Полочная акустика — Eltax MONITOR I

The Eltax Monitor I is a compact passive loudspeaker from the Eltax Monitor range, a ported two-way box built for shelves, desks and compact rooms. Its suggested price in Europe was about EUR 130 per pair. Four finishes were offered - Calvados oak, light beech, white and black.

Key specs that matter

Eltax combines a 1 inch soft dome tweeter above a 10 cm woofer, and the bass reflex opening is cut into the bottom panel instead of the baffle or rear. Eltax rates the response at 60 Hz to 22,000 Hz within plus or minus 4 dB and gives the impedance as 4 to 8 ohm. Power handling is quoted as 60 W RMS and 90 W peak, and no sensitivity figure was published. Each cabinet measures 15.5 cm wide, 24.5 cm high and 19.5 cm deep, with a listed weight of 3.2 kg, although one test sample weighed 2.75 kg on the scale.

Engineering and use context

Eltax fits a 12 dB per octave filter between the drivers, a common second-order slope for a small two-way. The woofer sits in a stamped steel basket without ventilation holes behind the voice coil. Inside, the cabinet is well damped and generously filled with absorbent material, and the internal wiring is wrapped in foam rubber to keep it from rattling against the panels. Because the port exits downward, the speaker needs a small gap beneath it, and Eltax supplies four chunky spiked feet with pointed tips that lift the enclosure off the shelf and leave the port an opening. The grille clips on with protruding metal pins. The rear carries plain metal binding posts, not gold-plated, which accept banana plugs, spades and bare wire. The small footprint suits a 20 m2 room or a desktop setup where the listener sits close. The listed figures describe a speaker meant for near-field and small-room use rather than for filling a large space, and the light cabinet is easy to place on a bracket, a sideboard or a pair of low stands. Its size also makes it a practical choice for rear channels in a modest home cinema.

Pairing

The moderate power handling and an impedance that can fall toward 4 ohm suggest choosing an amplifier comfortable with lower loads that will not need to drive the box beyond its limit. Budget integrated amplifiers and stereo receivers of modest output are a sensible match, and the binding posts take ordinary speaker cable without special termination. Since the feet are part of the port design, the speakers should stand on a solid shelf or stand rather than on soft furnishings that could block the bottom opening.

Alternatives

For more cabinet volume, Eltax offers the Monitor III in this range, with a 130 mm woofer, 89 dB sensitivity and a 5.0 kg cabinet.