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Elac Carina BS243.4 Review (Bookshelf Speaker)

Rate this speaker:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 12 4.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 73 26.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 163 59.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 24 8.8%

  • Total voters
    272
I finally received the Carina LCR speakers. Since I'm still waiting for the surround speakers (DBR62) and the stand for the center channel to arrive, I only did a quick Dirac RC+BC. Simply put, they exceeded my expectations by far.

View attachment 417155

The low-frequency extension of the Carina BS 243.4 reaches around 30Hz, while the CC 241.4 is slightly up I'd say 40Hz in my room according to Dirac. Although Dirac Bass Control recommended setting the crossover point at 70Hz, I didn't want to push these speakers too hard, so I manually adjusted them to 80Hz.

Previously, I used SVS satellite speakers as my Front L/R with crossover at 120Hz. In Pure Direct mode, the experiense of those satellites was unpleasant due to a lack of bass. However, the Carina speakers don't have this issue. Even with the SB3000 subwoofer turned off, the music listening experience is a significant improvement. I now prefer using the Direct mode with Dirac and the subwoofer turned off for music playback.

View attachment 417156

The speakers have a stunning design and excellent craftsmanship. The only downside is the lack of protective grilles, but since I don't have children or pets at my room, it's not a major concern for me.



Attached below are the Dirac Bass Control screenshots for the Carina BS243.4, CC241.4, and SVS SB3000. My room is very small and lacks acoustic treatment, the dip in the 50–70Hz range is caused by room mode so Dirac can only do so much.

View attachment 417157

If you are still interested in grilles:

 
Wow, they're really not cheap, and it seems like they use a magnetic design, right?

There are many wooden frames at the driver positions instead of just being covered with fabric. I'm not sure how this affects the acoustic performance...
You might have to perform the remove grills before listening ritual. Many grill designs affect the sound in some way, many speakers seem to be designed with the grills off.
 
Wow, they're really not cheap, and it seems like they use a magnetic design, right?

There are many wooden frames at the driver positions instead of just being covered with fabric. I'm not sure how this affects the acoustic performance...
The grilles hold magnetically to the existing screws.
Unfortunately they are not cheap, but they work well and the impact is very minimal.
 
I just purchased these Carinas and have been listening to them with a Rotel 985bx 100 x 2 (8 ohm) amp with the Wiim Ultra. I am streaming lossless and high resolution audio. They are EXTREMELY powerful speakers with monstrous low end punch and rumble. To my surprise, they do detailed and three dimensional soundstage just as well as they can play rock and hip hip music at high volume.

I did notice the 2-3khz dip and corrected it with EQ for more vocal presence. My biggest problem with these speakers is that there is too much low end. Even with EQ, the bass can overwhelm other frequencies which makes me want to turn them down. This is most likely because I am listening in a smaller enclosed room.

I may return these for this reason and try the debut reference series instead. I will say that the ELAC carinas have every ability to produce hi-fi “magic” but on jazz / vocal / acoustic music the bass is just too much. As a pure electric blues / rock speaker they actually excel. They can kick you in the gut with extremely clean low frequencies that certain types of music needs.
 
I just purchased these Carinas and have been listening to them with a Rotel 985bx 100 x 2 (8 ohm) amp with the Wiim Ultra. I am streaming lossless and high resolution audio. They are EXTREMELY powerful speakers with monstrous low end punch and rumble. To my surprise, they do detailed and three dimensional soundstage just as well as they can play rock and hip hip music at high volume.

I did notice the 2-3khz dip and corrected it with EQ for more vocal presence. My biggest problem with these speakers is that there is too much low end. Even with EQ, the bass can overwhelm other frequencies which makes me want to turn them down. This is most likely because I am listening in a smaller enclosed room.

I may return these for this reason and try the debut reference series instead. I will say that the ELAC carinas have every ability to produce hi-fi “magic” but on jazz / vocal / acoustic music the bass is just too much. As a pure electric blues / rock speaker they actually excel. They can kick you in the gut with extremely clean low frequencies that certain types of music needs.
If you are using the 243.4, perhaps you could try using padding to elevate the bottom of the speaker? (But avoid using flat materials like slate.)

Since the bass reflex port of the 243.4 is located at the bottom, the resonance chamber formed by the space between the port and the surface has been considered in the official design. If you try to elevate the bottom of the speaker with padding, increasing the distance between the bottom port and the surface, this might further reduce the bass output.

This is mentioned in the review video. Although it's not recommended, given your situation, it might be worth a try.
 
I just purchased these Carinas and have been listening to them with a Rotel 985bx 100 x 2 (8 ohm) amp with the Wiim Ultra. I am streaming lossless and high resolution audio. They are EXTREMELY powerful speakers with monstrous low end punch and rumble. To my surprise, they do detailed and three dimensional soundstage just as well as they can play rock and hip hip music at high volume.

I did notice the 2-3khz dip and corrected it with EQ for more vocal presence. My biggest problem with these speakers is that there is too much low end. Even with EQ, the bass can overwhelm other frequencies which makes me want to turn them down. This is most likely because I am listening in a smaller enclosed room.

I may return these for this reason and try the debut reference series instead. I will say that the ELAC carinas have every ability to produce hi-fi “magic” but on jazz / vocal / acoustic music the bass is just too much. As a pure electric blues / rock speaker they actually excel. They can kick you in the gut with extremely clean low frequencies that certain types of music needs.

Put on some music that exhibits this "excessive bass". Then walk around the room slowly, listening critically to the bass. If the character of the bass changes, and sounds much better at certain locations in your room, I would guess that you have room modes that are very strong.
The solution is to change the location of the speakers, the location of your listening position, or both.

This may help: https://amcoustics.com/articles/roommodes

Good luck! :)
 
I just purchased these Carinas and have been listening to them with a Rotel 985bx 100 x 2 (8 ohm) amp with the Wiim Ultra. I am streaming lossless and high resolution audio. They are EXTREMELY powerful speakers with monstrous low end punch and rumble. To my surprise, they do detailed and three dimensional soundstage just as well as they can play rock and hip hip music at high volume.

I did notice the 2-3khz dip and corrected it with EQ for more vocal presence. My biggest problem with these speakers is that there is too much low end. Even with EQ, the bass can overwhelm other frequencies which makes me want to turn them down. This is most likely because I am listening in a smaller enclosed room.

I may return these for this reason and try the debut reference series instead. I will say that the ELAC carinas have every ability to produce hi-fi “magic” but on jazz / vocal / acoustic music the bass is just too much. As a pure electric blues / rock speaker they actually excel. They can kick you in the gut with extremely clean low frequencies that certain types of music needs.
Have you tried plugging the port? I can't say I have that problem with the bass in my setup, I have read a few complaints with the WiiM Ultra bass management and with the room correction, I've been thinking of the WiiM Ultra for my office.
 
I had some bookshelf speakers in a small room; huge 50Hz peak. You should be able to notch that out with EQ. In my case with EQ the bass is now fine.
 
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What led you to that conclusion?

The measurements here (nearfield plot of woofer response, along with vertical dispersion "eyes" in the crossover region) show evidence of a lowpass filter on the woofer.

The Stereophile measurements (here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-carina-bs2434-loudspeaker-measurements ) also show evidence of a lowpass filter on the woofer (see Fig 3 for woofer response).
I mapped out the crossover. It only has 5 components, and they're all on the tweeter circuit.
 
I mapped out the crossover. It only has 5 components, and they're all on the tweeter circuit.
Perhaps you are missing a filter lol. Or they just put the board on the "top terminals" but it's for both drivers. I haven't seen any aluminium cones have a natural break up 20dB down. They normally have a breakup +7 to +15dB generally.
 
Yeah, I think Sure Not needs to take a second look. There's no way that woofer doesn't have a lowpass filter on it.

In the Stereophile review linked above, JA comments: "The aluminum-cone woofer does have some resonant peaks present at 5kHz and above, but the high-order crossover suppresses these by close to 20dB." Link again: https://www.stereophile.com/content/elac-carina-bs2434-loudspeaker-measurements
 
The woofer has no filter on it, FYI.
Okay, but the woofer plays full range. Just saying.
I mapped out the crossover. It only has 5 components, and they're all on the tweeter circuit.
You couldn't be more wrong.
I have built speakers with just one component, and once even without a filter in front of the woofer, but I don't think that would make sense with an aluminum chassis.

You can see how much effort is involved in the entire crossover of the Carina BS243.4 with 12 components. You simply overlooked the second part of the crossover behind the tweeter.

IMG_3301.jpg
 
Perhaps you are missing a filter lol. Or they just put the board on the "top terminals" but it's for both drivers. I haven't seen any aluminium cones have a natural break up 20dB down. They normally have a breakup +7 to +15dB generally.
Okay, I'm wrong. There is indeed another filter board tucked up inside the cab. It was a bit deceiving as the woofer circuit passes through the tweeter board. Thanks for making a fool out of me.
 
You couldn't be more wrong.
I have built speakers with just one component, and once even without a filter in front of the woofer, but I don't think that would make sense with an aluminum chassis.

You can see how much effort is involved in the entire crossover of the Carina BS243.4 with 12 components. You simply overlooked the second part of the crossover behind the tweeter.

View attachment 422753
Sorry, I was wrong. Thanks for taking the time to snap that pic. My tweeter was a real PITA to get out. Anyhow, look at that inductor! No iron core crap here.
 
Sorry, I was wrong. Thanks for taking the time to snap that pic. My tweeter was a real PITA to get out. Anyhow, look at that inductor! No iron core crap here.
All that copper mass needed to be screwed to the cabinet I guess, too heavy to hang off the terminal plate :)
 
All that copper mass needed to be screwed to the cabinet I guess, too heavy to hang off the terminal plate :)
The second circuit board is more than twice as big as the one on the connection plate. The coil is also really big, at least 6cm. The parts couldn't have been mounted behind the connection plate, also because of the bass reflex tube.
 
Hello everyone, I’m currently considering the BS243 and DBR62 as my Front Left and Right. Although the BS243 is more expensive, it only has a 5.25-inch woofer, whereas the DBR62 features a 6.25-inch woofer.

So, as main speaker, which one should I choose?
My Carinas have much better bass than my DBR62's, despite having a smaller woofer.
 
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