CES 2017

Based on ELAC’s Uni-Fi, which MF liked when he reviewed it in 2016, ELAC’s Discovery Z3 Zone Music Player places that speaker’s core design in a compact box that connects wirelessly to your home’s Wi-Fi network.

The Discovery Z3 features pairs of 4-in mid-bass drivers positioned on the cabinet’s front and back, along with dual 1-inch soft-dome tweeters aligned in a coaxial configuration with the front mid-bass units. Each driver draws power from its own 28-watt amp, and there’s also a pair of 4-inch passive radiators to boost the speaker’s output. ELAC was showing the Discovery Z3 in a static demo, but given those specs, I anticipate it will be one of the more powerful compact wireless multiroom speaker options when it hits the market in April. Pricing hasn’t been nailed down, but the company expects to sell it for $399.

Along with Wi-Fi, the Discovery Z3 also supports Bluetooth and Spotify Connect. But the feature that best distinguishes it from the Sonos herd is an ability to act as a Roon end-point for subscribers to that music management and listening solution . Sound & Vision has yet to dive into the Roon universe, but from what I’ve seen at shows like CES, it’s worth exploring.