ELIPSON MUSIC CENTRE CONNECT HD REVIEW

Linette Smith reviews what looks very much like a well-known brand of robotic carpet cleaner but is actually a ‘just add speakers’ one-box system that is anything but boxy.

The Elipson Music Centre Connect HD is very distinctive

AV INDUSTRY

Elipson is a French loudspeaker brand made in France by AV Industry, a consumer electronics and HiFi manufacturer and retailer who are responsible for five brands, Elipson, Norstone, Eltax, Tangent and Lumene. AV Industry has R&D centres based in France and Denmark, along with their own production facilities in France and manufacturing partners in Asia.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ELIPSON

Elipson has been in existence since 1938, known then as Multimoteur who specialised in miniature electronics and motors for toys. From 1940 the research carried out by Multimoteur gave birth to the BS50 Chambord loudspeaker model, a sphere with an elliptical reflector. The direction of the company was driven by Joseph Léon, who joined in 1946, soon after the company became known as Elipson, formed from the words ‘ellipse’ and ‘son’, the French for sound.

The focus of Joseph Léon’s research was to concentrate all the acoustic energy of the loudspeaker through the reflector, which gave Elipson loudspeakers a style that at the time had never been seen before, it was seen as highly futuristic and ultramodern. From then until today the signature shape of Elipson speakers is the sphere, with the modern speakers still retaining a futuristic design with a nod to their heritage and the designs of the past.

In 2008 Philippe Carré and his partner Eric James took over the direction of Elipson with the aim of reviving the avant-garde design and sound that had made the brand successful.

Today, Elipson has branched out and as well as loudspeakers they manufacture their own brand of electronics, turntables and connected/multiroom products, as well as the speakers, with the high-end lines still being made in France at the factory in Saint-Fargeau, Burgundy.

ELIPSON MUSIC CENTRE CONNECT HD BUILD AND FEATURES

The Elipson Music Centre Connect HD is the evolution of the brand’s previous model the Music Centre Connect and is part of the Elipson Connect range of products for streaming and multiroom. The major change with the HD model is the Wifi-RJ45 stream input for HiRes music playback, all the other specifications including BT, Line input and power remained as per the previous model.

The circular case is obviously a hat tip to the design history of the brand and its spherical speakers, but of course, there is a big similarity with the popular carpet cleaning robot Roomba, (other carpet cleaning robots are available). While the comparison is unavoidable, I am actually very drawn to the design, it is sleek, modern and unobtrusive and it is nice to see a bold design choice in going for something different to a boring box. It has a decent weight to it and feels like a well-built product.

Round the back of the Elipson Music Centre Connect HD

The distinctive circular case contains an integrated amplifier, DAB/FM Tuner, CD player, Bluetooth and now also WiFi for multi-room and network streaming. The amplifier module includes two 120W B&O Class-D amplifiers featuring ICE Power technology. Coupled to this is a range of digital and analogue connections, including twin RCAs, a mini-jack and optical input, as well as a pre-out connector to an optional second power amplifier, plus there’s an MP3/WMA USB and Ethernet connector. A separate subwoofer can also be connected to the sub-output which features an adjustable filter covering frequencies between 50 and 200 Hz. There is no HDMI connection which might put off those looking for a home hub with the TV connection flexibility of HDMI ARC as is becoming common on a lot of these kinds of all-in-one products.

Wireless inputs include aptX HD Bluetooth for playing high Res. music files up to 24-bit and WiFi for playing Hi-Res audio files in Solo mode or CD quality audio files in Multi-room mode.

Streaming platforms such as Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Internet Radio etc. are also available or you can stream from your stored music files. Operation is via the Elipson Connect App making the Music Centre Connect HD compatible with the other Elipson Connected products, the Planet W35 speaker, Connect Wi-Fi receiver and Connect streaming amp, all of which can be located in other rooms to create a full Elipson connected system.

The shipping packaging is practical and the logo-printed black fabric bag that the Music Centre is wrapped in inside the box is a nice premium touch.

NOT QUITE ROON READY…

The system is not Roon Ready so this is worth considering if you are a committed Roon user for your audio streaming. AV Industry does say however that they are “actively investigating Roon integration” as they see its value and potential, particularly in the UK, US and Canada, though there is currently no implementation date.

The remote is a nasty plastic thing, and bad remotes are a bugbear of ours. I know many people use their phone or tablet to interact with a machine like this, but if you are going to include a remote then make sure it matches up to the quality of the product. At nearly a grand in € I would expect something nicer, a missed design opportunity perhaps for a lovely, tactile circular remote to place proudly on the coffee table.

APP

The app is absolutely fine and is clear and easy to follow. I strongly suspect the NuPrime app and this app are based on the same architecture.

SET UP

Setting up the WiFi connection is a simple matter of downloading the free app and following the instructions. I had it playing tunes from my Qobuz account and from files stored on our Network in a matter of minutes. The most time-consuming part of this was inputting the password for our home network. I make the point later, but it would have been a useful feature to have been able to control the whole caboodle from the app rather than having to switch between app and remote.

DAB & FM RADIO

For FM radio you get a very basic aerial in the form of a bit of wire with a connector on one end – it works ok. We live in a valley and so picking up radio was always going to be an issue, but we did pick up a good signal from the local commercial station and it was absolutely fine for casual, doing the housework kind of listening. It’s unlikely that someone spending this kind of money on a unit like this is going to fork out for a dedicated (and expensive) rooftop/loft mounted aerial.

DAB was a non-starter where we live, but I’m sure it works fine and as described where DAB is available.

CD

There is a touch panel user interface is situated beneath the CD slot for hands-on operation but you can also control the CD player from the remote. All works well enough and there were no issues during playback at all.

The Elipson Music Centre Connect HD on the Solidsteel stand

ELIPSON MUSIC CENTRE CONNECT HD SOUND QUALITY

Overall the sound quality is very good given the cost of the Elipson and the number of features it has onboard. The recently tested NuPrime Omnia is a sonically superior unit with a more refined sonic character, whereas the Epsilon is a little more geared towards an exciting, though, perhaps, slightly less accurate sound. This is not inherently a bad thing given the audience for the Elipson and its “one box for everything” nature. I’d suggest that the Elipson is more geared towards an audience that listens in a less critical way, but still wants a good level of reproduction.

The ICE modules in the Elipson are a very good Class-D module but over time I have come to appreciate that, overall, I prefer the sound of the N-Core modules. However, we are splitting hairs here and the simple fact of the matter is that at less than a grand you are getting a very good sound quality. Whether you prefer the more refined sound of the NuPrime unit we recently tested or prefer this is going to be a matter of taste and whether you think it’s worth sacrificing a smidgen of sonic performance (refinement) for a more feature-rich, and cheaper, product.

QUIBBLES

Would have expected to see an HDMI ARC connection for flexibility.

Not Roon Ready.

Not gapless.

Cheap remote.

Would be good to be able to control all functions from the app.

The Elipson Music Centre Connect HD out of the box, the stickers are easily removable

CONCLUSION

For the money, this is an excellent product that hits its brief perfectly. It has loads of stuff on it that will make it pretty much all many people will ever need. No, it’s not the height of high-end sophistication sonically, but it is far from terrible, and I actually enjoyed its sound a fair old bit.

The Elipson is the equivalent of a 70/80s music centre, and I can see it being a big hit. Where it scores above the all in one units that are available with onboard speakers is that it simply sounds better than the vast majority I’ve heard and this is down to you being able to add your own speakers. Add a pair of sub £200 speakers (Q Acoustic, Fyne Audio, Dali and many more have suitable models) and Elipson does their own matching speakers and sub, though they are a bit more expensive.

You can input various devices to improve their sounds and I can see this being placed under or near televisions to act as a home entertainment hub for sound.

AT A GLANCE

Build and Features:

It looks a bit like one of those robotic vacuums but it’s also different looking which I like. If you don’t like the looks you can hide the Elipson on a shelf

There’s no escaping that this is a true music-centre for current times – just add speakers

Sound Quality:

More than acceptable, in fact it’s quite good

Tailor the sound to a good degree with the loudspeakers of your choice

Value For Money:

I think this is a very good price for such a well-featured product. It’s ideal for those looking for a good sounding product with a whole host of onboard features, though you do need to factor in the cost of decent speakers

We Loved:

The shape makes it distinctive, and it stands out from the crowd of more boxy one-box systems. Great way to keep popular features like a CD player and FM radio relevant in a modern unit.

Fantastic feature set

Good app

We Didn’t Love So Much:

Boring generic remote, too cheap for the unit, missed design opportunity

Sonically not as refined as the NuPrime we tested at the same time

Not able to control everything from the app

Price: 999€/£899

Elevator Pitch Review: The Elipson Music Centre Connect HD is perfectly named as for less than £1000, apart from the speakers, it does everything you would expect a modern music centre to do. It plays CDs, has onboard radio, can stream from your favourite streaming service, and you can input other devices. Sonically it’s perfectly acceptable for all but the most critical of listeners and you are able to tailor the sound to your own liking with different/better speakers.

SUPPLIED BY AV INDUSTRY

Linette Smith

Review Equipment: Atlas Cables and Xavian Perla loudspeakers. Solidsteel Hyperspike amp stand.

ELIPSON MUSIC CENTRE CONNECT HD SPECIFICATIONS

Amplifier: Bang & Olufsen ICEpower Class D

2 x 120 watts into 4 ohms

2 x 60 watts into 8 ohms

32-bit / 192 kHz internal DSP

Radio: FM / DAB / DAB+ with 40 memories

CD player: MP3 / WMA / CD Text Compatible

Bluetooth input: SBC, AAC, AptX, AptX HD Codecs

Auxiliary inputs: 2x stereo RCA – 0.55V sensitivity, 1x stereo mini-jack – 0.13V sensitivity

Optical input: TOS LINK input – up to 96KHz

Subwoofer output: 1x RCA output with variable crossover, (50 ~ 200 Hz / 12dB/oct), 8V sensitivity

Pre-output: 1x stereo RCA output – 8V sensitivity

USB: Compatible MP3 / WMA + 1A load current

Audio streaming: FLAC, WAV, ALAC, AAC, AAC+, MP3 codecs up to 24bit/96kHz

Network: Wi-Fi 2,4GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Ethernet, Audio multi-room up to 10 rooms, depending on the quality of the network

Power supply: 100-120 / 220-240V – 200W

Operating temperature range: -5 to 40 ºC

Accessories: Remote control, FM indoor antenna cable

Colour: Black ABS

Dimensions: Ø x H: 330 x 73 mm

Weight: 3,2 kg