ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2 bookshelf review (by EAC)

[sweetchaos]

This bookshelf has a 5.25" woofer, and retails for US$330/pair.

The rest of the graphs are on Erin's website:

ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2 Speaker Review

ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2 Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Erin's conclusions:

Parting / Random Thoughts
As stated in the Foreword, this written review is purposely a cliff’s notes version. For details about the performance (objectively and subjectively) please watch the YouTube video. But a couple quick notes based on my listening and what I see in the data:

I was really hoping this would be better than the DB62 simply because smaller midwoofer should make for better directivity (all things equal). And my hope was that it would be a better alternative for those who knew they wanted a subwoofer anyway… then you could save some money and get these over the DB62.

Unfortunately, there’s a weird +3dB “step” at about 1.5kHz which makes the speaker sound uneven. It’s not like it “jumps out” at you or is “sharp” like you would get when you have a peaking in the response at a particular frequency. It just doesn’t sound “right”. I couldn’t figure out exactly what I didn’t like when I was listening. But when I saw the data I realized what it was. Every now and again I come across a speaker that does something like this; where the issues I have with it aren’t easily identifiable. It’s because I’m looking for specifics and not expecting broadband differences like I’m seeing in this speaker.

However, thanks to the good horizontal directivity, with a single high-shelf filter, the difference can be made up quite easily and the speaker is much better, imho. I’ve provided a prediction of that result via REW.

The compression is rather bothersome, too. Even the MTON distortion when “high passed” at 80Hz is quite high in the midrange.

If you have a miniDSP - to fix the response imbalance - this might well be worth the purchase but it is definitely going to be output limited. So, I’d recommend this speaker if you do have EQ. But I’d say get the DB62 if you do not and are between these two.

Discuss!

 

[Beave]

Looks like they needed to pad down the tweeter level, to better match the woofer level, by adding a couple of resistors to the crossover. But they decided it wasn't worth the cost.

(That's a nice way of saying they were too cheap to put in the proper parts on this budget speaker.)

 

[tw 2022]

Looks like they needed to pad down the tweeter level, to better match the woofer level, by adding a couple of resistors to the crossover. But they decided it wasn't worth the cost.

(That's a nice way of saying they were too cheap to put in the proper parts on this budget speaker.)

yep...

 

[mhardy6647]

Looks like they needed to pad down the tweeter level, to better match the woofer level, by adding a couple of resistors to the crossover. But they decided it wasn't worth the cost.

(That's a nice way of saying they were too cheap to put in the proper parts on this budget speaker.)

Maybe it's that, or maybe it was "their" (i.e., presumably, Andrew Jones') reaction to the widely held (according to the internet, that is) perception that these loudspeakers immediate predecessor (without the "B" in its "name") EDIT: check that: the original morph was the rear-ported "ELAC Debut B6"; the new-and-improved version carried the clever moniker ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2") was kind of rolled-off in the treble?

 

[tw 2022]

Maybe it's that, or maybe it was "their" (i.e., presumably, Andrew Jones') reaction to the widely held (according to the internet, that is) perception that these loudspeakers immediate predecessor (without the "B" in its "name") was kind of rolled-off in the treble?

it's the old: "showroom tuning " for mass market retail stores...

 

[mhardy6647]

it's the old: "showroom tuning " for mass market retail stores...

well... I mean... maybe.
But it also may have been a legitimate observation about a certain reticence or laid-back aspect to the treble in the original version (the rear-ported "ELAC Debut B6"). I never heard the originals, so I cannot comment.
In full disclosure: as an old guy, the enhanced 'sparkle' was actually a plus from my perspective.

Elac Debut B6 loudspeaker

The first I heard about Elac's new Debut line of speakers was from two 12-year-olds at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach 2015. "Elac's room is making the best sound at the show," they said. Elac? I thought. I have an Elac Miracord 40A turntable. Hmmmm...

www.stereophile.com

From @John Atkinson's measurements of the "B6".

PS Sorry that I (yet again!) conflated the "5" and the "6" versions of this little two-way loudspeaker trope! My experiences are all with the "6"... but I see that the review mentioned in the OP is the smaller "5". Whoops!

 

[Beave]

Compare Erin's measurements of the B5.2 with the B6.2. The tweeter measurements (level, frequency response on and off axis, etc) are all practically identical.

In the B6.2, the larger woofer matches the sensitivity of the tweeter.

In the B5.2, the smaller woofer has lower sensitivity, and is now lower than the tweeter output.

The usual fix to this would be to pad down the tweeter output to match the lower output of the smaller midwoofer. They did not do that, however, probably due to cost.

 

[tw 2022]

Compare Erin's measurements of the B5.2 with the B6.2. The tweeter measurements (level, frequency response on and off axis, etc) are all practically identical.

In the B6.2, the larger woofer matches the sensitivity of the tweeter.

In the B5.2, the smaller woofer has lower sensitivity, and is now lower than the tweeter output.

The usual fix to this would be to pad down the tweeter output to match the lower output of the smaller midwoofer. They did not do that, however, probably due to cost.

Sounds like something @Dennis Murphy might do with a mod....I'm in no way suggesting he would want to or should do a mod, lol..

 

[sweetchaos]

Erin posted his review today:

 

[Joe Smith]

The cost difference taken into account, I definitely recommend the 6.2s. Very satisfying small speaker for the cost.

 

[doublebstyle]

This is what I used on moode with loxjie a30 on direct mode, speakers are like 10 degree toe out and like 15-20 cm to wall, Tidal Hires Flac via Bubble UPNP to Moode