Elac’s new series 400 has been available at the dealers since october 2012. It closes the gap between the series 500 with Jet coax chassis and the bestselling series 200. Looking at the loudspeaker range from Kiel, one can splendidly start a controversy if such a broad diversification like Elac’s is really necessary. There are indeed arguments in favour of it: Each development of or merely tiny improvement on chassis, crossovers and cabinet designs requires a new classification. And in the case of the series 400, they’ve even redone everything.

The creative machinery at Elac’s never stands still. From the JET tweeter to the crystal cone of the low/midrange chassis everything was put to the test. And the technicians did indeed find room for improvement. JET stands for a tweeter design which Elac has perfected. Based on the principle of the legendary »air motion transformer« by Dr. Oskar Heil, Elac has constantly refined this design over the years. Its sound is markedly different from that of the otherwise ued dome tweeters.

Innovation in series

The folded foil diaphragm with is lamellar construction is driven by an extremely strong magnet system of neodymium rods. Contrary to diaphragms that move like a piston and merely compress the air, this diaphragm which is folded like an accordeon squeezes the air out of its foldings. In addition the diaphragm surface of the JET tweeter is about ten times larger than in a conventional 25 millimetre dome tweeter.