Utopias are 3x in the 6k can$…i guess they are awesome. I will compare both Clear MG and Stellia. For 2x the price i hope the Stellia twice as good.
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Awesome! 
. Thanks for sharing!
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I have the B&W 702S3 which is a 3 way tower and was just introduced earlier this year. I listened to these and several others at my dealer, but these were the best. I also have a B&W powered subwoofer hanging off the Atom HE preamp output, but it is set for the lowest registers only as the 702S3 already has a good range. A CD player and TV is also connected to the Atom HE; it’s a very hard working piece of kit!
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Wow! Its too powerful for my needs. Just sold the big system. Retiring in one year and selling the house to move in a condo. So i gotta be polite! 
. TV and Apple TV4k were connected to the system, are now plugged into a Samsung 990B soundbar kit. For movies and gaming its perfect.
NtraXMartin, cool set up.
Excuse the thread drift, but what are the acrylic things on top of your Emit 10 loudspeakers? I’m just curious.
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Those are acrylic weights. Custom made them. Thank you btw.
The US branch of Elac is very active, so I assume you should be able to get hold of a pair for a demo in Canada as well. Yes, you are right: I use the Atom HE as preamp and streamer, passing the sound through the Classé into the Elacs. Works excellent. Before that I had the speakers directly connected to the Atom HE which sounded really good to my ears. The great thing about the Elacs (an Andrew Jones design) is their PRaT, refined sound and good soundstage. I had the Pioneer S-1EX speakers before (from the same designer) and I love the TAD sound. If that is your cup of tea, I would really audition the Elacs.
The great thing about combining the Elacs with the Atom HE for me was that the HE has both XLR and RCA outputs. I connected my speakers to the XLR output and the subwoofer (I now have two) to the RCA outputs. That way you build a simple high quality music system that you can easily adapt to your room (make sure to buy a subwoofer that has DSP to correct for your room characteristics) as both the speakers and subwoofers are powered and the Atom HE is the one device that acts as both preamp and streamer.
Kind regards,
Richard
Thanks Richard! Do you really need the sub? Are the Elac not enough for bass? Bestbuy as them online, Amazon also. I hope Bestbuy as them at one of there store on the floor.
I am Richard too
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Hi Namesake!
The subs add two main things to the sound:
- They open up the soundstage, like they add a sound carpet to the room, it’s hard to describe
- They add sound between 10hz and 40hz in my case in my room
I have added a frequency plot below from a measurement I did last Friday. There are 3 EQ bands setup per subwoofer and no EQ for the speakers, except that I raised the high frequencies by 1db on the Elacs with the switch on the back. The crossover is done by the Classé and is set at 100hz with a 12dB slope.
What I forgot to mention in my previous post is that the Elacs are an all analogue design, with no DSP, but the possibility to adjust the volume for low, mid and high frequencies to adjust to your room. See below.
Kind regards,
Richard
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I really like the fact that there is no DSP. The Naim proccesor do it. I have a sub with my Samsung 990B soundbar and it does an incredible job for sure cinema wise. I do think it would be great with music also. I will a to isolate my sub from the floor eventually. I will see how everything takes place next year. For now i search and learn. Thank you very much!
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Nice job. Router? CNC? I like how you bevelled the front edges to match the Dyn baffle.
Not an issue for desktop speakers, but this would be a nice way to protect flat-topped floorstanders from evil guests that think speaker tops are convenient mini tables for drinks, etc.
Did you put a layer of felt or anything on the underside?
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Yes…laser cut it…normal tools ain’t gonna get the beveled.
Floor stander need more weight than table top.
There’s not felt beneath because since i want to see the whole wood veneer, Is a glass finished acrylic so not appealing to put anything bottom.
Thank you btw
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Very nice.
Got you regarding the felt. I suppose that an alternative would be 3 or 4 thin, clear vinyl adhesive footers. Or any other non-staining, soft, thin feet. In fact, glass table-top anti-slip bumpers would be perfect.
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My audio technica are closed back. I don’t know if open back are an issue when you are listening with people around? If they bleed music, or if you are not isolated from exterior sound, like tv, it could be a problem…
The glass table top feet’s should do it too…
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The Stellia takes a long time to burn in and in my opinion compares very favourably to the Utopia (I have both). It is, I think, much better than the Clear Mg. It’s obviously a closed back but this helps its particular strengths: articulate instrumental texture and well controlled bass.
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I loved my Grados - RS1 and GS1000. Tried the GS3000 with the Atom HE and much preferred the Utopia - in a different class.
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I had an extended demo with the hd820. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it but the bass just wasn’t right, not worth the asking price in my opinion and I returned them - the dealer offered me a considerable discount but even at a cheaper price they were not a headphone I could live with.
I do have a pair of Sony XM5’s that are closed back and they were more enjoyable than the hd820’s….but when I do use headphones a little sound leakage is not an issue so I also have some open backs which I prefer.
Gary
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My hifi seller as the Elac brand in store so i hope they have the ARB-51. Is your sub an Elac too? The Elac would be a great add to the Atom HE. Project takes form. I will have to listen to the close back headphones they have in stock also…Celestee and Stellia. They also have Grado which are all open, and Sennheiser.
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Utopias are too expensive. I can have both powered speakers and good headphones for that price…
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