Audiogon memeber "Maxen" went from the Focal Scalia Utopai lll to the Elac 607 CE. Hopefully he joins the thread with his insights. |
Elac has made an improvement to the base 240 series. They are calling it the 240.2 (FS 247.2, 249.2 ect...) Best I can tell the main change is adding the Jet 5 tweeter to this series. |
I have the Elac FS 409 coming in a couple of weeks(High Gloss White). It has the Jet 5 tweeter and new midrange driver. Has very good reviews so far. I will try and write my impressions after I get to know it some.
In other news they are/have replaced the 240 series with the 260 series. |
I moved up to the FS 249 Black Edition and have paired them with the Burmester 082 integrated amp. Sensational sounding combo. The thing is, while trading the 247s in, the dealer hooked my 247s up to the $30K Burmester MK III power amp. Those little speakers absolutely rocked!!! No sub, tons of bass, very spacious and lively. This just illustrates Elac's ability to play up to higher end electronics. Never knew a $4K speaker could sound so good. But who would pair a $4K speaker with electronics so expensive? I wouldn't have considered of doing something like that, but it worked and worked very very well. Anyway, as others have mentioned above this speaker line can be very rewarding if paired with products that compliment them. |
Bringing up an old thread. I have the Elac FS 247 SE (Sapphire Edition). These speakers are very nice looking. Check out some pictures. I have about 500 hours on mine. Like others have said, you have to invest in cables and compenents that are the right match. Not sure I am there yet and I'm not sure what their upside really is but it seems like it responds to changes moreso or to a different degree than other speakers I have owned. I really like the sound I am getting. I still have 3 other speakers (VSA Unifield 3s, WLM La Scalas, Fritz Carbon 7s) in house between two systems so I will still be using all of those as well. The Elacs certainly are a value in that they sound a lot better then their asking price IMO. I know they are not not well known in the USA but it would be nice to here from others that have heard ELACs updated lineup. |
I was told the Black Edition is more full sounding then the standard FS 249, but I have not heard the standard FS 249 to compare so I can't say for sure. I have only heard the FS 247 Sapphire Edition from the Elac line. What amp do you have and are you in a position where can audition a pair? |
Looks like you have some really good lineup of speakers to choose from. I have heard great things about Focus Audio. I used to own Amphion as well, the Xenons. Those were great speakers at their price point. Good luck and keep us posted. |
For anyone going to Newport Beach, the Elac FS 247 will be featured with Burmester at the show. Just an FYI. |
I listen to rock/pop and yes, Elac handles that genre very well. Before i had the Burmester, I had the new Primare amps, A32s and pre (Pre32) with the FS 249 BE's, they sounded great overall. The older Primare, which you have has a warmer sound, and despite less power, may be even a better match with Elac. Check out this user review of the I30 paired with the FS 249s. Claims they have synergy in spades.
http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=80034. |
Dayglow, just curious. How is your search going? Did you ever get a chance to listen to the 249s? |
oohh, that sounds like fun. That is a great lineup. The thing with Elac is they can change a lot depending on what else is in the system. The same can be said about a lot of speaker lines, but IMO with Elac, that effect is more so. Hopefully the dealer knows how to optimize the Elac's at with other gear in your price range. I would imagine your Valve Audio Pred. should be very good with everything.
I drove my Amphion with a Cayin KT-88 Integrated. Great sound, there was no reason to get rid of that setup other then I just like to try new things and see what happens. |
The 249 Black Edition is VERY good. I have not heard and don't know the price, but have you looked into the new 400 Series from Elac? Looks interesting, I wonder how much of a step up it is from the 249BE's? |
Well, since you brought it up, I have the 507s on order. But I have not heard it. The North American dealer has them in stock. So I will should be able to tell you how they sound compared to the 249BE.
As for the 400 Series, HiFi Statement magazine has a very good review of the 407. HiFi+ also has an excellent review of the 407s. |
I meant to say North American distributer has them in stock, not dealer. Just wanted to clear that up since there is more then one dealer, especially in Canada. |
Tone Audio Review of the 249 BE.
http://www.tonepublications.com/review/elacs-fs249-black-edition-loudspeakers/ |
