Review: Elipson Prestige Facet 8B and 24F at Radio Fair Louter – When I am asked by importer AVTUNES to listen to the Elipson Prestige Facet 8B and 24F at De Radiobeurs Louter in Dordrecht, the first thing that strikes me is the rich history that both have. Elipson started in 1938 and the grandfather of the current owner Peter Louter started the store in 1935…
First a little more about the store. Located in the center of Dordrecht, De Radiobeurs is a household name in the region. As mentioned, Peter Louter’s grandfather started the shop and over time it was taken over by Peter’s father. After working for fourteen years, Peter took over the baton in 2000. About five years ago, due to personal circumstances, Peter had to pull the plug. At first he continued as an outlet only to sell out the stocks and the parts division was sold. Meanwhile, the outlet character has said goodbye and Peter is on the road on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to deliver sold equipment and also does a lot of custom installations. “Around the table with the customer to go through a new or renovation plan and to integrate music or cinema into the plans is something I do more and more.” says Peter. In addition to projects, the store is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for anyone looking for good audio or home theater products. Furthermore, De Radiobeurs works together with a certified mechanic and the repairs offered are carried out in-house. Judging by the number of devices waiting their turn in the warehouse space behind the store, they are heavily used. Furthermore, De Radiobeurs works together with a certified mechanic and the repairs offered are carried out in-house. Judging by the number of devices waiting their turn in the warehouse space behind the store, they are heavily used. Furthermore, De Radiobeurs works together with a certified mechanic and the repairs offered are carried out in-house. Judging by the number of devices waiting their turn in the warehouse space behind the store, they are heavily used.
Before I take a seat at the set up by Peter and Elipson loudspeakers, we first take a look around the shop. Currently, the store consists of two large open spaces with equipment arranged in clusters. “The plan is to renovate one of the rooms so that we have a dedicated stereo listening room where customers can listen undisturbed,” says Peter. “We already have a special room for home theater,” says Peter, proudly showing me the cinema. Quickly back to the store because it is now time, the Netherlands is still suffering from a curfew at the time of this listening session, to listen to the Elipson speakers.
Elipson Prestige Facet 8B and 24F at Radio Fair Louter – Details
AVTUNES has delivered two different sets from the Prestige Facet series in Dordrecht. The Elipson Prestige Facet 8B stand mount and 24F floorstander. Elipson from France is mainly known for its spherical loudspeakers, but the Prestige Facet is more traditionally designed and above all very affordable. A set of Elipson Prestige Facet 8B is sold for Ä 649 and a pair of 24F Ä 1999. Judging by the appearance and finish, very reasonable amounts. Starting with the look, the speakers are available in matte black, matte white and walnut. The high-gloss baffle creates a nice contrast with the matte finish of the cabinet. Obviously only visible when the fabric fronts are not installed. These are clicked onto the baffle with magnets, so that no annoying holes can be seen when the speaker is used ‘naked’. Without a front it immediately becomes clear why the series is called Facet Prestige. The ring around the speaker units is in the form of a facet and gives the speakers a special appearance. Of course, Elipson is not only about appearance, but above all about good radiation of the units. The manufacturer does not provide much information about the units themselves. In any case, the same units are used throughout the line, which is a plus, for example for building a surround setup. The stand mount Prestige Facet Elipson Prestige Facet 8B features a 25 millimeter dome tweeter and a seventeen centimeter mid-low unit. The format is 207 x 340 x 326 millimeters without the standard supplied foot plate and 230 x 361 x 347 with plate. This can be placed as desired for extra stability. The speaker weighs 8 kilos without base plate and 9.3 kilos with. The specified frequency range is from 47 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 91 dB. At the rear is a hefty reflex port and a set of beautifully stylized bi-wire connections. These are connected with a nice piece of speaker cable instead of the usual copper strips. For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x This can be placed as desired for extra stability. The speaker weighs 8 kilos without base plate and 9.3 kilos with. The specified frequency range is from 47 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 91 dB. At the rear is a hefty reflex port and a set of beautifully stylized bi-wire connections. These are connected with a nice piece of speaker cable instead of the usual copper strips. For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x This can be placed as desired for extra stability. The speaker weighs 8 kilos without base plate and 9.3 kilos with. The specified frequency range is from 47 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 91 dB. At the rear is a hefty reflex port and a set of beautifully stylized bi-wire connections. These are connected with a nice piece of speaker cable instead of the usual copper strips. For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x The specified frequency range is from 47 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 91 dB. At the rear is a hefty reflex port and a set of beautifully stylized bi-wire connections. These are connected with a nice piece of speaker cable instead of the usual copper strips. For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x The specified frequency range is from 47 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 91 dB. At the rear is a hefty reflex port and a set of beautifully stylized bi-wire connections. These are connected with a nice piece of speaker cable instead of the usual copper strips. For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x For the Prestige 24F, two more woofers with a diameter of 21 centimeters are added and the reflex port moves from the rear to the front. As a result, the frequency range now runs from 28 Hz to 25 kHz and the efficiency is 93 dB. The 24F is a really big boy and measures 244 x
1100 x 360 mm without base plate and 274 x 1121 x 383 mm with. Each speaker puts 25 to 26.5 kg in the shell.
The set and the sound
To assess the Elipson speakers on their merits, Peter Louter has connected a set of excellent quality, but also very affordable. A Bluesound Node2i serves as the source and a Cambridge Audio CXA61 integrated amplifier is used for the amplification. Cabling is from QED. The music is available via streaming service Tidal. The set is set up in the middle of the store so that the speakers are completely free in the room, about two meters apart and slightly turned in. I’ll start with the floor standing Prestige Facet 24F to switch to the Elipson Prestige Facet 8B stand mount at a later date.
After first listening to some random music to get used to the set, speakers and space, I look for a number of tracks that I have listened to on various sets and different locations. Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel is available on Tidal in Master Audio quality and sounds excellent. The first thing you notice when listening to the 24F is the beautiful stereo image that is built up behind the speakers. The voices of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush are beautifully loose in the space and behind it you can clearly hear the cymbals. Towards the end of the track the voices remain very subtly audible, just like the small taps on the cymbals. Where necessary in the music, the low reproduction is powerful, detailed and beautifully balanced with the high reproduction. With two 21 centimeter woofers and a bass port, I expected that the bass reproduction might be a bit exaggerated. However, this is not the case at all. Of course the speakers are set up in a large open space, but even taking that into account, the balance is excellent.
Ghost Train by Marc Cohn is a track that relies heavily on the bass to create a specific atmosphere. No problem for this 24F. The bass reproduction is controlled and not overdone at all. Again there is the nice 3D stereo image where the different percussion instruments can be heard far in the back. Marc’s voice has its specific character, but given the size and number of units I would expect a little more body. Of course, the space is large and in practice the speaker will be placed in a smaller and more furnished environment. This will undoubtedly make the mids and lows more solid and full. The live album Road Tested by Bonnie Raitt is ideally suited to assess the ambiance and sound of various instruments. Angel From Montgomery is the last track of the album, a beautiful ballad with a beautiful accordion solo. The Elipson Prestige Facet 24F captures the specific sound of this instrument very well. You can hear the air flowing through the bellows and the fingers running over the buttons. The acoustic guitar with which the track opens is also beautiful in timbre and lifelike. The different instruments are all well positioned on the imaginary stage with a lot of air around it. In addition to the unmistakable voice of Bonnie at the center of the stereo image, the background singers are further back and all separate from each other. The acoustic guitar with which the track opens is also beautiful in timbre and lifelike. The different instruments are all well positioned on the imaginary stage with a lot of air around it. In addition to the unmistakable voice of Bonnie at the center of the stereo image, the background singers are further back and all separate from each other. The acoustic guitar with which the track opens is also beautiful in timbre and lifelike. The different instruments are all well positioned on the imaginary stage with a lot of air around it. In addition to the unmistakable voice of Bonnie at the center of the stereo image, the background singers are further back and all separate from each other.
No effort
A weird track by Daft Punk from the album Random Access Memories is Giorgio By Moroder. The master himself tells his story here with a solid bass line underneath. His voice is rock solid in the middle with the 24F, and even at a fairly realistic height to create the illusion that there is a human standing in front of you and not a miniature. The aforementioned bass line sounds tight, firm and not overpowering even with this music. The electronic sounds that have been processed in the mix shoot from left to right through the image and are clearly audible. Gravity by guitar virtuoso John Mayer is personally one of his most appealing songs. The live performance of the album Where the Light Is touches me time and again. The Elipson Prestige Facet 24F has no qualms about conveying the emotion imprisoned in the song. I listen to the music with fascination and put the Cambridge Audio CXA61 to work some more by giving the volume control a little more. At a somewhat higher volume things don’t close, only the cymbals sound less transparent and they are not all loose taps anymore. Given the price level of the complete set, nothing to be ashamed of. There is again that nice looseness and a lot of air around the instruments. John’s guitar is fierce but does not overshoot in sharpness or hardness. His voice has the nasal and hoarse character, just as it should be. John’s somewhat hoarse, nasal voice is no problem for the speakers, they know how to capture the character very well. Frozen by Madonna is laced with sub-layer. It is all the more surprising that the two twenty-one centimeter woofers that the 24F is equipped with reproduce the bass almost with restraint. This again indicates that this relatively large loudspeaker in a smaller room will probably cause few problems in terms of bass reproduction. There is that deep stereo image and the pleasant loose reproduction again. Since the smaller Elipson Prestige Facet 8B has yet to be listened to, I close the first part of the listening session with Time After Time by Eva Cassidy. Her voice sounds fragile and full of feeling. There is no sharpness or unpleasant harshness, which indicates that the tweeter used is of good quality with sufficient transparency to display details, but does not push the limits. Since the smaller Elipson Prestige Facet 8B has yet to be listened to, I close the first part of the listening session with Time After Time by Eva Cassidy. Her voice sounds fragile and full of feeling. There is no sharpness or unpleasant harshness, which indicates that the tweeter used is of good quality with sufficient transparency to display details, but does not push the limits. Since the smaller 8B has yet to be listened to, I close the first part of the listening session with Time After Time by Eva Cassidy. Her voice sounds fragile and full of feeling. There is no sharpness or unpleasant harshness, which indicates that the tweeter used is of good quality with sufficient transparency to display details, but does not push the limits.
Same character
Together with Peter I exchange the large 24F for the stand mount Elipson Prestige Facet 8B, a job that is quickly done so that I can continue in no time. It takes some getting used to, but I soon hear the family relationship between the two speakers. When I listen to Don’t Give Up again I hear the same transparency in the highs and there is the beautiful deep stereo image. Despite the large space, the bass reproduction is a bit more oppressive and less easy. Aided by a reflex port at the rear, the 8B has to make do with one seventeen centimeters mid-low unit where the 24F has two dedicated twenty-one centimeter woofers. With Ghost Train there is again that nice looseness between voices and instruments, the second voice is also easy to follow. While listening to the Facet 24, I had a view of a large stage on which Bonnie Raitt was playing with her band. With the 8B it is a bit more compact, but voices and instruments have the same character as with the big brother. At most there is a bit less body. When listening to the Daft Punk track, the 8B has a bit more ‘oemph’ in the low end. Perhaps a bit turned on, but certainly not unpleasant in the large space of the Radio Fair. Giorgio’s voice is still reproduced realistically and is loose in space. John Mayer’s Gravity holds up well, only slightly less body on the voice but that makes perfect sense given the smaller number of units and shrunk cabinet size compared to the 24F. The speakers disappear completely from the room when listening to Madonna’s Frozen. Fortunately, the 8B does not attempt to artificially reproduce the sublayer in the track, but the bass that is audible is tight and well defined. The Eva Cassidy track has that nice spatial representation that I heard earlier with the large 24F. The guitar is beautifully realistic and nuanced. Only Eva’s voice shows a slightly increased S and T sound at a slightly higher volume.
Final verdict of Elipson Prestige Facet 8B and 24F at Radio Fair Louter
The Prestige Facet series from the illustrious French brand Elipson shows that it is not necessarily necessary to use special cabinet shapes to create a beautiful sounding speaker. The fact that the speakers are also very affordable makes the overall picture even more beautiful. With the fronts in place, the speaker looks sleek but a little plain. Without a front, he turns out to be an eye catcher. The Elipson Prestige Facet 8B will feel at home in a somewhat smaller space, but keep in mind the bass port at the rear in terms of placement, and reserve some extra budget for a suitable stand. The Prestige Facet 24F far exceeded my expectations, the two large woofers made me fear exaggerated and too powerful lows. However, the reproduction is particularly balanced and in the large space of De Radiobeurs Louter sometimes even on the slim side. In a normal listening room or living room, the 24F will probably come into its own even better. If you have the budget and space, then definitely take this 24F into consideration, you can buy a lot of speakers for relatively little money. Très bien Elipson!
Price:
Elipson Prestige Facet 8B € 649
Elipson Prestige Facet 24F € 1,999
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