I believe you were referring to this review
He did not say why he preferred the Solano over Vela. Big bummer for me. Loved what I heard from Vela in a shop, but felt the bass was lacking. So was wondering if Solano might have more bass. Any know?
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Elac Vela or Solano measurements
- Thread starter cd45123
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He did not say why he preferred the Solano over Vela. Big bummer for me. Loved what I heard from Vela in a shop, but felt the bass was lacking. So was wondering if Solano might have more bass. Any know?
Yes, that review. If you listen to the comments of the 3 guys during the listening test they do have a lot of praise for the bass, and one says the Solano is the best bookshelf speaker he's ever heard. But you're right, not a specific comparison of the bass vs the Vela. I'm still curious why the Solano hasn't gotten more publicity and reviews.
Yeah, which seems a bit odd considering how much the listening reviewers in that video praised the highs and the tweeter specifically. But they didn't compare it to the Vela. Also the Vela and Solano both use the Jet 5 tweeter, the same wave guide, and crossover freq. Reviews in general have to be taken with a big grain of salt. Only way to know is to listen to them.
A local hifi dealer checked with Elac and they said Solano does not have more bass. I am not sure that can be trusted though.
The port design is quite different though, Solano is open in all directions at the bottom. Vela just in the back, so I believe there could be a bass difference. I don't see any vela review raving about the bass, but we have two reviews raving about solanos. The earlier posted by Just Audio. And this recent one
I agree with everything Gareth says. I’ve got the full Solano set except the centre speaker which is a Vela. The BS283 are my rear speakers so I don’t get the full experience from them that Gareth is getting but overall the set is that awesome that I upgraded my receiver to an Anthem MRX 1140 with no regrets (already have a 5 channel Anthem power amp).
I have begun to be interested in these speaker and I think I found som measurements in a German review here of the Solano BS 283.
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/elac-solano-bs-283/seite-5.html
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/elac-solano-bs-283/seite-5.html
@BrokenEnglishGuy I think, all German brands are having less consideration about the distortion. May it has to do with the smaller appartments most people live in as opposed to large individual houses like in the United States. On axis is quite good on many speakers
Elac recently upgraded their AMT tweeter to Jet 6. It's interesting they started to put it not only to new models but to existing as well, both Vela and Solano included.
www.elac.com
www.elac.com
Vela BS 403 Bookshelf Speakers
Looking for more information on Vela BS 403 Bookshelf Speakers? Click to learn more and shop now from ELAC!
www.elac.com
Solano BS283 Bookshelf Speaker
Looking for more information on Solano BS283 Bookshelf Speaker? Click to learn more and shop now from ELAC!
www.elac.com
BrokenEnglishGuy
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wasn't this the graph from the fs407 xD?
Accuton drivers has very little distortion, the only problem is the price
Fs 407 is a vela model.wasn't this the graph from the fs407 xD?
Accuton drivers has very little distortion, the only problem is the price
Elac recently upgraded their AMT tweeter to Jet 6. It's interesting they started to put it not only to new models but to existing as well, both Vela and Solano included.
Vela BS 403 Bookshelf Speakers
Looking for more information on Vela BS 403 Bookshelf Speakers? Click to learn more and shop now from ELAC!Solano BS283 Bookshelf Speaker
Looking for more information on Solano BS283 Bookshelf Speaker? Click to learn more and shop now from ELAC!
From the top link:
"The sound of VELA shows it´s family background to successful series 400."
"The convex shaped baffle and the big radius’s of the cabinet promote the acoustics because influences of cabinet to frequency response are reduced."
"Thanks to it’s flexible connections the Vela series offers the ability of using bi-wiring and bi-amping."
Yikes. They need to hire an editor.
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AdamFrandsen
Member
Okay - since there was a sale on the original bs283 due to a newer model having been released, I decided to pull the trigger. It has a very full sound in the mid low to low, in fact too much. When measured it shows that the entire fundamental vocal range is highly bloated, and it has the same dip in the harmonic range as the 403 measured by Erin, not a good combination - otherwise it kinda follows the target curve in broad terms, so it is not hard to EQ - with minidsp and dirac live the speakers sound quite incredible with very deep bass for such small speakers. It is the same drivers, as far as I can tell, as the Carina models, with a little more volume and different vent. Build quality is outstanding. I haven’t opened up the speakers yet to check the crossover, and it will likely be a while before I find the time. Overall I was a little disappointed at first, but with proper corrections, it can sound wonderful.
I also have the Solanos BS283, also bought on sale for a great price, and I'm overall very happy with them. What amp are you using, if I may ask? I use the Bluesound Powernode at the moment and strongly suspect that there is more to get with a more powerful amplifier. I'm thinking about some nice Hypex Ncore amplifier and possibly a Wim Ultra as a preamp/streamer/DAC.
AdamFrandsen
Member
I am using Topping LA90D - should be plenty, also the distortion becomes quite strong in the woofer if you drive them too hard, not sure what you would get with a more powerful amp. I run the system through MiniDSP SHD Studio, and can get a good sound with tweaking, but the problem is the two way design using AMT tweeter, that does not go low enough, and when corrected distortion is audible. It is by no means a bad speaker, but you can get a pair of Quads new bookshelf speakers, which will be far superior... I even think the Quad S2 are superior in some ways... I think that (at least the original version) they were tuned for movies, and the Vela a better choice for 2-channel.music listening. There is a dip in the frequency response in the harmonics region of voices, which is not so desirable (believe the Vela model does as well) - I listen a lot to opera, and the harmonics are what is referred to as "squillo" in the voice, which is an incredibly important element of the sound and its reproduction. Often with great opera singers the harmonics are even stronger than the fundamental frequency, which also allows the voice to carry over the orchestra and not blend/cancel out with the fundamental frequency, which is always stronger in the orchestra.
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Thanks. I mostly use the Solanos for TV/movies paired with a SVS SB2000 Pro subwofoer (crossover at 80 Hz) and for that they are great really. I also listen to a lot of jazz and also with good results. For the price I paid (800 Euros) they certainly are wort it. It's a strong, smooth, muscular, easy listening speaker. Not very dynamic though but that can be other factors like my room, amp etc. Interesting what you said about the distortion...haven't noticed this for myself though.
Opera is tough to get right in my limited experience of that genre. Here you want a magical midrange and a holographic soundstage and that is usually expensive and requires a good speaker positioning.
Opera is tough to get right in my limited experience of that genre. Here you want a magical midrange and a holographic soundstage and that is usually expensive and requires a good speaker positioning.
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