ELAC Adante Loudspeaker Series Aims to Raise Bar on Performance/Value

New Offerings from Andrew Jones, Four Models Provide Exceptional Performance at Affordable Price; Includes Floorstander, Stand Mount, Center Channel and Subwoofer Speakers

ELAC announced the general availability of its new Adante Series of loudspeakers that includes the AF-61 Floorstanding Tower Speaker, AS-61 Stand Mount Speaker, AC-61 Center Channel Speaker and ASW-121 Powered Subwoofer. Designed and built with precision engineering and superior craftsmanship, the series is said to set a new value-to-performance benchmark for affordable loudspeakers.

“Adante redefines what is possible for an affordable speaker line with a precision-built cabinet, two new woofers and new concentric midrange/tweeter that sounds -- and look -- like nothing else in the world,” Andrew Jones, chief engineer, ELAC, and industry-veteran loudspeaker designer. “We started with a ‘clean-sheet,’ ambitious approach to the design that will appeal to true audiophiles but comes at a price point that offers excellent value.”

Part of Adante’s advanced design, the cabinet features Interport-Coupled Cavity bass loading to deliver the highest performance from its two new woofers: a 6.5-inch active driver with wideband frequency response that features an aluminum cone and cast basket assembly with a substantial magnet and voice coil as well as a lightweight front-firing 8-inch passive radiator that is mounted to the bonded-aluminum front baffle and features a stiff aluminum diaphragm and cast basket assembly. This active/passive combination is said to handle all the power it takes to deliver crushing low-frequency crescendos with the dynamic realism of a live performance.

Before reading on, be sure to check out our detailed interview with Andrew Jones of Elac to better understand what's inside the very innovative new products Elac debuted at CEDIA 2017.

ELAC Adante Series, Vertex/ARC In-Wall Speakers, and Discovery Amp/Server CEDIA 2017 Preview

Complementing Adante’s custom low-frequency drivers is a new concentric midrange/tweeter, a 5.25-inch diameter midrange cone made of pure aluminum for maximum rigidity with the lowest coloration. It features a 2-inch voice coil that results in greater output level and higher sensitivity than smaller concentric designs.  The 2" voice coil allows more sensitivity and power handling and larger internal space to integrate a more robust tweeter design.

For a premium look, the face of each Adante cabinet is an elegant, bonded-aluminum front baffle for maximum rigidity, contoured to incorporate waveguides that ensure optimum dispersion from each driver. According to Jones, the Adante cabinet comes with anti-vibration mountings that eliminate the transmission of vibration throughout the loudspeaker.

Elac Adante ASW-121 1200 Watt Dual 12" Powered Subwoofer

The Adante Series includes the following four models:

• AF-61 Floorstanding Tower Speaker: 3-way speaker design with one 1-inch soft-dome, concentrically mounted tweeter; one 5.25-inch midrange aluminum cone; three 6.5-inch aluminum cone, internally mounted woofers; and three 8-inch aluminum cone passive radiators. Peak power is 160 watts.

• AS-61 Stand Mount Monitor Speaker: 3-way speaker design with one 1-inch soft-dome, concentrically mounted tweeter; one 5.25-inch midrange aluminum cone; one 6.5-inch aluminum cone, internally mounted woofer; and one 8-inch aluminum cone passive radiator. Peak power is 160 watts.

• AC-61 Center Channel Speaker: 3-way speaker design with one 1-inch soft-dome, concentrically mounted tweeter; one 5.25-inch midrange aluminum cone; two 6.5-inch aluminum cone, internally mounted woofers; and two 8-inch aluminum cone passive radiators. Peak power is 160 watts.

• ASW-121 Powered Subwoofer: Delivers 1,200 watts of BASH amplifier power to dual 12-inch Aluminum Sandwich drivers, configured in an opposing configuration. An advanced Bluetooth control, DSP and Auto EQ feature enables users to control the device from their smartphone.

The Adante Series is currently available, with the AF-61 Floorstanding Tower Speaker at $2,500/ea, AS-61 Stand Mount Speaker at $1,250/ea, and the  AC-61 Center Channel Speaker at $2,000. and ASW-121 Powered Subwoofer at $2,500.

The Adante series loudspekers and subwoofer come in 3 standard finishes at the same price: Gloss White, Gloss Black, and Rosewood Veneer.

Initial Impressions

We are happy to see Elac take things up a notch for the products being engineering in their USA division. Adante appears to integrate some very innovative design principles, particularly how they've incorporated their bass loading using a combo passive/active design, and the larger voice coils in their midrange drivers to increase sensitivity, and power handling. It's clear their mission with this series is to offer the same type of great sound Andrew Jones designed loudspeakers are known for but to also produce a series that is capable of large output and dynamic range for effortless sound. Initial feedback from folks that demoed these speakers appears very positive with many simply stunned by the prodigious bass output that the AF-61s are capable of producing. This comes as no surprise considering the build quality, and parts used, and more importantly, the skillfully executed engineering in the design of this series. 

We look forward to getting some of these speakers into our own soundlabs for further analysis and review.  Let us know in the related forum thread below if you've heard these speakers or plan on catching a demo in the near future.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.