Forget the dross about a rose by any other name because Elac knew exactly what it wanted to signify with the label, Adante.

Defer to the Urban Dictionary and Adante defines a person who thinks they are better than everyone and anyone, at everything.

That’s the positive connotation and one implying Elac believes the Adante speakers are clearly very special.

With Andrew Jones enlisted by Elac to design this range, the models were bound to stand out from the crowd.

Jones did work with KEF as a researcher and engineer before designing for high-end speaker brand, TAD. He’s now found his permanent home at Elac.

Jones’ work at KEF gave him access to a who’s who of speaker designers and this included Peter Walker of Quad, Richard Small, Neville Thiele and KEF’s Technical Director, Laurie Fincham.

This CV ensures the Adante speakers will be a cause for celebration when they arrive in Australia. Local distributor, Synergy Audio Video, has yet to confirm an arrival date, but says it will be sooner rather than later this year.

Our sources have told us that despite many production delays, the finished product will start rolling off the production line this month.

The Adante series comprises three models: the $3100 AS-61 standmount, $2400 AC-61 centre speaker and the $6000 AF-61 floorstander.

However, these prices were floating around the Las Vegas CES in early 2017 where Elac took the covers off the prototype Adante range and may not translate here in Australia dollar for dollar.

Visitors to this show reported that the Adante’s finish represents a fresh departure for Elac and reflects the work Jones did for Technical Audio Devices Laboratories that resulted in the Compact Evolution 1 speaker.

The finish as shown in Las Vegas featured a brushed aluminium faceplate with aluminium drivers and a gloss black cabinet. The Adante series will also be available in gloss white or walnut.

The models at the CES had no ports. Jones says he borrowed ideas from KEF and this shows in the Adante’s concentric/midrange tweeter.

But the novel woofer design is Jones’ and involves putting a traditional 6-inch driver inside a ported box that is then installed inside a closed speaker cabinet.

This arrangement is then used to drive an 8-inch passive driver on the outside of the cabinet. The design promises a smoother sound with deeper bass and greater efficiency.

The Adante models use a 5-inch coaxial driver unit incorporating a 1-inch silk dome tweeter. The mid/bass woofer’s membrane is made of black anodised aluminium.

Elac says the Adante speakers hide mechanical elements such as bolts and that the baffles and high gloss cabinets blend to create a seamless aesthetic.

With Andrew Jones at the helm of Elac’s design we have no doubt that the Adante range will be both outstanding and well received.

For more information visit the Elac brand page.