ELAC Elegant BS 305

In the 99 years of its existence, ELAC has been involved in the production of everything from electroacoustic devices for the maritime industries to sewing machines - but it’s as a loudspeaker brand that the company is best known and most celebrated. And it seems a fair bet the company must have something special up its sleeve to celebrate its centenary if it’s able to launch the three-strong ‘Elegant’ range of speakers without waiting for the fanfare opportunity a 100th birthday party offers.

In the case of this Elegant BS 305 standmounter, it’s actually more of a long-awaited re-launch - the original BS model launched three decades ago, and was affectionately known as ‘Little Wonder’. This new design sits in the centre of the revitalised ‘Elegant’ range - it’s compact (208 x 123 x 270mm, HxWxD), as befits the successor to a ‘Little Wonder’, and is unusual inasmuch as it uses aluminium for its cabinet construction rather than the far more common MDF or composite. This allows the walls of the cabinet to be very thin, and allows the face of the speaker to be virtually baffle-free - ELAC suggests this will contribute to an ‘open, airy’ sound.

That face is occupied almost entirely by a 25mm fabric dome tweeter sitting above a 115mm mid/bass driver. This larger driver is aluminium too, positioned ahead of an optimised magnet system and arranged in what ELAC refers to as an ‘aluminium sandwich’. Between them, and with contributions from the rear-firing bass reflex port, these drivers generate a claimed frequency response of 42Hz - 23kHz. Sensitivity of 86dB and a nominal impedance of 4 ohms suggest the Elegant BS 305 will be just slightly trickier to drive than your average £899 pair of standmount loudspeakers.

Sound quality

The ELAC Elegant BS 305, it seems reasonable to say, are not messing about. There’s a direct, completely positive character to their presentation that leaves you in no doubt as to what a recording’s attitude and intentions might be.

But although they’re quite forward in their perspective, these speakers are also capable of great subtlety and insight. They strike a balance between ‘insight’ and ‘attack’ that’s not easy to come by in a small-ish speaker at this sort of money. And in the majority of circumstances, their versatility and character make them very enjoyable company indeed.

Tonally, they’re quite carefully neutral - for some reason the use of all that metal in their construction primed me for a sound on the edgy, chilly side of naturalistic, but that’s not the case. They can introduce the heat to those recordings that require it, and they can be as austere as some music demands - the Elegant BS 305 are more than happy to get out of the way of the tone of a recording and allow it to express itself.

Frequency response is nice and even from top to bottom - that claim for extension all the way down to 42Hz might be optimistic (there are some large floorstanders with multiple drivers that can't manage to dig as deep as that), but the low frequencies the ELAC serve up are taut, rapid, and loaded with detail and variation. There’s light and shade to bass sounds here that isn’t always easy to come by when you’re spending this sort of money. The midrange is forward without being pushy and is, again, enhanced no end by the amount of detail these speakers reveal. And at the top of the frequency range, the BS 305 are forthright without being bolshy - and, of course, absolutely alive with detail both broad and fine. Their response to transient information, and their ability to give it convincing context and weighting, is straightforwardly impressive.

Control of the bottom end is convincing, and the knock-on effect is that the ELAC handle rhythms and tempos with confidence. They’re quite dynamic when push comes to shove (or even ‘really big shove’) and, even though they sound quite intense to start with, they’re able to track increases in intensity without any audible stress. Soundstaging is coherent, too, and for such relatively small speakers with such relatively small drivers the BS 305 are (as promised) open and airy. There’s plenty of space on the stage they create, even if the musicians on it are a) numerous or b) crowding together in the name of unity.

Really, the only note of caution is derived from one of the most singular characteristics of the ELAC: their direct and upfront nature. I’m a big believer in loudspeakers that can translate the energy and excitement of a recording as readily as these ELAC can - but given the ‘wrong’ material to work with, or if positioned on the end of the ‘wrong’ system of electronics, ‘energy’ can become ‘relentlessness’. It’s not that these speakers are incapable of subtlety, or gentleness - it’s just that they can, in the least favourable circumstances, sound a little impatient.   

Living with the ELAC Elegant BS 305

They’re pretty compact at a glance, the BS 305 - but that depth of 270mm, combined with a rear-firing bass reflex port, means that a moment’s care with positioning is in order. A speaker stand is your best option, of course, and specifically the ELAC LS 60 stand that’s been developed for this 'Elegant' range. 

And if you really want to go to town, ELAC will sell you its ‘arulastic base’ - this is an aluminium plate, inlaid with elastic rubber, that helps decouple the speaker from the stand. It can also be used as a decoupling support for the speaker if you decide to position it on a shelf or similar. 

Other than this, it’s really just a question of finish. The Elegant BS 305 is available in either shiny black or shiny white finishes - that aluminium looks a treat when it’s been buffed to a high shine. A variety of grilles are available as a cost option, too - choose from black, blue, red, yellow or white, with either black or white surrounds.

ELAC suggests an amplifier of between 50 and 150 watts should be sufficient to bring the best from these speakers. It’s worth bearing in mind the mildly unhelpful impedance and sensitivity ratings, though - not every 50-watt amp is going to be comfortable driving the BS 305. 

Conclusion

If you want a big, spacious and exciting sound from small and relatively unusual-looking loudspeakers, ELAC has you covered - and in some style. The Elegant BS 305 have plenty of sonic talents, a helping of visual drama (by the utterly pedestrian standards of the loudspeaker market), and don’t cost an arm and a leg. It’s really not difficult to recommend an audition, pronto - ‘Little Wonder’ really does seem fair enough in this instance.

Sample tracks‍

Dr Feelgood Milk and Alcohol
It may be a “black man rhythm with a white boy beat” but the BS 305 have no problem coping with this tune’s vaguely (but definitely) threatening attitude. The direct nature of their presentation suits it perfectly

‍Hookworms Negative Space
The rapid, stop/start nature of the heavily processed sounds here doesn’t present the ELAC with any kind of a challenge - they combine low-frequency impact and outstanding transient response to keep momentum levels high

‍Daniel Hope Avril 14th
Daniel Hope is the most forward-thinking of classic violinists, and Avril 14th is Aphex Twin’s most euphonious composition - for their part, the BS 305 let the strings abrade just as readily as they communicate the sweetness of the melody

You buy the ELAC Elegant BS 305 because you enjoy a vigorous-yet-insightful sound, because you’re a fan of their unusual dimensions and even more unusual choices where materials are concerned, and because you want a large and airy sound from a cabinet that isn’t going to dominate your space. And because you don’t listen to quiet, small-scale music all that often…

The Rega Brio 7 is an excellent choice of amplifier for the Elegant BS 305. It is ready to serve all the detail in a recording, it’s a balanced and tidily neutral listen, it’s very usefully specified, and it contributes to the ‘small box/big sound’ thing the ELAC have got going on.

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