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Elac upgrades Uni-Fi Reference speakers with better bass and compatibility

Elac's Uni-Fi Reference speaker is taking on the hi-fi establishment by offering better specs but a similar price to Bowers and Wilkins 600 series.

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Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
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Elac

Less than 12 months after debuting the Uni-Fi 2.0, Elac has announced a new Uni-Fi Reference speaker that incorporates performance and cosmetic upgrades. It's also more expensive.

Like the Uni-Fi 2.0, this is a three-way design with a bass driver and a concentric mid driver and tweeter. As well as resembling the Debut Reference the new Uni-Fi also includes a 6.5-inch (aluminum) bass driver. 

The Uni-Fi Reference series offers "significant performance improvements such as cast chassis for both the concentric and bass drivers, newly developed bass and concentric drivers, enhanced bracing, improved crossover design, along with luxury cosmetics," said James Krodel, senior vice president of sales for ELAC.

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The Elac UBR62 retails for $1000 per pair.

 Elac

Like the Uni-Fi 2.0, the Reference offers better compatibility with AV receivers, improved internal bracing and has "better low- frequency response [than] any previous Uni-Fi bookshelf speaker," the company says.

The range consists of three models: 

  • UBR62-BK/W Uni-Fi Reference 6.5-inch, 3-way concentric bookshelf speaker: $1,000 per pair
  • UCR52-BK/W Uni-Fi Reference 5.25-inch, 3-way concentric center speaker: $600
  • UFR52-BK/W Uni-Fi Reference 5.25-inch 3-way concentric floor standing speaker $2,000 per pair

The $999 Uni-Fi UBR62 is the most intriguing of the three designs and looks like it could give the $900 Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Series Anniversary Edition a run for its money. Elac's speakers have impressed CNET's reviewers for years and its Debut 2.0 B6.2 is one of the best budget speakers you can buy.

The Uni-Fi Reference series will be available in late June.

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