ELAC Debut Connex Adsum

Cross-discipline collaborations are often tricky, aren’t they? For every ‘IKEA and Sonos’ there’s an ‘Adidas and Kanye’ - this sort of thing can go one of two quite distinct ways. Ordinarily there’s a fair amount at stake, where both parties are concerned, when it comes to their respective credibility. 

So, it’s more than somewhat interesting to find ELAC, which was doing very nicely indeed thank you with its Debut ConneX wireless audio system, collaborating with hipper-than-thou Brooklyn fashion house Adsum. The idea seems straightforward enough, at least where ELAC is concerned - it gets a big hit of NYC kudos and increases exposure of what has been widely acknowledged in audio circles as a capable and value-for-money little system. The reasons for Adsum’s involvement aren’t as immediately obvious - although I suppose connecting with an adjacent market full of people with disposable income is never a bad idea…

As far as specification goes, it’s ELAC business as usual - which means this compact wireless speaker system is pretty adaptable. As is usually the case with this sort of product at this sort of price, one speaker is active and takes care of all connectivity while the other is a passive participant featuring just a pair of speaker cable binding posts to facilitate a connection to its boss.

The primary speaker here has corresponding speaker cable binding posts, of course, but its rear panel also features a selection of physical inputs as well as a socket for mains power. There’s a switchable stereo RCA analogue input (which can operate at line level or as a phono stage for use with a turntable), a digital optical input, an HDMI ARC socket (allowing the system to do soundbar-ish duty as well as function as a pure music system) and a USB-B that’s good for resolution up to 24bit/96kHz PCM. Wireless connectivity is taken care of by Bluetooth with aptX codec compatibility.

This speaker also features 100 watts of Class D amplification - 50 for its own use and the other 50 for its partnering speaker. This is used to power each speaker’s array of 19mm soft dome tweeter and 114mm polypropylene mid/bass driver - in conjunction with a rear-firing bass reflex slot, it’s an arrangement that ELAC suggests is good for a frequency response of 50Hz - 25kHz.  

Sound quality

For a compact and discreet system packing an unremarkable amount of power, the ELAC set-up is capable of admirable scale and no little outright volume. Obviously if you’re sitting very close to it - when using it as a desktop system, for instance - the ultimate amount of output is neither here nor there, but it does mean that even when playing at modest levels the reproduction sounds complete and uncompromised.  

With the exception of its integrated phono stage, the ELAC sounds robust, detailed and organised no matter the music you’re listening to. The top of the frequency range has substance and bite in more-or-less equal measure, the midrange is open and communicative, and the bottom end has impressive heft to go along with its tonal variation and insight.

The crossover between the drivers is nicely disguised, and the overall tonality is consistent - it’s on the slightly warm side, sure, but far from fatally so. The frequency range is convincingly described, and unless you deploy ‘Xbass’ there’s good balance from top to bottom. Even if the speakers are unpromisingly close to a rear wall, those ‘S’-shaped reflex slots behave themselves - not only is there no port noise, but their contributions remain reasonably subtle and, consequently, very useful indeed.  

There’s respectable dynamic headroom available for when the music ramps up the intensity, and the ELAC is just as attentive to those minor harmonic variations that give a proper sense of completeness to a recording. Unless you position them wilfully badly they create a persuasive stereo image, and the soundstage they conjure is solid and confidently described.

Really, it’s only the phono stage that lets the side down - and even then, it’s hardly a catastrophe. Compared to the other physical inputs, though - and, to a lesser extent, the Bluetooth connection - it’s just slightly vague. It lacks the positivity and clarity of the other options, and while it has that facility with rhythmic expression that’s one of the real joys of the vinyl format it’s rather soft around the edges. Still, it’s a singular customer who has a turntable as part of their desktop system…  

Living with

Here’s where Adsum’s involvement is most apparent. Each speaker is the same 244 x 140 x 203mm (HxWxD) as the regular Debut ConneX model - but the appearance of these speakers is altogether cleaner, more sophisticated and premium. That’s certainly how it seems to me.

Adsum has developed a tidy, good-looking stand. It’s a single piece of tubular aluminium with a little grippy patch at each of its four contact points and, as well as lifting the speaker from the surface it would otherwise sit on, it's a straightforwardly elegant feature. The corners of the speakers are now squared off for a crisper look, and they feature what are, remarkably, ELAC’s only painted cabinets.

The bespoke magnetic grilles (or, as Adsum prefers, ‘screens’) are similarly stylish, and carry two brand logos. The same is true of the ‘custom’ remote control handset that covers every scenario, and the attention to detail extends as far as colour-coded (and improved quality) speaker cable. The remote control features input selection, power on/off, skip forwards/backwards and volume control. A little LED on the front of the primary speaker lights up in a different colour depending on the input that’s selected, and the handset has a control to turn this off. There’s also an on/off button for the system’s ‘Xbass’ setting - see if you can guess what it does.  

As long as you keep your desktop relatively tidy, the Debut ConneX Adsum system will sit there happily without getting in the way. And the length of bundled speaker cable should make standing one speaker on either side of your TV screen easy enough. Don’t misplace the remote control, though - volume control and input selection is otherwise via a turn/push dial rather inconveniently located on the rear panel of the primary speaker.

Conclusion

By handing it over to Adsum, ELAC has taken a great little wireless stereo system and turned it into a great little wireless stereo system that looks almost as good as it sounds. It’s tricky to suggest a price-comparable alternative with as comprehensive a set of plus-points.

Listening notes

The Beta Band She’s the One

A good phono stage will allow a system to properly express a rhythm, and this bit of ramshackle folksy psychedelic electronica (which is what the late 90s were all about, amirite?) has its rhythm described in the most enjoyable and naturalistic manner - even if it lacks a little dynamism compared to the other inputs. 

Comet Gain If You Ever Walk Out of My Life

Streamed wirelessly from a smartphone, this almost-cover of Dena Barnes’ 1967 Northern Soul scorcher sounds open and nicely poised. The midrange resolution is particularly impressive, and the rather approximate nature of the vocal is delivered in endearing fashion - for better or worse, the ELAC delivers the complete picture.

serpentwithfeet cherubim

Lower-case preoccupation, hi-fi credentials. The electronic thump and grind that’s serpentwithfeet's stock in trade is given plenty of prominence when received as a hi-res digital audio file via the USB-B socket, and for a compact system the ELAC hits good and hard. All its digital inputs sound good, but this one sounds best of all.

You buy the ELAC Debut ConneX Adsum because you’re after a great-sounding, great-looking wireless music system that won’t break the bank, and that won’t dominate your space, that will enhance (rather than detract from) your decor. And because you’re not all that bothered about listening to vinyl through it and you’re not bothered about network streaming whatsoever.