ELAC DEBUT CONNEX DCB41

A neat, affordable and talented entry into the speaker systems market

SPEAKER SYSTEM £529

Are you looking for a neat, good-sounding but affordable hi-fi system? If so, Elac’s Debut ConneX DCB41 might just be perfect for you. It is a powered set-up where one speaker contains all the electronics, including the 2 x 50 watts of amplification, while the other is a conventional passive design.

The two speakers are linked with a standard, supplied speaker cable. Unlike pricer alternatives such as Triangle’s AIO Twin or the KEF LSX II, there aren’t any network streaming smarts included here, so you need to supply the source. This can be an aptX Bluetooth signal from your phone, or anything digital that directly connects through the USB (Type B), optical or HDMI inputs. That addition of HDMI ARC is a smart touch and opens up the ConneX to be used with a television.

Analogue users haven’t been ignored either. There’s a single set of stereo RCA inputs that can be switched between being a line-level or a moving-magnet phono input. In an ideal world, we would have liked a coaxial (digital) and maybe another analogue line-level input, but it is fair to say that Elac has covered most bases well.

We have a few complaints, though. The volume knob, which toggles through the inputs when pressed, is awkwardly positioned on the back panel. You could just use the supplied remote of course, but that’s not always conveniently to hand. Elsewhere, it would be nice to have some indication of volume level. At the moment there isn’t anything, which could lead to unpleasant surprises when swapping sources.