Radiient Elara Speaker System Review

[gene]

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/RadiientElarap1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 82px" alt=[elara] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/elara_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>What do you say about speakers at this price range ($499 for a set of five)? They sound pretty darn good to my ears and I think that many would be pleased as punch to own them. The aesthetics are way above average though a bit higher quality veneer would have been appreciated. I can definitely see these working in a bachelor pad where you’d like to impress your friends without breaking the bank and you don’t have to share the sweet spot with anyone.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">[Read the Review]</SPAN></P>

 

[naisphoo]

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/RadiientElarap1.php

Here we go...and I though they were white van speakers.lol. No actually when I inquired about them a while back someone here told me they were white van speakers.

 

[billy p]

Will these be in speaker face-off?? Review looked darn good!

 

[Sheep]

(along with Elmo, Bob the Builder, and Thomas the Train).

Thomas the Train??!?!

ITS THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!!!

....sorry, used to be my favorite show.

SheepStar

 

[wilkenboy]

Nice review - but the science part of my brain clamors for some objective measurements to couple with the subjective impressions.

Or even just some comparative analysis. Just a quick read through implies that these are darn close to the Axioms at less than half the price point?

~Josh

 

[tomd51]

Thomas the Train??!?!

ITS THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!!!

....sorry, used to be my favorite show.

SheepStar

Same smell, he originally was called "Thomas the Train", see the blurb about this here on Amazon.... -TD

ps
Thomas The Train was my favorite Golden Book growing up...

 

[gene]

Or even just some comparative analysis. Just a quick read through implies that these are darn close to the Axioms at less than half the price point?

You should probably do a more thorough read.

 

[wilkenboy]

You should probably do a more thorough read.

OK, I did.

"If a better veneer were used (like the ones used by Axiom) these speakers would get the highest marks for aesthetics (though likely cost more than they do, so there is a balance)."

"The first thing that I immediately noticed after calibration was a bit of midbass bloat with these speakers. In the long run, I didn’t mind it as it wasn’t excessive, but it was noticeable in a direct comparison with my Axiom m22s. Overall, I found the sound to be very lifelike and accurate, especially in the higher registers."

"The guitar did sound a little bloated at times but other than that I found the experience to emulate my original listening session with my Axioms. "

Sooo... what I get from this is:

veneer: axiom is a little nicer
mid-bass: a little "bloated" (overemphasized?) in a direct comparison to the Axiom M22s
Price: M22s: $460 for the L/R pair. Radiient: $499 for a 5.0 system.

Summarizing: The Radiient speakers emulate the Axiom M22 (+ center and surround) listening experience at roughly half the price.

Perhaps I missed something in the qualitave statements. Thats why I like quantitative results to match up with them. I'm not trying to pick nits here, but for someone whos trying to figure out if its worth ordering a pair along with the axioms to evaluate it appears performance wise these are on the same playing field.

~Josh

 

[Tom Andry]

Summarizing: The Radiient speakers emulate the Axiom M22 (+ center and surround) listening experience at roughly half the price.

Oooooorrrrrrr you could read that as "the poor off access response, inferior build quality, and infinitesimal sweet spot make these $200 mains compare favorably to more expensive speaker because of the low price and ‘good from far’ looks."

Honestly, I thought it was pretty clear through the review that it was only the aesthetics and low price for the system that made these speakers compete. If you are reading into this that I would gladly exchange my Axioms for these, you have a very vivid imagination.

 

[Josuah]

I guess if speakers in a review suck, you should come out and say they suck. But maybe suck less than other speakers in the same price range. Otherwise you're assuming the readers can figure out that you're really just trying to say they suck.

 

[gene]

I guess if speakers in a review suck, you should come out and say they suck. But maybe suck less than other speakers in the same price range. Otherwise you're assuming the readers can figure out that you're really just trying to say they suck.

Nobody said the speakers "suck". I guess you shouldn't draw that conclusion based on the fact that a $200 (Elara) pair of speakers isn't up to the performance standards of a $460 (Axiom M22) pair of speakers.

And I can understand the potential for confusion. To be fair - it's the reader that generally seems to try and make a $499 set of speakers compete with a set costing over 2x as much - not us. All of our reviews take value into considerations and we state (up front, typically) that our subjective descriptions are, well... subjective.

While we'd like to do measurements on every loudspeaker we review, Clint has (so far) won the battle that the lower end stuff will have to do without for the most part so that we can bring a greater number of reviews to the table (which I think is a fair tradeoff).

 

[wilkenboy]

Oooooorrrrrrr you could read that as "the poor off access response, inferior build quality, and infinitesimal sweet spot make these $200 mains compare favorably to more expensive speaker because of the low price and ‘good from far’ looks."

Honestly, I thought it was pretty clear through the review that it was only the aesthetics and low price for the system that made these speakers compete. If you are reading into this that I would gladly exchange my Axioms for these, you have a very vivid imagination.

That's the sort of honest and direct statement I want in the review! I really enjoy and appreciate it when you guys are clear (as above) about these sort of things. If not, the tone of all the reviews kind of runs together into one chocolaty warm love fest, with everything turning into "sounds great at this price point". Its the reason I don't read the mags any more - I don't like trying to read between the lines.

I know for you guys who listened to these things and had other speakers on hand to compare to, the review comes off as completely true to your experience. But I was really left scratching my head as to whether I should give them a shot or not compared to an Axiom M22 or an Ascend 170.

Tom, thanks for the clarification, your comments above make the issue clear now. I'll resume my lurking and saving for better speakers now.

~Josh

 

[got_hp?]

That's the sort of honest and direct statement I want in the review! I really enjoy and appreciate it when you guys are clear (as above) about these sort of things. If not, the tone of all the reviews kind of runs together into one chocolaty warm love fest, with everything turning into "sounds great at this price point". Its the reason I don't read the mags any more - I don't like trying to read between the lines.

i agree 100%.........i think the majority of readers would appreciate more clear, direct opinions in reviews.
ive never heard anyone say they actually enjoy the ambiguous nature of reviews, having to make assumptions about what the author really meant.
people like to know where stuff stands in comparison to price range, like saying these speakers perform excellent in the sub $200 range, but do not bother comparing them to $400+ range.

but i guess most mags/sites do not want to offend/scare away any potential advertisers.

interestingly, secrets also has a radiient review out this week, they had just the bookshelf speakers (the same as the mains in the elara). was that coincedence?

 

[Tom Andry]

i agree 100%.........i think the majority of readers would appreciate more clear, direct opinions in reviews.
ive never heard anyone say they actually enjoy the ambiguous nature of reviews, having to make assumptions about what the author really meant.

How very egocentric of you. After many, many comments from readers that my reviews were too succinct, I'd have to say that you are dead wrong there. And I said what I thought about the speakers, bullet pointing it may have been an easier read, but it loses the nuances of the experience. If my review had consisted of a picture of the speakers and a line "Pretty good for the price range" they'd be crying that I didn't take them apart or that I didn't listen to them enough or that I didn't listen to them at all. And they'd be justified. It takes the rest of what I wrote for a reader to accept a statement like "Pretty good for the price range" without crying foul. Through the review, someone that is more interested in aesthetics and price can say “Hey, that might work for me.” Someone that is more interested in performance over aesthetics can take a pass. A few unqualified statements doesn’t give the reader the information they need to make an informed decision based on their needs/preferences.

but i guess most mags/sites do not want to offend/scare away any potential advertisers.

I have no illusions that Radiient will ever be an advertiser here... and even if they were, I wouldn't pull punches. That's not what I do.

interestingly, secrets also has a radiient review out this week, they had just the bookshelf speakers (the same as the mains in the elara). was that coincedence?

Since the speakers are still sitting at home in my system waiting to be picked up, I'd have to say yes, it is a coincidence.

 

[got_hp?]

no need to get all defensive Tom, i was making a generalization about the majority of reviews in our hobby (esp the mags), not commenting on yours specifically.

i think you misunderstood, i was not at all suggesting the reviews should be shorter or only consist of direct statements.
i just think that sometimes the summary/conclusion can use more clarity regarding the reviewer's final opinion of the product.
i fully agree that all those parts you mentioned are necessary for a good review. in fact, i especially enjoy the reviews that take time to disassemble speakers/components to take a look at the build quality.

Since the speakers are still sitting at home in my system waiting to be picked up, I'd have to say yes, it is a coincidence.

i was not insinuating that they were the same physical speakers. just thought it was interesting that both places decided to review the same brand/line at the same time. do manufacturers contact you guys and ask if you would do a review, or do you guys pick stuff that you find interesting or get requests about?

 

[dhoffack]

They look like a bad rip off of the kef IQ series, or a rip off of the old wharfedale pacific series, or b&w.

You guys should do a review of the kef IQ series as a comparison, what hi-fi has great things to say about them, but I have always wondered if what hi-fi is more about advertising, than an actual quality review.

Thanks for the review,

Dan

 

[JonBaker99]

If you guys want to do some Kef reviews we are getting ready to be setup as a dealer in the Jacksonville area. Tom, I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to come in and sample the speakers as soon as we get them in. (Both my sales manager and I are big fans of the forum). Send me a PM if you are interested.

 

[Murrel]

Radient = Fidek?! interesting See here: www.fidek.com.hk

 

[Tex-amp]

BestBuy carries the surround under the Insignia label for $45a pair. Best $45 speakers I've heard!