Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[holbob]

Over time, you will understand that everything is good in moderation.

Even making love with Natalie Portman?

I don't believe you!

 

[celroid]

I think these are not the last audio components in your life. Then look at the class A and AB amplifiers. The power of 30 watts per channel is enough for home listening to music. The regular Realtek chip has better linearity than DACs in separate packages. SMSL sells simple and cheap electronic components in modern-looking packages. Better to buy a laptop with an 11-inch screen. More possibilities. To connect the acoustics to the amplifier, a regular copper stranded wire from a hardware store is suitable. The sound won't get any worse.

I wanted my cables to have shielding from electromagnetic interferences (transformers, phone chargers, etc.), and star quad cables are supposed to be good at that. If there are better cables at that then I just wasn't aware of them.

 

[realdb]

@amirm wow, love the work sir you have been doing. I am out of words of praise. I am a total noob, and have just joined a few days ago, but the pace with which i am consuming information is just mind boggling, so much to learn and read. It's a gold mine. I hope to contribute to this community for sure.

I see you have compared, Elac dbr 62, Revel M16, Revel M105, KEF R3. Which one would you choose among all of the 3. I have read all their reviews. Just wanted to know your expert opinion of how do they stack against each other, yes i know they are at 3 different price points but if you had to get one among all 3 which one would you go for and why.

Thanks

 

[T.T.]

UPDATE: I found that my reservations were mainly caused by my room. I covered the floor and the window in front of the desk (which is my listening position). Guitar riffs pop again, soundstage is deeper, center image stronger and transitions smoother. I expected that untreated room would accentuate higher frequencies, but that it would almost cancel an instrument and mess up the soundstange, that is a surprise. Also it works best when speakers are fully directed at my head (or very slightly behind).

And now the ceiling...

UPDATE #2: previously I did not comment on build quality as I had a claim pending. I received new pair today. The problem with first was that one speaker produced slight buzz when playing below 50hz, I concluded that it was probably caused by the dustcap which was not fully glued to the cone (several small gaps). The new pair has the dustcaps glued properly, but there is some flappy sound coming from both speakers, I guess it's the rubber. I don't know now whether it was the same with the first pair, I was more concerned by the buzz. Anyways, not audible from my listening position and not audible when "normal" music is playing.

The first pair had better finishing though, the shut lines were tighter and vinyl fitting was more seamless. There are also (white) paint lumps in the gaps around the drivers on the second pair.

 

[981CS]

I have the DBR-62s and an 85W Yamaha AS-501 was not enough to power them at high volumes. I then got an Audiophonics NC252MP-based amp and they now can be effortlessly powered to ear-destroying levels.

Those Yamaha's don't have a lot of grunt behind them. I found that they do really struggle in trying to express dynamics, especially with speakers that aren't all that sensitive.

 

[981CS]

I am an electronics engineer and I do not practice religion. By the level of your volume, I can say that it flatters everyone in its own way. To understand a piece of music, 5 - 7 watts is enough.

For you perhaps, but for others that want more there are better amps. Can 5 watts belt out a bass note @ 45Hz effectively on a modern 6.5" woofer in a smaller box? No, not really. You need power to do so and 5 watts isn't enough for dynamic bass.

 

[weasels]

For you perhaps, but for others that want more there are better amps. Can 5 watts belt out a bass note @ 45Hz effectively on a modern 6.5" woofer in a smaller box? No, not really. You need power to do so and 5 watts isn't enough for dynamic bass.

I'm sure room size plays a large part as well. I listen to my DBR62s in a relatively small home office with a 60wpc amp and I'm quite happy with the bass response. In a larger room I might not be so satisfied.

 

[Vyacheslav]

My native language is Russian and the google translator does not always translate the meaning of the text in detail. If the listener wants the bass to be played with priority, beat on the head and the stage lined up with bass in front, then a powerful amplifier and acoustics DBR 62 are needed. In order to understand the 1958 album Porgy And Bess - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, the amplifier power was enough for me according to the 1969 scheme by John Linsley Hood. A couple of days ago, I went to the store again, and the seller turned on the B&W 606 and DALI Oberon 3 for comparison. To my ears, these speakers place the musicians equally correctly. According to your mood, you can listen to the bright sound of B&W 606. DALI Oberon 3 does not tire your hearing, it can be switched on in the morning and switched off in the evening.

 

[T.T.]

UPDATE #2: previously I did not comment on build quality as I had a claim pending. I received new pair today. The problem with first was that one speaker produced slight buzz when playing below 50hz, I concluded that it was probably caused by the dustcap which was not fully glued to the cone (several small gaps). The new pair has the dustcaps glued properly, but there is some flappy sound coming from both speakers, I guess it's the rubber. I don't know now whether it was the same with the first pair, I was more concerned by the buzz. Anyways, not audible from my listening position and not audible when "normal" music is playing.

The first pair had better finishing though, the shut lines were tighter and vinyl fitting was more seamless. There are also (white) paint lumps in the gaps around the drivers on the second pair.

UPDATE #3: so I spent second day listening to the new pair and I can't get rid of the feeling these are different speakers. Be aware there was no interim period, the replacement was arranged as an exchange package, so I put the new pair on just minutes after I returned the first pair. Same position, same system, nothing has changed. I liked the first pair a lot, I was not hoping for any improvement (except the barely audible buzz to go away), so I am suppresing the idea that my brain is tricking me into confirmation bias.

These sound better, if I thought the first pair was a bit laid back, then these are not. They are identical tonally, but seem to be more resolving, tiny details cut through like never before, there is more attack in the midrange, guitars are crunchier.

Is the transient amplitude up a notch? Is such sample variation common?

 

[Chromatischism]

What you are describing is very similar to what one will notice when listening more intently, even to the same source. It's also what happens when our brain adjusts to the sound of a new speaker.

So while there could be sample variation, I doubt it would be enough to hear a difference. You'd have to measure them both to compare objectively.

 

[akarma]

So while there could be sample variation, I doubt it would be enough to hear a difference.

It depends on quality control. I think some deviations are very common in speakers with passive crossovers if you don't check every pair of speakers out

 

[MrPeabody]

I have the DBR-62s and an 85W Yamaha AS-501 was not enough to power them at high volumes. I then got an Audiophonics NC252MP-based amp and they now can be effortlessly powered to ear-destroying levels.

Curious to know exactly what happened and how you decided that the amp was deficient. Multiple choice:

A. When I turned the amp up as loud as I wanted the speakers to be, the amp got really hot and shut down.
B. When I turned the amp up as loud as I wanted the speakers to be, I could hear distortion that indicated that the amplifier was probably clipping the signal.
C. I turned the amp up all the way and nothing was wrong except that it wasn't loud enough for me.
D. Other (please explain).

 

[ferongr]

B. There was audible distortion at high volumes with tracks that had lots of low frequency content.

 

[quirozson]

New to this forum and HiFi in general. Just bought these ELAC's to replace late 1980's B&W DM110i. At higher volumes these truly shine! Mid/highs clear and are well balanced with the bass. As I turn the volume down to more relaxing volume levels (where I tend to listen most frequently), the bass signal takes over the room. It's not boomy, but fatiguing. I need to turn my receiver bass setting down to -6 or turn on the high pass filter on zone2 of my Denon receiver, which I don't need to do with my trusty B&W's. Anyway, just curious if this is something I should be concerned with, or just set it and forget it? Love the sound with high pass filter activated, but I've always had that set at neutral with my other speakers.

Though I'd update my issue. Turns out that the NAD Amp fixed my psychoacoustic issues at low volume; but it wasn't the DENON amplifier itself, but the DAC I was using. I ended up not keeping the NAD AMP after I realized a higher end DAC is what I needed. I had been using the DAC built into my Airport Express (2nd generation) streaming via Airplay 2. The DBR-62 must have illuminated the weakness in that Airport Express DAC. Now have Airplay 2 streaming to my Airport Express-> Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 -> Denon ARV 2313CI (Zone 2) and sound is amazing.

 

[realdb]

Is it just me or i think elac dbr are more balanced than metas. Metas are super vocal focused and good sound stage but lack in dynamics. May be i just need to break them in or may be i have a bad meta unit dbr is more natural sounding

 

[thewas]

The Meta have no bass boost and no presence dip so are more honest and less euphonic which can be a disadvantage with poorer recordings.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

I home demoed LS50's in 2016 for a 2 channel system and wasn't impressed at all. Thought they were way overrated. And the 2db peak they have in the fatiguing 2khz to 4khz area really bothered my ears. Ended up buying Bryston Mini T's at a much higher price but are a great value for the sound quality they give.
About 6 months later I bought 3 Paradigm Prestige 15B's for my 3.1 home theatre system. I Temporary tried them in the 2 channel room and they were also better at everything over the LS50's. The 15B's have better clarity, sound bigger, have better bass, and even better imaging.
After moving into our new house the 15B's were too bright in my new room, every speaker I've tried except the DBR-62's has been, but they have a pretty flat frequency response. I have an area rug, soft furniture and cloth blinds, but it's the main room of the house so can't put treatments everywhere. And since my only system is getting used 95% for tv/movies now, I sold the 15B's and bought 2 pairs of DBR-62's for LCR.
They DBR-62's are amazing for the money. The tonality is on par with much more expensive speakers, they have very good clarity, and sound well balanced.
I highly doubt the new LS50 Meta are as good as the DBR-62's.

 

[space]

I have the DBR-62s and an 85W Yamaha AS-501 was not enough to power them at high volumes. I then got an Audiophonics NC252MP-based amp and they now can be effortlessly powered to ear-destroying levels.

Do you think stepping up to the A-S701 would be enough for the DBR62, or should something else be considered? I’m currently running mine on a cheap AVR (Onkyo NR-676) until I can figure out what integrated or power amp to go with.

 

[thewas]

I home demoed LS50's in 2016 for a 2 channel system and wasn't impressed at all. Thought they were way overrated. And the 2db peak they have in the fatiguing 2khz to 4khz area really bothered my ears.

I agree about the 2dB presence bump of the old LS50, he is talking about the LS50 Meta though which don't have it.

 

[richard12511]

Is it just me or i think elac dbr are more balanced than metas. Metas are super vocal focused and good sound stage but lack in dynamics. May be i just need to break them in or may be i have a bad meta unit dbr is more natural sounding

We haven't seen a meta on Amir's machine yet(would love to) to really compare apples to apples. From the measurements I have seen though, the Metas look to me the better and more balanced speaker. Curious, do you own both? Could be your brain is still getting used to the new sound.