ELAC’s new TV-friendly speakers will satisfy Dolby Atmos soundbar haters
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For many movie fans, a Dolby Atmos soundbar provides everything they need to experience the latest movies on TV with audio realism that their set’s built-in speakers could never deliver. But what if you also want to listen to music? The best sound bars excel at movie sound, but some listeners might be disappointed when it comes time to play music on the same ‘bar’.
The reasons for this are many, but they usually boil down to the fact that a soundbar needs to wrap the speakers used to convey information about the left, right and center channels – and in some cases surround and height channels too – in a slim, compact, all-in-one unit. The better designs make an effort to reproduce stereo music with a high degree of clarity, but the main job for most soundbars is generally to deliver maximum impact with movie soundtracks.
Fortunately for music fans, a new wave of TV-friendly, fully powered stereo speakers has been gaining traction lately. We’ve seen such models pop up in traditional speaker companies like kef, dynaudioand SVS, and can now add Elac to that list.
While KEF and Dynaudio’s offerings are expensive models with built-in Wi-Fi for wirelessly streaming lossless audio from Tidal, Apple Music and other services, Elac’s new Debut ConneX speakers ($600 / £600 / AU$900) are ) dependent on aptX Bluetooth for wireless music streaming. But Bluetooth is only part of the Debut ConneX story. Like the other models I’ve mentioned, Elac’s latest speakers have an HDMI ARC input, which allows you to hook them up to your TV to get much-improved movie sound – but without Dolby Atmos height effects.
Coming from a mainstream speaker company, the Debut ConneX is designed the same as the best stereo speakers. It uses a 0.75-inch soft dome tweeter and a 4.5-inch polypropylene woofer, both of which are powered by a 2 x 50-watt built-in amplifier. Ports on the back are used to boost the low-end output, and they’re aided here by an XBass proprietary bass boost circuit.
Not surprisingly for a speaker with ConneX in its name, there are plenty of connection options beyond HDMI ARC and aptX Bluetooth. There’s a USB PC port that supports signals up to 24-bit/96kHz, along with an optical digital audio jack and a phono preamp input for a direct turntable connection. A subwoofer output is provided to connect an external sub for extended bass, and speaker terminals on the rear panel on the primary Debut ConneX (the one containing the amps and input terminals) are used to connect it to the satellite unit via the supplied wire .
The Debut ConneX is now available in three finish options: black, walnut and royal blue.
Analysis: active speakers with HDMI are the new soundbars
Fully loaded Dolby Atmos speaker systems powered by one of the best AV receivers offer a quick ticket to top-shelf home theater sound, but not everyone has the space for that option, or the money to pursue it. With their compact size and generally impressive movie soundtrack processing, soundbars are a solid and affordable alternative that makes an easy recommendation.
But as good as soundbars can sound, you really need to use one of the best performing models to get decent results for stereo music playback. Not surprisingly, this is an area where traditional hi-fi speakers can work magic, transmitting music with clear separation between channels, uncompressed dynamics and a sense of transparency that makes you believe the musicians are right in the room with you. .
For those looking for the above qualities when listening to music, but also want to watch movies and TV on the same system, active speakers with HDMI are another easy recommendation. Yes, they are not a replacement for a full Dolby Atmos home theater setup, nor are they designed to be one. But with prices from $600 / £600 / AU$900 for Elac’s Debut ConneX they are a flexible and sensible option, which can give you the best of both the music and movie worlds.