Rega Ela by Royd

My thoughts? Amazing how far tweeters have come in 30 years.

My biggest problem with the Ela was the coarseness of the 1980s dome tweeter. The woofer was lovely. It did so much right, but the tweeter was holding everything back. It just sounded like a 1980s dome. And that is not a compliment.

The Hiquphon just did everything better. More detail, more air, more smoothness. Imaging improved dramatically. They got so much easier to listen to. So much more enjoyable.

Tonally nothing really seemed to change. They were still the Ela"s, but better. Definitely a worthwhile improvement.
 
My thoughts? Amazing how far tweeters have come in 30 years.

My biggest problem with the Ela was the coarseness of the 1980s dome tweeter. The woofer was lovely. It did so much right, but the tweeter was holding everything back. It just sounded like a 1980s dome. And that is not a compliment.

The Hiquphon just did everything better. More detail, more air, more smoothness. Imaging improved dramatically. They got so much easier to listen to. So much more enjoyable.

Tonally nothing really seemed to change. They were still the Ela"s, but better. Definitely a worthwhile improvement.


I am glad to hear the improvement.
I didn't have any doubts that you would like them.:)

The Hiquphons are like a turbocharged version of the Scan Speak 3/4".
The OW1 and OW2 have not changed much since they were introduced.
I have a pair in my truck from a Fried C6 parts kit.
Actually it's the second truck I have used them in.
spare_parts_for_old_fried_speakers.html
Linn and Fried's use of them made them more popular amongst the audio community.
 
I am glad to hear the improvement.
I didn't have any doubts that you would like them.:)

The Hiquphons are like a turbocharged version of the Scan Speak 3/4".
The OW1 and OW2 have not changed much since they were introduced.
I have a pair in my truck from a Fried C6 parts kit.
Actually it's the second truck I have used them in.
spare_parts_for_old_fried_speakers.html
Linn and Fried's use of them made them more popular amongst the audio community.

Turbocharged is right. Really a sweet little tweeter.

How did you use them in your truck?
 
Turbocharged is right. Really a sweet little tweeter.

How did you use them in your truck?

I have a pair of the Fried C6L satellites in my truck.
As I stated I had to change the enclosure dimensions to get them to fit under the back seats of my truck.
I have them hooked up to the in dash Pioneer Cd player.
 
I have a pair of the Fried C6L satellites in my truck.
As I stated I had to change the enclosure dimensions to get them to fit under the back seats of my truck.
I have them hooked up to the in dash Pioneer Cd player.

Ok. I did some hunting on the interwebs, and found nothing on the C6L. Can you steer me in the right direction?
 
Ok. I did some hunting on the interwebs, and found nothing on the C6L. Can you steer me in the right direction?

I doubt there is any info on them except the info I have provided.
They were used in the Fried C3L enclosure with his last generation of drivers.
The C3L were the third version of the C model.
The C6L were the sixth version of the model C.
You won't find a picture of them anywhere.
The enclosures are identical to the ones in my video.

Another Fried speaker owner that lives in my area has post some info about them on Audiogon.

index.php
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just got a pair of used rega elas delivered today. purchase inspired by this very thread. outta the gate opinions: the elas sound far larger than they look in person. opened my eyes to what small, thin tower speakers with tiny "woofers" can do (i've been a skeptic). the bass is surprising for their size - not the best defined, but beefy and not lacking at all (to test em out, went right to bass-heavy dub reggae). the imaging is phenomenal. they are hooked to a sony sa-4650 v-fet amp that just got rehabbed and excellent imaging is a strength that amp provides. the elas seem to excel in overall musicality and PRAT.

having now heard the elas, and having read this thread, im wondering about recommended tweeter upgrades. at retail, the hiquphon cost well more than i paid for the speakers. i'd like to reprise/revive the conversation about replacement tweeters for these. and the expected benefits of such. if anyone cares to share experiences/ideas/opinions....
 
I'm divided on the Hiquophons. Its been years since I heard and fell in love with the original Elas, and I find that I don't like this pair as much as I remember liking those one way back when...and I don't know if its the tweeters or the decade of hearing more speakers that's doing it. Something in the pair that's here just seems a bit incoherent.
 
I'm divided on the Hiquophons. Its been years since I heard and fell in love with the original Elas, and I find that I don't like this pair as much as I remember liking those one way back when...and I don't know if its the tweeters or the decade of hearing more speakers that's doing it. Something in the pair that's here just seems a bit incoherent.

Curious how you would compare the Elas to your minstrels. I love my Royd Envoys so much that I fear I may not enjoy higher up the Royd line even as much. I think the Envoys are close to a bookshelf version of the Minstrels although they are newer. So fun and easy to drive. Whenever I see a larger pair of their floorstanders I am curious but really have no reason to go there.
 
Curious how you would compare the Elas to your minstrels. I love my Royd Envoys so much that I fear I may not enjoy higher up the Royd line even as much. I think the Envoys are close to a bookshelf version of the Minstrels although they are newer. So fun and easy to drive. Whenever I see a larger pair of their floorstanders I am curious but really have no reason to go there.
The Elas I have have been modified a bit and I didn’t do the mods so don’t really know what all is going on with them in comparison to a stock pair as it’s been too long since I’ve heard a stock pair. That said, I find the Ela to be more refined but the Minstrel is way more fun and easy to drive. It’s just a happy speaker. It’s lasted a long time in my bedroom system (small room) and I have no plans to replace them. They aren’t going to replace the Harbeths but I really really enjoy them.
 
pulled out the nait 2. natural match, right, but would it actually synergize with the elas? you betcha! very lively, rambunctious, bold, vivid, dimensional sound. mega-musical! there may be some sort of tonal coloration - or perhaps just different than the tonal flavor that i had with the sony 4650 and tandberg 3012. will compare directly to the claymore. after i play some more music for pleasure.
 
Really interesting reading this thread, I have a pair of ela’s that are a great size for my small room but I I was very interested in hearing about the upgrade tweeter option. Do you guys think it’s worth spending the money on upgrading the ela’s or just putting that money towards something newer and how much would you need to spend to better them?
 
I honestly never clicked with the modded ELAs. I don’t know if it was the tweeter or what but I felt they were just off somehow.
 
Ok, that’s interesting.
So you preferred them in their original state or did you not like that either?
I heard the Elas a long time ago when my context for what a great speaker was, was more limited. And I loved them. So I made a mental note to track down a pair someday. The ones I ended up getting had the tweeters replaced and a few other minor modifications like some internal damping. I didn’t end up liking them, but since the weren’t original I couldn’t say if it had something to do with the mods shifting them away from what I liked about the originals, or simply that they weren’t as good as I’d remembered, as my speaker journey had progressed a lot in the ten years or so they had passed. The latter is just as likely. But they really lacked dynamics and I wonder if it was the damping applied? I had for comparison at the time a pair of Royd Minstrels that I loved and wish I’d have kept - which makes me question whether it was the time passage, though, as the Royds were even older.
 
I heard the Elas a long time ago when my context for what a great speaker was, was more limited. And I loved them. So I made a mental note to track down a pair someday. The ones I ended up getting had the tweeters replaced and a few other minor modifications like some internal damping. I didn’t end up liking them, but since the weren’t original I couldn’t say if it had something to do with the mods shifting them away from what I liked about the originals, or simply that they weren’t as good as I’d remembered, as my speaker journey had progressed a lot in the ten years or so they had passed. The latter is just as likely. But they really lacked dynamics and I wonder if it was the damping applied? I had for comparison at the time a pair of Royd Minstrels that I loved and wish I’d have kept - which makes me question whether it was the time passage, though, as the Royds were even older.
The dampening didn't make anything worse. I didn't connect with them either, hence the upgraded tweeter, etc.
 
I heard the Elas a long time ago when my context for what a great speaker was, was more limited. And I loved them. So I made a mental note to track down a pair someday. The ones I ended up getting had the tweeters replaced and a few other minor modifications like some internal damping. I didn’t end up liking them, but since the weren’t original I couldn’t say if it had something to do with the mods shifting them away from what I liked about the originals, or simply that they weren’t as good as I’d remembered, as my speaker journey had progressed a lot in the ten years or so they had passed. The latter is just as likely. But they really lacked dynamics and I wonder if it was the damping applied? I had for comparison at the time a pair of Royd Minstrels that I loved and wish I’d have kept - which makes me question whether it was the time passage, though, as the Royds were even older.
Ok, now I understand, thanks
 
Played with my mostly stock pair today. When I broke a terminal a while back I ended up doing an unexpected recap. New Solens were installed and I know many refer to the fact that they can sound bright.

My Rega Ela system is long in the tooth (B&K Pro 10MC pre, B&K ST140 power, Rega Planar 2/Denon DL-103, and vintage Rega Planet CD player). Speaker cables are Naim NACA5, interconnects are BJC and Chord Cobra.

I've been remiss in listening to this system in my upstairs garage listening room. I'm mostly downstairs with other systems. But I agree with most of the comments on the "unmodded" Ela in this thread. I only listened to a remastered copy of DSOM by PF because it was there. I'm getting lazy.

Still I love Elas even when they are sitting next to a pair of B&W DM-3000s. Both pairs of these speakers I"ll probably never part with but Elas are pretty special still even with my old ears.
 
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