INTRODUCTION

   Don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this in any of my reviews but there are some dates inside the summer that i like to attend small festivals/events organized by friends and/or family members either at the beach or at my village on the mountain. The reason i even mention this is I also happen to be the one in charge of bringing along “portable” speakers with enough power output to bring those festivals/events to life so I’m always on the lookout for newer and more powerful models which I can use. For the past 2 years E-Lektron products have accompanied me at those festivals with great success (people like their rather “simple” designs a lot more than I was expecting really) so when they recently added the EL12-DA (812.680) professional speaker model in their product line I just had to take a closer look and eventually try it out at one such event.

   E-Lektron started its business in 2007, its target to offer DJ & PA electronics online at competitive prices and with premium service. At that time regular suppliers were not so keen on their products being offered online so E-Lektron started developing their own products, starting with speakers and amplifiers. Our products are being manufactured by contract-manufacturers with E-Lektron’s high standards and are shipped to our customers in the EU with DHL from our warehouse in Paderborn, Germany. Our prices are competitive since there's no “middle man” and our products are covered by a 2-year warranty (after which we can still repair them in our own workshop thanks to our large stock of spare parts, also for older products).

   Just like both the EL225-UHF and the JAD38-B before that the EL12-DA with its 16.5kg heavy body (made out of ABS plastic) is far from what we’d call “portable”. Still the 2-way (bass reflex) digital bi-amp active EL12-DA is not only actually smaller than the former two but it can also deliver an impressive power output of 600WRMS (1600W peak) with a frequency range/response of 45Hz-20KHz and a sensitivity of 102dB. This is actually more powerful compared to both the EL225-UHF and the JAD38-B but unlike the EL225-UHF it does require to be plugged into an electrical socket. The EL12-DA also features Bluetooth v4.2 connectivity via CSR's BlueCore CSR8635 QFN chip (AVCRP v1.4/A2DP v1.2/HFP v1.6/HSP v1.2/DI v1.3), rear mixer (3 individual audio channels), integrated MP3/WMA player (USB), microphone/guitar input, microphone XLR input, mix output, left/right carrying handles, 35mm pole socket and two rigging points. So at least on paper the brand new EL12-DA seems to be a fine alternative to both the EL225-UHF and the JAD38-B (at least if you don’t need the extra features packed by them) so let’s continue our review and see first hand just how good it is.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Just like with previous models by E-Lektron the EL12-DA arrived inside a plain cardboard box that has a large product picture at the front.

The product specifications are printed on the right side.

The speaker is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two thick foam spacers located at the bottom and top of the box.

Along with the EL12-DA professional speaker you will also receive a power cord and a remote control (you can download the manual from the official E-Lektron support page).

THE EL12-DA

The 16.5Kg heavy EL12-DA measures just 62cm in height, 38.5cm in width and 35cm in depth.

Since some of you will wonder just how the EL12-DA compares to both the EL225-UHF and the JAD38-B we placed it right next to them.

At the top front of the speaker we find two bass reflex ports and the 1.25-inch titanium-dome tweeter placed inside the acoustic horn.

A large aluminum grill at the front covers the 12-inch (30cm) woofer.

As mentioned earlier the EL12-DA has two carrying handles, one on each side.

Moving at the top we find the two rigging points and a large hole (for a safety-cable).

The control panel is located at the rear and it includes 8 control knobs (separated for the three individual channels), USB port, on/off button, line/mic guitar button, 4 media control buttons, 3 activity LEDs, microphone XLR input, microphone/guitar output, mix output and the IR receiver.

Further down the rear we find the on/off power switch, a fuse and the power port.

Yet another hole (again probably used to hang the speaker) is located at the lower rear.

Turning the speaker over we find 4 large feet and a 35mm pole socket which can be used to mount the EL12-DA on standard speaker stands and a hole from where you can adjust the angle of the speaker when rigged.

Once again E-Lektron packs a remote control with the speaker but just like with previous models since the IR receiver is located at the rear of the speaker the remote needs to face that side in order to work.

CONCLUSION

   We received the EL12-DA back in late June and aside using it in the lab for a few days I ended up taking it with me to a beach not very far from here to “help” with one of the events previously mentioned. To my surprise even though the ABS enclosure of the EL12-DA is nothing exciting in terms of quality (although ABS is quite durable) and design (just like with the enclosures of the JAD38-B and the EL225-UHF – it also lacks any kind of RGB lighting) many people liked it and so if that’s one of your concerns it may not be justified. That being said design and even enclosure quality are not nearly as important as audio quality and here the EL12-DA doesn’t do very well, at least not nearly as well as the JAD38-B and the EL225-UHF. Sure, it has nothing to fear in terms of audio output (although it does feel less powerful - that could be due to the smaller woofer surface compared to the other two) but when it comes to mids and highs (clarity/crispness) it’s just not as good (although it does very well in terms of bass). Now if you check the specs of all three speakers you will see that the EL12-DA doesn’t feature the same wide frequency response so that could be the reason as to why it’s not as good in that area but at the end of the day the end result is what matters and so if you want the best possible audio quality both the JAD38-B and the EL225-UHF are simply put better. Worth pointing out is that even though E-Lektron states that the USB port is compatible with 16GB flash drives we used an 128GB one without issues (just remember to format it using the exFAT system). The lack of an SD card slot and a rear LCD screen are also two things we would had liked to see but it seems that E-Lektron focused a lot on the inputs and outputs of this unit along with the ability to control all 3 audio channels separately.

   The E-Lektron EL12-DA Professional Speaker System currently retails for 179.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) and although some potential buyers may consider this as a bit much let’s keep in mind that there are less powerful and feature-rich models in the market that cost quite a bit more. Unfortunately even though the EL12-DA delivers on pretty much everything we care about when testing large portable speakers it does fall short when it comes to audio quality and even though for some professionals primarily looking to use it for its inputs/outputs this may not be such a big deal for people looking for a good speaker to use outdoors or even indoors the JAD38-B or the EL225-UHF are clearly much better choices.

PROS

- Durable ABS Plastic Enclosure
- Power Output (600 WRMS)
- Bluetooth v4.2
- USB Player
- Microphone/Guitar/XLR Inputs
- Rigging Points
- Price (Compared to Similar Models)

CONS

- Size/Weight
- Audio Quality (Compared To The JAD38-B & EL225-UHF)
- No RGB LEDs