ELACBS243.4-SW Carina Premium Bookshelf Speakers - (Pair) Satin White

I seldom give 5-star reviews. I’ve given 4 stars for products I really enjoy and recommend to others, but they weren’t perfect. The Carinas richly all the stars!There’s a reason that these speakers (designed by Andrew Jones) were top rated by both "The Absolute Sound" and "Stereophile" magazines. They are stunningly good.I’ve been using KEF LS50 speakers for about 5 years. I’ve enjoyed them a lot, but I was never really happy with them. The bass wasn’t punchy enough and the upper mids can be on the brassy side for my tastes. Being coaxial, they offer excellent stereo imaging.After letting the Carinas burn-in for about 100 hours, I started playing with speaker placement. I ended up setting them about 12” from the back wall. The bottom end filled out nicely, easily besting the LS50s. The JET tweeter has a rich and shimmering quality that is enjoyable for hours on end.What I didn’t expect was that the Carinas had even better stereo imaging that the LS50s. The soundstage is even bigger—yet more precise—with the Carinas. The stereo image is very solid with great depth.I suppose there is one drawback: the name. I mean really, “BS.243.4”?? What the heck is that supposed to even mean????For the curious, I’m using a Chord Hugo2/2Go through an NAD D3045 to drive these gems.

Very good speakers.Can listen for hours.Tweeters stand out/ accurate/ clear/ stand in front of other sounds/ Looks a lot of work in speaker developmentTweeters lack dispersion/Bass is weak point/ goes deeper than others/ sounds like it’s too far back v other music/ d/n separate sources of bass music.Surprisingly, It beats the B&W 706’s I tested!Quality - GreatSound - Good / Lacks dispersionValue - a little low for priceClarity - strong, bass sounds like it’s in another room. Goes deeper than other comparable speakers but d/n separate the sources - have to listen closely to get details of acoustic bassYou may wonder why I said this was a Very good speaker. It sounded better than the B&W 706’s I tested! It sounded better than the Polk’s I have (except for dispersion). Price is a little high for performance. I hope this helps.

These are great in my bedroom stereo setup with the Acam sa20 receiver and SVS micro 3000 sub.They did require a far amount of break-in and seem to continue to improve.Also, getting the height correct was very important. Start with the tweeter about even and experiment slightly above and below that spot. In my listening setup, I prefer the tweeter slightly above eye level. The imagining improved and things smoothed out even more. Your's may differ.The sub woofer isn't needed but does add another dimension to the experience. Without it the bass is still punchy and impressive for their size but noticeable misses the lower frequencies.I tried the Carina's in my 7.6.2 hometheater setup and was impressed with the wide sound stage. In my bedroom stereo setup, they they are different experience. The bedroom is better acoustically. An inclosed area with carpet, a thick foam mattress, and good window coverings. The sound stage is as wide as the room,with the center stage slightly elevated, but more like small theater. I mostly used it for high definition music, but do work well for movies as well. Again, the subwoofer does help in this area as well.

- Refined sound quality with no bumps- Non fatiguing smooth but detailed airy highs- Wide sound stage- More bass than I thought possible from a 5" woofer- Bass is well controlled and punchy with texture and definition- Solid build quality and componentsThese ELAC Carina speakers have all of my favorite attributes of my PSB Alpha P5s but kicks it up a couple of notches with refinement, no congestion at higher volumes, deeper bass extension.Didn't like the looks of the other popular over-hyped ELAC speakers reviewed on Youtube. These speakers look and sound every bit of the asking price.

Materiali e resa elevati ma forse potrebbe costare qualcosa in meno. La cosa a cui fare attenzione è questa: l'apertura del bass reflex è alla base ed il diffusore viene sostenuto da una base che non è piena ma è a forma di cornice metallica. A tale proposito ho notato che appoggiando il diffusore su degli stand oppure su un mobile il suono cambia ed il basso è migliore nel secondo caso. Non so se la differenza sia dovuta ai differenti materiali (metallo/legno) che vanno a chiudere la cornice di appoggio oppure al fatto che la base dello mio stand non riempie/chiude completamente tutta la cornice della base del diffusore.

I’m a fan of Andrew Jones Elac, can’t lie about it. Started from the Debut’s and now upgraded to Carina’s. Supernice finish, great looks. As for the sound - I didn’t like it in the beginning. Stereo field was narrow, sensitivity was low, and I just enjoyed my UniFi’s more. Then, I changed my aplifier to NAD 7050, class D, more upscale amp and those little Elacs started to shine: I’ve started to hear more layers of my already known music. As for the low end - it’s more than enough from these little beasts. Definately a keeper!