ELAC - Adante... what’s the verdict?

Dear James_w514,

Thank you for your explanation regarding the effect of aluminum drivers in enhancing the brassiness  of speakers. Now that you mentioned it, I recall having the same impression when I was auditioning a pair of paradigm prestige 85Fs, which also have aluminum drivers. I have always been somewhat sensitive to the sound of loud trumpets and other brass instrumentes.

I had an unfortunate experience with an 'unbroken in' pair of Adante at my local shop.  I wanted to try something with concentric driver and compared the Adante with KEF LS50 and R300.  Factoring out the unbroken in factor, I'd say you really have to listen to and confirm that you like the metallic concentric tweeter sound.  The Adante and L50 both were too bright and harsh for me though not the R300.  The R300 similarly with a 3way woofer I did not like the crossover between the bass woofer vs concentric midrange woofer, it was like the bass driver was constantly competing against the midrange driver.   I'd imagine similar concern with Adante.

Coaxial drivers are very rare birds in hifi. My guess is that they are very difficult to get right. They are going to image better of course, but at the expense of what?  

I had an unfortunate experience with an 'unbroken in' pair of Adante at my local shop. I wanted to try something with concentric driver and compared the Adante with KEF LS50 and R300. Factoring out the unbroken in factor, I'd say you really have to listen to and confirm that you like the metallic concentric tweeter sound. The Adante and L50 both were too bright and harsh for me though not the R300. The R300 similarly with a 3way woofer I did not like the crossover between the bass woofer vs concentric midrange woofer, it was like the bass driver was constantly competing against the midrange driver.   I'd imagine similar concern with Adante.

Most accounts I've read claimed the R300 is the brighter speaker. 

The R300 does measure decently well, but the article linked below is very extensive test of the R300 coax driver.

http://medleysmusings.com/kef-r300-midrange-drive-unit-testing/

In the testing, it was noted the speaker demonstrating a flare at 5-6khz, which would certainly correlate with what has mentioned. The LS50 is also a very extended design and does display an elevated treble response. But if comparing the LS50 and R300, the LS50 will no doubt sound brighter due to its response curve and the lack of balance in bass.

Some other reviews also noted the R300 integration not being quite whole between the drive units, and in specific the bass to mids. Haven't heard the Adante, but the very first measurements show a bit of flare from 8-12khz. Enough that it will likely be a bit airy sounding on good recordings but hot recordings won't be so enamored.

You won't get consensus on treble response in speakers as we all have notably differing hearing abilities, especially as we age. I experience a little above average relative to age, others I know are at or below.