New Elac 4" Book shelf speaker Model BS41-BK

[onehifiguy]

I actually own these...the PHHSD speakers ... they use to retail on Amazon for $159, but now seem to be on clearance ... they are pretty good for the price, and have surprisingly good bass, they even added a resister to the cap to keep the tweeter sensitivity more in line with the woofer. ... the finish of the cabinet is good ... pretty good for music .... but natural speaking voices could be better

Nice pic's. The guts look exactly like the (Don't laugh!) Lonpoo LP-42's that I'm listening to now ($49. Amazon). As long as you don't play these too loud, they sound pretty good. Clear treble and a very solidly built MDF cabinet too. rg They work well on my desktop/PC system. I'm using an old Audiosource (class A/B Amp) to drive them. About 50wpc. A small sub-woofer under the desk to fill in the bass. Again, brand names mean nothing today. The Chinese build almost every well known "brand name" out there today. Just use your own ears to judge. Start at the bottom of the price ladder and move up in price until you find a pair that sounds good for you. Amazon is great for this, as you can buy and return with very little hassle and free return shipping. Take all the money you saved and buy more MUSIC!!!

 

[_tk]

ROFL. You have not heard them but yet you decide to comment on them. You do realize how silly that sounds, right?

The cabinets were built like crap, it does not matter why. They were a nice sounding speaker with good drivers, there is no dispute. That they were some revolution was a triumph of marketing, not of engineering.

But it does matter why, even though you don't seem to think so. I'm not a fan of the vinyl wrap on the Elacs either, but to dismiss them because of that is just being stubborn. The reviews on that speaker are legit; it took "budget" to an entirely different level. If you like the Polk HT sound then I understand why you might not like the Elacs because they are chasing a different type of goal.

I do find it interesting that you're chastising the Elacs because of the cabinet but can somehow ignore the wall mount bracket that's right above the rear port on the Polks. If you want to discuss inferior design, those Polks have it every bit as bad as the Elacs.

And again...this thread is about neither one of those speakers. If you want to sing the praises of the Polks (that not a lot bothered to review because they are standard-fare electronic store stock), start a new one? But if they were as good as you say, I'm inclined to believe that they'd be vastly more well known and spoken about...kind of like the Sony SSCS5's that occupy the same shelf space in said electronic store shelves.

 

[zieglj01]

Well the price on the Elac BS41 has dropped to $119 ... And now I see there is a CS41 center speaker for $98 ... the mystery continues ... I still think there is a lot of the former Pioneer in them

 

[_tk]

Well the price on the Elac BS41 has dropped to $119 ... And now I see there is a CS41 center speaker for $98 ... the mystery continues ... I still think there is a lot of the former Pioneer in them

I have to wonder if they are "post" Jones Elac though. If so I'm not sure how much of the BS-22 would have made it over, especially if these lack bass.

For the price though and Amazon's easy return policy, give them a try. Multiple reviews of the product is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[onehifiguy]

I agree. I Sent them back. I Could get the treble to open up. I tried my an Adcom GFA535II and Audiosource AMP ONE/ A. No dice. If you have a bright sounding DAC in a desktop system, these may be for you. I would wait until they are $99.00. They would be a better buy IMHO. I'm still using the LONPOO LP-42 bookshelf on my desktop. Still not bad. They are beginning to break in a bit and are sounding more balanced. Again, if you keep the volume at a sane level, these sound pretty good. I plan on dropping in a new Dayton cap between the woofer and tweeter. The one in there now is a 10 cent part. I'll keep you posted.

 

[_tk]

I'm fine with rolled-off treble as I detest bright speakers. but lack of bass is the killer here (at least for me). Did you try to EQ or tone control them to see if they had more bass to give?

 

[onehifiguy]

Yea . Used my Loki+ EQ. I only got a more boomy sound. With the sub and EQ, they sounded ok. This is not the speaker with killer base. It's is , after all a 4" woofer. I'm running the Minimus 7's now and the sub. Just playing around with Lonpoo LP-42's now. Not bad. I'll keep them and upgrade the crappy cap inside.....

 

[_tk]

I own several bookshelf speakers with 4" woofers that put out a surprising amount of bass. Even the BS-22 does this fairly well. It does make the speaker less efficient but the trade-off is worth it IMO.

If these Elacs are going after the home theater market though they probably didn't prioritize this as they expect you to pair with a sub.

 

[zieglj01]

I am OK with a little rolled off treble, since some cheaper tweeters can be a little harsh, and it helps with poor recordings ... what would bother me if there was something like a 2 db boost around 1 to 2 khz ... the BS22 had some good bass for the size and had more bass and treble over the BS21 ... the Elac BS41 and CS41 have been available since around Feb 2021

 

[zieglj01]

Just playing around with Lonpoo LP-42's now. Not bad. I'll keep them and upgrade the crappy cap inside.....

This seems to be why you like the treble on the Lonpoo ... but for just a cap (6 db high-pass) it is better than some speakers with just a cap ... for the price you paid not a bad deal

 

[zieglj01]

I looked at the pictures of the woofers today on the Pioneer BS21, BS22, and BS41 ... the woofers on the Elac BS41 look different from the Pioneer woofers

 

[Jack Keck]

If you like em why not. The only rules are that a speaker sounds good to you. Brand names mean nothing anymore. The Chinese build stuff for almost all the "brands" these days. They just mark the "names" at a higher price. The curtain has been lifted, mostly by Amazon. Start at as cheap as possible and move you way up until you hear something you like....... Never be an audio snob. ENJOY THE MUSIC!!!!!!

I regret that I have only one "like" to click for this post!

 

[JoeESP9]

I can deal with limited bass but all of the Pioneers of that series, both the V1 and the V2s sound like the treble is too rolled off to my ears. I tend to think that it's just an Andrew Jones thing as most of his speakers sound a bit lacking on the top end. It's usually not in a bad way, just in a way that I think he's trying to avoid the possibility of fatigue on his sub $600 speakers.

Many small bookshelf speakers have a rolled off treble to balance the lack of low bass.

If the low bass is lacking a flat treble will make the speaker sound overly bright

 

[zieglj01]

I am buying a returned Elac BS41 from Amazon, I had $30 in gift certificates, so I paid $89 for the pair ... so we will see if I have a different take on them.

 

[zieglj01]

They are here but need to come near room temperature since being on the road in below freezing weather ... well at least now I know the specs

 

[zieglj01]

They put the label on the bottom of the speaker ... a look at the crossover and the layout looks different than what I have seen of the BS21 and BS22 Pioneer ... and no baby magnet on the tweeter

 

[zieglj01]

Just started listening, and one thing that stands out for me is that they do have some good bass, and it seems to be better than the former Pioneer BS22 speakers, also the central imaging is good ... the sound seems overall linear with no midrange bump and a slightly rolled off treble.

 

[zieglj01]

They are now $100.99 on Amazon

 

[zieglj01]

the Elac bookshelf is now under $80 and that is a good deal

 

[J English]

The Debut 6.5" series 2 speakers are very good, my first ELACs but I'm a fan now.