Scanspeak Ellipticor 21WE/4542T-00, 8" Mid-Woofer, 4 ohm

Scanspeak Ellipticor 21WE/4542T-00 8" Paper Cone Midwoofer -222mm- 4 ohm - Each

Spec Sheet PDF

Test Bench Article

Voice Coil Review

With the Ellipticor family and introduction of an elliptical voice coil and magnet gap, a long tradition of circular motor structures and their inherent breakup behavior has been broken. 

• Elliptic voice coil
• Very low mechanical losses
• High sensitivity (SPL)
• Aircirc optimized magnet system
• Unusually low distortion
• Flexible appearance with replaceable decor ring

In combination with the powerful SD AirCirc magnet system, the 21WE has high sensitivity, very low distortion, and an extremely fast response to transients. Above all, the TRUE TO LIVE sound makes the 21WE/4542T00 one of the very best and most advanced midwoofers on the market! The Ellipticor features a new version of the AirCirc magnet system from the company's Illuminator series, CU-Caps from the SD-2 patent and a new rear mounting of the magnet system that avoids screws in the faceplate. The drivers have black anodized trim rings that cover mounting screws and attach magnetically to the driver. The most immediately distinguishing feature of the new drivers is the voice coil’s shape, elliptical not round. As with the well-known “sliced” cone in the Scan-Speak revelator line, which is designed to reduce cone modes, the Ellipticor’s voice coil shape does something similar by having different distances between the voice coil and the surround, reducing the mode amplitude (there are more modes, but they are way less significant), which results in much lower distortion. It is also noteworthy that both devices use the AirCirc motor structure.

At the presentation event, the new Scan-Speak Ellipticor drivers were demonstrated installed in a demo speaker created by renowned DIY designer Troels Gravesen (www.troelsgravesen.dk), who describes both as "extremely broad-banded and display no serious break-up modes that require any damping. They are the kind of drivers you quickly make friends with and they generously feed your imagination for future constructions (...) they allow you to think in terms of high-efficiency systems, 90+ dB." After solving the many challenges of the elliptical driver and optimizing the approach, which included achieving a better control of weave direction, and dispersion by combining the elliptic voice coils with a high power NdFdB (neodymium) magnet system, the new Ellipticor drivers have resulted in units able to achieve the desired goals of low distortion, high sensitivity, low mechanical loss, and low Q break up modes in and above the crossover frequencies.

All Scan-Speak drivers are developed, designed and hand-built in Videbaek, Denmark. Scan-Speak operates as an independent company in the KYET Group (www.kyetek.com/en-us), which acquired the brand in 2014, maintaining a local Danish management, and continuing its tradition of Danish development and manufacturing.