Have you heard of a growing bookshelf speaker brand called “Elac”? If you have been searching for an affordable yet good-quality bookshelf speaker recently, I bet you have. Elac is believed to be a good speaker brand. Therefore, whenever you begin searching for an economical speaker brand, it often comes in your recommendations.
Even if the brand has a good reputation in the market, it is still better to investigate. The reason is everyone’s needs and preferences are different. What works for one, may or may not work for another.
Therefore, it’s important to know whether Elac is “actually” a good speaker brand for you or not. I have been using a few of Elac’s bookshelf speakers for quite some time. Here are my honest thoughts about it.
Elac Bookshelf Speaker Review
Most of the Elac bookshelf speakers I own and had a chance to unbox were well-packed. They came in a pretty sturdy cardboard box and the speakers were protected by protective foam covers.
The detailed user manual was placed on top of the protective foam cover, and the rest of the accessories are placed on the side of the speakers.
If we judge the Elac bookshelf speakers by their appearance, they do not have wow-worthy designs. However, the designs and overall appearance are not that mediocre either.
The bookshelf speakers back in the day used to come only in back color. However, the high competition pushed the companies to upgrade their designs. Now, these speakers come in different colors and unique designs.
Almost every speaker manufacturing company either upgraded or is trying to improve the designs.
Elac also has improved the designs a lot. However, it still needs to work on the designs and colors a bit.
Most of the bookshelf speakers from this brand are all black. The one Elac bookshelf speaker that I like is Debut Reference DBR62.
It comes in black and walnut color. If you are fine with black bookshelf speakers, I’m pretty sure you would have a lot of favorites.
Size and weight
Elac is not one of the few bookshelf speaker brands that have played with the size and weight of the bookshelf speakers.
The bookshelf speakers produced by this brand have big cabinets. All speakers are solidly built, therefore, they are heavier than most modern bookshelf speakers as well. You can place it on any bookshelf speaker stand.
The speakers produced by this brand are more or less one foot tall. However, they weigh around 16 to 40 pounds.
Type
Like every speaker brand out there, this brand manufactures both kinds of speakers; active and passive.
The active speakers are the speakers that come with a built-in amplifier. Whereas, the passive ones require an external amplifier to produce satisfactory sound.
Both types of bookshelf speakers have pros and cons. The active ones have better sound whereas the passive speakers are easier to upgrade.
Whatever your preferences are, at Elac you can easily find what you are looking for.
Sound quality
It’s important to mention here that I own around 3 to 4 Elac speakers. The sound quality of every speaker produced by the same brand is different. Some have better bass and few have impressive highs and lows.
Therefore, specific information on sound quality can not be given. However, it can be said with utmost surety that the sound quality of this speaker brand is fine.
It’s good enough to the point that you do not need subwoofers or anything to produce satisfactory sound.
All the Elac speakers I own sound different as well. However, the thing that I have found common in them is that they sound clear, warm, full, and have ample bass.
I can say with utmost confidence that they sound a lot better than the speakers from other economical brands.
Connectivity
Again, this speaker brand offers all kinds of speakers. You can find wired as well as Bluetooth speakers.
I have seen a few of the Elac’s speakers support both wired and wireless connections as well.
The speakers that can be connected via wire and wirelessly are handier. However, two of my Elac speakers are wireless and one supports wired connections. At the time of purchase, I had no clue this company manufactures such speakers as well.
If ever in the future I need to have another economical bookshelf speaker, I would go for the ELAC Debut ConneX 4-1/2″ Powered Bookshelf Speakers.
They are on my bucket list because of the number of connectivity options(Bluetooth, Analog, Phono, USB, HDMI, and Optical) they offer.
Usability
When it comes to usability, the said brand has not provided any impressive service. All of the speakers they offer can only be used for unprofessional purposes.
More specifically, gaming, home theater, and music systems. However, still you can not look down on Elac just because the speakers are not of professional grade.
Frankly, it’s an economical brand, and manufacturing a professional-grade speaker at such a low cost is impossible.
Price
As stated above, Elac is an affordable brand. The speakers produced by this company are competitively cheaper than all the popular brands. The price range of the Elac speakers is $200 to $1500.
Conclusion
Elac is an economical bookshelf speaker brand. The speakers produced by this brand are durable and the sound quality is also quite satisfactory. Of all the economical options I have tried so far, I found Elac the best. Therefore, if you are low on budget, this would be a pretty fine investment.
Cian has 7 years of experience in the musical instruments industry. His press and research articles are published in many well-known journals. Cian is part of our product testing team so he knows the criteria for the best products. Here at sound keen cian covers how to set up instruments and selection criteria for new products.