ELAC Miracord 70
Analog sources
Three years ago Elac celebrated its early vinyl-era iconic Miracord turntable by launching its 21st century revamped version, the Miracord 90. The Miracord 70 halves the price of the anniversary model and it translates into its design – it actually shares very little with its stable mate. Unfortunately, it also compromises the performance.
Funkce a forma
The Elac Miracord 70 is a ‘budget’ turntable so it comes as no surprise that what actually appears like piano lacquer (on top) and brushed aluminium (on sides) are just vinyl foils on an MDF base. The 2.6kg heavy platter is made from coloured glass, its upper part covered with a felt mat. The flagship turntable of Elac, Miracord 90, uses a ruby ball in bronze bearings, Miracord 70 replaces the ruby ball with a silicon nitride (ceramic) one. The tonearm is a J-shaped aluminium piece.
Assembling the Miracord 70 just asks you to follow several easy steps well described in a manual. A rubber belt, DC power supply and RCA leads are included – you will need a phono preamp or an integrated amplifier with MM preamp to play music.
Nízké frekvence
The lows of the Miracord 70 correspond to what is expected. Read it “there is no surprise”, fortunately nor in negative way. The sound lacks the resolution of bass textures and appears to be quick rather than weighty. The bass is not exactly sketchy and can be quite punchy if asked, but it is not a champion in richness, tunefulness or power. It may be due to dynamics that are not as explosive as with more competent turntables, like with the Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDeck that I have reviewed recently, and thus the sound of the Miracord appears to be ‘flatter’ and less 3D, dynamically speaking.
Čistota rozlišení
Elac supplies Audio-Technica AT95E elliptical tip cartridge with the Miracord 70 (tracking force of 2g) which is a good standard to start with. The music had nice detail and transparency, though I could live with a bit less prominent highs, especially when they lack the sophistication of more high-end turntables. Though there is a lot of MM cartridge alternatives which would upgrade the sound of the turntable – Denon, Goldring, Rega, Grado, Ortofon or Sumiko, to name a few – personally I would not have the ambition to improve the sound of the Miracord 70 and if you really feel the urge to upgrade then I recommend to upgrade to a different turntable instead of buying a new cartridge.
Tonální věrnost
Subtle tonal shifts in orchestrated Ravel’s Bolero were convincingly conveyed, with a slight departure from a warm to a colder side of neutrality. Again, this can be easily compensated not only by cartridge but also by the rest of the audio system. The Miracord 70 is not supposed to be a part of a top-end set up and in an entry level system its tilt to agile presentation can help open the sound. So it is always necessary to think in the context of associated components.
Prostorovost
The Miracord 70 is a simplistic device, perhaps too simplistic - its motor is switched on and off by a rocker switch at the front, and to change the speed from 33.3 to 45 rpm one has to remove the platter and manually move the belt on a pulley. VTA cannot be adjusted. There is no Perspex lid provided with the turntable either.
This turntable category is populated with competitors and for the asking price of the Miracord 70 you can buy better sounding Pro-Ject Xperience Acryl, that we reviewed earlier, including Phono Box DS+ phono preamplifier. Alternatively Clearaudio Concept is another fantastic deck to consider. Thus, in my humble opinion, the Miracord 70 is about nostalgia rather than about real performance. A solid piece of hi-fi it is, a long-term value it is not.
Připojené komponenty
- Sources: TW-Acustic Raven One with Graham Phantom tonearm and Transfiguration Orpheus cartridge, Rega RP 8, Rega Apheta 2 cartridge
- Amplifiers: Spectral DMA-150, phono Gruensch Reference Phonostage MCS
- Interconnects and speaker cables: MIT MA, MIT MA-X XLR, MIT V2.1 Oracle, Stealth Audio Hyperphono, Van den Hul The D-102 III Hybrid
- Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Sasha W/P
- Power conditioning: Furutech Daytona 303E, Shunyata Research Python Zi-Tron
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