Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[Benedium]

Turns out I didn't get the settings right for my denon x3600h previously. Got too confused by different opinions online. Now that I have dynamic EQ on, the dbr62 sounds good for movies too. So i guess now I'm convinced the denon x3600h is powerful enough for the elac dbr62 in a 5.1ch home theatre setup.

 

[Zoide]

Has anyone compared the DRB-62 to the Monitor Audio Bronze 200 6G?

The latter are also pretty new and actually have a similar-looking metal grill in front of the tweeter. They are floorstanders so their price is similar to the DRB-62 + stands.

From what I've read, MA has a very good reputation, but the thing is that there are almost no reviews or tests yet...

 

[Tarachii]

Turns out I didn't get the settings right for my denon x3600h previously. Got too confused by different opinions online. Now that I have dynamic EQ on, the dbr62 sounds good for movies too. So i guess now I'm convinced the denon x3600h is powerful enough for the elac dbr62 in a 5.1ch home theatre setup.

That's great! I might have to try that. I have dynamic EQ off too, and also find myself turning the volume up to 70 - 85% for movies, but listening to music at around 40 - 66% volume.

The bookshelf center should also make a difference for clarity of dialogue, and overall coherency of the soundstage. I was using an Andrew Jones Pioneer center before, and despite how mediocre it is as a MTM solution, I still preferred it the phantom center when testing it in my movies.

 

[Benedium]

That's great! I might have to try that. I have dynamic EQ off too, and also find myself turning the volume up to 70 - 85% for movies, but listening to music at around 40 - 66% volume.

The bookshelf center should also make a difference for clarity of dialogue, and overall coherency of the soundstage. I was using an Andrew Jones Pioneer center before, and despite how mediocre it is as a MTM solution, I still preferred it the phantom center when testing it in my movies.

For music I have dynamic EQ off for sure. But for netflix and movies I just leave it on.

Guess I can try turning dynamic EQ off again and playing with dynamic volume Light/Medium setting instead.

 

[Benedium]

Having elac debut 2.0 b6.2 for rears/surrounds seems to be not such a good idea. Could be my room and speaker placement because my B6.2 is very near rear wall?

Crossed over at 80hz, both speakers sound signatures do not seem to match at all. B6.2 sounds much warmer. Anything in the measurements to indicate that? I could be imagining all this of course haha.

Will experiment with different crossover settings for both speakers.

 

[TheMarshal]

Would Denon X1600H have enough power to drive DBR-62?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Well, I pulled the trigger on a set of these babies just now. These are gonna be my speakers for the long term. Currently, I can't really take advantage of them as I'm in an apartment for the foreseeable future but I'm sure I'll enjoy them anyway even at moderate volume, lol. Pretty good pricing for these in Canada - $699cdn and free shipping. Essentially $530 US...

 

[Benedium]

Would Denon X1600H have enough power to drive DBR-62?

I have the denon x3600h, which I read has about 80w per channel for 5 channels driven and crossover to subwoofer at 80hz.

I find dbr62 not great for playing at lower volumes.
Sound stage suffers most when certain frequencies are not loud enough at low to medium volumes. To fix it, I turn on dynamic volume, which then degrades clarity/resolution. Maybe problem is I never know what volume to play at.

Playing at near reference level sounds more normal And they are also slightly better in stereo mode or direct mode with only 2 channels driven.

From my layperson and limited experience, I am guessing this speaker may not be suitable for night time listening unless you hate your neighbours. The debut 2.0 B6.2, which I'm using for surrounds, sounds more normal and predictable in this application.

 

[daftcombo]

I have the denon x3600h, which I read has about 80w per channel for 5 channels driven and crossover to subwoofer at 80hz.

I find dbr62 not great for playing at lower volumes.
Sound stage suffers most when certain frequencies are not loud enough at low to medium volumes. To fix it, I turn on dynamic volume, which then degrades clarity/resolution. Maybe problem is I never know what volume to play at.

Playing at near reference level sounds more normal And they are also slightly better in stereo mode or direct mode with only 2 channels driven.

From my layperson and limited experience, I am guessing this speaker may not be suitable for night time listening unless you hate your neighbours. The debut 2.0 B6.2, which I'm using for surrounds, sounds more normal and predictable in this application.

Did you try positionning them straight forward, without toe-in ?

 

[Benedium]

Did you try positionning them straight forward, without toe-in ?

Yup I did. Pointing totally straight ahead.

 

[Benedium]

Ok I probably sound like a crazy person by now but just thought I should share that I finally got my elac dbr62 sounding normal. Turns out I've been using the wrong high frequency roll off option in the denon multieq editor app's target sound options.

Previously using high frequency roll off option 1 (gradual roll off), treble was harsher while mids and bass seemed severely recessed, which made it sound quite uncomfortable.

Now that I have selected high frequency roll off option 2 (steeper roll off), the speakers finally sound totally balanced and normal. I no longer need to listen at near reference levels to hear everything. I'm finally happy with the dbr62 Pretty sure now X3600h has more than enough power for the speakers. Sorry for causing any confusion with earlier posts.

 

[hmt]

Did you disable the "BBC dip"?

 

[Benedium]

Did you disable the "BBC dip"?

Yes turned off midrange compensation aka bbc dip.

 

[viewcart]

I regularly am pumping ~10x the wattage into my speakers for movies compared to pop music. If a speaker gets loud/dynamic enough for movies, there is hardly a song out there it won't sound dynamic with, unless you like to listen at above reference levels (rock concert / needing earplugs loud).

 

[TheMarshal]

I have the denon x3600h, which I read has about 80w per channel for 5 channels driven and crossover to subwoofer at 80hz.

I find dbr62 not great for playing at lower volumes.
Sound stage suffers most when certain frequencies are not loud enough at low to medium volumes. To fix it, I turn on dynamic volume, which then degrades clarity/resolution. Maybe problem is I never know what volume to play at.

Playing at near reference level sounds more normal And they are also slightly better in stereo mode or direct mode with only 2 channels driven.

From my layperson and limited experience, I am guessing this speaker may not be suitable for night time listening unless you hate your neighbours. The debut 2.0 B6.2, which I'm using for surrounds, sounds more normal and predictable in this application.

Dang, I guess it will be more hustle free and cheaper to just go with some $400-500 soundbar and call it a day. It's for a second setup that I will mostly watch TV shows and some movies.

But I freaking love the look of the DBR-62. Decisions everywhere.

 

[Zoide]

Dang, I guess it will be more hustle free and cheaper to just go with some $400-500 soundbar and call it a day. It's for a second setup that I will mostly watch TV shows and some movies.

But I freaking love the look of the DBR-62. Decisions everywhere.

Don't worry, he realized he had misconfigured them and now they sound fine

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rence-dbr-62-speaker-review.12232/post-487576

 

[KaiserSoze]

Likely, yes, depending on how you qualify adequately. I've been told any system can benefit from more power, with the DRB62s more so than most to 'come alive' according to people. I have no issues running a 5.1 system consisting of Elac Reference DFR52s, Elac Reference DCR52, and Elac B6s for surrounds with my Denon AVR-X2500H, and playing movies at a volume that could have neighbors knocking on my door to turn it down. I can likewise drive the towers at earsplitting levels in stereo

I suppose it is possible that some amplifiers implement some sort of "soft clipping" that messes up the sound without it being obvious that the amp is clipping (in which case I would expect the sound to be messed up even when there is no good reason for the amp to be clipping). And there may be other amplifier quality factors (besides peak or RMS power) that affect sound quality. But, whatever those other quality factors might be, there isn't likely any guarantee that a more powerful amp will avoid issues pertaining to those factors.

I've never bought into the idea that with some speakers you need a more powerful amp just to make the speakers "come alive". My understanding is that two amplifiers that are identical in every way except the power rating should sound identical unless one of them goes into clipping, i.e., unless for one of them the input signal voltage exceeds the DC supply voltage (the "rails"). If two such otherwise-identical amplifiers do not sound identical when neither of them is clipping, then it must be true that one of them is delivering less current than the other at the same output voltage and with the same load impedance. It seems to me this would be a violation of Ohm's law. I've considered the possibility that the distortion level will be lower in the more powerful amplifier, but I had to reject this theory for a couple of reasons. One, nominal distortion levels that apply in non-clipping circumstances are typically an order of magnitude or more below the normal threshold of audibility. Two, it is not a universal truth that distortion is lower in a more powerful amplifier compared to a less powerful amplifier when neither is driven into clipping. So it does not seem likely that a difference in distortion level is the explanation, and I can't think of what else it might be. I wish that people who expound this notion would occasionally share their take on how this phenomenon occurs. It would possibly improve my understanding of amplification. Until someone comes up with a fully plausible explanation for this phenomenon, my preference would be for people to refrain from lending further credibility to this notion.

 

[Benedium]

Incredible how selecting the steeper high frequency roll off could change the sound so much. Now the dbr62 sounds soooooo good.

Could it be because dbr62 likes to be pointed straight ahead and the high frequencies were reflecting off the side walls a little too much? Mind you my side walls aren't exactly near at 170cm and 300cm away.

With previous speakers eg mission lx2, I toed in a great deal more, so side wall reflections were much minimised.

Although tempting to believe I hear a difference in 'speaker-amplifier power' after changing high frequency roll off, I guess this issue was actually more about reflected sound and EQ?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

These arrived today. I set them up and played a bunch of stuff I'm good and familiar with and I'm real pleased. The DBR62s just sound super balanced and composed. I haven't done any EQing yet and I don't know if I will really. I don't hear anything obnoxious at all.

Here's a pic...check out the old RB42s disconnected and pushed back out of the way there lookin all forlorn! lol

Oh, and I listened with the grills off. But man the speakers are handsome with them on!

https://imgur.com/j3uMtkJ

 

[KaiserSoze]

These arrived today. I set them up and played a bunch of stuff I'm good and familiar with and I'm real pleased. The DBR62s just sound super balanced and composed. I haven't done any EQing yet and I don't know if I will really. I don't hear anything obnoxious at all.

Here's a pic...check out the old RB42s disconnected and pushed back out of the way there lookin all forlorn! lol

Oh, and I listened with the grills off. But man the speakers are handsome with them on!

https://imgur.com/j3uMtkJ

Indeed they look very handsome. So does your amplifier. Where'd you get that miniature TV?