For a long period of time, the German loudspeaker manufacturer Elac has been known to be one of the most innovative and priceworthy producer on the market, spearheading the audio industry and creating numerous speakers which are a true delight listening to. Full of engineering creativity, Elac look like they haven't been wasting any time since their latest releases in 2007 and have started 2008 by unveiling their newest piece of tech, the Crystal Membrane.

The new 240 series from Elac has been chosen to receive the new technology and deliver it to the audio enthusiasts: no less than five new speakers have been produced, incorporating the Crystal Membrane, letting you fully enjoy a new dimension of sonic performance in either stereo or surround sound applications. Despite its name, the Crystal Membrane has little to do with crystals themselves: in fact, the new tech has borrowed the cut and finished crystals' shape for further strengthening the overall architecture of the loudspeakers' cones.

The new Elac 240 loudspeakers come with cones manufactured with the same successful sandwich AS technology: a paper cone to which a special aluminium foil is being glued, with enhanced acoustic characteristics, lesser distortions and better capabilities to handle large pressure levels. The new thing about the Crystal Membrane is that this time, the aluminium sheets have been pressed in a special shape, closely imitating the way a finished crystal would look like. This particular shape not only offers far more rigidity but thanks to its multi-faceted surface, it will offer you a substantially wider soundstage which will fill the room with more clarity and a richer sound field.

These new cones are deploying sound in far more directions and thus are capable to offer a denser sonic reproduction based on an acoustic field with more propagation direction than that produced by a traditional cone and are said to handle high power levels with more ease and less strain. The new 240 series comprises the BS 243 and 244 bookshelf monitors selling for $730 and $880 a pair, respectively, the $1,100 CC 241 center channel speaker and the FS 247 ( $1,320) and flagship FS 249 selling for $2,790.

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