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Sometimes you see products that you know exist, but have simply never tried. A super tweeter is one of those things. So when Elac launched the new 4Pi Plus.2 (what a name), your author did not really have to think long: this is the moment to put a pair of ‘bulbs’ on our speakers! And yes: that turned out differently than expected!
“Ah… how much can it do? The TAD E2s have a Beryllium tweeter that goes up to 60 kHz.” Colleague Martijn is in the listening room testing cables and tweaks. And we also pick up the Elac 4Pi Plus.2 to also spar with the two of us about what we hear. That helps enormously. Those were ‘famous last words’ because when switching back and forth, our jaws drop to the ground: what an effect these tweeters have! But first let’s see what they actually are….
Elac 4pi Plus.2 super tweeter
The Elac 4Pi Plus.2 is a round-radiating super tweeter. The crossover is switchable between 10, 12 and 15 kHz and the volume is adjustable in 2dB steps between -4 and +4dB. This is useful, because sometimes there is an impedance mismatch, making it really necessary to adjust the tweeter. In our case it matches nicely, since the TAD is on average 6 Ohms and the Elac also roams around that course we measured (between 5.5 and 6.5 Ohms). In short: we can leave it at ‘0’. (Curiously, Elac says 3.5 Ohms at 10 kHz; we measured 6.6 Ohms impedance).
Elac would not be Elac if no ribbon was used. So in this case an annular ribbon that radiates all the way around. The complete range is 10 kHz – 53 kHz. For many speakers that would mean an extension, but not with the TAD, since it goes up to 60 kHz according to the booklet. We can’t measure that high up anymore, so we have to skip that fact-check, unfortunately.
The tweeters feel very heavy in the hand. And that’s not just because of the 4 Kg, but mainly because of the build quality, which is really sublime. It is incredibly solid and the finish is downright impressive. However, it is true that it always looks a bit strange on a different speaker. In our case the design is very different: black piano lacquer on a wooden speaker. But anyway: fortunately there are also speakers available in piano black… These Elacs come in all colors, as long as it is piano black. On the back of the Elac 4Pi Plus.2 are the speaker cable connectors. You can put anything in there. Banana, bare wire and spades. We used short pieces of cable with banana plugs. That worked great.