Andrew Jones and Chris Walker now with ELAC

[rojo]

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

I haven't seen pricing yet, but I did just find the Andrew Jones designed ELAC Debut series. I like what I see so far. My big questions are, what are the retail prices? And are the ELAC Debut speakers going to be available for Internet direct distribution? I see Amazon carries a few of ELAC's older offerings.... Mr. Walker, are you still around?

 

[zieglj01]

I haven't seen pricing yet, but I did just find the Andrew Jones designed ELAC Debut series. I like what I see so far. My big questions are, what are the retail prices? And are the ELAC Debut speakers going to be available for Internet direct distribution? I see Amazon carries a few of ELAC's older offerings....

A little bit of info tease here
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1999074-elac-opens-north-american-design-facility-headed-andrew-jones.html#post34592113

 

[zieglj01]

I haven't seen pricing yet, but I did just find the Andrew Jones designed ELAC Debut series. I like what I see so far.

I like the views here
http://elac.us/debutproducts

 

[rojo]

My first thought after reading that teaser was, "possible WaveCrest killers?" Then I remembered that the WaveCrests are front-ported, and will have more flexible mounting options. Still, the 6-element crossover design hints at capable tuning of a caliber similar to Dennis Murphy's Affordable Accuracy mods. Assuming the ELAC tweeters don't vary too far beyond spec, it seems Mr. Jones is cutting out the middle man.

I wonder if this answers Chu Gai's question about why Jones left Pioneer? Maybe Jones is finally designing what he always wanted but Pioneer wouldn't allow because of production cost limitations.

 

[zieglj01]

My first thought after reading that teaser was, "possible WaveCrest killers?" Then I remembered that the WaveCrests are front-ported, and will have more flexible mounting options. Still, the 6-element crossover design hints at capable tuning of a caliber similar to Dennis Murphy's Affordable Accuracy mods. Assuming the ELAC tweeters don't vary too far beyond spec, it seems Mr. Jones is cutting out the middle man.

I wonder if this answer's Chu Gai's question about why Jones left Pioneer? Maybe Jones is finally designing what he always wanted but Pioneer wouldn't allow because of production cost limitations.

It looks like ELAC is given him/them more liberty - which was needed.

I expect that these will be real competitive - the drivers do look better,
and he has always done a nice job with bass.

These look (hope) to be a more refined and defined and a nice step up from
the Pioneer stock gen 2 speakers.

Andrew stated, that he did all that he could do with the stock Pioneer - based
on budget restrictions. He is aware of the Murphy mods, and knows what Dennis
did with them.

A lot of this will all depend on marketing and word of mouth.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

$229/pr seems very democratic and seems like Chris kept his word.
If Chris is still around : Minor gripe with provided specs - please give db ranges for FR if not on website, at-least in PDF specs file

 

[rojo]

Graphs would be even better -- SPL, waterfall, impedance, phase....

Did you guys see the subs? A 10" sub with a 10" PR with a rated F3(?) of 28Hz sounds pretty decent. What most piques my interest is that all the EQ models state, "A Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy Android or IOS device is required to set up and operate this subwoofer." Curiouser and curiouser.

Apparently that's for managing the sub's DSP for room correction, using a smartphone or tablet mic to measure room response. The DSP management app seems to offer more advanced control than traditional plate amp knobs and switches. On the other hand, that seems pretty reckless to expect all devices to have a mic capable of handling measurements. Wonder whether the app would accept a Dayton iMM-6 calibration file? Chris, add that to your to-do list. Also, consider cross-publishing the app to the Amazon App Store. Not every Android device includes the Google Play Store.

 

[zieglj01]

Did you guys see the subs? A 10" sub with a 10" PR with a rated F3(?) of 28Hz sounds pretty decent. What most piques my interest is that all the EQ models state, "A Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy Android or IOS device is required to set up and operate this subwoofer." Curiouser and curiouser.

Yes
http://elac.us/subwoofers

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55181e1de4b0187304f87afc/t/5564dc89e4b088797a9ce2da/1432673417858/ELAC_DebutS12EQ.pdf

If in fact -3db 28 hz is for real > then that is decent for retail.
Mainly the die hard purist, and those who put a pair of 12 inch
subs on top of their desk, would be the ones out there who may
be, or would be offended.

They are claiming 25 hz for the 12 inch

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

They are claiming 25 hz for the 12 inch

Seems realistic for 12" sealed sub with 500W amp

edit: In video Z posted below - both EQ models have PR, so - not sealed design.

 

[zieglj01]

Seems realistic for 12" sealed sub with 500W amp

ELAC new subwoofers

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

very nice tech. Usually auto eq features were limited to hi-end subs only, but bringing it on sub-$500 is unheard of. Very neat
10" with 10" PR and 200W rms amp with AutoEQ - $499 MSRP
12" with 12" PR and 500W rms amp with AutoEQ - $699 MSRP

 

[Chris Walker]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay, things have been very busy.

We have only announced Suggested retail pricing so far and not MAP prices since we are still finalizing some models.

B5 $229 Pair
B6 $279 Pair
C5 $179
F5 $279 Each
A4 $229 Pair
S10 $249
S10EQ $499
S12EQ $699

Actual prices in store and online should a little less....

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Chris Walker]

$229/pr seems very democratic and seems like Chris kept his word.
If Chris is still around : Minor gripe with provided specs - please give db ranges for FR if not on website, at-least in PDF specs file

Hi BoredSysAdmin,

The specs on most of the products are preliminary. We have only finished the B5 but have not completed all of the measurements (Andrew was soldering the crossover together the day before the show).

We will provide all final measurements as Andrew finishes each product. We have only been working on these products since Feb 16th, including all of the driver development. Our goal is to finish all of the passive speakers by the end of June.

Not keeping anything from anyone, just not done yet...

Thanks for all of the supportive posts.

Thanks,

Chris Walker
ELAC America

 

[Chris Walker]

Hi Rojo,

Thanks for the feedback. I will check into posting the app on the Amazon App store.

I will buy one of the Dayton mics and see if there is a way to make that work. It may be possible before launch. The app actually does a pretty good job of calibrating the microphone in the phone/tablet. We have measured the near field response of the subwoofer and store those in the subwoofer. We have the user hold his phone/tablet in the near field of the subwoofer and playback 16 different test frequencies from the subwoofer and compare them to our near field measurements, we then apply compensation in our app for the microphone to get a more accurate measurement.

So far it works pretty well.

Chris Walker
ELAC America

 

[zieglj01]

Some preview of the sound of the ELAC B5 is here - looks to be a good one
http://www.stereophile.com/content/tom-norton-trade-day

 

[afterlife2]

That ELAC B5 looks great. Can't wait to see Z's review.
Jones briefly talking about the speakers: http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/elac/Speakers/Home_Audio/Subwoofers/debut-series/price/Dolby_Atmos/Atmos/elac-readies-debut-speaker-line-designed-by-andrew-jones-includes-dolby-atmos-module/23243

 

[psbfan9]

My first thought after reading that teaser was, "possible WaveCrest killers?" Then I remembered that the WaveCrests are front-ported, and will have more flexible mounting options.

^Very true^.
I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my WaveCrests. I passed on the Dennis Murphy modded Pioneers *sigh* because of placement issues. I needed front ported due to how close to the wall I had to place my speakers.
These Elacs look like great speakers, but the WaveCrests are great as well.

 

[highfigh]

Hi Rojo,

Thanks for the feedback. I will check into posting the app on the Amazon App store.

I will buy one of the Dayton mics and see if there is a way to make that work. It may be possible before launch. The app actually does a pretty good job of calibrating the microphone in the phone/tablet. We have measured the near field response of the subwoofer and store those in the subwoofer. We have the user hold his phone/tablet in the near field of the subwoofer and playback 16 different test frequencies from the subwoofer and compare them to our near field measurements, we then apply compensation in our app for the microphone to get a more accurate measurement.

So far it works pretty well.

Chris Walker
ELAC America

If the DSP can analyze/compensate for the phone's mic, would it be possible for it to do that for any mic? For instance, those of us who bought the Behringer ECM8000 mic before the Dayton came out would be stuck with a mic that's not really supported (other than by Behringer, I guess).

Also, will you be selling to dealers directly, or through distributors? Will you monitor online pricing and creating a UAP?

Are you using a fixed 0°/180° phase switch, or a variable control? Does the DSP vary the phase when using the app and does the app take into account the transition range between the sub(s) and main speakers, or is this going to be part of what was referred to when the review stated that more electronics will be coming in 2016?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If the DSP can analyze/compensate for the phone's mic, would it be possible for it to do that for any mic? For instance, those of us who bought the Behringer ECM8000 mic before the Dayton came out would be stuck with a mic that's not really supported (other than by Behringer, I guess).

This should work give your connect output of your audio interface to 3.5mm jack with right cable (possibly custom), thou probably it would be pretty clunky and given built-in auto-mic calibration may not be hugely beneficial

 

[highfigh]

This should work give your connect output of your audio interface to 3.5mm jack with right cable (possibly custom), thou probably it would be pretty clunky and given built-in auto-mic calibration may not be hugely beneficial

I suppose this is true- it's not extending into the high frequencies, like it would if it was doing full-range RTA. I wondered because, after reading that most laptop mics and sound cards were good enough to use for REW and other programs, I saw that the HF dropped like a stone and all but disappeared after about 8-10KHZ when I used mine. I knew the tweeters were working and in fact, the highs were too strong but I didn't hear it the way the screen showed the response. I then saw that my high frequency range was just fine when I used the ECM8000 and Tascam USB input device.