The Absolute Sound - ELAC Navis Review

Igoler we have rhese on display our shop is 3 miles outside nyc and we are open


Dave and troy
audio intellect nj

Did you have to pay when you "destroyed" the Revels? Tee hee

I had the elac Navis I thought they were very good until I heard the Elac vela Which was much better In almost every aspect I’ve also listened to the Revel  126Be which were absolutely destroyed by the Elac’s.I am downsize my system from Martin Logan electrostats and quad 2905 And would like a bookshelf that would have some of the same attributes of the quads. I listen primarily to jazz and would like to stay under $10,000. (Fast transient  response, resolution/detail, musicality)
I’m driving the system with a PS audio direct stream dac directly connected to a primaLuna evo 300 Power amp. I’m thinking of switching that out possibly for a pass labs 25/30.8, or possibly a benchmark power amp.

Poor guy. You guys skerd away the OP. 

I’m having a significant issue with stereophile and absolute sound in regards to there reviews. I’ve listen to three speakers that are mediocre at best but are getting very good reviews in Publications. My experience: I owned a premier high-end audio store In the late 80s Representing products including Audio Research (delivered by Bill Johnson himself- plane), Vandersteen, Conrad Johnson, Rodgers, Quad, Linn ,etc.
Additionally from the experience gained from owning the store for 10 years, I listen to my father a Juilliard trained Jazz pianist practicing on his Steinway grand in our living room almost every day for years. I also played jazz guitar for 10 years and know something about how musical instruments sound. When I read rave reviews from those magazines on products like emerald physics, LSA and Goldenear triton loudspeakers, I question the motives of these publications, I think these reviews are based on financial or personal relationships with these vendors rather then the sonic attributes of these products. (Sorry for any typos I use speech recognition on my iPad)

The review is now online

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/elac-navis-arb-51-active-loudspeaker/

I had the LS50W and Elac Navis at home and did A/B testing. To try to have a level playing field I fed a signal from my external DAC through the LS50W RCA input which sounded considerably better than using only the internal DAC on the LS50W. My observations were the same that the Navis beats the LS50W in sound quality. Bigger, fuller, and richer sound with the Navis and they scale really well. As I change/upgrade components the Navis keeps sounding better and better. With my most recent upgrade to a Gustard U16 DDC I have been astonished how good the Navis speakers sound.

I agree completely with jkreidler. I have them since yesterday and I had the LS50W in my room as well. I don't know if it's fair to compare them anymore since I use an excellent external pre-amp with separate streamer and dac.

The fact remains that the LS50W are fully integrated and for that amount I haven't heard anything better (I used these with the speakers as Roon endpoint).

The navis reach deeper, have more clarity and definition in the midrange with a silky, well defined treble. A deep and wide soundstage with to my ears immaculate driver integration and excellent speed that easily matches the LS50W.

I placed them in a midfield position slightly toed in with 30 cm's of distance between the backwall in an almost perfect equilateral triangle with many of the first reflections to the ceiling eliminated and plenty of distance behind my listening distance that's also treated. 

Igoler - 
I have the ELAC Navis, they replaced LS50W for me.  I enjoy them, ALOT.  
Most Floor standing like Bookshelves is a reference someone else made that I can agree with in my experience with mid tier HiFi Gear and speakers from Paradigm, B&W, Monitor Audio, KEF (many different models Especially LS50 and LS50W),  and now Elac.  
They sound great to me, I listen to most all music except with only the smallest amount of Classical and Contemporary Pop amongst my collection.  I got into Vinyl a couple of months ago and these are the albums I went after right away to give you an idea of the listening I like most. https://www.discogs.com/user/OneEyedHito/collection?page=3&sort_by=artists_sort

For me the Elac Navis ARB51 a full and dynamic both, meaning they fill my small treated room with plenty of SPL and they produce a great range of Low, Mid, & Highs without audible strain.
Let me know if you have specific questions and I will try to answer them.

+1 for worthless.

I will read an article or review and take away the same form posts and opinions on this and any audio site.  Most are worthless for education and only worthy of entertainment.   
So OP, find the article , read and enjoy and take whatever you can from it.  I am sure they are worth an audition.  Your time is the only thing you have to lose.

So many people bash the two most popular Stereo magazines.  I subscribe to both and find them to be the least expensive way to continue to enjoy this hobby/lifestyle/obsession.  And yes they have guided several of my equipment purchases with no remorse.

1/2 ways trustable is a stretch...

I look at the pictures and read the measurements... wait they don’t do measurements. I guess I look at the pictures. 

Um, just wait a few days before going back to a bookstore???

That’s actually hilariously low, and that doesn’t have anything to do with what I said.

A magazine that is $14.95 a YEAR having 27k subscribers is not anything worth mentioning.  It’s a book full of advertisements and halfway trustable reviews.  Don’t be ignorant.  :)

contuzzi

Who cafes about a magazine review anyway.

It looks like The Absolute Sound has a paid annual circulation of about 27,000, so it’s probably safe to assume that those readers care.

It will of course be a glowing review because they want to stay friends with Andrew Jones.   Who cafes about a magazine review anyway.  Shouldn’t you be more interested in hearing them?

Find a local dealer or order them from an online source that lets you return if you don’t like them. ELAC is not shy about selling online, so it shouldn’t be much trouble.

That's copyright infringement. Get yourself a digital subscription.