Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[KU713]

You put my mind at ease. I will probably order them. I just search and search for advice, and for every positive review of the speakers, I always find another one, but it's bad, so I don't see it anymore. Still, these Elacs seem like the holy grail, to say the least.

 

[wyup]

Yeah, but don't put an average amplifier. They won't shine. Jones demoed them with a 70W class D Elac integrated amplifier.
I tried a 75W Hypex power amp but couldn't stand its sterile sound. I use a cheap Onkyo 9010-A for the moment and sounds more authentic. But I've heard them with 1.5k amps sound great, including hybrid tube amplifiers that have this grit to the midrange.

Unfortunately as an audiophile neither fully convinced me so I stay with the Onkyo until I make a decision, because hey, it's big money and I want to be sure.

 

[KU713]

I have an Atoll MA100 power amplifier, it's 60W, up to 10W it's class A, then class AB. I mostly listen up to 20W, so maybe that will be enough.

 

[ZolaIII]

Yeah, but don't put an average amplifier. They won't shine. Jones demoed them with a 70W class D Elac integrated amplifier.
I tried a 75W Hypex power amp but couldn't stand its sterile sound. I use a cheap Onkyo 9010-A for the moment and sounds more authentic. But I've heard them with 1.5k amps sound great, including hybrid tube amplifiers that have this grit to the midrange.

Unfortunately as an audiophile neither fully convinced me so I stay with the Onkyo until I make a decision, because hey, it's big money and I want to be sure.

Again put them on cheap Yamaha as A-S/R-S 20x and they will be quite happy. Don't expect unreasonable things and do the job regarding proper placement and room correction and you will be on the right place in the right time.

 

[DeadAndCompany]

If you want it to sound great at low volume you need an amplifier with a variable loudness control, but that is true for all speakers, of course. Yamaha amps are a good choice.

Is there any proof that an expensive amplifier (whatever that means in technical terms, it could also be a tube distortion machine) will have any benefit over a „normal“ amp like the Yamaha A-S301 - unless driven to extreme volume?

 

[Doodski]

If you want it to sound great at low volume you need an amplifier with a variable loudness control, but that is true for all speakers, of course. Yamaha amps are a good choice.

Is there any proof that an expensive amplifier (whatever that means in technical terms, it could also be a tube distortion machine) will have any benefit over a „normal“ amp like the Yamaha A-S301 - unless driven to extreme volume?

Can you rephrase your question or ask multiple questions. I ask because your question is so broad it covers a ton of stuff and I am not sure you want to know about that stuff.

 

[dasherzx]

If you want it to sound great at low volume you need an amplifier with a variable loudness control, but that is true for all speakers, of course. Yamaha amps are a good choice.

Is there any proof that an expensive amplifier (whatever that means in technical terms, it could also be a tube distortion machine) will have any benefit over a „normal“ amp like the Yamaha A-S301 - unless driven to extreme volume?

i've used the dbr62 and dfr52 with an aiyima a07, yamaha rn803d and a hypex nc252 amp and can't tell the difference other than the knob position of all 3 to reach my desired loudness. add an svs sub or two instead of fiddling with amps or the speakers itself.

 

[Bleib]

i've used the dbr62 and dfr52 with an aiyima a07, yamaha rn803d and a hypex nc252 amp and can't tell the difference other than the knob position of all 3 to reach my desired loudness. add an svs sub or two instead of fiddling with amps or the speakers itself.

Yes, a decent sub or two can potentially clean up the sound quite a bit and add more dynamic headroom

 

[KU713]

It is a pity that Amirm does not comment on whether, even after so many years after the review, his praise is current. It just felt like it was crawling to his ass. You're pretty used to it in the US, I know.

 

[staticV3]

It is a pity that Amirm does not comment on whether, even after so many years after the review, his praise is current. It just felt like it was crawling to his ass. You're pretty used to it in the US, I know.

I'd recommend to stop placing so much weight onto one man's opinion.

It's not healthy, nor smart.

Today, you have an unprecedented amount of objective data to help you make educated purchasing decisions.

Please use it, instead of hyper-focussing on someone else's opinion.

 

[Honken]

It is a pity that Amirm does not comment on whether, even after so many years after the review, his praise is current. It just felt like it was crawling to his ass. You're pretty used to it in the US, I know.

What does this even mean? The DBR-62s sound great, just as they did a few years ago, even if the measurements might not indicate perfection. They're not flawless, but the flaws they do have are subjectively (in other words, to me) not big. They sound better with subs, most standmounts do.

For the few euros I paid for mine a few years back I think that they sound absolutely fantastic. They also look pretty good at a distance (but perhaps to the discerning eye, not up close), whereas most speakers in this price range look pretty bad even at a distance.

My current Neumann KH310 speakers do not sound 5 times better, but they cost 5 times what I paid for the Elacs. Paying more for speakers have diminishing returns for sure.

If Revel were available for American prices in Europe I think that Revel's standmounts would beat the value proposition of the ELAC speakers, but Revel are quite expensive around here. If you are located in the US, I'd personally look at something like the Revel M16 instead.

 

[prm]

Bought DBR62s after doing some research online and recommendation here! Couldn't be happier with the result, places a smile on my face every time I listen to music now.

Driving them with Loxjie A40 atm and I think amp provides enough power and features for a great starting setup. Planning on adding XTZ 10.17 edge sub later this year.
If anyone is still wondering whether to buy ELAC DBR62 in 2024, just go for it, they are wonderful speakers!

 

[darakon]

Bought DBR62s after doing some research online and recommendation here! Couldn't be happier with the result, places a smile on my face every time I listen to music now.

Driving them with Loxjie A40 atm and I think amp provides enough power and features for a great starting setup. Planning on adding XTZ 10.17 edge sub later this year.
If anyone is still wondering whether to buy ELAC DBR62 in 2024, just go for it, they are wonderful speakers!

mhh,... orders them 3 years ago after the hype.
Send them back after 3 days. They were not my kind of speaker. Very unnatural to me.

But good to hear, that other are happy with it.

 

[Bleib]

mhh,... orders them 3 years ago after the hype.
Send them back after 3 days. They were not my kind of speaker. Very unnatural to me.

But good to hear, that other are happy with it.

I tried too them, but they didn't sound unnatural to me. Just not that great at a lower volume, they like beefy amps like many Dynaudios

 

[DeadAndCompany]

I tried too them, but they didn't sound unnatural to me. Just not that great at a lower volume, they like beefy amps like many Dynaudios

You need to use an amp with variable loudness at lower volume. Otherwise no speaker sounds great.
They sound great with my beefy A-S301.

 

[Bleib]

Otherwise no speaker sounds great.

That's not true

 

[DeadAndCompany]

That's not true

For human beings and balanced/neutral speakers it is. Of course there are non-neutral speakers that are inherently sounding loudness corrected (bad HiFi speakers with bass and highs boosted).

 

[Bleib]

For human beings and balanced/neutral speakers it is. Of course there are non-neutral speakers that are inherently sounding loudness corrected (bad HiFi speakers with bass and highs boosted).

Still no. There are neutral sounding speakers that sound detailed and very clean at lower volumes so they're anything but boring
For some speakers only a louder volume makes them more engaging

 

[ZolaIII]

Still no. There are neutral sounding speakers that sound detailed and very clean at lower volumes so they're anything but boring
For some speakers only a louder volume makes them more engaging

Yeah but you don't push either and use bass boost to SPL on sub's for equal loudness (low self Q 0.75 105 Hz and high 120 Hz crossover's) so it doesn't spill into low mids and it sounds both full and detailed on moderate volumes.

 

[pvdputte]

For all kinds of reasons beyond my control I'm thinking about buying a Denon RCD-N12DAB (= CEOL N12DAB without speakers) and pairing it with a good but moderately-sized speaker.

There are multiple reviews online that pair this Denon with B&W 606 S3 or 607 S3, trying to convince me it's an incredible combination. But if I read on ASR about e.g. the 606 S2 anniversary edition I'm very hesitant to put my money on B&W anymore.

So I'm very interested in these DBR62 speakers, but it seems people pair it with amps that are more powerful than this Denon all-in-one. Is it worthy or should I look at something else to pair it with?

It's specced 2-channel 65 W + 65 W (4 Ω/ohms, 1 kHz, THD + N 0.7 %)