IvanichIvanich

Novice Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2020
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
34
Age
27
Location
Berlin
Hi! Considering either elac vela bs 403 or dynaudio evoke 20 (I know it's a man vs giant comparison woofer-wise though). Will have to use on isoacoustics stands on a very long and heavy (and good resonance-controlled anyway) rack. Just have to... Room 6x4 and high ceilings 3m. Listening distance adjustible as the rack is long, at least 2.5 m rack). Dynaudios have port plugs and elacs have down-then-back port. Distance to back wall may be 20-30 cm depending on placement and depth. But not more than that sadly. What is the most reasonable choice? Thank you!
 
The answer to this is very much dependant on your amp and source... both are very very good speakers.. the elacs are essentially BBC LS3/5a on steroids with an extra high and low octave hidden up each sleeve (quote/unquote from hifi choice) .. the evoke 20's hammer music into submission like nothing else... very very close call between the 2
 
I'm planning an Atoll in100 signature amp (dual mono 100wpc, 2 huge transformers for this wattage), but if there's a better match for the price I'll change! Source will be vinyl at first and then maybe the matching atoll cd to add.
It's important for me that they behave well on those small stands on the rack and closer to wall than advertised (though as you see not too close still)
 
Nice amp.. needs time to warm up though ... pretty flat across mid.. tidy but not much extension down below.. at lower volumes

it might suit the elac more due to that alone.... unless you intend to hammer the speakers into submission then the dynaudio will shine and take over once you start motoring that volume past north.

if you can hold out for the lockdowns to end and go demo these 2.. i would seriously recommend it as there is very little to nit pick where they both merge..

Another reason for the demo mention is your limited rear clearance.. this will be an issue for both the speakers..
 
Last edited:
Yeah thanks i know it... Maybe I should opt for a simpler speaker than altogether like focal aria 906? if the placement makes the performance much much worse so the difference won't be noticeable anymore. And I don't listen to loud music. Vocals mostly and no hard rock at all. I like jazz, soul, some indie stuff like low roar, some lighter hip-hop( ASM, a tribe called quest, Yellawolf, Biggie and 2pac too though). of course I'll demo, I just wanted expert opinion sooner or maybe other alternatives.
I listened to a YouTube comparison by a hifi store (I know, but now it's the only way to get knowledge for a beginner) and I liked how Dynaudios sounded at least with their audiolab 6000a on clear voices... I could hear the difference even on youtube...that is, in comparison to sonus faber sonetto 2 i had considered before. they didn't have Elacs.
In my room size, i thought bigger speakers have advantaged on lower volumes to, or not? I mean Dynas are much bigger than Elacs
 
Last edited:
I have the youngsters of the dynaudio family with my 2/6's running off a roksan kandy. at low volume they are pretty lacklustre and bass light... .. i have to crank that volume pot way north before they come alive and show that dynaudio sound.

Dynaudio typically need a fair twist of the volume pot before they start to sing .. and the more room you can give that rear port.. the better..

Elac are not as fussy with the volume pot being a bit warmer.. however .. they are fussy with distance from the rear as that bass will start to swamp the mid when the volume climbs

Focal's are made to be up against a rear wall.. thats where they sound their best.. however .. an aria will never match the sound quality of either the elac or the dyn..

You can cheat the sound a bit with both by changing the amps to something much warmer for example.. or something with a totally different pedigree like a high end naim or a hegel or a high end rega to get that quieter end more tuneful.

Re the sound.. that dynaudio's bass driver needs current... that voice coil and magnet on the back is huge!!!! and the only way to get current is volume or class A ....

The elac has a smaller motor system and despite being as tough to drive as the dyns, if not tougher.. that smaller driver will shine at lower volume and will be relatively easier to move.

if you dont have the space.. then the elacs out of the 2... if you can arrange some space then the evokes have it sound wise it boils down to between the 2...
 
Thanks! I also considered JMR Bliss Jubile, but the reviews are conflicting. Some say their optional stands are must have and some (a french and a dutch review) say it is easy to position on racks. Also what worried me is that the reviewers of the french magazine awarded their own french JMR a little less score than the Excite 18 (the previous model, they didn't test the evoke itself). And as we all know, local stuff almost always gets praised just a little bit more. So, considering it's not too against the wall like i described, the elacs best? Here is the pic of my rack (it's unprepared though, there's lots of other stuff i'll take away). Also about class A, would an Arcam sa20 (class G) or Schiit Aegir (something weird) be better for my setup? Or arias? Or anything I have overlooked? Sorry for the mess and here is my rack. The speakers wont be strictly at ends as it's longer than it seems, i may play around with distances between speakers and I can move the rack a bit forward but as I said it most likely won't be further than 30 cm from wall to the back of speaker. And this nasty window too...
 

Attachments

  • photo_2020-04-20_15-50-13.jpg
    photo_2020-04-20_15-50-13.jpg
    148.6 KB · Views: 156
as thats a solid brick walll there where the window is.. that will help the dyn a bit... but its lifting them off the ground.. you'll want a fair stand so they dont use the underneath of the cupboard as a bass extension and lose their lovely sound.

Both the dyn and the elac are vastly shaped by their amp and source for sound. i have heard them both on roksan, naim, rega and krell only sadly so i can't comment on the other brands.. in terms of Class A .. i have only heard the dyn on a sugden and that was beautiful.. albeit that sugden was like a blast furnace on crack .. it was a touch warm lol.. The only other amp i know that will make you grin with the dynaudio "IF" you can lay your hands on it.. its the Restek .. but again you need that volume pot 10 'o' clock and higher to get that submission pounded into the dyns and i am not sure how forgiving your neighbours are lol.. i know mine curse me.
 
I live in a private house so my neighbors are in another yard:D so, what u think, elac? Aria? I can't spend much more on an amp (unless I take Aria hehe)... All the stuff you described is stunning but the price difference is too high sadly...so what would you do in my place?
 
Well.. the Atol is about a thousand euros or so... plenty of bang for buck and options for same price.
Rega Elicit-R (120w/c into 6ohm and 160w/c into 4)
Naim Nait 5i (smallest amp at 50w/c) but it'll drive a tractor
Hegel H90 (60W/c at 8ohm ... about 80 into 4... ) .. very very dynamic and exciting
Used krell kav 400xi (200w/c at 8ohm.. and arc welder at 4ohm lol) this amp is just insane...

I havent heard the Atol in person but i understand it will be fairly close to my Roksan
 
Thanks!!!! And so the speakers what you think which won't lose too much in my placement (remember, I will use IsoAcoustic or pads or whatever there is for racks to make up for it). Your vote goes to...? Considering I will try to match the amp to them, not vice versa
 
re placements.. the elac will be easier to drive and sound nicer at low volume... at 9 o clock and up.. the dyn will start to shine and take over.

Re amp... for me.. i personally like the dyn sound having been with it for a long time (used to have the Audience 52's running on both the roksan i have and a restek challenger) .. so i would prob stick with the Atol if it is the same sound wise as the rok... or.. i would prob come down to the rega if it was a bit bright on either pair.

the elac.. i'd prob shove on the Naim or Hegel .... after a listen

Thats my personal thought.... but you would need to verify this yourself with a demo before parting with hard earned euros....
 
Thanks! Of course I will verify! I meant about not the partnering but more about what would have you done about the wall and window... Sorry I won't be annoying just when I finally go listen any dealer won't have a rack like mine to test so Idk if it'll be too useful. Which one do you think (considering I've already matched the amp well) will be better on my rack and small stands exactly? And thanks for all your patience it's a pleasure to talk to you
 
distance.... as far away as possible from the window.. given the closeness to the wall..
i might have thought quite a steep toe in might be in order to allow the greatest distance from the port to the wall... As its brick i'd prob leave it as is.. but i would do my best to decouple the speakers from the hollows of the rack (which you have with the isoacoustics) :)
 
I've got an idea. Stick to the arias(which had even further price reductions in some European countries this year) and take a great great amp like an ex-demo nait xs3 (know where to get one). Or stick to the elacs and Atoll 100 (I found exactly this bundle in Germany with a discount too). Will be roughly same price. I just don't know which combo be better on my rack taking window into account (I can move the rack even closer to wall if anything). What do you think? I'm afraid Elacs will be spoiled too much. Or not? Not signature-wise, just general sense-wise
 
The biggest sticking point is that Atoll.. it is not one i am familiar with sound wise.
Either the Elac's or the Aria's on a rega elicit-r would probably be my choice. Rega is a fair bit leaner/brighter than the naim sound wise is but it does have a very good lower end... tough call between the 2... i think its down to aesthetics at the end of the day and if you can handle the 4mm sockets for the speakers on the naim against the binding posts on the rega!
cant see you going wrong with either.. I suspect the Aria might be better with the rega though and the Elac with the Naim
 
No, I mean, cosidering my rack, what would you have chosen, a higher end speaker with a lower end amp (elac+atoll) or vice versa (ok let's say Aria + ex-demo elicit-r). I just am very sure that Aria will be decent on it (seen countless setups like mine and all of them had aria) and not sure about elac ( ik the port is down-firing which should be good and Germans said it works well at 20+cm which is what I can have) but will my heater (have you noticed there is a heater radiator behind part of the rack, and of course there's the window) be an issue when the air goes back after hitting down? or maybe it's an advantage altogether? Or not much to worry about and take the Elac?)
 
Last edited:
Only issue with the heater being behind is just allowing a sufficient air gap for the air to rise.. it wont really affect the sound so much as long as the speaker has breathing room :)

with the rack setup... i would have prob have gone with a higher end amp and lower end speaker rather than the higher end speaker on cheaper amp.
 
a rega elicit-r would probably be my choice. Rega is a fair bit leaner/brighter than the naim sound wise is but it does have a very good lower end
The Elicit-R can punch out really fast and well controlled bass. Some thing I found lacking in Naim.
 
The Elicit-R can punch out really fast and well controlled bass. Some thing I found lacking in Naim.
with alot of the naim stuff i totally agree with you and glad you have popped in here @gibbsy :) the Xs range were a curious bridge though between the Naits and the supernaits and sounded very different being the crossover.. they even had their own "crossover" set different to the standard naim.. but i think and correct me if i am wrong .. despite the fuller range of the XS .. it's still very much the typical naim eq curve and thus my thoughts to the rega being the prefferable choice are just?
 
with alot of the naim stuff i totally agree with you and glad you have popped in here @gibbsy :) the Xs range were a curious bridge though between the Naits and the supernaits and sounded very different being the crossover.. they even had their own "crossover" set different to the standard naim.. but i think and correct me if i am wrong .. despite the fuller range of the XS .. it's still very much the typical naim eq curve and thus my thoughts to the rega being the prefferable choice are just?
It was the XS2 that I auditioned and it was very musical. It was just the bass the lost it for me with my KEF R300s. Not much really between the Elicit and the Naim in the mids, both have good sparkle and control in the highs, Joni Mitchell will sort any amp out in that department. The bass on the Naim just didn't have any cohesion, didn't let the speaker recover for the next note. The Elicit tightened every note up with depth and finesse.

Considering the Elicit was really a second choice for audition, mainly for not having a headphone jack I was so disappointed with the Naim. Simply fell in love with the Rega even though I had to go out and buy a standalone headphone amp.
 
It was the XS2 that I auditioned and it was very musical. It was just the bass the lost it for me with my KEF R300s. Not much really between the Elicit and the Naim in the mids, both have good sparkle and control in the highs, Joni Mitchell will sort any amp out in that department. The bass on the Naim just didn't have any cohesion, didn't let the speaker recover for the next note. The Elicit tightened every note up with depth and finesse.

Considering the Elicit was really a second choice for audition, mainly for not having a headphone jack I was so disappointed with the Naim. Simply fell in love with the Rega even though I had to go out and buy a standalone headphone amp.
Thanks for the backup on this and hopefully that will help the OP with his final choice
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom