A benchmark to celebrate 90 years of ELAC achievement. One look tells you this is no ordinary loudspeaker; at more than 5½–ft tall and weighing more than 300 lbs, Concentro commands attention. Its elliptical cabinet is crafted to the finest furniture-grade perfection and finished in high-gloss white or black epoxy, or to specification in any color in between. The Concentro cannot be mistaken for any other speaker, with a complex base machined from a single block of aluminum and weighing more than 55 pounds. Integral oval side panels of precious wood, carbon fiber or leather surround a pair of side-firing 250mm woofers on either side of the enclosure. These newly-developed units feature smooth, stiff aluminum-sandwich diaphragms, and fire in a push-push/pull-pull configuration that delivers maximum energy and accuracy, down to the lowest octave. The back of the cabinet features twin ports for the bass drivers. The sophisticated front baffle features curves that allow optimum propagation and dispersion of sound waves from the two drivers. On top is a dual-concentric 127mm midrange with JET-5 tweeter at its acoustic center. Beneath this is a front-firing 177mm crystal membrane mid-woofer. The whole results in a near point-source presentation of the sound source, micro-accuracy and flawless, pinpoint imaging. Meanwhile, dynamic range is nearly unlimited, from the most nuanced detail to the most powerful crescendo. Sophisticated aluminum woofers: Through the use of aluminum, resonances that affect the linearity of common paper cones can be placed beyond the driver’s operating frequency range. The motor structure features a large 3-inch diameter voice coil with oversized magnet and a vented pole piece to increase power handling, for accurate reproduction of bass frequencies that are clean, clear and powerful. Crystal membrane midrange and mid-bass drivers: The eye-catching surface of the crystal membrane is more than just an attractive design feature. The midrange/woofers of the Concentro employs the Crystal Membrane (patent pending) and the design is based on ELAC’s Aluminum-Sandwich AS Technology. The crystal-shaped inverse aluminum dome is joined to the paper cone in a special gluing process to result in the desired sandwich construction. Resembling the surface of a large crystal, the aluminum-foil stamping stiffens the aluminum dome, diminishing resonances and minimizing coloration, while improving power handling and dynamics. JET 5 tweeter: Delivering true high-definition sound, ELAC’s JET 5 tweeter enthralls with its lightning-fast response and wide dynamic range, offering minimal distortion, lots of headroom and a distinctly wider frequency range than conventional dome tweeters. The ELAC JET tweeter is one of the most legendary tweeters in the industry and has won international praise with its transparent and effortless sound image. The JET tweeter was developed to perfection on the basis of the famous Air Motion Transformer by loudspeaker pioneer Dr. Oskar Heil. Its operating principle is based on a concertinaed-foil membrane, driven by a strong neodymium magnet. This motor drives the air considerably faster than that of a conventional driver, with gains in higher sensitivity and extraordinary dynamics. Due to many additional design changes, like an improved new neodymium magnet system, even higher efficiency, higher sound pressure levels and frequency response up to 50 kHz was achieved. The core of the JET tweeter is the folded foil membrane. With a fold width of only 0.84 mm, a major requirement in the JET production is precision. To guarantee repeated accuracy and unchanging quality even with high production capacity, gluing and handling are now executed by two SCARA robots. The folding and fixing of the membrane, however, are executed by hand, since for production steps requiring extreme precision, the manual dexterity of skilled technicians is irreplaceable. Due to continuous improvement, the JET 5 tweeter creates an effortless, airy and resonance-free image up to 50,000 Hz, and with its linear frequency response is ideally suited for the reproduction of hi-res formats. Complex cabinet structure: The sophisticated cabinet of Concentro eliminates standing waves and resonances, not just through its sheer mass and the dense MDF material from which it is made, but because no parallel surfaces exist to excite such distortion. Additionally, midrange/tweeter, mid-bass and bass drivers are separated acoustically from one another with internal baffles that isolate the individual transducers while also helping to strength the enclosure. Bi-wiring: Listeners seeking ultimate treble and bass frequency detail will appreciate two pairs of terminals that offer a convenient solution for bi-wiring or bi-amping the Concentro. These high-quality, gold-plated terminals are suitable for larger cable cross sections as well as for high-quality spade lugs. Unlike so many speakers with awkward terminal locations often feet from the floor, the quartet of posts is generously spaced and located on the flat portion of the Concentro base itself. Custom base: The base of the Concentro is a complex design machined from a single piece of aluminum that has a matt, clear-anodized -finish. Weighing more than 55 lbs, the base employs four adjustable, high-definition spikes for maximum stability and ideal coupling to hard or soft floor surfaces. Power handling: Anyone contemplating a pair of ELAC Concentro loudspeakers is likely to own power amplification commensurate with these state-of-the-art transducers. Even so, the Concentro presents a benign impedance load to most amplifiers, and has good sensitivity that allow it to reach impressive levels with even modestly powered amplifiers. However, high-current, amplifiers with output of at least 100 wpc are recommended to achieve realistic reproduction of uncompressed source material with wide dynamic range.
