Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[Doodski]

You didn't miss much. It was a dead end. Every time I see the latest (kidding) 15.3 system or some such advertised I just smile. I'll take my two in front, I'm the simple type. As far as service was concerned it was a privilege. I'd do it again if they'd let me. Of course I would have to be helped out to the plane .... Cheers sir.

I lost track of surround sound after the high end Yamaha DSP stuff of the 90's. It was very complicated to use and had a bazillion modes and adjustments all via a pretty small display. The high end units had a video output for on screen display that made it easier but it was still difficult even for us peeps that dig that sort of stuff. Now I use my Sennheiser HD 598SR headphones to keep the sound private and not disturb others. I can go loud and it's OK. I'm curious; how many trunks and belongings is air force personnel permitted to transfer between stations? Is it by weight, volume, quantity of trunks?

 

[Chromatischism]

Quite aside from what we've been talking about....as a returning newbie I have been gobsmacked by how far down the diminishing returns curve we have traveled since I left. $600-$1000 speakers that hit way above the weight I was used to say 15 years ago. Perfectly acceptable integrateds or even pre's at that mark up to say $2000. It's seemng a bit like a golden age to me. I'm amazed.

It's downright amazing the quality of sound I can get from a $300 desktop DAC and $100 IEM's. The diminishing returns from here are steep, indeed.

 

[JeremyFife]

I would like to see a blind AB test of a identical new pair of Elacs and a pair that have been broken-in. That would be the best test.

Preferably measurements of an unboxed pair vs same speakers after a month or so (same settings obviously) - should be clear.
I'm considering upgrading to the DBR-62s and I'll give that a go - it won't be this year though!

 

[Chromatischism]

You only need to "break in" one speaker and leave the other in the box. You can even have the Mrs shuffle them so you don't know which is which!

 

[E-Lint]

I lost track of surround sound after the high end Yamaha DSP stuff of the 90's. It was very complicated to use and had a bazillion modes and adjustments all via a pretty small display. The high end units had a video output for on screen display that made it easier but it was still difficult even for us peeps that dig that sort of stuff. Now I use my Sennheiser HD 598SR headphones to keep the sound private and not disturb others. I can go loud and it's OK. I'm curious; how many trunks and belongings is air force personnel permitted to transfer between stations? Is it by weight, volume, quantity of trunks?

All I remember was that there were both weight and volume limitations and still recall the large, fabricated, cubical plywood shipping boxes. I never moved the wife overseas, just me. I went places she wasn't allowed so I never had to move a full household. I was holding orders for Shemya Island, at the far end of the Aleutians, when I drew the line, said no and separated. In our shared NORAD parlance it would be like doing an unaccompanied year at Clear or Thule..or worse. Makes me cold just thinking about it.

 

[Doodski]

All I remember was that there were both weight and volume limitations and still recall the large, fabricated, cubical plywood shipping boxes. I never moved the wife overseas, just me. I went places she wasn't allowed so I never had to move a full household. I was holding orders for Shemya Island, at the far end of the Aleutians, when I drew the line, said no and separated. In our shared NORAD parlance it would be like doing an unaccompanied year at Clear or Thule..or worse. Makes me cold just thinking about it.

That's very isolated and bleak out in the Bering Sea. No matter how good the library is that would be a tough place to live in. Reminds me of winter where I live we hit -38C/-36F + wind chill every winter for some days/weeks and sometimes even colder. I have a assortment of fluffy down coats for that. I can go downtown anytime that I want and there is a large selection of people to take the doldrums out of winter so there's that which Shemya Island would not have.

 

[E-Lint]

Ah yes, The Rock. Tunnels between buildings, sunny clime.....
It was going to go to contractor ops (these days Raytheon) when I was leaving. Bendix, at the time, offered me three times what I was making in the AF to go there. No.
I was on the listening side but the Cobra Dane is still there doing its job on the broadcasting side. I always figured that if the balloon goes up with the Russians it'll be either coincident with a cruise missile or Spetznatz attack on Cobra Dane, Flyingdales and other similar in an attempt to blind us. May God forbid, eh?

Cobra Dane - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Doodski]

Ah yes, The Rock. Tunnels between buildings, sunny clime.....
It was going to go to contractor ops (these days Raytheon) when I was leaving. Bendix, at the time, offered me three times what I was making in the AF to go there. No.
I was on the listening side but the Cobra Dane is still there doing its job on the broadcasting side. I always figured that if the balloon goes up with the Russians it'll be either coincident with a cruise missile or Spetznatz attack on Cobra Dane, Flyingdales and other similar in an attempt to blind us. May God forbid, eh?

Cobra Dane - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

That would be a very very messy thing to occur. I can only imagine what the result would be. It would be horrible for everybody involved to say the least. I don't see any country attempting to take over Canada and the USA. Of course the suspect would be you know who.

 

[E-Lint]

Agreed. No one could physically conquer us both. We're doing our best at cultural suicide all by ourselves. We don't need further *help*. That's as political as I will get. On to happier thoughts and sounds.

 

[E-Lint]

I've gotten the Navis and SMSL M500 Mk II up and running and it all sounds terrific. The Navis sound more mature, call it warmer I suppose, than the UBR -52's. The 52's are more *crystal* tinkly, great but they cry out for a sub(s) whereas the Navis punch pretty darn good. Which they should given the tri-amped 300 watt total onboard power. No breakin on them as far as I can tell. But I'll be watching just so I can be a pain..... Can anyone familiar with the SMSL PCM filters, sound colors ,etc. help a poor dummy understand what, if anything, they might help? I'm running everything flat right now and I'm good with it but if there is goodness in those filters can someone give a shout.

 

[Jia_Jie_Guo]

Here they are. Filter requires 1.15dB of attenuation. Have fun!

View attachment 70783

Hi there, how would this be implemented on Peace apo? And can anyone tell me the steps to have this eq on peace? Thanks.

 

[RudeDude99]

Hey all. Pretty new to high and audio and even newer to the science but looking to learn.

Had these for about a year and still can’t really decide if I like them. Sometimes I think they sound totally great, sometimes they just feel totally flat and lifeless and I find myself playing with all sorts of EQ. Granted I haven’t isolated the source material so it could just be some bad recordings coming through as bad, but I feel like it is more noticeable with these than other speakers?

On a similar note, I know all speakers sound better louder, but I find that at low-med volumes these seem to suffer more than some of the KEF / Dynaudio speakers I’ve really liked.

Wondering if others find the same?

Thanks

 

[Beershaun]

What has changed about what or how you are listening when they sound good vs bad? I've found that room correction can help every speaker. I've also found with these speakers that poor recordings definitely reveal themselves. Also are you using different sources for your music or always the same source?

 

[RudeDude99]

What has changed about what or how you are listening when they sound good vs bad? I've found that room correction can help every speaker. I've also found with these speakers that poor recordings definitely reveal themselves. Also are you using different sources for your music or always the same source?

Hm, I can’t think of any major differences but I will try to pay attention and see if I can identify anything. Usually streaming Tidal though, sometimes Spotify, but lots of different types of music. Admittedly don’t have any room correction because I haven’t figured out a good/cheap way to do it…

 

[raindance]

Hm, I can’t think of any major differences but I will try to pay attention and see if I can identify anything. Usually streaming Tidal though, sometimes Spotify, but lots of different types of music. Admittedly don’t have any room correction because I haven’t figured out a good/cheap way to do it…

Measure the in room response or you are simply flying blind.

 

[formatfizikal]

Hey all. Pretty new to high and audio and even newer to the science but looking to learn.

Had these for about a year and still can’t really decide if I like them. Sometimes I think they sound totally great, sometimes they just feel totally flat and lifeless and I find myself playing with all sorts of EQ. Granted I haven’t isolated the source material so it could just be some bad recordings coming through as bad, but I feel like it is more noticeable with these than other speakers?

On a similar note, I know all speakers sound better louder, but I find that at low-med volumes these seem to suffer more than some of the KEF / Dynaudio speakers I’ve really liked.

Wondering if others find the same?

Thanks

what about placement ? make sure its at least 2 feet away from the front wall and wide enough between each other. tweeter need to be somewhat near to your ear level. Louder not necessarily make the song better if its a bad recording/heavily compressed.

 

[cavedriver]

Hey all. Pretty new to high and audio and even newer to the science but looking to learn.

Had these for about a year and still can’t really decide if I like them. Sometimes I think they sound totally great, sometimes they just feel totally flat and lifeless and I find myself playing with all sorts of EQ. Granted I haven’t isolated the source material so it could just be some bad recordings coming through as bad, but I feel like it is more noticeable with these than other speakers?

On a similar note, I know all speakers sound better louder, but I find that at low-med volumes these seem to suffer more than some of the KEF / Dynaudio speakers I’ve really liked.

Wondering if others find the same?

Thanks

I found they had a hollowness in the lower treble with some recordings. Vocals sounded distant as if they came through a short tunnel. I moved them around a bit, and given the frequency range I felt it had to be the speakers and not the rooms (used 2 different spaces and A/B'ed them with about 8 other pairs including my personal favorite towers), but you never know for sure- maybe I was wrong. If you want to be sure if something is wrong re source material then you could listen to several recordings on other "reference" systems in order to learn what they should/can sound like. I think most people develop a list of 10-50 pieces that they know really well and use for testing different listening setups. There are of course whole discussions about what types of sources to use but things that cover certain frequencies, things that you like, things that are "hi-fi" in the sense that they used quality equipment to record them (for example, even some rock groups, like Pink Floyd, are famous for the quality of their recordings, and albums like the Wall are popular material for speaker testing) are all good places to start. Can also use quality headphones like some higher end Sennheisers, etc. to look for details in the music to listen for, but of course headphones don't challenge staging and imaging the same as speakers.

 

[Jia_Jie_Guo]

Here they are. Filter requires 1.15dB of attenuation. Have fun!

View attachment 70783

I have tried to copy the EQ settings as best as I can on Peace, how should I set the filters? (I've done the Frequency, Gain and Quality sliders)

Thank you in advance!

 

[Surfzm]

Hello, I have just bought Elac debut reference DBR62. I would like to know if it is better to buy new Loxjie A30, or used Nad320bee, nad340)..I can get nad for 110-140 USD.
Or smtg else?

 

[Beershaun]

Not sure what your room size is but I would get something with 100w rms and burst to 200.

Expanding on this answer. The small bookshelf speakers are less efficient than large floorstanding speakers and need more power than larger more efficient speakers to get the full capabilities of the speaker, especially in the bass region where more power is needed to accelerate the larger woofer.