Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Review (bookshelf speaker)

[tw 2022]

Hi gents,

What was the conclusion here ? I am lost

good observation, there are 2 camps, each side thinks they've got it right...

 

[BN1]

good observation, there are 2 camps, each side thinks they've got it right...

LOL, as in many things with audio

 

[Azazello13]

Hi gents,

What was the conclusion here ? I am lost

In many respects it seems to be a great speaker for the price. There is a resonance issue that Amir identified immediately in his listening. After much back and forth, the speaker designer himself came to the thread and acknowledged that the speaker cabinet is a little "lively" at certain frequencies. Since then many other users (myself included) have documented the problem (which can be bad enough that it causes a clearly audible rattle in the speaker). Other users seem to have no issue at all. I would say it is a big enough issue that I would certainly not recommend buying them used or out of warranty or where you cannot return them for free. If you can protect the purchase, maybe they're worth a try, but there are still probably better options (like Elac Debut Reference).

 

[Jeff19342]

In many respects it seems to be a great speaker for the price. There is a resonance issue that Amir identified immediately in his listening. After much back and forth, the speaker designer himself came to the thread and acknowledged that the speaker cabinet is a little "lively" at certain frequencies. Since then many other users (myself included) have documented the problem (which can be bad enough that it causes a clearly audible rattle in the speaker). Other users seem to have no issue at all. I would say it is a big enough issue that I would certainly not recommend buying them used or out of warranty or where you cannot return them for free. If you can protect the purchase, maybe they're worth a try, but there are still probably better options (like Elac Debut Reference).

Very well stated; I agree with every point except “probably better options” because elsewhere on this website (see “Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA”) the UC52 is the #1 center speaker up to $1600 (WAY above its weight class!)

Perhaps there are better options for stereo listening, but it’s extraordinarily hard to beat the UC52 & a pair of UB52’s for LCR’s in a home theater that costs less than a good used car. Therefore I believe no one should be steered away from giving these wonderful yet lively speakers a try.

Yes I do think it’s a great service that Amir discovered the resonance issue & this Website had the gravitas to get the famed designer, Andrew Jones himself to give such a thorough and honest response! What an amazing thread!

It’s certainly a buyer beware situation, but one that you can find an absolute gem if you’re lucky or willing to dig a little (such as trying isolation pads, better stands, ditching banana plugs, etc.)

Speaking of… I wonder if anyone has been able to eliminate their resonance problem by opening up the speaker to reinforce the internal bracing?

 

[Azazello13]

Very well stated; I agree with every point except “probably better options” because elsewhere on this website (see “Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA”) the UC52 is the #1 center speaker up to $1600 (WAY above its weight class!)

Well the debut reference are at a similar price point. Slightly more $$ but solid as a tank. Also, it's worth noting that the Unifi2.0 scored well on some measurements, but is NOT recommended by ASR. Given what's been uncovered here, the DBR strike me as a much better recommendation.

 

[Jeff19342]

Well the debut reference are at a similar price point. Slightly more $$ but solid as a tank. Also, it's worth noting that the Unifi2.0 scored well on some measurements, but is NOT recommended by ASR. Given what's been uncovered here, the DBR strike me as a much better recommendation.

I don’t disagree for stereo speakers for your MLP, but definitely not true for home theater with multiple listening positions.

The DCR52 is a 2-way MTM that simply cannot hold a candle to a 3-way UC52 for friends & family outside your MLP—see “The Problem with Most Center Speakers” at Erin’s Audio Corner

Now check out ASR’s
“Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA (by @sweetchaos)” thread
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-recommendations-for-usa-by-sweetchaos.28296/

Note the UniFi2.0 UC52 is the top rated center under $1600. It’s rated higher than $2,200 Revel C208. The UC52 is rated right behind the $1,850 Ascend Acoustics Horizon Center Speaker & not too far behind the $6,000 KEF Reference 2 Meta.

For home theater, ideally you have LCR’s with the same voice, therefore UB52 absolutely need to be considered when setting up a surround sound system.

If you do find Uni-Fi 2.0’s without the resonance issue (or are able to solve it as I have) you will be blessed to have stunning accuracy, imaging, & soundstage for every seat in your room for less than a decent TV, as opposed to the price of a new Ducati Monster for slightly higher rated sound quality.

I believe this is precisely why this thread has such long legs. While the UniFi2.0’s lively cabinet is certainly something to be aware of, if you can dodge or resolve it, you get the best bang for the buck in excellent home theater audio BY FAR.

 

[Azazello13]

I don’t disagree for stereo speakers for your MLP, but definitely not true for home theater with multiple listening positions.

The DCR52 is a 2-way MTM that simply cannot hold a candle to a 3-way UC52 for friends & family outside your MLP—see “The Problem with Most Center Speakers” at Erin’s Audio Corner

Good points. I saw that video last week and really learned a lot. I don't much care about home theater at this point, but if I was in the market for a center channel I agree the concentric 3-way Unifi2.0 or Unifi reference designs would probably be a lot better than the DCR52. But at the same time, I guess my main takeaway from that video was that another bookie as the center might be the best option of all.

I do think the UB52 overall was a pretty great speaker at the price, I enjoyed my time with them a lot on songs where the horrible rattle in the tweeter/mid assembly wasn't fired up. I wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from buying them IF they can do free returns after an initial close inspection.

 

[Jeff19342]

I’m so literal, I always forget the option to use a single bookie as the center… Still a 3-way coaxial is recommended here for their superior horizontal & vertical SPL dispersion characteristics. Screw it, next time it’s KEF Reference 1 Metas all around! Sigh…

 

[lord humungus]

Should the Elac Uni-Fi UB52's be connected to the 4 ohm or 8 ohm speaker terminals of my Yaqin MC-13s tube amp? The nominal rating of the UB52 is 6 ohms but has a label on the back that says suitable for 4 or 8 ohm amps. Thanks....

 

[Head_Unit]

Do we really need products designed to withstand testing rather than the use?

For some customers we sure do! One time when I visited Rockford Fosgate a team of engineers was discussing what materials to use for a 3000 watt (continuous!!) test, and I'm pretty sure some of their customers do that. Back in the day I knew a guy named "Head Banger" who had installed 15" Electro-Voice PA woofers in the rear deck of his car...and had melted the coils in several sets.

 

[tw 2022]

For some customers we sure do! One time when I visited Rockford Fosgate a team of engineers was discussing what materials to use for a 3000 watt (continuous!!) test, and I'm pretty sure some of their customers do that. Back in the day I knew a guy named "Head Banger" who had installed 15" Electro-Voice PA woofers in the rear deck of his car...and had melted the coils in several sets.

that someone melted those voice coils had to be a "holy sh** " moment...

 

[Head_Unit]

that someone melted those voice coils had to be a "holy sh** " moment...

No, that moment was when we hitched a ride with "Head Banger" to see a Dio concert, and when he hit play heard massive hiss then !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO LOUD oh so glad I had put in earplugs, having heard warnings...the Dio concert was actually rather quiet by comparison. Seriously! Did I mention 10" stage monitor cut up and shoved in the doors?!? By now all that would be rather tame, we've moved on to bulging vehicles and windshields blowing out, vehicles louder than a Space Shuttle launch.

 

[tw 2022]

No, that moment was when we hitched a ride with "Head Banger" to see a Dio concert, and when he hit play heard massive hiss then !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO LOUD oh so glad I had put in earplugs, having heard warnings...the Dio concert was actually rather quiet by comparison. Seriously! Did I mention 10" stage monitor cut up and shoved in the doors?!? By now all that would be rather tame, we've moved on to bulging vehicles and windshields blowing out, vehicles louder than a Space Shuttle launch.

Omg... Saw Dio when he was with Sabath , they were anything but quiet.... That must have been quite the ride...

 

[NightFlight]

Well, that was a fun read.

I was re-considering the UBR52 or the UFR52. I say re-considering since I did own the UBR62 briefly auditioned against the DBR62. Unfortunately for the UBR62 I found distortion in the mid-range driver on some recordings when so pushed to high levels. At first I went a bit around the bend trying to isolate the cause, such as baffle ring, rattles, chuffing, etc. Eventually I swapped channels and the issue remained. I anecdotally came to the same conclusion. The UniFi driver has limitations with excited mode distortion at high SPL. It may be outside of their spec, but I do occasionally like to blue moon "open 'er up", so I sold them and moved on. Regardless, the simpler and IMHO tonally superior DBR62 met my needs. Honestly, I didn't think much of it. They wouldn't be the first speaker with "issues".

So I guess I'm just posting a "me too" but with the UBR62. Anecdotal, long gone. Purchased used and sold used. Also gone are my DBR62 and that was a mistake. I plan to circle back with a used pair of DFR52. PM me if you have a used pair to let go of in Canada.

 

[NightFlight]

Also gone are my DBR62 and that was a mistake. I plan to circle back with a used pair of DFR52. PM me if you have a used pair to let go of in Canada.

I have a new pair DFR52 coming in the mail! They'll be here in a couple days <happy dance>. I'm very excited!

 

[tbrown187]

I have these speakers for my LCR setup and absolute love them. I tried several others and these had the best overall sound and were the only ones that really made it feel like I was there in the room with the music and dialog. I followed the steps recommended here about direct wiring and notice so cabinet vibrations, etc.

I am looking to add a bit more mid bass to the sound stage and was curious if anyone had paired powered subs with the these speakers and are happy with the results?

 

[kryptonite]

I have these speakers for my LCR setup and absolute love them. I tried several others and these had the best overall sound and were the only ones that really made it feel like I was there in the room with the music and dialog. I followed the steps recommended here about direct wiring and notice so cabinet vibrations, etc.

I am looking to add a bit more mid bass to the sound stage and was curious if anyone had paired powered subs with the these speakers and are happy with the results?

-I moved from an all Debut 2.0 series setup to a Uni-Fi 2.0 LCR, i.e., UF52 fronts + UC52 centre with the DB62 continuing duty for surrounds/tops, to form my 5.2.2 setup.
-Subs are 2x SVS PB-1000 pros, and they integrated extremely well with either the Debut 2.0 or the Uni-Fi 2.0, crossed over at 80Hz. Receiver is a Denon X3500H.
-Audyssey dialled in the setup extremely well for my weird squarish room which is plagued by multiple nulls across the bass range. From literally no bass before calibration to just the right amount after calibration. Seat to seat consistency is about maxed out to just 2 seats, very difficult to get a wide sweet spot in my room, and room treatment is ruled out due to various reasons
-I did the 0.875 distance tweak using the MultEQ app, then took 1 dB out of the 10-20KHz region using Ratbuddyssey for it to sound just right to my preference, but that's about it. Will invest in MultEQ-X on my next receiver
-After calibration, the 1KHz to 20KHz region gets lifted (EQ'd) by a ton on the Uni-Fi 2.0 LCR, to a point where they’re super easy to drive and I now listen to them at exactly the same volumes as I used to on the Debut 2.0 LCR. Quite loud for my room at -20dB main volume on the Denon with Dynamic EQ on, for both music (Spotify with normalization set to Normal) and movies (bitstream Atmos / DTS-X).
-Easily the best setup I've owned till date, and the Uni-Fi 2.0's have zero issues, no resonances post EQ that I can audibly hear, nothing to fault, all the way up to -10dB main volume on the Denon. Cannot go any louder as it’s quite deafening (to my ears) by that point

Hope this helps

 

[Charger]

I read this thread before buying these second hand. The seller was willing to let me test them in his setup. I played the Eva Cassidy song from the original post. Speakers were on stands with foam.

No buzz, no resonance, no issue. So I purchased.

They have been trouble free for me. I do only use them in a nearfield desktop setup with a SMSL ao200. At pretty reasonable volumes.

Great speakers!

I do wonder if my amp isn't strong enough. But from my amateur ears it seems to drive them fine. Maybe missing some dynamics.

 

[tw 2022]

I read this thread before buying these second hand. The seller was willing to let me test them in his setup. I played the Eva Cassidy song from the original post. Speakers were on stands with foam.

No buzz, no resonance, no issue. So I purchased.

They have been trouble free for me. I do only use them in a nearfield desktop setup with a SMSL ao200. At pretty reasonable volumes.

Great speakers!

I do wonder if my amp isn't strong enough. But from my amateur ears it seems to drive them fine. Maybe missing some dynamics.

i wouldn't sweat it too much..most decent amps do just fine ...people pearl clutch over 10% of improvement in audio..it's an entitled first world problem ...

 

[turbines]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US US $600 a pair on Amazon including Prime shipping.

This review will be abbreviated for reasons that will become apparent later.

Here is a shot of the speaker:

View attachment 104686

Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room.

I performed over 1000 measurement which resulted in error rate of less than 1% through majority of audible band.

Temperature was 59 degrees F. Measurement location is at sea level so you compute the pressure.

Measurements are compliant with latest speaker research into what can predict the speaker preference and is standardized in CEA/CTA-2034 ANSI specifications. Likewise listening tests are performed per research that shows mono listening is much more revealing of differences between speakers than stereo or multichannel.

Reference axis was the tweeter center.

Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Measurements
Acoustic measurements can be grouped in a way that can be perceptually analyzed to determine how good a speaker is and how it can be used in a room. This so called spinorama shows us just about everything we need to know about the speaker with respect to tonality and some flaws:

View attachment 104689

Hmmm, seems like we keep hitting on speakers that shelf the mid to highs for some reason, this type lowering it. I checked other reviews and this matched another measurement posted so it is not instrumentation error.

Early window aggravates this some:
View attachment 104690

Resulting in this predicted in-room response:

View attachment 104691

Strange to see a mass market product opt for this type of high frequency output as it is opposite of conventional retail wisdom of "what sells in a showroom."

Distortion-test shows some issue around 600 Hz:
View attachment 104692

It is a resonance that also appears in impedance graph:

View attachment 104693

Edit: adding directivity information:
View attachment 108449
View attachment 108450

View attachment 108451

Speaker Listening Tests
I always start my testing with select few female tracks as they quickly tell me if the speaker is too bright, lispy, etc. The first couple of tracks sounded fine but then I played the third standard track, the Eva Cassidy Ain't no Sunshine. Right at the marker something bad happened:
View attachment 104694

She takes a breath and starts singing. On Elac Uni-Fi I heared a rather loud squeak instead of that breath! I can't it to words but the artifact actually sounded louder than her voice which came on an instant after that.

I remember during the measurement prep, I could hear a high pitched sound in the middle of the sweep. Thought maybe this was the same thing. To narrow down the frequency, I cut off everything above 1 kHz and problem remained. I inverted and cut off the lows and problem went away. I got it close to around 600 Hz but couldn't get the exact frequency. So went back to the distortion graph and found that frequency and notched it out:
View attachment 104695

90% of the problem vanished! This speaker uses a new woofer and seems like it has a nasty resonances in this area that Eva's breath energizes. The artifact can be heard on the youtube version but not as strongly:

I stopped testing at this point. As a confirmation, I played the same track on Revel M105 and it sounded wonderful with zero issue (I have used the same track to test at least 100 speakers).

Conclusions
What a shock to discover what I did with this speaker. Usually resonances color the sound. They don't become instruments on their own. But that is what happened here. And in a design from the talented Andrew Jones. Given how easy it was to detect the issue in multiple measurements, it should have been caught and fixed.

As far as I am concerned, this is a show-stopper, broken design. Don't know how else to put it. FYI Eva Cassidy album is standard issue at all audio shows in multiple suites so it is not like it is some oddball track one never sees. I guess it is possible this one speaker sample has an issue in which case I encourage Elac to try to replicate this problem and let us know what is going on.

For now, I can not recommend the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 bookshelf speaker. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US US $600 a pair on Amazon including Prime shipping.

This review will be abbreviated for reasons that will become apparent later.

Here is a shot of the speaker:

View attachment 104686

Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections (so where I measure it doesn't matter). It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than an anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room.

I performed over 1000 measurement which resulted in error rate of less than 1% through majority of audible band.

Temperature was 59 degrees F. Measurement location is at sea level so you compute the pressure.

Measurements are compliant with latest speaker research into what can predict the speaker preference and is standardized in CEA/CTA-2034 ANSI specifications. Likewise listening tests are performed per research that shows mono listening is much more revealing of differences between speakers than stereo or multichannel.

Reference axis was the tweeter center.

Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 Measurements
Acoustic measurements can be grouped in a way that can be perceptually analyzed to determine how good a speaker is and how it can be used in a room. This so called spinorama shows us just about everything we need to know about the speaker with respect to tonality and some flaws:

View attachment 104689

Hmmm, seems like we keep hitting on speakers that shelf the mid to highs for some reason, this type lowering it. I checked other reviews and this matched another measurement posted so it is not instrumentation error.

Early window aggravates this some:
View attachment 104690

Resulting in this predicted in-room response:

View attachment 104691

Strange to see a mass market product opt for this type of high frequency output as it is opposite of conventional retail wisdom of "what sells in a showroom."

Distortion-test shows some issue around 600 Hz:
View attachment 104692

It is a resonance that also appears in impedance graph:

View attachment 104693

Edit: adding directivity information:
View attachment 108449
View attachment 108450

View attachment 108451

Speaker Listening Tests
I always start my testing with select few female tracks as they quickly tell me if the speaker is too bright, lispy, etc. The first couple of tracks sounded fine but then I played the third standard track, the Eva Cassidy Ain't no Sunshine. Right at the marker something bad happened:
View attachment 104694

She takes a breath and starts singing. On Elac Uni-Fi I heared a rather loud squeak instead of that breath! I can't it to words but the artifact actually sounded louder than her voice which came on an instant after that.

I remember during the measurement prep, I could hear a high pitched sound in the middle of the sweep. Thought maybe this was the same thing. To narrow down the frequency, I cut off everything above 1 kHz and problem remained. I inverted and cut off the lows and problem went away. I got it close to around 600 Hz but couldn't get the exact frequency. So went back to the distortion graph and found that frequency and notched it out:
View attachment 104695

90% of the problem vanished! This speaker uses a new woofer and seems like it has a nasty resonances in this area that Eva's breath energizes. The artifact can be heard on the youtube version but not as strongly:

I stopped testing at this point. As a confirmation, I played the same track on Revel M105 and it sounded wonderful with zero issue (I have used the same track to test at least 100 speakers).

Conclusions
What a shock to discover what I did with this speaker. Usually resonances color the sound. They don't become instruments on their own. But that is what happened here. And in a design from the talented Andrew Jones. Given how easy it was to detect the issue in multiple measurements, it should have been caught and fixed.

As far as I am concerned, this is a show-stopper, broken design. Don't know how else to put it. FYI Eva Cassidy album is standard issue at all audio shows in multiple suites so it is not like it is some oddball track one never sees. I guess it is possible this one speaker sample has an issue in which case I encourage Elac to try to replicate this problem and let us know what is going on.

For now, I can not recommend the Elac Uni-Fi 2.0.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/