Zeitschrift:

(Greece)

ELAC FS 608-4Pi

360 DEGREES OF MAGIC

Heft Nr.:

11 / 2004

Autor:

Tilemaxos Katsenis

Urteil:

"Equipped with the perfect tweeter of radial dispersion, ELAC FS 608-4Pi enchanted us all with it´s insuperable fidelity in the reproduction of the high frequencies and the holographic field that it creates."

"The aesthetic sight of the 'flagship' speaker of the German company, is due to the integration of this exquisite tweeter . FS 608 is an implementation of a 3,5 ways speaker, where the ribbon tweeter complete a mid dome and two metallic cone woofers, of 180mm diameter. The speaker follows the low load reflections, while it´s enclosure – made of metal and wood – is the perfect model of a acoustically dead enclosure, that just allows the units it uses to perform the maximum of their potentials."

In the sphere of the Sound Pleasure

"The first impression from 608 is focusing in the impeccable construction quality of the speaker and it´s excellent metallic finish..."

"So this is another step towards the utopian sphere of the absolute sound fidelity, where what we could listen in a concert hall, identifies with what we will listen from our speakers. With 608, we once again felt that we are experiencing something completely different, far beyond the usual 'good' speakers. First of all we had the impression that the music does no longer come from two single point sources, but that it is 'spurting' in the room, and it 'forms' it self in front of the listener as if magic. This is, of course, due to the 4Pi tweeter, however in 608 the masterly designed crossover and the quality of the rest of the units (mid and woofer) allow the speaker to maintain this holographic and incomparably realistic character both in the middle and the high frequencies."

What about the high frequencies of 608?

"It is very difficult to characterize the high frequencies of this speaker, since they have no special 'coloration', character or imperfection. If you can imagine the fabulous, aerial and incomparably distinct high frequencies of the Magnepan ribbon tweeters and add to that the 360° dispersion on the horizontal & vertical axis, maybe you can have an idea of what ELAC´s 608 high frequencies look like."

"So, if there is a company who can claim that they have manufactured the perfect tweeter, this should definitely be ELAC and in this specific division of FS 608-4Pi they are above any criticism."

"The middle frequencies of the speaker possess a great percentage of the 'robust', warm, rich and crystal clear sound that an electrostatic speaker possesses in this spectrum. The low and mid low frequencies are characterized by an extremely rich 'body', an astonishing control and an excellent range- considering the relatively small volume of the speaker. In fact, 608 can work in really deafening volumes, without the slightest distortion or dynamic compression, while the homogeneous character of the speaker remains intact even when it comes really close to it´s working limits."

"It is also self-evident – due to the speakers´ dispersion in high frequencies – that the music scene and the distinctness of 608s´ stereo image are amazing, with actually 3dimentional musical image, which in many cases makes us think that we have connected surround speakers."

"Actually, Elacs´ FS 608-4Pi is one perfectly complete speaker, a very capable sound reproducer, while it´s 'cons' do not take away anything from the musical and emotional pleasure that the speaker 'unsparingly' offers."

"...it sets new standards in the high frequency reproduction and the 3dimentional presentation of the musical scene that can be achieved by just two speakers."

"Just imagine what will happen in the near future, when ELAC will release in the market the 4Pi tweeter, for us to add it in any speaker we wish!"