LAAS 2017

How Andrew Jones Got Deep Bass From the $5000/pr ELAC Adante Floorstanders

Michael Fremer | Jun 5, 2017

Veteran loudspeaker designer Andrew Jones (KEF, TAD and now ELAC) explains how he's managed to create the new floor-standing Adante loudspeaker that produces robust, well-controlled bass for $5000 a pair.

Driven by modestly priced Audio Alchemy electronics, the speaker's overall seamlessness and ability to play at high SPLs rivaled that of far more expensive speakers.

The top end in this demo of the not yet finalized design was somewhat recessed but the room's 80Hz "bump" could be playing a part there. Overall though,, amazing sound for not that much money.

COMMENTS

This was very informative,

Submitted by vindixon on Mon, 2017-06-05 10:00

This was very informative, thanks Michael.

Superb

Submitted by anomaly7 on Mon, 2017-06-05 10:31

These sounded superb, and pretty amazing what A. Jones is designing and selling at this price point.

The genius of Andrew Jones

Submitted by ravenacustic on Mon, 2017-06-05 11:04

I heard these yesterday. I spent a half hour doing so. To say that these speakers might redefine your concept of more expensive speakers is not saying enough. Dynamic as all get out, liquid, and totally with heart and soul. Not just audiophile transducers but with great musicality. Andrew's use of internal drivers radiating through radiators makes the sound almost seem like surround but not. Just incredible soundstage. They are on my must audition list after my Revels which are more than double the price.

Amazing at their price point

Submitted by OldschoolE on Mon, 2017-06-05 13:09

I heard these yesterday and in spite of the bump in the room, I found the Adante speakers to be really organic sounding, that is a very good thing. They made the music sound like it should, alive with breath.
To my ears, I found the bass to be accurate and musical without infringing on the midrange. The midrange has great presence and accuracy. I found the highs to be near perfect, not harsh or fatiguing, even with the room bump. The staging was nice and wide and phasing was spot on, which I don't know how Andrew did that with radiators, but he is Andrew Jones, so there you are. Overall, very well balanced speakers that bring out musical detail.

$5000 sounds like a lot and it is in most respects in today's economy, but while none of us work-a-day crowd can just hand over that amount any day, it is an amount that can be saved up over time and worth doing because these punch way above their price point thereby making them terrific value. In fact, I found them to perform better than any speaker I have heard at 4 times their price! If I was in market for a new pair of reference speakers, these would be on my short list.

Eric

The ELAC line is trickling up!

Submitted by Anton D on Tue, 2017-06-06 10:53

It's fun to watch the development of this company.

Their site has a large array of models listed, but I have had no luck finding this Adante or other upper end members of the product line.

I'm not actually sure which models are real yet, or not!

Thanks for the report...that puts them right in the Golden Ear range for comparison!

gobsmacked

Submitted by Saburo on Tue, 2017-06-06 19:39

I came to the LAAS to hear the Magico S3 and after spending at least an hour or more listening to these in Andrew's room it's settled I know what I'm buying next