• Welcome to ASR. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

Hi everyone!

Since nov 2025 I'm the almost happy owner of a pair of ELAC DBR69. I like the speakers as they are more linear than my old Atom Paradigm Atom V6.

Unfortunately things start to fall apart as soon as I turn up the volume (e.g anything above 70-75db with 80 db peaks).
Female vocals sound robotic and unpleasantly sibilant. Things in the 200-300Hz area sound bad. To my ears it seems like distortion, but it's probably it's not the speakers themselves but the room and / or the amplifier.

I've noticed something really strange when performing the REW sweeps: a pure sine (e.g 241 Hz or 1Khz) uses up a lot more amplifier power than -10dbfs pink noise, at the same volume.

This was measured independently with both a cheap multimeter (voltage increase) and a mains wattmetter (wattage increase) and 2 separate amplifiers, including a high-current one.

Any rational explanation why a pure sine would require a lot more power than pink noise ? Is the amplifier at fault here ?

Many thanks to Amir and the wonderful community he has gathered here!
 
NotARobot said:
Hi everyone!

Since nov 2025 I'm the almost happy owner of a pair of ELAC DBR69. I like the speakers as they are more linear than my old Atom Paradigm Atom V6.

Unfortunately things start to fall apart as soon as I turn up the volume (e.g anything above 70-75db with 80 db peaks).
Female vocals sound robotic and unpleasantly sibilant. Things in the 200-300Hz area sound bad. To my ears it seems like distortion, but it's probably it's not the speakers themselves but the room and / or the amplifier.

I've noticed something really strange when performing the REW sweeps: a pure sine (e.g 241 Hz or 1Khz) uses up a lot more amplifier power than -10dbfs pink noise, at the same volume.

This was measured independently with both a cheap multimeter (voltage increase) and a mains wattmetter (wattage increase) and 2 separate amplifiers, including a high-current one.

Any rational explanation why a pure sine would require a lot more power than pink noise ? Is the amplifier at fault here ?

Many thanks to Amir and the wonderful community he has gathered here!
Click to expand...
What kind of amplifier do you have?
 
Take 20 - 20,000 Hz frequency response of the speakers in your room. It might provide some helpful answers...
 
JW001 said:
Take 20 - 20,000 Hz frequency response of the speakers in your room. It might provide some helpful answers...
Click to expand...
Thank you for your suggestion.... Yes, I'm constantly measuring my room, with some strange results (some clearly having to do with my measuring technique and the rest with the subpar room). Bottom line: EQ doesn't fix the issue. At least for now.

I'm trying to keep things simple and trying to figure out if any of my amplifiers is adequate or not.

In the meantime, I redid the power tests with Fosi V3 + 48V PSU, volume at 12:00, OS volume max,
- no sound, 6.4Watts
- pink noise, 20-20Khz, -9dbfs, 8watts, 1,7Volts@speaker terminals
- sine 241Hz, -9dbfs, 10.3 watts, 2.1V
- pink noise, 20-4000Hz, -9dbfs, , 8.3Watts, 1.8V
- pink noise, 241-304Hz, -9dbfs, , 9.7Watts, 1.9V
- sine 1KHz, -9dbfs, , 7.8W, 2.1V

So no huge power draw difference between sine and pink noise. I think there was a measuring issue initially; I was using REW's check levels function which is affected by the SPL meter calibration and was producing a quieter pink noise with a lower power draw.

But the 60wpc H/K sounds better to my ears even if the difference is subtle (and I don't have full data to back it up).
 
NotARobot said:
Since nov 2025 I'm the almost happy owner of a pair of ELAC DBR69. I like the speakers as they are more linear than my old Atom Paradigm Atom V6.

Unfortunately things start to fall apart as soon as I turn up the volume (e.g anything above 70-75db with 80 db peaks).
Female vocals sound robotic and unpleasantly sibilant. Things in the 200-300Hz area sound bad. To my ears it seems like distortion, but it's probably it's not the speakers themselves but the room and / or the amplifier.
Click to expand...
Are you referring to the DBR62? I don’t think that there’s are DBR69 models.

Anyway, if you look at the multitone distortion measurements by Erin, there is consistent peak at around 3.5kHz. (Regardless of SPL/power.)
 
Guys, first of all I'm thankful for the work Amir is putting into this, huge respect. And all the thoughtful comments and contributions from members of this community. Im a middle aged (or old at 57) musician from Sweden that always had a soft spot for hifi and can enjoy hours of good reproduction of music. Mixing and writing (mostly lyrics) is a passion of mine.
Found the thread and review of the Elac DBR62 and, after hours of reading, pulled the trigger and got myself a pair from a store in Germany.
And all I can say is thank you for the direction and the “unfolding” of this remarkable speaker.

To me, in my room with my little AVR as an amp, it's just perfect. I rarely enjoy music at home at ear crunching levels.

So Amir, and all of you making this place alive, thank you!

Lasse
 
Some additional information about the drivers used.
(Source: YouTube)

Elac DBR62 Woofer Impedance
imp_woofer_ELAC_DBR62.jpg


Elac DBR62 Woofer TSP
TSP_woofer_ELAC_DBR62.jpg

A Q[ms] value of 8 is truly excellent for a woofer

Elac DBR62 Tweeter Impedance
imp_tweeter_ELAC_DBR62.jpg


Elac DBR62 Tweeter TSP
TSP_tweeter_ELAC_DBR62.jpg

The Q[ms] value of 5 is absolutely outstanding for a tweeter. I can’t recall ever seeing such a high value in a tweeter before!

I’ll leave it to the professionals to determine to what extent a high Q[ms] value positively influences the sound
(my subjective perception of sound favors high Q[ms] values for low volume listening).
 
Last edited:
007Shorty said:
Some additional information about the drivers used.
(Source: YouTube)

Elac DBR62 Woofer Impedance
View attachment 532942

Elac DBR62 Woofer TSP
View attachment 532943
A Q[ms] value of 8 is truly excellent for a woofer

Elac DBR62 Tweeter Impedance
View attachment 532944

Elac DBR62 Tweeter TSP
View attachment 532945
The Q[ms] value of 5 is absolutely outstanding for a tweeter. I can’t recall ever seeing such a high value in a tweeter before!

I’ll leave it to the professionals to determine to what extent a high Q[ms] value positively influences the sound
(my subjective perception of sound favors high Q[ms] values for low volume listening).
Click to expand...
How does this translate to listening at high volume, so around 85-90dB?
 
NanoGuidingStar said:
Elac Dubut Reference 3.0 is coming

2 way bookshelf DRB63
2 way Center DCR52
2.5 way Tower DFR52View attachment 537411

View attachment 537412
Click to expand...
Seems like these new debut reference 3.0 use the same tweeter as debut 3.0 product line.
Earlier series used a different (and most likely superior than its debut series) tweeter in reference series, if I am not wrong.
A member suggested they used same tweeter.

and disappointing choice of MTM center.
 
Last edited:
NanoGuidingStar said:
Elac Dubut Reference 3.0 is coming

2 way bookshelf DRB63
2 way Center DCR52
2.5 way Tower DFR52View attachment 537411

View attachment 537412
Click to expand...
I am really curious to see how the new DBR63s will stack up against the DBR62s, given that both the drivers and the tuning of the DBR62 were exceptionally good.
The older DFR52 and DCR52 models, by contrast, were significantly inferior.
Incidentally, the old DCR52s were true 3-way speakers with a dedicated midrange driver, and their successors are as well—as evidenced by the smaller midrange driver.
 
Seems to me the same. The picture of the corresponding LS shows 3 different types of drivers...
 
The statement is equivalent to that of user NanoGuidingStar;
"Standlautsprecher DRF53 ist ebenfalls eine Bassreflexkonstruktion, 2,5-Wege und die Übergangsfrequenzen sind bei 550 und 2.150 Hz angelegt".
The DRF53 is a bass reflex built, 2,5 way and crossover frequencies of 550 and 2.150 Hz.
Thus my comment seems to be "false"...
PS.: Is that large driver in the "middle" a passive cone or what ?
 
LTig said:
With 3 different driver types the tower can't be a 2.5 way, must be a real 3 way.
Click to expand...
burkm said:
Seems to me the same. The picture of the corresponding LS shows 3 different types of drivers...
Click to expand...
NanoGuidingStar said:
Source from German website
www.areadvd.de

HIGH END 2026: Sieben Neuheiten vom Statement-Lautsprecher bis zum Retro-Radiowecker bei ELAC – AREA DVD

ELAC hat ein ganzes Arsenal an Neuheiten mit nach Wien gebracht und stellt insgesamt sieben kommende Highlights für das Produktsortiment vor. Der Statement-Laut
www.areadvd.de www.areadvd.de

View attachment 537428
Click to expand...
I think this is nonsense and misinformation again.
There was also repeated misinformation about the DFR52, claiming it was a 2.5-way speaker, but it is definitely a 3-way speaker.
The DFR53 will also be a 3-way speaker.
A configuration of two 5 1/4-inch drivers, one 4-inch driver, and a tweeter makes no sense as a 2.5-way setup.
I would be very surprised if it turned out to be otherwise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Am I reading this wrong? ELAC Debut B6.2 and Reference DBR-62 sound similar?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Saponetto
Saponetto
C
Upgraditus.. add svs 3000 to elac DBR 62 system.
Replies
6
Views
1K
NovakJi
N
amirm
  • Sticky
What role should listening play in speaker design
26 27 28
Replies
553
Views
28K
Duke
Duke
daniboun
ELAC Debut 3 : DB5.3 Bookshelf Tear Down / Upgraded Xover
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
daniboun
daniboun
amirm
  • Poll Poll
Ascilab C8C Active Speaker Review
45 46 47
Replies
939
Views
123K
Fletcher–Munson
Fletcher–Munson
Back
Top Bottom