Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[Digi]

In a previous room that had more carpet and softer furnishings to dampen down the highs, the Mini T's were near perfect. In my newer room of hardwood, glass, and stone, they were too bright.

Hi, Would you say the Bryston's Mini T bookshelf speakers are war, neutral or forward sounding? Are the value for money spent? Thanks.

 

[Doenerkunde]

On this cold and snowy Saturday I finally managed to find an hour to play around some more with my new UMIK-1, REW and my Elac DBR62. Please bear in mind, that this are my very first steps in this direction, so there will be plenty of room for improvements! Suggestions are highly welcome!

First off in room response at my listening place at ear height (right in front of the back wall) using a single sweep, 1/6 octave smoothing:

Hm. I always knew that in room responses look much uglier than their anechoic peers, but did not expect the amplitude of the swings. The room mode around 53hz is the most bothersome.

EDIT: I´m starting to suspect that maybe I should turn SPL up by 10-15dB the next time, as the distance between noise floor and signal should be higher. Maybe some of the erratic behaviour at higher frequencies can be explained by big city flat noise floor?

For the funk of it I tried the bass control of my Marantz PM7001 integrated amp:


As one can see (and should have expected) the bass control of the amp is no appropriate measure to counter small band high amplitude room modes!

I did not trust these measurements, because the swings were bigger than I expected, so in the next step I tried to take some ultra nearfield measurements of drivers, just to gain some experience.

First the woofer (unsmoothed):

Wow, that looks much more steady than the farfield inroom measurements! I was thrilled to see, that I was able to pick up the 630hz or so back pannel resonance of the Elacs. This one gave me confidence that the other measurements could be not tooooo far off.

Next the tweeter (unsmoothed):

Hm, that looks less reliable, but I guess there could be some diffraction from the tweeter grid at play. Maybe my hands were a little bit shaky too, as I held the mic for the nearfield tests and small changes in position can have rather big effects when wavelenghts get smaller? Unfortunately at this point my "quiet time alone" ran out, but I will revisit.

My next steps:
- I plan on adding some absorption. My ceilings are high and front and back walls are rather empty. Maybe thats the reason highs measured more erratic than I would have expected. As I´m on a budget, I think about hanging up some second hand oriental carpets (russian style) or some long heavy curtains that I have stored up .
- To fix the bass mode there seems to be no other way than EQ, so I will likely save up on a miniDSP.

I hope this post does not derail this thread! Thanks again for everything, this forum revived my interest for the hobby!

 

[iNetRunner]

I can get the NAD C 389 for 1500€, do you think this is the best option for my setup?

Of course since it’s not released yet, so no one has heard it yet. But on paper it looks like a very nice product. And with the MDC2 options (current and future) you have some upgrade potential.

 

[frki16]

one more satisfied user...
upgraded from debut 6.2 and DBRs corrected only remark I had about debuts high frequencies on jazz, accustic and instrumental music, maybe vocals too. not much but enough it was annoying at debuts. DBRs although have more detail doesn't bother at all. lows are less boomy I would say, also good but not necessary like highs.
but appereance is just bad , I mean front is very good to excellent but vinyl mantle around is so cheap and not even close to real wood...but I forgive them because of sound...and price of 280€
its been powered by NAD C356 and topping E30II
bye bye, maybe You will never see me again...

 

[Phidel]

Here a dissappointed user. The DBR62 replaced my Klipsch The Fives and I'm sure The Fives sound better, I tried various EQ, for example, the #756 flipflop's post (very open and has air, but the voices are a total disaster) and #1047 Maiky76's post with EQ96000Hz (very poor imaging, no air, no open, etc)

What I'm doing wrong with these speakers? I was very hyped woth them, until I tried it

 

[Bernard23]

Here a dissappointed user. The DBR62 replaced my Klipsch The Fives and I'm sure The Fives sound better, I tried various EQ, for example, the #756 flipflop's post (very open and has air, but the voices are a total disaster) and #1047 Maiky76's post with EQ96000Hz (very poor imaging, no air, no open, etc)

What I'm doing wrong with these speakers? I was very hyped woth them, until I tried it

Many reasons, not least your room interaction, and your own personal preference. Just because it measures well, doesn't mean you have to like the sonic presentation. Presumably you've tried moving them around, experimenting with toe in etc?

 

[frki16]

Thanks. Corrected and added distortion graph.

at which level? usually you specify it...86dB, 96 dB...

 

[Phidel]

Many reasons, not least your room interaction, and your own personal preference. Just because it measures well, doesn't mean you have to like the sonic presentation. Presumably you've tried moving them around, experimenting with toe in etc?

I think these speakers are terrible for electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock they are good for jazz and pop. Is there any EQ for the dbr62 electronic o thecno music?

 

[restorer-john]

I think these speakers are terrible for electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock they are good for jazz and pop. Is there any EQ for the dbr62 electronic o thecno music?

Sell them.

Buy some decent, three way speakers with at least a 10” bass driver, a 4” midrange and a cabinet volume that can allow some semblance of low frequencies.

 

[Bernard23]

I think these speakers are terrible for electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock they are good for jazz and pop. Is there any EQ for the dbr62 electronic o thecno music?

My experience is very different from yours. I have a sub connected that's barely turned up, and set to a 42Hz crossover and I still have to add a low pass shelf in DSP. My tastes are Rock, Blues, EDM, Pop etc, and they work better than I expected a small stand speaker should. I've owned multiple brands over the years, mostly large volume multi-way floorstanders, so have a reasonable reference, more recently the DSRs replaced a set of Diamond 9.1s that simply didn't work for me (they weren't "terrible" just not quite good enough, but then I've never owned a piece of equipment in the last 40 years that vaguely warranted being described as terrible, not since the days of an Amstrad Tower System) You need to find a speaker / EQ that works for your room and taste, but the DSR is not lacking in LF for such a small box.

 

[SiR]

Here a dissappointed user. The DBR62 replaced my Klipsch The Fives and I'm sure The Fives sound better, I tried various EQ, for example, the #756 flipflop's post (very open and has air, but the voices are a total disaster) and #1047 Maiky76's post with EQ96000Hz (very poor imaging, no air, no open, etc)

What I'm doing wrong with these speakers? I was very hyped woth them, until I tried it

Which one you are using to drive them, IA or AVR, if IA/AVR which brand/model ?

 

[Phidel]

Which one you are using to drive them, IA or AVR, if IA/AVR which brand/model ?

Denon AVR-X3700H

 

[Piggelin69]

I think these speakers are terrible for electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock they are good for jazz and pop. Is there any EQ for the dbr62 electronic o thecno music?

I use these speakers as Left & right surround speakers in an 7.1.2 system. I enjoy mostly electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock on this system. The Left & right speakers are large floor standing speakers with double 8 inch woofer in each speaker.( DYNAVOICE Definition DF-8 driven by two Nuprime STA-9)
As surround speakers I think the Elac Debut Reference DBR62 excell and they have had much more impact on the overall sound than I thought when buying these.
Previous surround speaker was the Jamo S 803 and the Elac Debut Reference 62 was a great improvement over them.
I have an Yamaha RX-V685 AV receiver so the system is not "high end" at all but when wanting to enjoy rich yet distinct and precise base with good treble I enjoy using the 7.2 stereo with all the speakers including the subwoofer (set to mainly below 30 Hz) then the Elac Debut Reference 62 are a great addition. My Center speaker is also ELAC Debut Reference – DCR5. (That one is a little bit less brilliant to muy taste but still good value)

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Sell them.

Buy some decent, three way speakers with at least a 10” bass driver, a 4” midrange and a cabinet volume that can allow some semblance of low frequencies.

The DBR62s allow a fine semblance of low frequencies.

I like electronic/dance/techno stuff. Sounds good to me on the DBRs. Otoh, if one is used to listening to treble blasters for years or something they might not like the more neutral sound...

 

[Phidel]

The DBR62s allow a fine semblance of low frequencies.

I like electronic/dance/techno stuff. Sounds good to me on the DBRs. Otoh, if one is used to listening to treble blasters for years or something they might not like the more neutral sound...

Could you share what EQ are you using for this music?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Could you share what EQ are you using for this music?

I'm not sure what that would do to benefit you. I've got them EQ'd for my room to be fairly neutral. I don't EQ for tonality...I EQ to try and keep the room from causing major issues.

 

[Beershaun]

Could you share what EQ are you using for this music?

If you don't already have one you should get a subwoofer for EDM. There is so much low frequency information that you really want a good sub and crossover set so anything below ~80hz is sent to the subwoofer.

 

[Phidel]

If you don't already have one you should get a subwoofer for EDM. There is so much low frequency information that you really want a good sub and crossover set so anything below ~80hz is sent to the subwoofer.

Yes I have an Elac 10.2S with crossover at 65Hz.

 

[Beershaun]

Yes I have an Elac 10.2S with crossover at 65Hz.

Have you tried playing with the crossover frequency? I'd try 80 or 90hz and see what you prefer.

You should be able to then turn the volume up and listen more comfortably at a louder setting without feeling fatigued or like it's piercing and you will get that sparkle and airiness back. Klipsch tend to boost their treble which will make them sound more detailed with more air and "sparkle" as the higher frequencies are louder. But this generally means you can't turn them up as much before they get uncomfortable to listen to and you lose a lot from the mids and lows.

 

[daftcombo]

I think these speakers are terrible for electronic, dance, thecno, dance or rock they are good for jazz and pop. Is there any EQ for the dbr62 electronic o thecno music?

Bad positionning. Try to measure them at your listening position.
You probably need to kill a few room modes.