ELAC sub

Randy Myers

Randy Myers

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Nov 7, 2015
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Kansas
After hosting our last audio club meeting I asked our member who is a reviewer for Stereophile magazine his opinion. He has always given me his critiques and suggestions.

His only suggestion was to add a small subwoofer. He said there is very nice synergy between the Stage 2 and the T+A equipment. He has really liked the T+A since he reviewed the DAC 8 DSD! He said the system had very nice detailed and articulate bass but he felt it did not extend into the lower octave as much as he prefers... he used the new Abbey Road album as an example. There are a few places where he felt it rolled off without getting that lowest octave, but he also felt it was very articulate until the roll off. I hope I did his suggestions justice with my explanation.

Anyway, I have never had good luck with subwoofers. First off I am not a bass hound, but most importantly, I have always found the going back and forth and adjusting the controls made it hard for me to actually setup the subwoofer. Also I do not believe I have ever been able to set a subwoofer up correctly.

So I decided to try Andrew Jones' newest subwoofers from ELAC. Since he is one of the primary designers of the tech used in my KEF's I thought I would have a decent chance of getting some synergy, but most importantly I liked the idea of his new system where the subwoofer is adjusted from your phone via Bluetooth. Therefore you can adjust it on the fly while listening, so easier to setup from your listening position, instead of running back and forth. I also like the auto adjustment.

The whole idea is that using your phones microphone directly in front of sub gets readings without any room influence, and then doing the same tests in your sitting position shows the room effects and it can adjust for the differences. As Mr. Jones describes it, this allows for the sub to give what the designer wanted at your listening position eliminating the room affects.

It is an inexpensive sub that seems to do a better job then the much more expensive subs I have previously tried! To me it works well, and I think it adjusts for my room very nicely using this system! It adds that extra weight in the bottom end and seems to melt into the room nicely not making itself obtrusive!

Oh, I have also been a big fan of using passive radiators on the bottom end to add feel to the bass and these subs utilize this tech!
 
I always recommend two subs or none for two channel. One can be located by the listener and causes an imbalance IMO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Randy, what is the low pass frequency on the sub set at?
If it sounds good then all good, just curious.
 
Hey AJ, Not sure... I am running the auto settings at this time. The manual controls allow for pretty much any freq you want from 20-150. It has a parametric eq, 0-360 phase, and everything in between. The auto settings seems to work pretty good; I do back the gain down just a little. I really have never been able to setup a sub well in my view. The auto setup seems to work well.

For such an inexpensive sub it seems to work better then any of the much more expensive ones I have had.
 
Mike said:
I always recommend two subs or none for two channel. One can be located by the listener and causes an imbalance IMO.
Click to expand...

My room does not have good placement for multiple subs. I put it where Jon suggested and it seems to work pretty good there.
 
Randy Myers said:
The manual controls allow for pretty much any freq you want from 20-150
Click to expand...
No prob, wasn't sure if your phone app would tell you the LP frequency chosen by the auto setup. I agree with Mike about 2 subs for stereo. The one exception is if the mains extend down solid to 40hz or so...like yours. Spatial effects (lateralization) are not possible in domestic spaces below 40hz. With a 40-50hz low pass, one sub can suffice..as you've found.

Randy Myers said:
For such an inexpensive sub it seems to work better then any of the much more expensive ones I have had.
Click to expand...
Not surprising since more electro-acoustic engineering went into it, than marketing engineering. Enjoy.

cheers,

AJ
 
Thanks AJ. I am not a huge sub fan but I agreed with Jon that the lower octave was being rolled off. I also believe that Andrew Jones has designed some pretty amazing products that perform well (according to numerous reviews) without breaking the bank. He also was a major designer behind much of KEFs latest tech being used in my main speakers, so I felt the synergy would have a half way decent chance of being there :)...

For my use the app seems to be a wonderful thing.


I just checked. It looks like it is set at 60. I changed it to 50 to see if there is any noticeable difference.
 
Randy Myers said:
...I put it where Jon suggested and it seems to work pretty good there.
Click to expand...

Yes, me too i believe two subs are better.
But having only one, the best position I found for it, was in the center of the speakers, shooting straight into the sweet spot.
You could even try to give it a certain inclination to the listening place (higher in front and less behind)
 
Are you still enjoying your ELAC sub? How is it working out for you?

My JL Audio Phantom F112 has a pretty substantial hum/buzzing coming from it. I found a new Elac Adante SUB3070 for $1499.00 shipped so I thought I would give it a try.

I have bought a couple of replacement capacitors to put in the F112 which is supposed to fix the hum/buzz problem I’m having according to JL Audio. If I can fix the F112 I will compare others to the Elac and sell one of them.
 
It seems to do what I am looking for in a sub. Adds some lower octave without bringing attention to itself. I really like having the controls accessible from my listening position. It is a very inexpensive sub but seems to do what it is supposed to do.
 
Projectman said:
My JL Audio Phantom F112 has a pretty substantial hum/buzzing coming from it. I found a new Elac Adante SUB3070 for $1499.00 shipped so I thought I would give it a try.

I have bought a couple of replacement capacitors to put in the F112 which is supposed to fix the hum/buzz problem I’m having according to JL Audio. If I can fix the F112 I will compare others to the Elac and sell one of them.
Click to expand...

Hi, I see that you have both JL Audio and Elac 3070 subwoofers.

What do you think of them for music?

The current price in the US it's incredible... In Europe it's almost the double unfortunately
 
I like the Elac sub a lot, but would probably switch back tot he JL Audio once I replace the capacitors. At least I would compare the Elac with the JL Audio to make sure the JL Audio sounds better.

The JL audio developed a hum and in researching the issue replacing some capacitors seems to fix the problem. I have the capacitors, but have been hesitant to remove the amplifier from the subwoofer. The JL audio is not in service currently.
 
Sub integration is more important than sub output quality. If it doesn't sound seamless then the brand, price and quality is meaningless. Also, I'm enthused by sub vendors incorporating features like DEQ and wireless management, makes integration that much easier.
 
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