oops- have not checked this thread in a while. So- first of all my AF 61 did break in a bit more. In regards to cables and gear I am pretty sure that I did not cheap out. I am using Wireworld Eclipse 7 speaker cables, Nordost Tyr XLR interconnects as well as Wireworld silver eclipse 7 rca interconnects. The PS Audio BHK 250 is connected to a Mystere CA 21 tube preamp- source is a PS Audio PWD Mk2 with bridge. The soundstage improved a bit in width and depth over the months. Overall I disagree with comments of bass shyness- in my setup the Adantes sound dynamic with plenty of bass slam. They are not as bright sounding anymore, but with some recordings I still feel that the mid range sounds a bit too bright- voices don’t sound always as full as I am used to from my Dynaudio Confidence C5 speakers. Overall the Adantes do sound really good, but not with all recordings. On the contrary my Confidence 5 don’t sound good with all recordings either, but they do have a much more natural sounding mid range. Anyway, thank you all for your helpful comments. Enjoy the music. i
+1 on the no bottom end (no matter what amplification you use). I dunno, there are numerous low frequency drivers on the top model which in the hands of a different designer would be expected to produce some relatively serious bass. Or the same designer with the TAD speakers for example which are not bass shy...even the evolution series.
Despite all the fancy footwork and attempts to dance around the issue, it's clear from the Stereophile review and even clearer from the measurements that the floor-stander is bass-shy. The AS sounds like a better proposition.
Arned, they will not. I absolutely promise you that they will sound the same after 2,000 hours as they do now, unless you move them.
Did you buy them without hearing them? The midrange is extremely shouty in a lot of cases. It doesn’t go away. I know that ELAC changed the design a bit compared to the first run of speakers, but apparently they didn’t fit that issue.
I have a pair of Adante AF-61 and run them with a PS Audio BHK 250, directly connected to a PS Audio PW DAC mk2. The Adante AF61 throws a huge sound stage in my setup, but they do sound a bit bright in the mid frequency spectrum. I hope this will improve as they break in.
Op we sell both brands and recently setup a Parasound P5 with an A23 power ampliifer for a YC based record company, the two brands really do work very well together and the new Hint 6 is a terrific piece in terms of getting an excellent dac with a preamp and phono stage.
At the price the new Parasound Hint 6 with the AS 61 makes an excellent package.
If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM us
The Adantes with Parasound amp sounds quite nice. The Adantes do open up nicely about 4 months with regular use IMO. PARASOUND is somewhat on the warm side and Adante need this kind of amplification to sound their best.
(I posted this in another audiogon discussion and then I saw that hificrazed has adantes pair with parasound, so I thought I'd post here as well)
I own the ELAC Adante AS-61 and I'm currently looking for an amp and preamp to match with them. Hifi is a relatively new hobby for me so I'm not able to describe how the speakers sounds yet. I believe this takes some experience.
I was contemplating getting the new Parasound (hint 6 or p6/a21+/a23+) when I saw a used accuphase e560 (pure class A amp rated at 30W) for $4000. The accuphase is apparently much better quality but i contacted elac to check on the power and Andrew Jones responded saying "The accuphase is way underpowered. Go with the Parasound".
Anyone here has experience with the adantes paired with parasound gear? Do share your thoughts. And how do they compare to say Naim, Accuphase, Mcintosh, Yamaha (A-S2100/A-s3000) or Audio Alchemy amps.
Steven many dealers wait until there is a release update from the manufacturer or from their dealer rep.
At this point no one from Elac or their reps have forwarded anything about the new Argo line to us and I am sure that means other dealers, they are still probably putting the finishing touches on the production process and the product.
We will also be ordering a set of these speakers as well.
The Argo seems to be one of the best of the new active speakers we are also ordering the new Dali Caliston Active speakers as well.
So that will give us three highly rated actives the Kef ls 50, the Elac Argo and the Dali Calisto for our clients to choose from.
Exciting times for those music lovers looking for a more simple solution to getting great music in their homes and who want something better than the world of Sonos and other simillar types of products.
Canibefrank where are the active Argo speakers? anybody seen them for sale?
At Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018, Andrew Jones and another guy said they were on a ship on the way here. I have reached out to every ELAC dealer I can find and have gotten two responses:
-Tim from audioadvisor.com advised me they would have them by late November.
-Neal Berg from soundsciencecat.com said they should arrive by mid November, and that he's placed an order... After speaking with ELAC, apparently he is the first and only dealer so far to have an order in.
Considering it won a Best of CES 2018 award, I'm surprised more dealers aren't publishing the specs from their dealer portal and doing pre-orders.
I heard the Adante at CanJam and was somewhat impressed by them... Mostly the lesser amount of beaminess which is my complaint about a three way bookshelf I build recently.. Unfortunately nothing was played with sub bass during the time I was listening (EX: "Why So Serious" has sub bass around 3:20.)
The Argo however was my favorite at the show... Closest sounding thing to a powerful floorstander, and even a 1.5' below my head level, the trumpets in "Main Theme - Jurassic Park" on the John Williams Greatest Hits album came through. I leaned forward and lowered my head to test the more direct response and it was very similar: The trumpets weren't too peaky during the later part of the song, and they had plenty of bass at the beginning of that song, whereas a simply "good" set of bookshelves, or the ones I made (Hivi 3.1/Swan M3,) have just enough bass to savor and not have it get missed easily, but not what I'd call plenty.
For reference I have an like the sound of the Audio Technica AD900, a bright headphone and would say that it has audible bass, but not quite enough as sometimes I have to listen for it.
My JH Audio Lola, (3 way IEM with 8 drivers time aligned) typically makes me critical of speakers as they don't often sound as good (ignoring soundstage obviously.) From memory, the B&W 800 Diamond, Elac Argo, and Focal Kanta No3 are things that seemed promising enough for me to not miss my Lola when listening to speakers, though the B&W was playing some odd music and might have some coloration or it could have been the room. I wasn't familiar enough with the song which featured no real instruments and had an autotuned vocalist. (Human Nature by Sevdaliza)
Where I'm coming from: I'm in the $10k speakers and $1k amp camp, value accuracy, and by that I mean the Etymotic sound signature with a touch of bass like the ER4-XR, or a Focal Twin6 in a treated studio where I used to work, and use original releases of un-remastered CD's and solid state amps whenever I can to avoid added harmonics, noise floor, and dynamic range compression.
Looking to assemble a 2-channel set-up. I had been looking at the Emerald Physics KCII speakers (at a similar $2500/pair), and then came across reviews of this speaker. I know the Emerald Physics are kind of niche, so, doubt anyone reading this has listened to them. They are totally different kind of speakers, but curious which style would be better for rock, pop, electronic and chill out music. Not a lot of jazz or classical. My guess is the Elac's.
that cathode follower will most likely also drive a decently long cable so you can try amp out closer to speakers - the shorter speaker cable may control bass better. i use that approach with Mac tube gear in my vintage setup. inexpensive to try with Blue Jeans cable...
I've had my Adante AF 61s for about 4 months now. I'm using a PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium tube preamp and a McIntosh MC152 solid state power amp. This combination works well for me. When I first got the speakers I was using a PrimaLuna Prologue preamp with the Mac. The speakers quickly revealed that there was an impedance mismatch between preamp and amp. It is hard to explain but the setup just sounded off from what I expected. A bit of online research pointed to the impedance issue. The PrimaLuna Dialogue includes a cathode follower circuit dropping the output impedance into a good range for the Mac. Fortunately the folks at Upscale Audio were willing to allow me to trade up to the Dialogue at a very reasonable price. Kudos to them. Now the system sounds great. I close my eyes and the speakers disappear and a wonderful soundstage appears. This certainly confirms that system matching is very important with these speakers.
I just ordered the A61 center channel for my separate HT system (that is in the same room as my TAD CR1'S.)
I was trying to convince a friend to raise his budget and spring for the adante bookshelves and in his research he found a customer returned center at a fantastic price and I couldn't resist.
My concern now is that my ancient HT 3 channel amp (acurus 100x3) may not sound well with the revealing adante. I'm trying to decide if I should get an emotiva XPA-5 gen 3 or an unconventional route and buy a 2 or 3 ps audio m300 stereo amps, which I've read are quite good sounding, are lightweight and run cool. (Processor is the emotiva xmc -1) I will eventually try the adante center with the TAD CR1'S temporarily to see how well they match.
These are the only sealed box coaxial passive out there. They replaced a pair of LS50s that I used.
Mine are positioned horizontally inside bookshelves and surrounded by pillows. Crossed over at 85hz at 24db/octave by JL CR1. Driven by Belles 60W class a monoblocks.
Bass is handled by 2 JL F113s. System is Phase aligned with at xover frequency by the method of Barry Ober aka Sound Doctor.
Fills a large open room with amazing full range accurate sound and they can play as loud as you would ever need. Were in the accurate punchy camp and not the warm camp. Its all about having the tight setup and having decent equipment around them.
Sound is very open and very large sweet spot much like LS50 but they actually move some air and play upper register bass which the LS50 cannot.
Sorry, 95dB was a typo - was 92dB in the review. In fact I would have gone lower but I don’t own an SPL meter so I have no idea exactly what level it was when the ELACs started sounding compressed like a PA speaker. But it wasn’t AS loud as I have been known to crank some music and hence they were returned and replaced with Wharfedale Jade 3s that, at the time, were a revelation at their own price point.
Incidentally I did end up reading Guttenberg's review and surprisingly he didn't gush on the ELACs like he did on previous models. Were these Adantes designed by Andrew Jones?
I automatically ignore anything written by Steve Guttenberg at CNET. The guy writes like he’s getting kickbacks from Andrew Jones and ELAC. Just not a reliable source - especially re: ELAC products.
I should note my personal connection to the matter - I purchased a pair of Uni-Fi UB5s very early on the basis of Guttenberg's sunshine pumping review(s) and wasn't impressed. Some dude running a website called "noaudiophile" had a much more accurate description of the sound - which was basically "squawkbox past 95dB" - I couldn't have agreed more. Just not a pleasant speaker at higher than average volumes.
guys, now the AS61 Speakers are run in and wow the sound so so perfect for my listening area, I have only a 10 ft wide area and 16 ft long but I use only 12 and 7 ft ceilings, I have sold HiFi and bought many systems from B&W Electrostatics Yes they did make some the DM70, owned M Logan Electrostatics and Maggies but these little speakers AS61 seem to produce more detail and life. I am Astounded and did compare them before buying with a few of the biggest names in Hi-Fi eg KEF, B&W and others.I would ask you to listen to a few tracks which will confirm how great these speakers are. For top end Album: Touching Silk by FrankSteiner Jr 5 Bells of the Himalaya For Drums and transient. Album: Human -OST by Armand Amar 3 Dam in China. For voice Album: Nostalgia by Annie Lenox Track 2 Georgia on my mind Flac &MQA stunning. I have too many orchestral Examples to go into but I love Mahler and Tchaikovsky and these speakers bring out so much detail it is unbelievable.
I know you have loads of test discs but it was the above ( All Available on Tidal) that showed me just what these speakers could do Thank you and thanks to Andrew Jones this Design is Fantastic
Paired with my Wyred 4 sound ST1000 Amplifier there is loads of Dynamics and micro detail.
Hi... I'm curious now. I got a 60w tube amp and 60/100 w (8/4 ohms) Class A FET amps.
They are driving, respectively, Acoustic Energy AE1s and Maggies 1.7s. (same preamp and front end). The result is systems with good bass, excellent midrange and extended (and very, VERY clean/detailed ) highs. The Maggies don't play as loud as I need more power.
How will these speakers work? I'm afraid my amps won't have the power given that cruel 85db sensitivity. BTW, the room is 14x20x8 feet.
If you remember we were the dealer that started the Elac and Naim thread which got torpedoded by some certain posters who hail the world resolves around a certain speaker company who makes speakers with first order slopes and were threatned by an open discussion.
We personally feel that the industry is making an exciting new turn in somewhat affordable products that produce some remarkable performance and can hint at the best products available.
We like the Elac Adantes and present them to people looking for a very visceral, dynamic sounding and exciting speaker.
A new addition is the Quad Line to our store, and the Z series and the S series are mind blowing affordable loudspeakers.
The Quad line has two series the S series which starts at a $700 and $1,000 monitor, with 2 floorstanders at $1,800 and $2,100.00
The Quad speakers feature totally proprietary ribbon tweeters and wooven carbon fiber drivers in nicely damped cabinets.
The more expensive Z series uses a bigger ribbon and more sophisticated drivers, again with an upgraded cabinet, startiing a $2k for a monitor and $4.2 and $5k for their floorstanders.
All we can say is WOW! The Quads are silky sounding, yet with great detail and a huge soundstage. The Quads are more delicate and airy sounding than the Elacs but lack the Elacs sense of excitement and deep viceral bass.
The Quad ribbon tweeter is stunning, it creates tremendous detail yet sounds much richer and less harsh then any true ribbon tweeter we have ever experienced.
The point we are making are both the Elac and Quad lines are challenging much more expensive speakers and yes we sell speakers up to $70k.
The Adantes do need a considerably long break in period. I will say if you have the patience and willing to take the journey with these speakers you will be rewarded. It's been 4 months and the bass, treble and midrange have opened up to reveal this speakers true ability. It has been a great journey thus far. These have become my favorite speakers so far in my 30+ years in this hobby. Feed them solid quality watts and you will be amazed.
Seems to me the moral of this story is that the Adantes need a long, and may need a very long, break-in period in order to sound their best. This in turn would account for the consideration variations in impressions derived from recent auditions, depending on how many hours the particular units have clocked.
Audiotroy, Your spot on about both speakers and the Sashas are the better speaker in some respects. I have had Wilson Witts, Cubs and Sophia2s so I think I can expound on their glories and faults. I was looking for my "end" speaker and after demoing the Sasha2 with their better tweeter, I thought I could live with them. After a year, it was time for something else. On certain recordings, they could sound "crunchy" and lacking bass. I don't want to discount Wilson, because they are a great company. And are very accommodating. Wilson makes an exciting sounding product, but the excitement wanes after a long listening session (for me). My dealer offered a trade-in on the Alexia2s but I wasn't about to spend 30k for 4 more inches of bass drivers.
I, on occasion, would swap out the Sashas for the Elac Debut6. I didn't miss the Wilsons. No slam of course or infinite detail, but a smooth and balanced presentation that persuaded me to reach out to the AS-61s. After the break-in and happy listening, I decided to get the AF-61s. New and sealed for 3,900. from a FL man who was going in another direction. Their not yet broken in, but I'm thinking with 2 extra bass drivers, they will fill my dedicated 20x30 ft room with non-fatigueing hi-fidelity.
These will not be the end of my 40 year love affair with the "High End". Better transducers exist,of course, but I'm having fun!
Thank you for an intelligent response. From now on I'll keep my "verdict" to myself.
Rzemkoski still trying to understand your comment, about the difference between the Wilsons and the Adantes.
Are you saying that the $5k Adantes were nearly as good as the $30k Sashas? Or that in direct comparison the difference in price vs the difference in performance were trivial?
We are a big fan of the Adantes, as we are a dealer for them so of course we like them. They are ideosyncratic speakers, the point that we have made in previous posts is that the Adante sound reminds us of the Wilson presentation, punchy and visceral, with a big soundstage.
As noted the speakers require careful matching to bring out what they do.
We would think that the Sasha would present even better low level details with greater subtitly.
Bought these speakers 4 months ago, I still get amazed at their capabilities. Partnered properly the Adantes are simply in a class of their own. No I am not a dealer just someone who appreciates well produced music. Adante owners rejoice!!!
I was going to replace the Sashas with either the Vivid Giya 2s or Vandersteen 5a Carbons. Decided to keep the money and buy the Andantes and a VPI Prime Signature TT. Anyway…if these foolish web BOYz could hear the differences of the Wilsons and the Elacs in MY room, the holes in their heads would be filled with light.
Funny how a random person with one post signs up to rave about them and bring the topic back into the light, and then we get another right after. Weird.
I bought a pair of the AS61 and they are the best stand mounts I've ever owned. The closest to that were the Revel M106. They need a short while to break in because out of the box, they are tizzy and slightly hollow sounding. This all disappears as they become smoother and meatier. They are so good in fact that I purchased the floor standers to replace my Wilson Sasha2s. Certainly a bit out of their league, but the Adante are amazing for 30,000. cheaper. In my room, a sub or two are needed for full effect. Perhaps in smaller rooms, this would not be the case.
I bought a pair of Elac AS61 about 3 weeks ago at first I thought they were a bit toppy but now after running them in with a new amp, wow and WOW ! the top is smooth and detail is all there. I run them with a Wyred 4 sound ST1000 and the sound is so smooth. Previously I was running maggies and the mid on the Elac is much better. Before laying my money down I compared them to B&W and KEF they are better value and more detail. I use Anticables and Wyred 4 sound TOP XLR connections. Previously I have sold B&W Mission KEF etc not a dealer now, and owned B&W Martin Logan and Maggies etc now not in retail and have played French horn and Piano. So got an ok pair of ears. Take a couple of critical discs and listen carefully you will be rewarded and when run in WOWWWWWWW.
Any view on Adante for dedicated film screening room? AS61 and AC61. Must be quite a bit of competition at $4500 for L/C/R. Is there a design and construction (and performance, of course) advantage from ELAC and Andrew Jones?
Well, after I wrote it, I thought 10k to 2k , markalaesen. In any event a speaker can only tell you how your system is .
I have more than once been called in rich friends houses to tell then what twenty K speaker they should move up to . I usually end getting a 500 buck power cord from my car for their amp that saves them 19,500 $ .
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