[Sound Battle] Polk Audio Reserve R200 vs ELAC Carina BS243.4 Bookshelf Speakers w/Arcam SA10 Amp
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
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Amps - • Amplifier Sound Demo
Speakers - • Hi Fi Speakers Sound Demo
Bluetooth Speakers - • Bluetooth Speaker
Timecodes
0:00 - intro
1:11 - All the way up / Electronic / by Hadar Sopher
1:51 - Bedroom / Soul & RnB, Pop / by Raquel Castro, The Wildcardz
2:34 - Boost Your Power / Rock / by CustomMelody
3:32 - Chemtrails / Cinematic / by Semo
4:23 - Get Ready / Cinematic, Rock, Pop / by Midnight Noise
5:13 - Higher Love / Electronic, Pop / by Ben Fox
6:29 - Is Leroy On It / Jazz, Acoustic, Retro / by Southside Aces
7:27 - Pull Me Closer / Electronic, Pop, Hip Hop / by WEARETHEGOOD,
8:40 - Punkd / Cinematic, Electronic / by Out of Flux
9:41 - Seasons / Cinematic, Classical / by ANBR
10:51 - Star Night / Acoustic, Rock, Pop / Wonderland
11:41 - Time Traveling / Soul & RnB / Sarah Kang feat. Anthony Lazaro
13:15 - Crash and burn / Death Metal / Kissing Candice
14:40 - Magic Show / Death Metal / Kissing Candice
15:37 - Fields / Acoustic Guitar / Livio Bartolo
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I'll take the Carinas. They're easier on my ears. In reality the R200s sound dry and even grainy sometimes.It would be interesting to compare the Carinas to the Metas.
Wow, the Elacs sounds very good here. Tonality is great! I can't say one is better than the other, it basicly comes down to taste. However, I found the R200's a touch more open sounding, sometimes better defined/stand-out instruments and more flesh/depth to the bone (also top-end), but stil refined.
The Elacs are sometimes more delicate (I like that too) but pay with a flatter soundstage at times (perhaps more laidback). The R200's (mids) are slightly more forward sounding, translating in a livelier presence at times. For heavier tracks the R200's feels more dynamic and less flat.
I do give the edge to the R200's here, but I could live with the Elacs happily ever after 😄
Nicely done again, E. Your hard work is appreciated! ♥️
👍
I was going to upgrade my Polk R100 to the Elac Carina but after hearing this demo I actually prefer the sound of the Polks. Thanks for this awesome comparison.
I go with the Polks on this one.... they sound good.
Polk has a bit recessed presence region and elevated highs on-axis, but off-axis response has on the contrary presence boost and recessed highs. It's colored differently from different angles, so equalization may be difficult. Elac may have a bit "spiky" response, but directivity error is smaller, so there is a higher chance of a satisfactory equalization.
I think the Elac’s are less fatiguing in the higher frequencies. Both sound good.
I prefer the Elacs. Both very good. To my ears the Elacs handle nuance and delicacy slightly better.
Good example of different shade of flat response. Their measurements can both be found somewhere, and I don't think people can say which is flatter. For music presentation I'll choose Elac due to it has the hifi traditional warmer mid tonality like B&W in the tune "seasons". But considering the price, people may find the warmer mid not worthy enough.
JA's measurements of the Carinas from Stereophile's review of them are some of the best I've ever seen from any speaker at any price, equal to the LS50 Meta, which are also exemplary
'A different shade of flat response'.
I like that expression, well said 👍
@@34332 Static measurements (with a generator sweeping up or down, but only playing a sine wave at a single frequency at any given time) don't tell the whole story, otherwise all speakers that measure the same would sound the same, which clearly isn't the case. Music, on the other hand is very dynamic, playing many different fequencies, both fundementals and harmonics, and at all different levels, all at the same time. There's not really any way to measure that, although computer aided 3D measurements of a driver's movements in real time, tells designers a lot about non-linearites in the movement of the driver, which is one reason that speakers at all prices are getting better all the time, and why you see things like those ribs on the R200s woofer cone, to better control the driver's movement
@@DougMen1
Thats true. This remindse of a review (I believe the KLF5, but not sure), where they mentioned it was a 'fun' speaker, boosted bass, etc. Turns out it measured completely flat in an anechoic chamber. 😄
Measurement prob. give a rough estimate on what to expect, but like you said, it isn't the whole story. Learning a lot these days 😉
POLK sounds warmer than ELAC, ELAC sounds sharper. That reflects that ELAC gives a more balanced and accurate sound than POLK. POLK produces more harmonics, so when it sounds more musical, most people like POLK when listening to it, but I prefer ELAC to listen to it for a long time and won't get bored
The ELAC sounds recessed in the mids, but it has better separation of the drums from the rest of the music. I wonder if the same effect can be achieved through EQ-ing the R200?
There's some info on ASR, where they EQ'd the R200. They do have a slight bump around lower mids, so perhaps It's possible to adjust. Another factor is how fast the bass is (and weight). Usually, in this pricerange, it's a tradeoff of some sort. Prob. the Elacs are more focussed on definition in the lower parts.
I can only vow for the R200's, as I own them, but Polk did find a nice balance here (imo) re. speed and weight.
These speakers are and sounds like two beautiful women of different cultures,i will go with Polk
On my favorite songs Like Pull me closer, punked they are really close. The Elacs are starting to break in now ? Still the Polks are my choice. Probably because I have a pair of them?
Both perfect flat response, but the R200 more dynamic sounded - the sound is bite :)
Elac is more comfortable to listen. 👍
I'm still rather disappointed in the Carinas here. They sound veiled compared to the R200, just as they did compared to the R3. What puzzles me is that they don't sound that way to me in other UA-cam videos
There's an impressive demo on 'dong fong audio' (what's in a name 😄), are you referring to that one? I feel the Elacs are very smooth. It's sometimes hard to judge when directly compared to a leaner or brighter speaker (at least for me). I would say the Elac has probably the flattest response, being on the softer side of neutral. I usually don't like AMT's that much, because often they sound 'etheric' or thin, but I liked this one. However, a little bite doesn't hurt, that's what's perhaps on offer with the R200's (and R3).
@@34332 I've seen a few other UA-cam videos with them where they sound clearer than they do here. Probably the best AMT I've heard yet is MA's one on their Gold 100 and 200, at least from the UA-cam videos I've heard, but the Elacs and EVO ones sound good too, as do Dali and Quad ribbons
@@DougMen1
Also check out dong fong audio, see (hear) what I mean. Not veiled in any way.
@@34332 I just listened to them there, and on the female vocal track driven by the BAT tube amp, they sounded a lot punchier, more open, more balanced, and clearer there> really a lot more impressive than they sound like here
@@34332 OMG! Listen to the 3 videos there of the Cello Duet 350 + Encore preamp. They're driving a pair of giant KEF 3 way floorstanders. They're probably the best sounding speakers on that whole channel
I was really expecting to llke these Elacs more than I do. They have most of the definition, dynamics and sparkle that "audiophile" speakers are supposed to nowadays, and like many of those they can't get out of the own way and just take you to the music. They aren't horribly balanced, (like certain B&Ws there's no excuse for) but there is a depression in the heart of their midrange that robs them of naturalness, and a slight clinical quality to them that makes soft textural details sound hard.
The R200 is not a perfect speaker but most of those things are not a problem with them, athough by comparison to the Carina they come across more like a classic hifi speaker, as in clear sounding but not overly defined, with weighty bass that has just a hint of thump, etc...to me they're more organic and less fatiguing, and lay down the music without sounding like they're trying to show off.
The in-room measurements at Hi-Fi Voice shows a dip of about 2-3db right in the presence region, from about 2-5khz, which may be why they sound like that to you, and veiled to me. I think a lot of what I perceive as sparkle and brightness is in that region, not higher in frequency. Although, those same measurements show the tweeter quickly falling off above 8khz, much lower than most good tweeters. Strangely, JA's measurements don't show that
I just wanted to reply how different we percieve the Elacs, and less the R200's.
Like DM said in another comment, there are some really good demo's of the Elac, where they sound different. I strongly feel an AMT often gives this type of sound, detailed, but sometimes clinical. You hear the 'ping' but don't feel it as much. This can also be caused by the amp, I wouldn't rule that out for now.
@@DougMen1 I figured that presence dip I keep hearing had to show up in their charts somewhere, although I've learned it's not always simple and obvious as I expect it to be. Even though they have given me the impression they have more upper treble, when I listen closely to that region alone,I realize they dont. There is a different balance and a harder texture to their treble..a sharpness I would say that draws my attention to it. I thought AMT tweeters were supposed to be more effortless sounding, not less. And honestly the Polks concentric ring tweeter is not even as subtle sounding as the best silk domes, but Elac's JET tweeters sound sharper and harder to me.
Measurements in the upper high frequencys often show up more different
than other parts of the spectrum on different graphs. Use a different mic or position it two centemeters differently and that can do it. I would say they dont have extra output above 8000hz, but maybe a spike below that, before it drops down. I get sick of using the term, but, it's harder textural charictor emphasises the treble unnaturaly.
I think the Carinas treble is more harsh than the Q350's aluminum dome...but less than the 607's nasty titanium one.
😆
@@34332 I saw that. Perception is in the ear of the beholder. 🙂
Carina is wider