ELAC Uni-Fi Reference UFR52 Floorstanding Speaker - Each

ELAC's Concentric Driver, Now in a Three-Way Tower

The ELAC Uni-Fi Reference UFR52 is a 3-way floorstanding speaker built around a concentric driver: a 1-inch soft dome tweeter mounted inside a 4-inch aluminum-cone midrange, over three 5.25-inch aluminum-cone woofers. It is sold each, so a stereo pair is two.

The cabinet stands 39.18 inches tall and 7.28 inches wide, and each speaker weighs 52.36 pounds. Sensitivity is 86 dB into a nominal 6 ohms, and ELAC rates maximum power input at 140 watts.

Crossover points sit at 220 Hz and 1.8 kHz, isolating the concentric driver from the three woofers below it. A dual flared slot port and a 5-way bi-wire terminal round out a cabinet built from CARB2-rated MDF.

Where the Concentric Driver Earns Its Keep

One Point Source for Tweeter and Midrange

Mounting the tweeter inside the midrange cone lets both drivers fire from a single point in space, rather than two separate locations on the baffle. ELAC's cast chassis, a larger midrange voice coil, and a neodymium magnet all carry over from the concentric design used across the Uni-Fi Reference line.

Three 5.25-inch aluminum-cone woofers below the concentric driver share the bass load, crossing over at 220 Hz so the concentric driver only handles midrange and treble duties, not low frequencies at all.

The Numbers, and What They Ask of Your Amplifier

ELAC quotes a frequency range of 40 Hz to 35 kHz, and rates maximum power input at 140 watts. Nominal impedance is 6 ohms, a comfortable load for most receivers and integrated amplifiers.

A dual flared slot port vents the three woofers without the turbulence noise a simple round port can add at higher volumes. The 5-way bi-wire terminal accepts banana plugs, spades, or bare wire for a normal hookup.

What Reviewers Are Saying

In an early look at the line, Audioholics's Jacob Green wrote that "the Uni-Fi Reference may represent the sweet spot in Elac's lineup for many style-conscious audio enthusiasts," sounding and looking substantially better than an entry-level speaker.

Green added that the cosmetic upgrades alone make the Uni-Fi Reference line "worth the extra dough" over ELAC's less expensive Uni-Fi 2.0 series, without pricing it beyond a normal budget.

Green's one reservation was aesthetic rather than sonic: he felt the Uni-Fi Reference cabinets don't look dramatically more refined than ELAC's cheaper Debut Reference speakers, a trade-off worth knowing if cabinet styling matters to you.

Who Is This Floorstanding Speaker Best For?

• You want a true point-source tweeter and midrange — a concentric driver design that fires both from a single location on the baffle
• You want three woofers' worth of bass in a tower this size — a dual flared slot port keeps output clean at higher volumes
• Your amplifier or receiver is a standard 6-ohm-friendly design — 86 dB sensitivity and a 140-watt rating suit most receivers and integrated amplifiers
• You want one speaker per cabinet, priced and shipped that way — the UFR52 is sold each, so order two for a stereo pair
• You want cinema-depth bass from the towers alone — the UFR52 is rated to 40 Hz, which covers most music comfortably. For the deepest home-theater effects, add one of our subwoofers and let the towers do what they do best

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Position the pair away from side walls to let the concentric driver's dispersion work as intended. Each cabinet has a 5-way bi-wire terminal, linked by jumpers for a normal single-wire hookup, or split apart to bi-wire.

Give the drivers time to settle; a stiff aluminum cone can take some hours of playback before it loosens up fully.

Two cables, two speakers, and you are listening.

Pairs Well With

What finishes the system around a pair of UFR52:

• Integrated amplifiers — a 140-watt, 6-ohm-friendly speaker suits most quality integrated amplifiers
• Stereo amplifiers — a separate power amp if you want more headroom than a receiver provides
• Speaker cables — matched lengths, since this model supports bi-wiring
• Speaker isolation feet — a stable base for a speaker this tall on a wood or tile floor

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the price for one speaker or a pair?

One. The UFR52 is sold each, so order two for a stereo pair, or one to match an existing speaker.

What does 'concentric driver' mean?

The 1-inch tweeter is mounted inside the 4-inch midrange cone, so both fire from the same point in space rather than two separate spots on the baffle.

What amplifier do I need?

ELAC rates the UFR52 at 140 watts into 6 ohms, a comfortable load for most receivers and integrated amplifiers.

Can I bi-wire the UFR52?

Yes. Remove the jumpers between the two pairs of terminals and run a separate cable, or a separate amplifier channel, to each pair.

What finishes are available?

Oak and Walnut.

Is this the same driver as ELAC's Debut Reference line?

It's a different design: the Uni-Fi Reference concentric driver uses a larger midrange voice coil and a neodymium magnet not shared with ELAC's Debut Reference speakers.

See It in Action

Steve Guttenberg, the Audiophiliac, reviews the Uni-Fi Reference line:

cheapaudioman reviews the Uni-Fi Reference tower:

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