave reviews from Stereophile, Absolute Sound and pretty much every other high end audio authority. Also, the designer of the Pioneer is also was the chief speaker engineer for TAD.....

And yes I am part of ELAC......

Chris Walker
ELAC America

 

[DD66000]

That may be...but I've seen more than a few posts from people who bought AJ designed Pioneer speakers and were not too happy with them...wanting something better.
As for reviews in paid Advertisement mags...
I'll stick with MY custom design.

 

[gene]

Get real....as if any of Pioneer speakers were anything to write home about.

Pioneer won some awards on this site for offering some of the best budget speakers we've tested. Andrew Jones was the chief designer of TAD (owned by Pioneer) who makes excellent speakers.

Maybe cut a little slack especially when you don't know all the facts.

ELAC is a highly regarded brand in Europe. I look forward to see how Andrew and Chris bring them into the USA for mass consumption.

 

[PENG]

I thought Elac was a British company, and they use to make drivers many years ago, no?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I thought Elac was a British company, and they use to make drivers many years ago, no?

http://www.elac.com/en/elac/history.php

 

[DD66000]

Pioneer won some awards on this site for offering some of the best budget speakers we've tested. Andrew Jones was the chief designer of TAD (owned by Pioneer) who makes excellent speakers.

Maybe cut a little slack especially when you don't know all the facts.

ELAC is a highly regarded brand in Europe. I look forward to see how Andrew and Chris bring them into the USA for mass consumption.

You just said it all Gene....budget speakers.
Comparing cheap Pioneer speakers to Tad speakers is like comparing
cheap JBL speakers made for Costco to the JBL M2 Reference Monitor.

Bragging about cheap speakers is like bragging about eating a McDonald's burger.

So I will not cut any slack.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

You just said it all Gene....budget speakers.
Comparing cheap Pioneer speakers to Tad speakers is like comparing
cheap JBL speakers made for Costco to the JBL M2 Reference Monitor.

Bragging about cheap speakers is like bragging about eating a McDonald's burger.

So I will not cut any slack.

What if McD would sell excellent (but not perfect) filet mignon medium-rare for lets say $5 - would still not cut it any slack?

Nobody compares these AJ's pioneers to his TAD masterpieces, but at under $200 there are A LOT of really crappy speakers - in terms of food - think steak from Outback/Ruby Tuesdays

And after some minor tlc by Dennis these Pioneer speaker can really tackle on big fish so to say

 

[DD66000]

What if McD would sell excellent (but not perfect) filet mignon medium-rare for lets say $5 - would still not cut it any slack?

Nobody compares these AJ's pioneers to his TAD masterpieces, but at under $200 there are A LOT of really crappy speakers - in terms of food - think steak from Outback/Ruby Tuesdays

And after some minor tlc by Dennis these Pioneer speaker can really tackle on big fish so to say

No. cause that Mac steak is still from diseased cattle.

Actually Gene did compare. Just by mentioning AJ works for Tad he wants to give Pioneer speakers a boost of respectability. Just like with the Mac steak, I am not biting.

And most certainly, there are a lot of crappy speakers.
Cheap drivers + cheap XO components/design + compromised design = low quality, even if its on top of the cheap pile.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

What if McD would sell excellent (but not perfect) filet mignon medium-rare for lets say $5 - would still not cut it any slack?


And after some minor tlc by Dennis these Pioneer speaker can really tackle on big fish so to say

Well, I'm not sure it's all that minor--new tweeter, new crossover, 4 hours of work. But I agree with your basic point. Also bear in mind that at the stock unit's retail price, it's very difficult to achieve consistent quality control in the Asian factories, particularly for fluid-filled tweeters. I suspect that a lot of the gripes about the stock units (and I haven't seen all that many) were from buyers who got out-of-spec tweeters.

 

[rojo]

You just said it all Gene....budget speakers.
Comparing cheap Pioneer speakers to Tad speakers is like comparing
cheap JBL speakers made for Costco to the JBL M2 Reference Monitor.

Bragging about cheap speakers is like bragging about eating a McDonald's burger.

So I will not cut any slack.

Are you trolling, or just not reading carefully? Who would ever compare Pioneer speakers with TAD speakers? Gene said Andrew Jones worked for TAD as an indication that Andrew knows quality. If you infer from that that Gene is suggesting that Pioneer and TAD are interchangeable, you've misunderstood. Not even the most loosely packed straw man would claim that Pioneer's budget speakers would have comparable reproduction with TAD's luxury offerings.

Now, pitting the budget bookshelf Pioneer BS22-LR against the similarly priced JBL ES20 would be a more believable comparison, and much more relevant to someone without a lot of money looking for a starter system. And it is in such a context where Pioneer has well-deservedly earned its accolades.

I hope this clears things up for you.

 

[KEW]

Bragging about cheap speakers is like bragging about eating a McDonald's burger.

No, bragging about a well-designed cheap speaker is like finding a burger for $5 at a mom and pop restaurant that rivals most $8-$11 burgers.

Most of us appreciate the value of a speaker that beats out competition from above its price-point. We also enjoy helping someone with little money get the best sound possible out of their budget.

 

[DD66000]

Are you trolling, or just not reading carefully? Who would ever compare Pioneer speakers with TAD speakers? Gene said Andrew Jones worked for TAD as an indication that Andrew knows quality. If you infer from that that Gene is suggesting that Pioneer and TAD are interchangeable, you've misunderstood. Not even the most loosely packed straw man would claim that Pioneer's budget speakers would have comparable reproduction with TAD's luxury offerings.

Now, pitting the budget bookshelf Pioneer BS22-LR against the similarly priced JBL ES20 would be a more believable comparison, and much more relevant to someone without a lot of money looking for a starter system. And it is in such a context where Pioneer has well-deservedly earned its accolades.

I hope this clears things up for you.

What I am inferring is there is not enough cash being spent (even if made in China) to produce those speakers to make them a good choice. $126/ea? So saying AJ also designs Tad means nothing to the quality of these Pioneer speakers.

From Dennis
"Well, I'm not sure it's all that minor--new tweeter, new crossover, 4 hours of work."

Those upgraded parts/ extra work could have been done at the factory. And how many more $ would that require? Not much.

$1 in 1973 = $5.52 today
The first pair of JBLs I bought in '73 were $275/ea. And they were not top-o-line.
So for the dollar of today, that is over $1500. But even if you cut that in half, $137 then/$750 now...still way above $126.

Do you see the disparity?
Are you telling me we need $126 speakers cause that is all some minimum wage earner in the US can spend? Minimum wages back then were <$2, and a decent speaker was >$100.

 

[Steve81]

Actually Gene did compare. Just by mentioning AJ works for Tad he wants to give Pioneer speakers a boost of respectability.

It gives the Pioneers a boost inasmuch as it implies that AJ is a competent, and well regarded loudspeaker designer. It doesn't indicate equivalence between the low-budget Pioneers and the high-end TADs.

Are you telling me we need $126 speakers cause that is all some minimum wage earner in the US can spend?

I love the smell of snobbery in the morning.