Naim and Elac Adante, Wow


The new Elac Adantes are creating a lot of buzz both good and bad.

We were mixed on the speakers initially as certain sonic aspects were fantastic while others were less then satisfactory.

The Adante AS 61 has a relatively low sensitivity so we thought 40 watts will not be enough.

Surprise the Naim Uniti Atom with Wireworld cables produced an intoxicating sound.

The Atom is warm and punchy so the combo matched perfectly.

Elac and Naim fantastic together and affordable.

3k amp which includes dac and streamer,  plus 2.5k speakers other then cables and stands this combo would make a lot of people very happy.

We would urge prospective Adante purchasers to seek out this combo these two products mesh while other combos of electronics with the Adantes may be why some people are not liking the speakers.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
128x128audiotroy
audiotroy: the real question is that whether these Andrew Jones' designed speakers are giant killers or not? I'm sure they are excellent speakers at their respective price point, but to be honest I was a bit put off by so many shills on this site presenting Elac as a genuine breakthrough of sorts. Lots of folks with less than recent join dates and less than 10 posts (all of them about Elac). I also saw quite a few threads about Elac that were removed by Audiogon. Just left a very bad taste in my mouth. 

So the question is: if I have $2500 to spare, what makes Adante's such a special deal?
lots of well engineered products made in usa available at that pricepoint - two come to mind as standouts: Magneplanar, Vandersteen 
go listen !
tomic601.. thanks for the comments.. have you heard the Maggies or Vandersteen´s vs. the Adantes?

Although I am not interested in those particular USA brands, it would be helpful any comparisons as I understand they are well regarded..

I am also considering the KEF R500 as I am using smallish monitors now (running fullrange with 2 small subs low passed at 40 hz.)... and miss the larger presentation of floor standers... to me a large and layered soundstage is a high priority.

Tomic comparing a Vandersteen to an Adante is like compairing an venerable old sports car to a brand new one.

You and I prefer very different things, having owned Maggies they are wonderful but highly flawed designs which is not the fault of Maggie it is a fault of all planers.

If your back wave is 180 degrees out of phase that is called diapole cancellation, and you have nothing to push against, as equil and opposite reactions cancel out, meaning your wave launch is not very good.

When you play a drum on a Maggie you don’t get the twack of a live drum, you also don’t get a very good image because the large flat plane causes diffraction.

Maggies have good detail and a lovely tonal balance, good imagers with great dynamics and extended bass they are not. They are also very room dominant.

Vandy 2Ce is a great speaker with a laid back treble, a large and not well focused image and prodigous bass which tends to be warm and not particularly tight. The reason many people swear by Vandys is they are very musical, and are easy to extract pleasing sound with.

The Adantes are totally different sounding, they are alive sounding they remind me of a good set of the Wilson Watt Puppy 7 or 8 sound for a fraction of the price.

The reason people are freaking out about the Adante particularly the AF 61 floor standers is that what they do they sound like much of the $20k to $30k reference camp in what they do well, but lack the last vestige of refinement of the better speakers.

What they mimic: huge soundstage, very tranparent, very dynamic very tight well controlled bass. The treble is a bit forward so careful matching is required.

If they had an even better damped cabinet, with higher end components most likely they would sound exactly the same as many really expensive reference speakers, most likely these were the compromises that were required to keep the price down.

I am sure in the next year or so as people learn how to setup the Adantes with matching gear, ie tubes or warm sounding solid state gear, and the positive reviews start piling up, like with the Debut and Unifi lines, and the Adante line starts to really sell, guess what will be next?

I am sure in about 2 years time Adante Elite, same drivers better damped cabinet, better wiring and crossover for $5k monitors and $10k floorstanders.

The killer combo is going to be the Naim Nova which is way better then the Atom with the AF 61 which will make a fantastic system with just one piece of electronics, totally system $12k plus cabling.

So are the Adantes game changers it depends on what you value, they are not perfect, the treble is still a bit forward, however, with the right match they can sound quite amazing.

In terms of imaging, speed, definition bass tightness and punch they are quite amazing, if you value the sound of live jazz or rock and have the patientce to work with components and cabling to voice the treble they will remind you of very expensive speakers.

If you value musicality and elevated warmth in the midrange, value a more liad back tonal balance don’t care for dynamics you will hate the Adantes.

I started with Quad ESL 63 with dual Entec subs playing Joni Mitchell was fantastic on them, moved into Wilson WP 3/2 and then 5 and would never go back to Quads.

Quads didn’t sound like live music, both for myself and Troy we both went down similar paths to eventually discover that what sounds real to us is what we want to pursue.

Ask yourself as you listen to live music which is bright and dynamic as hell, which sounds more real and which speakers mimic the live experience?

So are the Adantes a game changer that depends on your perspective and what you value, I will say that the $5k floorstanders will be very disruptive compared to many very expensive speakers and it will raise the bar on what you can expect out of this price range.

Hope that helps.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ



motberg
no not that model.....but so far not a fan of cabinets that ring like a bell....
but Hawthorne Stereo is our highly respected local dealer and i have reason to drop in this week
they are also a NAIM dealer, so hoping they have a pair to listen to..

i would ignore the poor and dated analogy from a dealer running down other product.....especially one who fails to understand the significant technical innovations past, present and ongoing by Vandersteen, Magnepan...and yes of course others....

the model 2 could be thought of as just the latest iteration of the venerable old beater Porsche 911..

and i laugh as I go sailing by and hit the apex....