Shelf speaker system test 2.0 Elac BS 243

The 240 line, first shown at the IFA 2007 in Berlin, is a logical development of the 200 series Elac. For the new series the Germans developed brand-new MF/HF drive units equipped with Crystal diaphragms. As is customary, the lineup consists of six speakers: three floor-standing models, a center channel speaker and two half-speakers.

CONSTRUCTION

The BS 243 is the most compact loudspeaker in the 240 series. The cabinet of the shelf speakers is made of MDF, with nicely rounded ribs and corners. Available in black or silver titanium shadow lacquer, cherry veneer or mocha, other finishes are available on request. On the rear panel there is a 45-mm flare port and a terminal block with connectors suitable for cables up to 16 kV. mm and spade-type connectors. Number of terminals allows experiments with Bi-Wiring/Bi-Amping methods. The speakers come with foam rubber plugs for the FI ports which consist of two “parts”: a hollow cylinder and a core, thus the ports can be plugged either completely or partially.

The JET III ribbon tweeter is the same as it was in the 200 Series and the number in the name indicates the unit designation. The third generation of JET comes from Oscar Hale’s original Air Motion Transformer tweeter design, and the first JET was first made by Elac designers back in 1993. Lightweight JET membrane is a very thin, composite folded Kapton-based foil with etched aluminum voice coil track. The foil folds are only 0.84 mm wide. The diaphragm is driven by a magnetic system of neodymium rods resulting in a very responsive tweeter with a much larger radiating area than a conventional dome head. An enhancement to the JET III magnet system has improved the linearity of the tweeter’s frequency response, extending its operating range to 50kHz. In common with other speaker systems with jets the BS 243 comes with removable foamed rubber surrounds. If necessary, they are fitted to the tweeter using special brackets and limit HF sound reflection from walls and interior objects in poorly damped rooms.

At first glance the unusual look of the BS 243 midrange/midrange driver diaphragm draws attention. Basically, the membrane is made with the AS – Aluminum Sandwich technology known from other Elac products. The AS diaphragm consists of an inner paper cone and an outer inverted dome of aluminum foil bonded with a special adhesive. Clearly in this design the metal gives the stiffness and the paper gives the best damping. But in the 240 series, AS technology has been enhanced, replacing the smooth outer layer with a faceted structure comprising a large number of flat triangles. The profile of the diaphragm now resembles the surface of a crystal, hence the name Crystal Membrane in the patenting process. Of course, such an original appearance of the diaphragms was not for beauty, although they look spectacular, the crystalline texture allowed to reduce the resonance of the diaphragms and coloration of the sound. By the way, the unusual cone is not the only innovation of the midrange/midrange driver: the voice coil, previously attached only to the bottom paper cone, is now extended to the aluminum layer of the cone, obtaining several attachment points. All of this extended the range of the speaker by nearly an octave and the term AS-XR stands for eXtended Response.

SOUND

BS 243 half-speakers pleased us with smooth, detailed sound. The top end, thanks to the ribbon radiator, is very informative: the timbres

Cymbals and plumes of aftershocks and orchestral “silver” are reproduced with a detail that is rare for acoustics of this class. The discs get a wonderful sharp accent, sometimes even a little too much. Therefore, the speakers need to carefully select electronic partners, cables, not necessarily place the Germans in small rooms, it’s better to give them 20-30 sq.m. of space. m space. The midrange is reproduced with Elac’s characteristic accuracy, and it’s great that the midrange woofers blend in well with the “reactive” ribbon driver in terms of speed and clarity. Emotionally the speakers sound a little restrained, a little more noticeable in the upper middle on the female vocals. But the lower middle and upper bass is unexpectedly tight, with a good sense of rhythm and vigor. Lack of lower octaves in the sound is noticeable, but one should not expect otherwise from the compact shelf speakers.

The overall sound detail and harmony of the speakers allows BS 243 to build a very high-quality music scene: no complaints about the width or depth, or the transparency of the localization. Even in terms of volume the virtual scene does not resemble a scaled down 3D picture from an average shelf speaker. It is difficult for Germans to cope with the BSO, but the chamber orchestra of medium size is made out easily, the speakers reproduce all spatial scales believably, except that the bass instruments are slightly reduced.

SUMMARY

The bookshelf Elac BS 243 acoustic systems are notable for their even, detailed and quite dynamic sound, and are able to draw the musical scene quite accurately and volumetrically. With such a wealth of pluses the drawbacks of the speakers are small and can be overcome by proper placement and selection of other participants in the stereo path.

43 900 Dollars.