Elac Loudspeakers?


Does anyone have any experience with these speakers? I'm looking at 208A, my only concern is the current since they drop down to 3ohms. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks!
mr_elusive

Showing 3 responses by magfan

Depends::
How loud do you intend to play 'em? What is the electrical phase angle and the frequency of the low impendance dip?
Under moderate phase angles and at high frequencies where there is lower musical energy, you should be able to get away with nearly any good amp which will not meltdown into 4 ohms.
If it measures something weird, like 60degrees from 100hz to 600hz with the impedance dip in that range, you'll need some substantial amp to back it up.
disclaimer::
Never heard 'em, but simply speaking from an electrical / engineering view.
Ad,
So what IS the phase data for the Elac speakers? You can phrase it and post it as either a curve, Smith Chart, any other graphic, or just give the peak phase angle at a frequency.

Sorry, but I'm a #s kind of guy. Hi 80s sensitivity doesn't scare me. Watts are fairly inexpensive, though 'good' watts are by no means cheap!

Vacuum tubes typically don't like one kind of reactive load.....I simply don't know if it is capacitive or inductive so adding power to this kind of load is, if not futile, than more expensive than need be.

Just my strongly held opinion, but giving just impedance data is incomplete.
My Panels are pretty much straight across at just over 4 ohms with a substantial peak near the x-over. But....and this is more important, the phase angle is fairly benign, going from inductive to capacitive thru the x-over region at moderate angles.

Again, speaking simply from an engineering / electrical perspective.
Indeed, good measured performance.
Also, if I read the graph correctly, the highest phase angles occur at or near impedance peaks. This may help, but still and all, 60 degrees is pretty brisk and corrosponds to a power factor of 0.5 (Cos 60) which means that at that particular frequency, only half the amplifiers power is available to do actual work. This occurs at a frequency range in which there is substantial musical energy.
In general, I prefer the Smith Chart for this presentation, since you can easily see displacement from the horizontal axis as phase angle data.
As a matter of fact, simply speaking from a measured / electrical aspect, this is indeed a somewhat demanding speaker. Good watts are a must.

If you were a Chemical or Mechanical engineer, you have a good reasonable excuse for not knowing about PF and phase. I work with a bunch of EEs, in a semiconductor manufacturing enviroment. At least one of 'em NEVER forgot anything he ever saw in a math class@!!
But the math is pretty straightforward. Most audiophiles get hung up on impedance and you can't talk 'em out of it!
I used to drive a Baracudo.