Intro
Contents
When Elac Electroacustic announces a new speaker, an email to importer Servi-Q is quickly sent. After all, Elac makes excellent speakers in every price range and never disappoints. Elac is an institution and has nothing more to prove. Yet they do not relax in Germany. They are collaborating more than ever with the world’s best designers and engineers; synergy works. Their state-of-the-art manufacturing line in Kiel, Germany, is an example of efficiency where everything is put together with “German Gründlichkeit”. The speaker we are testing in detail this time is the Elac Solano BS 283. A ‘home brew’, beautifully made, compact bookshelf full of interesting technology. Enjoy!
So after the Debut Reference, Carina and Vela it is now the turn of the Solano. The word Solano refers to a southeast wind, but what the link is with the speaker itself is not so clear to us this time. More important is the situating of the Solano series in the current range.
The Solano is right between the Carina (999 euros) and the Vela (1999 euros). The thrust of this series is to bring the famous Jet5 tweeter to a more affordable price point, in a slightly more compact form admittedly, but with the premium finish of the more expensive series.
The new Solano family is not large and consists only of a floorstander, bookshelf and center speaker. Small but beautiful so to say. We see a beautifully finished speaker, two-way of course, with the same paint job as the prestigious Concentro but with a less complex design. Yet the front is nicely rounded and the tweeter and mid-driver are neatly incorporated into the cabinet. As expected, everything feels solid and there is nothing to complain about this 8 kg speaker.
The bass port is at the bottom and is conveniently incorporated into the base. This principle we saw earlier in the Carina and the Vela and should simplify the placement on the one hand and minimize the influence of the room on the other
Technological
The Jet5 tweeter has the same waveguide as the Vela but the aluminum mid-driver is different. However, it does possess the patented AS-XR technology which should provide rigidity and flexibility at the same time.
At the back we see two pairs of connectors to allow bi-wiring and bi-amping. Besides our black version, there is only a white version available
The Solano, as mentioned, is a compact speaker, 33x19x25 cm, but it plays bigger than it is. It is also a nice speaker to look at but those who want to protect the tweeter and driver a bit can order a set of optional grills. A notable specification is the 85 db sensitivity into 4 ohms. This does not necessarily mean anything, but with the Solano a stable amplifier with some grunt is really necessary if you want to get the most out of this speaker