Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Review (bookshelf speaker)

[ntsc525]

@Azazello13, for the benefit of others here, can you post the first 8 characters of the serial numbers on the back of your speakers?

Also, can you tell us exactly which CD and which song set your speakers off?

Also, what kind of amp are you using?

Other interested parties can see if they can duplicate the issue on their speakers, and hopefully report the results here.

I think if we have enough "sufferers", maybe we can convince ELAC to repair or replace our speakers.

Dan

 

[nenchi]

I just tried it a little harder and I can hear resonance around tweeter level from 480hz all the way up to 600hz. With aiyima a07 at half the power, so not outrageus high volume. I haven't noticed it while playing music. Also, I can't hear it from Eva Cassidy.
My serial is: 31970E007xxx
Thank you for ruining theese speakers for me . I have time to return them back, just hoped it wouldn't be the case...

 

[Azazello13]

@Azazello13, for the benefit of others here, can you post the first 8 characters of the serial numbers on the back of your speakers?

Also, can you tell us exactly which CD and which song set your speakers off?

Also, what kind of amp are you using?

Other interested parties can see if they can duplicate the issue on their speakers, and hopefully report the results here.

I think if we have enough "sufferers", maybe we can convince ELAC to repair or replace our speakers.

Dan

well, shoot, they're boxed up to drop off later today, and I never grabbed the serial #. Song...well, the whole first disc of the Complete Studio Recordings by Jimmy Giuffre & Jim Hall Trio (which, by the way, I highly recommend based on incredible playing and recording). I know now I'd been hearing the buzz since I had them, but with busier tracks and it had more places to hide and I thought it might be rattling something on the table nearby.

 

[Azazello13]

Before I sent them off, I did record them in the act.

 

[ntsc525]

Thank you for ruining theese speakers for me .

Yes, it appears this site is the WebMD of audio gear. Some of us can't handle reading about all the things that can go wrong with our equipment, and we're happier not knowing.

(By the way, you probably shouldn't read WebMD without a specific reason.)

Dan

 

[DMill]

I just tried it a little harder and I can hear resonance around tweeter level from 480hz all the way up to 600hz. With aiyima a07 at half the power, so not outrageus high volume. I haven't noticed it while playing music. Also, I can't hear it from Eva Cassidy.
My serial is: 31970E007xxx
Thank you for ruining theese speakers for me . I have time to return them back, just hoped it wouldn't be the case...

If it makes you feel better. I have an expensive tube amp I love that is never getting tested by Amir.

 

[ntsc525]

well, shoot, they're boxed up to drop off later today, and I never grabbed the serial #. Song...well, the whole first disc of the Complete Studio Recordings by Jimmy Giuffre & Jim Hall Trio (which, by the way, I highly recommend based on incredible playing and recording). I know now I'd been hearing the buzz since I had them, but with busier tracks and it had more places to hide and I thought it might be rattling something on the table nearby.

Not only do I get to learn about audio gear, I also get to discover new artists and learn more about jazz!

Thankfully my speakers are passing the Jimmy Giuffre / Jim Hall test, at louder volume than I normally play them. (These speakers make no attempt to hide the tape hiss from the recordings, but I'm playing in direct mode, so no tone controls.)

Andrew Jones did say the cabinets get "lively" around the 400 to 600 Hz range, and in one room, they did rattle stuff on my shelf, so if you're going to play them loud, they should probably be strapped down so they don't start dancing.

Mine are behaving themselves on wall brackets, but I made sure everything was tightened down and padded to eliminate rattle.

I'm only driving them with 80 WPC, but that's plenty for my space.

Dan

 

[iulianm]

I decided to place an order for UB52 as I was running UB5 with UC52 as center and I hesitated a lot in between spending more and ditching ELAC all together (since UB52 has this issue with buzzing) but I decided to give it one more shot and upgrade UB5 to UB52.
Ordered them from Amazon, sold by Amazon (so easy return) for $489 and should arrive tomorrow.

Since I have UMIK-1, I will do a measurement between UB5 and UB52 in my room and also try to measure distorsion in the 500Hz-1kHz range.

 

[iulianm]

TL;DR: I sent them back after two hours as one of the speakers had very audible buzz.

Like I said yesterday, I tried to get out cheaper in having the same line of speakers and I have ordered UB52 from Amazon, sold by Amazon.

Speakers looked new to me (didn't seem to be open box), didn't had any scratch or anything as such; serial number 31970E005XXX.

One of the speakers has an audible buzz, even my wife noticed it early in the first 10 seconds as I had my test song prepared: Billie Eilish - Getting Older (all I needed was the first 10 seconds of the song).

I have recorded with iPhone as it's that noticeable and I've did a short video with UB52 and UB5, similar level, same song, same phone.

I have then proceeded to do a slow frequency sweep and I've noticed buzz ~450Hz and didn't even looked further.
Here's a video with a 420Hz-500Hz frequency sweep and the buzz is fairly audible:

I have then done a measurement between UB5 and UB52 at my listening position; I've measured each channel individually and averaged them in REW; I've had the speakers only for 2h until I decided to return them and to me, it was very little difference between them (maybe UB5 with a little bit more bass).

I tried to have a cheaper option of L/R/C in the same line (why oh why did I got the UC52 and not UC5) but, taking into account the experience I had last year with UF52, today with UB52, I cannot recommend ELAC UniFi 2.0 to anyone (or in general ELAC as a brand as they basically put up faulty products for sale). I will be putting up for sale my UC52 center and UB5 and move with something considerable better.

 

[Jeff19342]

I believe I have solved the problem! Toss your banana plugs & simply clamp the wires like you did back in the day!

I think even Steve Guttenberg (maybe it was CheapAudioMan) complained about the jacks on the Uni-Fi 2.0 which both otherwise lavished with praise… However the cabinets of the UB52 & especially UC52 certainly do get VERY energized around 585 Hz. And I was on the verge of selling my UB52, UC52 LCRs that I had enjoyed a great deal but for the infernal intermittent buzzing/rattling…

Searching the interwebs for solutions, I came upon this thread of course. And my resonant nemesis was repeatable every time Eva Cassidy crooned “G-g-g-goes…” I was ready to put them on eBay straight away, but the repeatability encouraged me to begin searching for the source...

The tweeter/midrange assembly seemed normal. But I could feel the cabinet, especially the UC52 center vibrate aggressively during every “Gggggoes.” I eventually discovered the back surface vibrated the most. Finally after checking it over & over like a doctor with a stethoscope, the banana plugs stood out to like a sore thumb. I pressed a finger on both plugs & the resonant buzz vanished on the next Gggggoes!

I got rid of the jacks & clamped the wires down. Also snugged up the screws on all the jack plates (interestingly merely Phillips screws considering AJ’s cheaper Pioneer speakers had used Torx screws).

Then I played several tone sweeps to 600 Hz & found no rattles! Then 20-20k & still no rattling or buzzing or any resonance. I’m back in love with my Uni-Fi 2.0s and their amazing soundstage and imaging! And thankfully my credit card is tucked safely back in my wallet.

I urge anyone ready to give up on these great little speakers to try clamping the wires & using isolation pads.

 

[ntsc525]

I believe I have solved the problem! Toss your banana plugs & simply clamp the wires like you did back in the day!

I think even Steve Guttenberg (maybe it was CheapAudioMan) complained about the jacks on the Uni-Fi 2.0 which both otherwise lavished with praise… However the cabinets of the UB52 & especially UC52 certainly do get VERY energized around 585 Hz. And I was on the verge of selling my UB52, UC52 LCRs that I had enjoyed a great deal but for the infernal intermittent buzzing/rattling…

Searching the interwebs for solutions, I came upon this thread of course. And my resonant nemesis was repeatable every time Eva Cassidy crooned “G-g-g-goes…” I was ready to put them on eBay straight away, but the repeatability encouraged me to begin searching for the source...

The tweeter/midrange assembly seemed normal. But I could feel the cabinet, especially the UC52 center vibrate aggressively during every “Gggggoes.” I eventually discovered the back surface vibrated the most. Finally after checking it over & over like a doctor with a stethoscope, the banana plugs stood out to like a sore thumb. I pressed a finger on both plugs & the resonant buzz vanished on the next Gggggoes!

I got rid of the jacks & clamped the wires down. Also snugged up the screws on all the jack plates (interestingly merely Phillips screws considering AJ’s cheaper Pioneer speakers had used Torx screws).

Then I played several tone sweeps to 600 Hz & found no rattles! Then 20-20k & still no rattling or buzzing or any resonance. I’m back in love with my Uni-Fi 2.0s and their amazing soundstage and imaging! And thankfully my credit card is tucked safely back in my wallet.

I urge anyone ready to give up on these great little speakers to try clamping the wires & using isolation pads.

This perhaps explains why I haven't experienced any buzzing on my speakers. I only use banana plugs on the amp side due to hassles getting the amp in and out, but have screwed down the ends on the speaker side.

Some of those banana clips do have loose, rattly parts, and I'm sure the Monoprice ones, in particular, where the screw-on parts (handles?) can easily work loose, are probably major culprits. Other banana clips have the connector part in two pieces (one rotates inside the other) and may also tend to rattle.

It would be interesting to see if any others, who hopefully still have their ELACs, have tried removing the banana plugs from the speaker side and screw the wires directly into the connectors, and then retest.

Also, I need to add one more digit to my serial number report. My speakers are 31970E004xxx, right in the range of the others reported here, earlier than the other two I read.

Mine are mounted on wall mounts (https://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Clamping-Bookshelf-Surrounding-MS56B/dp/B000X9O8SI), screwed directly into wood studs, and securely clamped with the rubber pads provided. They sound great, even though I almost screwed one up by pushing on the tweeter chasing distortion that was actually coming from an amp with too much DSP artifacts.

I would imagine rattly banana plugs are a good way to expose cabinet resonances in any speaker, but that probably also depends on the resonance of the particular banana plugs.

So, maybe if you report which plugs you used (if you used plugs), we can see if this is a valid pattern, and if there is one brand that rattles with these more than others.

It seems cabinet resonance is the issue, particularly in the back.

Dan

 

[Azazello13]

I urge anyone ready to give up on these great little speakers to try clamping the wires & using isolation pads.

That wasn't the issue for me, I had bare wire into the posts and tried setting it on all kinds of damping material to ensure the buzz was coming from the speaker itself. It was. The bottom line is this speaker has a particular resonance issue (more than just a little lively) that sometimes can be effectively masked and managed but it can also manifest itself with problems that can't be avoided or remedied. As a result, I wouldn't recommend purchasing under any circumstance, and if you can return for full price you ought to. It's a shame, because there was a lot to love with this speaker.

 

[easevillagejws]

I could not hear a squeak in the Eva Cassidy track with my fairly new UB52s. I did not get buzzing on the Billie Eilish track with UB52. I got quite a bit of buzzing on the Billie Eilish from the sub of my soundbar, but I have that too near the wall and need to relocate it. I have not run any frequency sweeps on the UB52s. I am happy with them and keeping them. As always YMMV.

 

[Jeff19342]

This perhaps explains why I haven't experienced any buzzing on my speakers. I only use banana plugs on the amp side due to hassles getting the amp in and out, but have screwed down the ends on the speaker side.

Some of those banana clips do have loose, rattly parts, and I'm sure the Monoprice ones, in particular, where the screw-on parts (handles?) can easily work loose, are probably major culprits. Other banana clips have the connector part in two pieces (one rotates inside the other) and may also tend to rattle.

It would be interesting to see if any others, who hopefully still have their ELACs, have tried removing the banana plugs from the speaker side and screw the wires directly into the connectors, and then retest.

Also, I need to add one more digit to my serial number report. My speakers are 31970E004xxx, right in the range of the others reported here, earlier than the other two I read.

Mine are mounted on wall mounts (https://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Clamping-Bookshelf-Surrounding-MS56B/dp/B000X9O8SI), screwed directly into wood studs, and securely clamped with the rubber pads provided. They sound great, even though I almost screwed one up by pushing on the tweeter chasing distortion that was actually coming from an amp with too much DSP artifacts.

I would imagine rattly banana plugs are a good way to expose cabinet resonances in any speaker, but that probably also depends on the resonance of the particular banana plugs.

So, maybe if you report which plugs you used (if you used plugs), we can see if this is a valid pattern, and if there is one brand that rattles with these more than others.

It seems cabinet resonance is the issue, particularly in the back.

Dan

Monoprice #9436 Banana Plugs.

They fit loosely in the ELAC jacks. You can back up the nut to put a bit of pressure on the plug, but to no avail.

Indeed the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 has a cabinet resonance issue. You can feel the middle of the top surface (little doubt bottom too) but especially the back all around the jack plate vibrate aggressively near 585 Hz +/- such as Eva’s “Gggggoes…” This essentially turns the sloppy loose plugs into tuning forks.

But again once I clamped the wires (and already had speakers on isolation pads & decent stands) I no longer perceive any extraneous buzzing, rattling, etc.

I have no doubt some people have a loose tweeter/mid assembly that gets resonated by the cabinet. But before you assume a bad tweeter, double-check you’re not actually rattling a loose shelf or knickknack your wife/GF placed on top of speaker.

The resonant cabinet is an unfortunate design flaw (no doubt due in part to the cost-cutting required to get a coaxial design down to this price.) However once these babies are tamed, you get fantastic accuracy, soundstage, & imaging, certainly for the price.

With my buzz gone, I am currently enjoying the hell out of the phenomenal Stranger Things S4 Dolby Atmos soundtrack thanks in large part to the Uni-Fi’s prodigious accuracy, soundstage, & imaging.

 

[iulianm]

The banana plugs was not the problem with my speakers: the buzzing sound came from the twitter/mid assembly, even at low to moderate volume, both on a frequency sweep and different songs.
Only one of the speakers had this issue.

My UC52 (that I have it for two years) doesn't have any issues.

 

[ntsc525]

I wonder if anyone is seeing this with the floor standers which use the same drivers.

Dan

 

[fre_]

I was also in the market for these UB52's speakers over the past few months. I needed 2 sets of 2 speakers.
I was mainly tempted by CheapAudioman's recommendation on youtube.

At the time I wanted to purchase these UB52's I found them on Amazon for +/- 500 euros per pair (third party seller).
I had only just ordered when Amazon themselves sold them for 300 euros for a NEW pair.
Wow, luckily I could still cancel the 500 euro order and go for the ones of 300 euro per pair.

At the time of delivery, I was surprised to find that the first box had visibly been opened before (amazon tape) and no staples were in the cardboard box,
although it was advertised as a NEW pair.
The manual in the box was also missing.

The second box looked intact, taped with the original tape from the factory and the box still with staples.
Until I opened it and found a return label from Amazon of a previous buyer.
This was also a NEW order and not an Amazon warehouse order.
This comes across to me as if a returned product was sent back to the ELAC-factory by Amazon and simply put into new packaging there, with the return label accidentally stuck.

After a test with the various youtube movies that can be found on this thread, I could identify 1 speaker with the problem described in post #589 of this thread.
This speaker had serial number 31970E006xxx.

Unfortunately my 30 day return window had just passed.
I first sent a mail to ELAC with my complaint, with a reference to this thread and the question whether a new speaker could be sent.

Their response was as follow:

"we have already sold a very large number of ELAC UB 52 and have received consistently good reviews.
A sound problem is not known to us.
..."

They advised me to handle this through Amazon RMA (warranty).
Fortunately Amazon didn't give me a hard time and I got directly a "new" pair.
Judging by the packaging, I have huge doubts that these are effectively new ones.

At first glance, this "new" pair has no buzz this time, but I am still left with a certain doubt.

I see that currently on Amazon (Europe) the UB52's are again offered for sale as NEW for 200 euros per pair.
One might think: they really want to get rid of it!

After my experience, I would like to warn potential buyers: new is not always new with Amazon.
And it's really a lottery with these speakers to get the good ones.

 

[ntsc525]

I missed a deal on eBay for a pair of these, one of which had the buzzing issue. I was thinking about seeing if it was something I could fix, but while I was thinking about it, someone snatched them up.

Has anyone looked into how difficult it would be to adjust the tweeter / mid assembly on an out-of-warranty unit?

Is anyone seeing the same thing with the towers?

Has anyone successfully fixed the problem?

Any pictures, teardowns, etc.?

I would expect, absent any resonance issues, these should be fairly neutral sounding, and it would be interesting if someone with a "good" one could send it to Amir for retesting, or maybe someone has the equipment to run a test themselves.

Dan

 

[supreme]

I wonder if anyone is seeing this with the floor standers which use the same drivers.

Dan

I have full range of this series speakers over a year now bookies, towers and center. I tested also the song this thread had a lot of talk about and didnt find any issues on my end.
My banana plugs are tightly connected also from the start.
But yeah they need quite a lot burn in to truly open up. The sound gets noticable better later.

 

[Modellbobby]

Hi gents,

What was the conclusion here ? I am lost