ELACEA Series Integrated Amplifier, Silver (EA101EQ-G)

Great product. Exactly as described. Just the right amount of inputs between digital and analog in order to hook up multiple sources that you may require. I have steered more into putting together most of my set ups primarily for music stereo. But I also love my subs. The elac app for setting up the auto blend and auto eq to blend the speakers and sub is pretty spot on. Definitely improves the overall sound quality especially depending on your listening space. The auto blend and EQ don't seem to change how the speakers sound as other auto calibrate features tend to do meaning the speaker still sounds as they were intended and don't seem to be forcing anything. The power output is really impressive on this thing considering the size. My speakers are currently 4ohms which allows the amp to push the 85 watts reported. And it sounds like it! You could crank this thing without distortion and or real noticeable drop off. Very consistent output to the ear. But the music sounds just as balanced and clear at lower volumes also. You don't really seem to miss out on anything. The Dolby digital decoding actually sounds really quite good even through stereo. You still hear a lot of detail and separation even when watching a movie with a lot of noise and soundtrack that is meant to be mixed amongst multiple channels. The sub helps. Overall this is a great integrated amplifier that elac has put out. There are a lot of options out there in the way of integrated amps but for the money and the technology that is comes with this you really can't beat it at the price that is offered.

A lot of the other reviews cover the sound, inputs, power, etc, and it does all that really well. The minimalist style is awesome and was a major consideration for my purchase.However, there are some negatives. I've found the software a little buggy, and the buttons on the device itself just don't work very well. I find myself pushing the power button over and over again before it comes on sometimes, which is just kind of annoying. I used to leave it on all the time, but found it doesn't always shut off automatically as it is supposed to, and one of my input names has now burned into the display, which is also annoying and makes it hard to read. Speaking of that display, it is borderline useless, because it's too small to see unless you have pinpoint vision or are basically on top of it. Couple that with the burn-in, and it's pretty rough. This is too bad, because I have this thing hooked up to the main stereo in my home, with TV, turntable, computer, etc, all hooked up to it, and it isn't as good as this as I'd hoped. The display and remote were major considerations for me, since a lot of this model's competitors are in fact even worse in these regards. But alas.So, 5 stars for sounds, input, and size (love this powerful of an amp in a size that fits in small spaces). 3 stars for the price (a little high IMO). 2 stars for being less than user friendly. Ultimately I would not make this purchase again, despite the positives. I could achieve a similar setup for half the price.

I was surprised to the moment I took delivery of the item. The amp is very light (weight). Not that this is a sign of quality or capability, certainly that is not a measure of quality, but it was another point in the overall poor quality of the device.Build and features:* Like I said, it is very light weight and feels a little "cheap" for the price paid. Not necessarily a negative, but something that surprised me (I will admit to liking a little heft)* The rubber top, based on others' perspective, seems to be divisive. Some people like it, others don't. I don't. Again, it added to my impression of a cheaper, low quality product. I can see where there might be some functional benefit, but to be honest, I found no benefit in it. In addition, it picked up dust and debris rather quickly and the material made it hard to remove without a lightly damp cloth* The volume pot felt flimsy and I noticed a slight delay in turning the dial and the intended result.* The build/design also seems to be a little bit divisive as well, I actually found the design to be rather striking and liked it (on of the reasons I bought it actually), the materials of the amp chassis feel solid and well thought out.* The screen is great for near field viewing, impossible from further (like feet) away. I know there is added cost with a larger screen, but I would have appreciated a little more information on the screen that is there all the time, instead it just provided input and the adjusted volume level* The bluetooth implementation was rather good. I was able to control the basic functions of the amp (from volume to EQ to input), but the advertised auto EQ and Blending features no longer work with my iPhone 11 and the app has not been updated by Elac or its vendor in 3+ years. From this I fear that there will no longer be any support for this device (I also believe it has been officially discontinued, but still supported)Sound:* I was impressed by the very impressive and wide soundstage the amp provided. From about 6-10 feet away I found that I was hearing and "seeing" sounds from live recordings as well as movies that were impossibly wide. Impressive. Dialogue was clear and volume was even.* The sound quality is rubbish. Though the imaging and soundstage are impressive, the rest of the feature set provide diminishing returns on the quality and enjoyment of the listening experience. The music was flat and joyless, there were no dynamics to more "emotional" or at least excited passages in my music from opera, classical, and jazz to pop, rock and alternative. It was all delivered in the same way. Flat, featureless and joyless. Like a bureaucrat from the film "Brazil" or Orwell's "1984"* I found that turning off the auto EQ and the auto Blend made a remarkable improvement in the sound quality. There was a little more reach into the bass and much more excitement in the higher end. It was like a completely different amplifier. One whose features I had to disable to get. And, when gotten, I felt as though an amp for a quarter of the price could have matched it (think of the NAD 316 BEE for less, or the Sprout100 for a little more, both outperform this amp...in fact, they run circles around it. I am sure there are others too)* For movie viewing the amp did well, but besides that. Woof, what a missYou might look for something else, you might like the BASH amp module. No doubt there is sophistication in this amp, and you can see that; Elac doesn't do anything half-way. But from a sonics perspective, I think the overthought the build and neglected the impact to sound (which I find hard to believe, it's just want I hear).For those of you here that loved it, that's great! I am truly happy for you (no sarcasm here), it just wasn't for me. Not at all.

So I might be used to a more neutral sound but I did find it to be a little warm and wooly sounding though free of noise, hiss..etc. So it was a quality sound I'm sure in the sense of low distortion and noise floor but the upper bass felt a little lifted to give it fullness and top end felt rolled off to make it friendly.I would have kept it as I got it on sale but my unit had a slight channel imbalance, so it was pulling to the left a little where all my other amps had image that was properly center focused so had to return it.

Its very nice, but the remote control is not working