Elac Carina BS243.4
No one thinks I have a good memory, but I can easily remember a few sentences from my March 2016 review1 of Elac’s Debut B6 loudspeaker. The sentence I remember best: “I might be able to forgive you for liking Paul more than John, George, or Ringo, but if you don’t grasp the genius of Mel Tormé, only God can save you.” I felt guilty for bringing God into the story, but I sincerely wanted everyone to experience the wonder of the Velvet Fog (Tormé) and to realize how good Mel could sound on a pair of $279.99/pair upstart speakers with audiophile pretensions.
And I can’t forget this one: “Impulsively, I jumped up and put my hands on their cabinets…. They were vibrating like sex toys!” I was not exaggerating.
When Elac’s new $1200 Carina BS243.4 loudspeakers arrived, I noticed how completely different they looked from the Debut B6s. No vibrating, cheap-vinyl-covered boxes here. The BS243.4s looked sleek, solid, curvy, and moderne, with chamfered front-side corners and a trapezoidal footprint.
Assorted room sounds and applause were well-described. Rhythm-keeping was better than first-rate.
The BS243.4’s expensive-looking matte-black finish looked like steel. Curious, I tapped the cabinet sides and top with a small flashlight. It sounded like MDF, but each side surface sounded different. I used the flashlight to peer inside and measure the plastic bottom-firing port (6" × 1.75"). This bottom port is able to work because the front of the BS243.4’s cabinet is attached to a strong hard-plastic base, making it look like a normal rectangular speaker from the front. However, in the side elevation, the cabinet rises upward front
