Andrew Jones Leaves Elac - New Solano Series Speakers Released for 2021

[prerich]

I would love to see Andrew at Infinity!!!! I talked to him on line about replacement drivers for the Prelude P-FR and he informed me that none existed - however he also stated that the P-FR was one of his all time favorites. I replied it would be good to see you put something out like that at ELAC (high sensitivity, mini monitor like imaging, with a built in sub). I wonder...........

 

[prerich]

Forgot that I had replied to this thread already

 

[SwirlingMist]

His backstory is so cool, I hope he does make his own brand. But even more so, I hope he preserves and transfers his master level insights for future generations. A professorship of speaker design would be just as cool as a product company.

 

[Davecn]

Andrew Jones has left Elac Americas to pursue a “fantastic opportunity” elsewhere. What might Andrew Jones be cooking up next? Meanwhile, Elac has announced the Solano series of loudspeakers. The first Elacs of the post-Jones era feature the company’s signature JET5 Air Motion Transformer tweeter. We are excited about the new Solano series of speakers from Elac but can't help to ponder what Andrew Jone's next move is. In this report, we speculate possible scenarios. Give us your thoughts on where you think AJ will wind up next.

View attachment 50028

Read: Elac Solano Serries Speakers for 2021

 

[Davecn]

Andrew Jones has left Elac Americas to pursue a “fantastic opportunity” elsewhere. What might Andrew Jones be cooking up next? Meanwhile, Elac has announced the Solano series of loudspeakers. The first Elacs of the post-Jones era feature the company’s signature JET5 Air Motion Transformer tweeter. We are excited about the new Solano series of speakers from Elac but can't help to ponder what Andrew Jone's next move is. In this report, we speculate possible scenarios. Give us your thoughts on where you think AJ will wind up next.

View attachment 50028

Read: Elac Solano Serries Speakers for 2021

For those who are interested I bought the Elac Solano series speaker set. The only difference is they couldn’t supply the Solano centre speaker so upgraded me to the Vela centre speaker for the same price (quite chuffed about that!). I also bought two Elac 2070 subwoofers and topped it off with an Anthem 5 channel external amp. I already have two Monitor Audio Atmos ceiling speakers and all driven by a Yamaha Aventage RX-A2080 AV.

I’m really pleased with the Elac speakers which are made in Germany (the cheaper Elac’s are made in China). I nearly bought the cheaper ones but the stereo shop assured me the German ones were a better standard and I believed them (no regrets as it turned out!). I’m partially deaf but have no problems with the clarity and performance of the Elac’s and I’m pretty sure they’ll see me out as I’m no spring chicken. Any questions feel free to ask.

I hope I posted this in the right place!

 

[Pogre]

Forgot that I had replied to this thread already

I picked up a pair of Infinity Composition Overture 1s on Craigslist a while back and was more impressed than I expected to be. They sound really good and have a lot more bass than you'd expect from their size. I'd love to check out a full setup with the Overture 3 towers.

 

[Am_P]

I hope he ends up with Yamaha - top notch speaker engineer for a top notch company. Some great speakers could happen with Yamaha's vast array of technical resources available to him.

 

[Am_P]

It would be nice if Andrew Jones could make a speaker with a sensitivity rating of at least 90dB at 1 meter/2.83V and also be able to play loud in a large room. The problem with most of his designs for Elac is they rely on a 5" mid with 1" coax tweeter which really limits dynamic range.

I have the unifi 2.0 series speakers in my Atmos setup. It is a larger room (25 ft by 35 ft) and I sit about 11ish ft from the fronts. I listen to a lot of music on this setup. It sounds very dynamic to my ears and gets loud enough that I feel like I could go deaf, if I don't turn it down.

What is an example of a very dynamic speaker that a user should audit? I would like to audit one so I can get a feel for this dynamic range that I am missing out on.

If anyone says Klipsch, I think i'll pass because the Klipsch i heard sounded awful to my ears when cranked up (not my thing, I guess). What else is a very dynamic speaker that sounds good?

 

[Hetfield]

I have the unifi 2.0 series speakers in my Atmos setup. It is a larger room (25 ft by 35 ft) and I sit about 11ish ft from the fronts. I listen to a lot of music on this setup. It sounds very dynamic to my ears and gets loud enough that I feel like I could go deaf, if I don't turn it down.

What is an example of a very dynamic speaker that a user should audit? I would like to audit one so I can get a feel for this dynamic range that I am missing out on.

If anyone says Klipsch, I think i'll pass because the Klipsch i heard sounded awful to my ears when cranked up (not my thing, I guess). What else is a very dynamic speaker that sounds good?

PSA speakers are extremely dynamic but they ain't cheap.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Eppie]

I have the unifi 2.0 series speakers in my Atmos setup. It is a larger room (25 ft by 35 ft) and I sit about 11ish ft from the fronts. I listen to a lot of music on this setup. It sounds very dynamic to my ears and gets loud enough that I feel like I could go deaf, if I don't turn it down.

What is an example of a very dynamic speaker that a user should audit? I would like to audit one so I can get a feel for this dynamic range that I am missing out on.

If anyone says Klipsch, I think i'll pass because the Klipsch i heard sounded awful to my ears when cranked up (not my thing, I guess). What else is a very dynamic speaker that sounds good?

The Arendal THX Monitors that Shady reviewed had good dynamics. Came very close to ordering a pair for myself this year.

 

[Am_P]

PSA speakers are extremely dynamic but they ain't cheap.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

What is your definition of dynamics? I would think that if a "dynamic" and "not too dynamic" speaker are level matched and played at higher spl levels (say between 85 and 90 db), how many guys can tell the difference, w.r.t "dynamics"?

 

[Hetfield]

What is your definition of dynamics? I would think that if a "dynamic" and "not too dynamic" speaker are level matched and played at higher spl levels (say between 85 and 90 db), how many guys can tell the difference, w.r.t "dynamics"?

I'm not sure to be totally honest but when I heard my buddies PSA speakers/subs setup the first word that came to mind is "dynamic". Super dynamic even. Like the crack of ice or crack of thunder just came through with serious authority. It was very cool. I know PSA doesn't get much love around here but I absolutely loved them at buddies house.
I have JBL speakers and they just sound beautiful.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[head_unit]

fraudioquest

oh my I am laughing so much, classic one!

 

[Am_P]

I'm not sure to be totally honest but when I heard my buddies PSA speakers/subs setup the first word that came to mind is "dynamic". Super dynamic even. Like the crack of ice or crack of thunder just came through with serious authority. It was very cool. I know PSA doesn't get much love around here but I absolutely loved them at buddies house.
I have JBL speakers and they just sound beautiful.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

IF a) the amp has enough power to play a 'sensitive' speaker and a 'not so sensitive' speaker at the same high spl levels and b) you are indeed playing/levelmatching those 2 speakers at that same high spl level (whatever you prefer)....there should be no question "dynamic" or "non-dynamic" speaker IMO....

Maybe "dynamics" (a.k.a a high sensitivity speaker) is a big deal if you are running some fleawatt tube amp or back in the old days when there was very little power to be had from amps. But, in 2021, when power is cheap and amps have power out the wazoo, i wouldn't be interested in getting a dynamic speaker with poor bass extension.

To get bass extension, sensitivity is sacrificed.

This is a question of how much legroom an amp has....not whether a speaker is dynamic or non-dynamic. It makes no sense.

 

[John Parks]

It appears AJ landed at MoFi! Very interesting news.

 

[GrantS]

It would be nice if Andrew Jones could make a speaker with a sensitivity rating of at least 90dB at 1 meter/2.83V and also be able to play loud in a large room. The problem with most of his designs for Elac is they rely on a 5" mid with 1" coax tweeter which really limits dynamic range.

Well, Gene, your wishes came true!

You asked for 90+ dB, you got 91!

You asked for bigger than 5” midrange, you got 10”!

You asked for a more potent than 1” tweeter, you got 1.1” and a strong motor!

https://www.mofielectronics.com/sourcepoint10

So, you gonna buy?

cheers