What Hi-Fi? Verdict
The Elise is good in places, but falls woefully short in other, vital areas
Pros
- +
Fast delivery
- +
clear voices
- +
nice controls
Cons
- -
Thin presentation
- -
hit and miss display
- -
feels cheap
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Considering it's pushing the £50 mark, the Elise looks surprisingly cheap.
The controls feel nice, with good travel to the buttons and reassuring solidity, but the basic, white and grey-finished plastic makes it look cheaper than it actually is.
The display is hit-and-miss, too: it's large, with big text, but its yellow-on-blue colour scheme is not the clearest, especially with light shining on it.
Unfortunately, the Elise doesn't prove to be brilliant on the sound front, either. There's an overall thinness to the presentation that robs music of its weight and solidity, and there's a touch of brightness that's wearisome over time.
It's not all bad – the delivery's fairly pacey and voices are clear – but considering the price and the competition, it's far from great.
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