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Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Some thoughts: First the obvious, make sure your speakers and sub are wired with matching polarity. Otherwise you will go nuts. ; ). (I‘ve been there!)
Second, I really, truly think your receiver is way more than adequate.
Third, does your receiver have a night mode? This can dynamically compress high dynamic range material at low volumes.
Fourth, a center channel speaker designed for speech and intelligibility and that fully utilizes the surroumd sound algorithms of your receiver may be a revelation for you.
Fifth, but not least importantly, have you checked for room modes? All you need is a umik-1 and a windows or Mac laptop and some time to burn figuring out how to use it. But a room mode could cause sudden large drop-offs and peaks centered at a few frequencies, particularly from I‘d guess about 160 hz on down (just based on my limited experience). At that point you will see very graphically your room modes. Quite likely big-uns. Seems like everybody’s got ‘em. They can often be stubborn and large. My apologies if you already know all of this.
Moving stuff around, including your sub, or getting a second sub, or digital EQ, or other stuff can help deal with room modes. In my case I had a 6 dB peak around 160 hz, a big dip around 72 hz, and then a ginormous peak in the lower frequencies, 20 to 50 hertz, such that a pin drop sounded like a nuclear explosion. Smoothing that stuff out was hugely helpful to me. Just with REW be prepared for the shock of what even a nice pair of speakers does in a real-world room. After your first look at a graph you will likely break out in a cold sweat and need a stiff drink.
Finally, there is no requirement that you like the DBR62s!
Second, I really, truly think your receiver is way more than adequate.
Third, does your receiver have a night mode? This can dynamically compress high dynamic range material at low volumes.
Fourth, a center channel speaker designed for speech and intelligibility and that fully utilizes the surroumd sound algorithms of your receiver may be a revelation for you.
Fifth, but not least importantly, have you checked for room modes? All you need is a umik-1 and a windows or Mac laptop and some time to burn figuring out how to use it. But a room mode could cause sudden large drop-offs and peaks centered at a few frequencies, particularly from I‘d guess about 160 hz on down (just based on my limited experience). At that point you will see very graphically your room modes. Quite likely big-uns. Seems like everybody’s got ‘em. They can often be stubborn and large. My apologies if you already know all of this.
Moving stuff around, including your sub, or getting a second sub, or digital EQ, or other stuff can help deal with room modes. In my case I had a 6 dB peak around 160 hz, a big dip around 72 hz, and then a ginormous peak in the lower frequencies, 20 to 50 hertz, such that a pin drop sounded like a nuclear explosion. Smoothing that stuff out was hugely helpful to me. Just with REW be prepared for the shock of what even a nice pair of speakers does in a real-world room. After your first look at a graph you will likely break out in a cold sweat and need a stiff drink.
Finally, there is no requirement that you like the DBR62s!
Please can this sexist drivel about "Wife Acceptance Factor" die already? Do you want this hobby to be inclusive or do you want to assume everyone in this hobby is a middle-aged man? I'm sick of this patronising crap.
Just say "they look attractive" or something FFS please.
About the speakers, they sound good. I'm glad I upgraded to them and a Yamaha A-S301 amp from my previous setup of Monitor Audio Bronze 2s and a Cambridge Audio AXA35. Thank you to Audio Science Review for the measurement work that is being done that helps people to make more informed decisions.
Just say "they look attractive" or something FFS please.
About the speakers, they sound good. I'm glad I upgraded to them and a Yamaha A-S301 amp from my previous setup of Monitor Audio Bronze 2s and a Cambridge Audio AXA35. Thank you to Audio Science Review for the measurement work that is being done that helps people to make more informed decisions.
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Come'on guy, no one's genuinely offended by such a benignly flippant colloquialism, certainly not to the level it's acting as any kind of gate keeper to the hobby. I'm not sure why/how to get more women into the hobby, but I'm 100% confident a grand total of 0 have been scared off by the use of WAF.
Hah. I am personally amused by the esoteric usage of WAF in the community if it's tongue-in-cheek, but you're right, men should consider talking as if there are more than just guys around if they ever want the hobby to be inclusive. I'm a queer woman who's married to a woman, and honestly it was much harder for me to convince my ex-boyfriend to forgo a soundbar, and instead incorporate some basic Andrew Jones' Pioneer speakers into his space, than it was to sell my wife on the importance having good sound. She enjoys watching good tv shows and movies, and she implicitly trusted me, even though I still took the time to explain what having good speakers would mean for our space, because hey, she's a rational human being who's capable of sharing in a buying decision. Communication, and not simply making assumptions doesn't hurt.
Regarding the Elac DFR52s, I was patient and able to find a pair selling for $838 new because the retailer was trying to rid of overstock. I got the Elac Reference center similarly for $249. I had purchased a SVS sb12-nsd sub already and paired these with them, preferring to set the crossover at 60 hz in my space with minimal toe in. Crossing them over at 80 hz, the bass didn't sound as tight and smooth when listening to music, but is probably fine for an action movie. These floorstanders, and most likely all floorstanders with woofers smaller than 8 inches, needs subs, or I at least prefer listening with a sub. I'm still tinkering with placement, and considering sound treatment for my NYC apartment to address problematic room modes. I'm aiming for a wide soundstage and sense of effortless transparency in my sound, and may not get it without an integrated amp (I'm currently running them with a Denon AVR-X2500H). I was able to purchase a pair of Elac Debut B6s off Craigslist for $70, and now use them as my surrounds. I don't regret getting the DFR52s because when I A/B tested them with the Debut B6s, the floorstanders sounded better in the ways they were advertised as being better. The DFR52s at the price I got them for were worth it, if not solely for the fact that I would have needed to spend hundreds for good speaker stands (or learn to make my own), to get a similarly good sound out of the DBR-62 bookshelves. Also due to the virtue of their form factor, which may be more attractive to people with a limited budget looking for an audio setup in a smaller space, they're better sellers than the floorstanders, and less likely to go on sale, other than on Black Friday or until Elac comes out with a Debut Reference 2.0
The measurements and review here, as well as this review
helped inform my decision to seek out these Elacs.
Take my feedback with a grain of salt though, as I'm no audiophile with a degree in sound engineering or extensive experience auditioning high end gear.
Regarding the Elac DFR52s, I was patient and able to find a pair selling for $838 new because the retailer was trying to rid of overstock. I got the Elac Reference center similarly for $249. I had purchased a SVS sb12-nsd sub already and paired these with them, preferring to set the crossover at 60 hz in my space with minimal toe in. Crossing them over at 80 hz, the bass didn't sound as tight and smooth when listening to music, but is probably fine for an action movie. These floorstanders, and most likely all floorstanders with woofers smaller than 8 inches, needs subs, or I at least prefer listening with a sub. I'm still tinkering with placement, and considering sound treatment for my NYC apartment to address problematic room modes. I'm aiming for a wide soundstage and sense of effortless transparency in my sound, and may not get it without an integrated amp (I'm currently running them with a Denon AVR-X2500H). I was able to purchase a pair of Elac Debut B6s off Craigslist for $70, and now use them as my surrounds. I don't regret getting the DFR52s because when I A/B tested them with the Debut B6s, the floorstanders sounded better in the ways they were advertised as being better. The DFR52s at the price I got them for were worth it, if not solely for the fact that I would have needed to spend hundreds for good speaker stands (or learn to make my own), to get a similarly good sound out of the DBR-62 bookshelves. Also due to the virtue of their form factor, which may be more attractive to people with a limited budget looking for an audio setup in a smaller space, they're better sellers than the floorstanders, and less likely to go on sale, other than on Black Friday or until Elac comes out with a Debut Reference 2.0
The measurements and review here, as well as this review
Take my feedback with a grain of salt though, as I'm no audiophile with a degree in sound engineering or extensive experience auditioning high end gear.
At last, someone sayin it.
I'm afraid yes: the hobby must be around 75% of middle aged men, most of them considering to represent 100% of audiophiles. I'm 31, I live with my 12 years old daughter and I've never been married, nor I plan to do so. I don't give a fuck about WAF. There are just beautiful speakers and ugly ones to me.
The DFR-52 has been measured by Stereo DE this month:
(Seems a bit uneven to me)
I'm afraid yes: the hobby must be around 75% of middle aged men, most of them considering to represent 100% of audiophiles. I'm 31, I live with my 12 years old daughter and I've never been married, nor I plan to do so. I don't give a fuck about WAF. There are just beautiful speakers and ugly ones to me.
The DFR-52 has been measured by Stereo DE this month:
(Seems a bit uneven to me)
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It's always great to have more people involved, but the term "WAF" describes an actual issue many men have with this hobby, and is overwhelmingly playing the odds. This hobby is ~99% male.
That said, if someone wants to use inclusive language then changing "wife" to "partner" would work well.
That said, if someone wants to use inclusive language then changing "wife" to "partner" would work well.
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I doubt anyone here is really hurt or offended but words still matter. The term "wife acceptance factor" has sexist implications (the wife is only concerned about home aesthetics while the husband is more utilitarian and cares about actual sound quality and must appease his wife). In 2020, I find promoting such antiquated ideas to be problematic, even if nobody specifically reading this is hurt by it.
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