Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[theyellowspecial]

Makes sense, but Room correction should have fixed this. My previous speakers were reasonably good.

Room correction doesn't affect dispersion.

 

[catman]

I think there is some misunderstanding here, prompted by my response to the question about room calibration. Although the bulk of my trial involved Tidal playing through Roon, I also did play two sides from two LPs -- music that I know very well. Once again, the difference was night and day. I note @Haint's points. Yet, with the same preference scores, Amir found a significant difference between the two speakers. And this, ultimately is my only point. Whilst I fully respect this amazing science, and while I am so grateful to have learned so much from this forum, I am reporting with humility that subjectively, I heard a significant difference. On the basis of this, I am suggesting that whilst buying speakers, people listen to them, ideally in the context of their listening rooms. That's all. I have also mentioned earlier that the comment about measurements do not carry over to other components such as DACs and Amps -- this comment is only about speakers.

 

[krott5333]

The way they handle power is quite impressive, although I caught them distorting once (Giorgio by Daft Punk).

I love that song, and that entire album. I've listened to it way too many times.

 

[kevin1969]

Why do these speakers have to come with literally the ugliest looking grills ever. You would think that they would want to give people a couple different options rather than old dirty gray. That's literally the only reason I'm not considering them because they would look horrific in my house.

 

[weasels]

Why do these speakers have to come with literally the ugliest looking grills ever. You would think that they would want to give people a couple different options rather than old dirty gray. That's literally the only reason I'm not considering them because they would look horrific in my house.

The grills are removable.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

I was in the market for a speaker upgrade from my original Elac B6's. I wanted something with a little bit more soundstage, instrument separation, and cleaner bass. I also wanted a pair that was listeneable at lower volumes so I didn't bother anyone sleeping in the house, the B6's require a lot of power/volume to sound balanced due to the rolled off treble. I'll likely be moving to an apartment soon so having something that plays well without a subwoofer was also important to me.

I have a friend that has the B6.2's that he brought over for comparison with my B6 to see if it was worth getting a pair. One huge thing I noticed was the original B6's had a LOT of bass (of course being rear ported helps) with rolled off treble, while the new B6.2's have a flatter sound signature with leaner bass. I thought it wasn't a big enough difference to justify spending $280 on. Listening to "The Great Gig in the Sky" the vocals were actually a little sibilant (my friend agreed) on the B6.2, but with better imaging, while the B6 played her voice perfectly but imaging took a little hit.


I also tried the following from Crutchfield:

Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M
KEF Q150 (Black)
Wharfedale Diamond 11.1

I own JBL LSR305's for my computer setup in my computer room.

Funny enough my friend (he's a bit of a newbie) with the B6.2 bought the Klipsch reference and thought they were less harsh than the 6.2 and loves them. I didn't, so that really shows that people's ears truly differ. I ended up keeping the DBR62's. Although they can be a little sparkly with some tracks, I found it hard to even want to return these. It's been around 5 months now. I'm a little treble sensitive, but these are much less fatiguing than any of the other bookshelf speakers I've tried.

The Klipsch's had a lot of depth and height to the image but they were just too fatiguing and exciting after listening for more than an hour. I kept telling myself I wanted to return them the same day I got them. Kept them for a week but still couldn't get used to it. A little metallic and shouty sounding to me still despite people saying they "fixed" this issue with their newer speakers. I had a pair of R15M's which got me intereseted in their higher end speakers. Just not a fan of Klipsch for music for long listening periods (except maybe DSOTM ). Electric guitars and brass instruments really shine on these. Mids seemed a bit lacking in weight with vocals, I always found myself turning them up higher because I wanted a little bit more mids, but then the treble would get in the way. The Klipsch's needed to calm down, and I was skipping a lot of my favorite tracks because they just didn't sound great on these.

Then I ordered the KEF Q150, compared to the Klipsch. I liked them. Best imaging I've ever heard, images similar to the LSR305 except the soundstage was even more pinpoint and wide. Sounds great a medium to low volumes. Kept them for a week, though sibilance was a bit of an issue for me. Also found myself wanting to raise the volume but couldn't due to the treble. More bass than I thought they would have, I was very surprised. Very detailed as well. I think metallic tweeters are just not for me. This was the first concentric speaker I've tried; I was blown away how they sounded the same regardless of where you are in the room. I wish I could have kept these because they sound unique but I already hoard speakers so maybe I should stop.

Was curious about Wharfedale's since I always heard good things about them, silk dome. Meh. They were good, I can see how people like them, the midrange had some sort of smooth quality to it but they didn't wow me and I felt they weren't worth the asking price. It was a sidegrade to what I currently had; a different flavor. The treble seemed a little uneven though and didn't work well with all of my music. Returned the Wharfdales.

Ordered the DBR62's and tested them again the Q150's side by side on my Pioneer SC-61. Wow do vocals sound incredibly smooth and full with the majority of recordings. I felt vocals were most convincing on these. Upon the first hour I thought, okay the Q150's are going back. Their imaging is nowhere near as good as the Q150's- but it isn't horrible either- it could be better. I tried different placements but enoyed the DBR62 most when they were looking straight on rather than toed in. It plays well with all genres of music, although I can see why people don't like them for rock as they can be a little laid back. I'd rather have a speaker that can play everything well than some things great and some things not at all. They are a little revealing sometimes, and it seems that there's a little treble spike somewhere that can make them a bit sparkly. My partner would listen to them and say they've never heard depth in their music like this before, but I did notice that when I upped the volume they asked me to turn it down a little- which I assumed was due to the little treble spike that can sometimes stick out. With a decent recording though, it's insane how lifelike and smooth they can sound.

They are the most laid back sounding compared to the other speakers I tried though. Sounds best at medium volumes for me, but if it's really good recording you can crank these pretty loud without fatigue. My B6's and LSR305's are less fatiguing for me overall but of course they can't do some of the technicalities that the DRBR62 can do. I would say my favorite speakers are the DBR62's and LSR305's still (although the lsr's are near field active speakers so I'm not sure if they can really be compared to passives). They both provide a fun, less fatiguing than most speakers listening experience, but of course the DBR62's just keep up with everything you throw at them while the LSR's are a little limited when tracks get complicated. The tonality of the LSR305's are where they shine and imaging. The DBR62's sound closer to studio monitors than the other bookshelves I've tried. Both the LSR305's and DBR62 provide a very musical experience to me- I still don't understand how JBL made such a cheap speaker sound so good. I got mine for $99 a speaker, although they hover around $119 nowadays.

I was tempted to run LSR306's in my room, so I went to pay a visit to Guitar Center to try their studio monitors and see if I liked something better than the DBR62. Thought about the LSR306's, Adam T7V, Kali Audio 6 inch or 8 inch.

So before buying another pair, I took my LSR305 to test in my bedroom by hooking them up to an Alexa (I know, not ideal, but it's all I have at the moment), but my SUB1200 would make a low buzzing sound when I had it plugged in. This happened with the Alexa, my laptop, and also persisted when not plugged into anything. I tried another cable (but it was the same brand), same issue. I've used the SUB1200 before in another room, and didn't have this issue when plugged into my computer. Maybe the amp is going bad or there's some sort of interference in my room? It's strange but for the life of me I could not fix it. I guess I could have tried a different branded quality cable.

So basically the wiring was:

LSR305 > TRS > 3.5mm > Alexa with an audio splitter
SUB1200 > RCA to 3.5mm > Alexa with an audio splitter

Buzzing bothered me too much, so unfotunately I gave up on trying to use actives in my room. Maybe in the future with a proper setup and different sub? Oh well. I still can't bring myself to part with the B6's yet, I feel like there's no other speaker on the market that sounds quite like them.

Well, I'll try to rate the speakers I tried the most from memory:

Instrument Separation: Klipsch > DBR62 tied with Q150
Soundstage: Klipsch > Q150 > DBR62
Bass Clarity: Klipsch > DBR62 > Q150
Bass Output: DBR62 > Q150 > Klipsch
Musicality: DBR62 > Q150 > Klipsch

I would describe their sound signatures close to:
Slightly V Shaped: Klipsch, Q150
Near flat: DBR62, LSR305, Wharfdale, B6.2
Bassy with midrange emphasis: B6

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts and I hope these speakers get more attention!

 

[krott5333]

I was in the market for a speaker upgrade...

i had the Klipsch RP600. I thought it sounded good initially but quickly wore on me. Harsh and fatiguing highs, muddy and suppressed mids.

Then I tried the Triangle br03. MUCH better than the Klipsch. But not perfect. Felt like there was a slight recess in the upper mids which made the highs feel a little more airy and crisp, but not in a bad way. Not a bad speaker at all, and definitely something I could've lived with. However, I wanted something even more balanced.

And now I have the DBR62. It's perfect. Not sure what else I can say. It does everything exactly how I want it to. Bass is perfect. Mids are perfect. Highs are perfect.

I wish I could say more about them. They aren't lacking in any area. I absolutely love this speaker. I'm driving it with a Buckeye Hypex ncore 252 amp.

I'm currently listening to Nirvana Unplugged. I don't even like Nirvana, but the acoustic guitars sound so good, can't stop.

 

[kevin1969]

The grills are removable.

i had the Klipsch RP600. I thought it sounded good initially but quickly wore on me. Harsh and fatiguing highs, muddy and suppressed mids.

Then I tried the Triangle br03. MUCH better than the Klipsch. But not perfect. Felt like there was a slight recess in the upper mids which made the highs feel a little more airy and crisp, but not in a bad way. Not a bad speaker at all, and definitely something I could've lived with. However, I wanted something even more balanced.

And now I have the DBR62. It's perfect. Not sure what else I can say. It does everything exactly how I want it to. Bass is perfect. Mids are perfect. Highs are perfect.

I wish I could say more about them. They aren't lacking in any area. I absolutely love this speaker. I'm driving it with a Buckeye Hypex ncore 252 amp.

I'm currently listening to Nirvana Unplugged. I don't even like Nirvana, but the acoustic guitars sound so good, can't stop.

You're killing me Smalls! but I'm going to go check them out this weekend

 

[krott5333]

You're killing me Smalls! but I'm going to go check them out this weekend

She even signed her name on it. Ruthy. Baby Ruthy.

 

[posvibes]

I had the Klipsch RP160m's that were the precursor to the 600's but I have never compared the two. I quite liked the Klipsch's and never had that experience of the "shouty" fatiguing sound they are supposed to have, but I don't listen loudly. I thought they were clean sounding and very lean in the bass but all in all relatively tame and their horn wasn't harsh or hard or especially revealing.

I have the LR305p's in my front room, close to 2.5m apart and I sit around 3m away. I have these for a little while now and I become more and more impressed with their sound across all types of music. I am particularly impressed with their capacity to provide substantial bass and I have had them in and out of the system thinking that because they are so cheap, small and not very attractive they must be ok for their price. But I have swapped them out with a pair of Harbeth C7es2's, considerably more expensive, larger by a country mile and very nice sounding, but......

I've gone back to the JBL's. As weird as this will sound they may be my endgame speakers. I read about other's experience with Genelec's and read Amir's reviews, and as much as I'd like to try them I probably won't and I accept the Genelec's are probably going to be a cut above in engineering and sound quality.

The 305's image well and I tend to think that they may be just a fraction too far apart as I had them a little closer together, not much but enough to make them sound better, but I am not that fussed and they exist in a real shared household so there are compromises to be made.

Mostly they double for TV and music duties via a Topping E30 and primarily audio files from my computer and Spotify.

Geez they are good, really good.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

I had the Klipsch RP160m's that were the precursor to the 600's but I have never compared the two. I quite liked the Klipsch's and never had that experience of the "shouty" fatiguing sound they are supposed to have, but I don't listen loudly. I thought they were clean sounding and very lean in the bass but all in all relatively tame and their horn wasn't harsh or hard or especially revealing.

I have the LR305p's in my front room, close to 2.5m apart and I sit around 3m away. I have these for a little while now and I become more and more impressed with their sound across all types of music. I am particularly impressed with their capacity to provide substantial bass and I have had them in and out of the system thinking that because they are so cheap, small and not very attractive they must be ok for their price. But I have swapped them out with a pair of Harbeth C7es2's, considerably more expensive, larger by a country mile and very nice sounding, but......

I've gone back to the JBL's. As weird as this will sound they may be my endgame speakers. I read about other's experience with Genelec's and read Amir's reviews, and as much as I'd like to try them I probably won't and I accept the Genelec's are probably going to be a cut above in engineering and sound quality.

The 305's image well and I tend to think that they may be just a fraction too far apart as I had them a little closer together, not much but enough to make them sound better, but I am not that fussed and they exist in a real shared household so there are compromises to be made.

Mostly they double for TV and music duties via a Topping E30 and primarily audio files from my computer and Spotify.

Geez they are good, really good.

Agree with the LSR305 comment, a lot. They are great value for the money, and sound good with everything you throw at them. Just can't get loud enough for far field use and extremely layered music doesn't have as good instrument separation when you set them side by side with better gear. Never fatiguing for me with treble at -2. I'm sure the DSP is doing a lot of the lifting here. The soundstage depth they do is also kind of crazy for a speaker in this price range. Friend has a pair of KRK 5's, can't say I feel the same about those.

I would say depending on how I'm feeling and if people are home.. I usually listen at around ~78-92db according to an SPL meter on my iPhone.

 

[maxxevv]

I had the Klipsch RP160m's that were the precursor to the 600's but I have never compared the two. I quite liked the Klipsch's and never had that experience of the "shouty" fatiguing sound they are supposed to have, but I don't listen loudly. I thought they were clean sounding and very lean in the bass but all in all relatively tame and their horn wasn't harsh or hard or especially revealing.

I have the LR305p's in my front room, close to 2.5m apart and I sit around 3m away. I have these for a little while now and I become more and more impressed with their sound across all types of music. I am particularly impressed with their capacity to provide substantial bass and I have had them in and out of the system thinking that because they are so cheap, small and not very attractive they must be ok for their price. But I have swapped them out with a pair of Harbeth C7es2's, considerably more expensive, larger by a country mile and very nice sounding, but......

I've gone back to the JBL's. As weird as this will sound they may be my endgame speakers. I read about other's experience with Genelec's and read Amir's reviews, and as much as I'd like to try them I probably won't and I accept the Genelec's are probably going to be a cut above in engineering and sound quality.

The 305's image well and I tend to think that they may be just a fraction too far apart as I had them a little closer together, not much but enough to make them sound better, but I am not that fussed and they exist in a real shared household so there are compromises to be made.

Mostly they double for TV and music duties via a Topping E30 and primarily audio files from my computer and Spotify.

Geez they are good, really good.

At that listening distance, your 305P's will certainly benefit from adding a subwoofer.

Wait around a bit for sales, the JBL 310S sub is ideally matched for it.

 

[posvibes]

At that listening distance, your 305P's will certainly benefit from adding a subwoofer.

Nah, I'm not a subwoofer guy, I know about the dynamics and realism and all of that, but most speakers have enough bass for my taste as is. I tend to listen at pretty low to average levels.

 

[notabenem]

> So you better have a beefy amplifier to drive this speaker.

Would a Denon X3700H be enough? Assuming I rarely go louder than -10dB. I usually listen between -20 and -30.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

> So you better have a beefy amplifier to drive this speaker.

Would a Denon X3700H be enough? Assuming I rarely go louder than -10dB. I usually listen between -20 and -30.

I drive 3 DBR-62's for LCR from an Anthem MRX520 which is rated at 100 X 5, and I rarely ever have to go above -20.
But I do have them crossed over at 80hz and only sitting about 8' away. Most listening is between -25 and -35 depending on content.
Your X3700H was measured with 40 more watts of cleaner power so it should be fine.

 

[thebmillproject]

Sorry I’m a newbie. But how narrow is the sweet spot on these reference compared to the 6.2? I like my 6.2 but wish it was a less narrow sweet spot and maybe a little more refined and less bright. But selling the 6.2 and buying references is still a bit of $$$. Thanks!

 

[Honken]

I find it to very wide horizontally. I've been toying with toe in (and no toe in) and I find that it doesn't change my impression all that much. You mileage may vary, this is my subjective opinion.

I currently have them positioned so that they cross somewhere around a meter behind my main listening position. Not sure what the angle is exactly, but it is low. This gives me (again subjetively) a nice and wide stereo image that doesn't change much as I move around.

 

[thebmillproject]

If the reference is 80 degrees, what is the debut 6.2?

 

[Beershaun]

If the reference is 80 degrees, what is the debut 6.2?

Not sure if I understand your question correctly. But Amir's review on the first page measures the horizontal directivity at +-80 degrees.

 

[RobS]

Purchased these recently based on Amir's speaker listening tests. I'm waiting for my custom speakers to be assembled (2 month lead time), so I needed a budget speaker option decent enough til I receive them.

They were disappointing to say the least. I listened to them on-axis only, as I do all my speakers, and without the tweeter grills. I do have the original Elac B6 speaker. I was driving them with the Benchmark AHB2.

My immediate impressions were the lack of rhythmic drive, dynamic punch and attack. Then the lack of treble energy which overall made these speakers sound extremely dull.

I went back to the measurements Amir took to see if I could identify the problem and I see it's scooped in the 2.5khz-4.2khz region:

This confirms the laid-back and undynamic character of the sound I was hearing. I do hear quite a bit of a muffled sound. Drum hits don't have the power they should so drum kits sound like they are caked in mud but you can clearly hear the hi-hats.

With typical studio recordings where a singer is front in center, I can hear the vocals more present above the rest of the mix. But the instruments around and behind the singer are too muddy, not well outlined. Veiled with a smearing of poo. Bass was also one-note and indistinct at times, with much too early roll-off.

They are an exceptionally smooth, rounded sound that would be great for elevator music, smooth jazz, a capella. They simply do not have the bite, buzz, bark, crispness, snap, attack and growl that is necessary for pop/rock recordings to "pop" out of the speakers for an engaging listen. I actually found the original Elac B6 to have more drive and energy.

I cannot recommend these speakers. If you want this kind of sound, you could save half your money and pick up a pair of the Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2s.