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Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

ZolaIII

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wow... I did not realize.
I was just looking for bookshelf speakers and thought of giving these a try. Hope they are worth the bill.
They are and with sub's even throwing a parti in larger room. Where are you from? Those 360 € offers are in Germany. Found it recently after recommending them.
 

Guddu

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They are and with sub's even throwing a parti in larger room. Where are you from? Those 360 € offers are in Germany. Found it recently after recommending them.
I am in US. Amazon, bestbuy and crutchfield have these for the same price at the moment i.e., 489 USD + taxes.
I am not getting these for loud listening, just moved to a smaller place and these will be replacing Elac Debut 6 Floorstands. Looking forward to see if this would be an upgrade by any means wrt listening experience.
Elac Debut 6 Floorstands are also good though.
 

Beershaun

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I followed audyssey xt32 calibration process and level matched the subwoofers to 75db. Maybe next time I use audyssey i can try setting a lower level for both subwoofers. Could be my listening position is too near the rear wall.
That is correct if you only have one subwoofer. Since you have two it's recommended to reduce your calibration level for each sub by -3db for every sub you add. So try targeting 72db as the calibration level for each.
 

Kross

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Hi everyone, I'm TOTALLY NEW to the acoustic world and looking for advice from this great community. I googled a lot and couldn't find a definite answer.
Recently I decided to replace my 10yo Sony ss-b1000 speakers powered by cheap lepai amp.
After reading bunch of reviews I landed on Elac dbr62 spekers that I received today.
I also bought two amps to try: SMSL A300 and Loxjie a30.
I mostly stream Spotify and also planning to plug tv to the amp to use speakers as soundbar.
I use speakers in my 11x11ft home office. Configuration is limiting my ability to put elacs on stands so placed them under the tv. Pictures attached.

Now to initial impressions.
As I mostly listen at low volume as a background music, I hooked elacs to Loxjie a30 and was absolute confused with how unimpressive they sounded at low volume comparing to old sony speakers. Acoustic details are totally lost, no bass. Just very boring sound.
At mid to high volume I was way more impressed by hearing all the details in music tracks as speakers really started to sing.
I plugged smsl a300 then and they performed subjectively better at low volume but still did not meet my expectations after all positive reviews.
In both cases I streamed spotify over Bluetooth.

The question is what am I doing wrong here?
Do I need a different amp to make elacs sing at low volume? If so, what would be your recommendations within $500 if possible (ideally with optical input to hook the tv). For spotify streaming I already ordered wiim mini.

Or my expectations are totally wrong and these speakers only suppose to open up at mid to high volume?

Thank you all in advance, and apologize if my questions and impressions are not well articulated.

20230321_221421.jpg
20230321_221318.jpg
 

Beershaun

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For $500 you should add a subwoofer. That will get you the low bass and bass at low volume. Svs sb-2000 is what I used with them.
 

Kross

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For $500 you should add a subwoofer. That will get you the low bass and bass at low volume. Svs sb-2000 is what I used with them.
Thanks fot advice.
So you think different amp will not make elacs sound better at low volume, but the difference with extra sub will be noticeable? The issue at low volume is not just lack of bass but overall lack of clarity of all frequencies (I know it may sound stupid but I'm not professional so using the words I have).
Can I just hook Svs SB-2000 to sub output of smsl a300 without any extra equipment?
 

Beave

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It's completely normal for speakers to boring, with no bass, at low volumes. That's because of our hearing being nonlinear, not any fault of the speakers. You can compensate somewhat for this by using EQ. Older gear from the 70s and 80s used to have "loudness" functions for this very reason. Enabling the "loudness" function would bump up the bass at low volumes.
 

Beave

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Also, from your pictures (very helpful to have posted them, thanks!), you have the speaker way too low. The tweeters should be near ear level for whatever your preferred listening position is. But a couple of stands to get them up higher - and maybe spread them out more too, e.g., to the sides of the furniture under the TV, not inside that furniture.
 

Kross

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It's completely normal for speakers to boring, with no bass, at low volumes. That's because of our hearing being nonlinear, not any fault of the speakers. You can compensate somewhat for this by using EQ. Older gear from the 70s and 80s used to have "loudness" functions for this very reason. Enabling the "loudness" function would bump up the bass at low volumes.
Thanks, understood.
The issue at low volume is not just lack of bass but overall lack of clarity of all frequencies (I know it may sound stupid but I'm not professional so using the words I have).
Maybe I'm trying to achieve something that doesn't make sense - same clarity of sound at low volume as at mid-to-high (due to physical limitations).
 

Kross

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Also, from your pictures (very helpful to have posted them, thanks!), you have the speaker way too low. The tweeters should be near ear level for whatever your preferred listening position is. But a couple of stands to get them up higher - and maybe spread them out more too, e.g., to the sides of the furniture under the TV, not inside that furniture.
That was the plan but unfortunately cannot be done, there is a door on the left side from the tv. Stand will block it
 

Beershaun

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Thanks fot advice.
So you think different amp will not make elacs sound better at low volume, but the difference with extra sub will be noticeable? The issue at low volume is not just lack of bass but overall lack of clarity of all frequencies (I know it may sound stupid but I'm not professional so using the words I have).
Can I just hook Svs SB-2000 to sub output of smsl a300 without any extra equipment?
Yes, and as others have said. Put the tweeters at ear level. That will also make a huge difference. They have a very narrow vertical range where the frequency response is relatively linear.
 

Kross

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Yes, and as others have said. Put the tweeters at ear level. That will also make a huge difference. They have a very narrow vertical range where the frequency response is relatively linear.
Thank you.
In that case I'll probably get a sub.
As I can't do the stand (will block closet door), I'll try to tilt them to face up a little. Hope it will work.
 

Hapo

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...I just bought a Loxjie A30 and an SMSL A300 and sent the Loxie back...

...I bet you do as well...LoL...!!!...

...I just bought a pair of SVS SB 2000's @ $499 each from the SVS outlet page...one would suffice...

...IMHO it would be hard to get a better sub for the money...
 

Kross

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...I just bought a Loxjie A30 and an SMSL A300 and sent the Loxie back...

...I bet you do as well...LoL...!!!...

...I just bought a pair of SVS SB 2000's @ $499 each from the SVS outlet page...one would suffice...

...IMHO it would be hard to get a better sub for the money...
I will be also sending smsl a300 back for replacement, there is an issue with right channel in bluetooth mode, makes cracking noise. Other modes are fine.
 

Benedium

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Hi everyone, I'm TOTALLY NEW to the acoustic world and looking for advice from this great community. I googled a lot and couldn't find a definite answer.
Recently I decided to replace my 10yo Sony ss-b1000 speakers powered by cheap lepai amp.
After reading bunch of reviews I landed on Elac dbr62 spekers that I received today.
I also bought two amps to try: SMSL A300 and Loxjie a30.
I mostly stream Spotify and also planning to plug tv to the amp to use speakers as soundbar.
I use speakers in my 11x11ft home office. Configuration is limiting my ability to put elacs on stands so placed them under the tv. Pictures attached.

Now to initial impressions.
As I mostly listen at low volume as a background music, I hooked elacs to Loxjie a30 and was absolute confused with how unimpressive they sounded at low volume comparing to old sony speakers. Acoustic details are totally lost, no bass. Just very boring sound.
At mid to high volume I was way more impressed by hearing all the details in music tracks as speakers really started to sing.
I plugged smsl a300 then and they performed subjectively better at low volume but still did not meet my expectations after all positive reviews.
In both cases I streamed spotify over Bluetooth.

The question is what am I doing wrong here?
Do I need a different amp to make elacs sing at low volume? If so, what would be your recommendations within $500 if possible (ideally with optical input to hook the tv). For spotify streaming I already ordered wiim mini.

Or my expectations are totally wrong and these speakers only suppose to open up at mid to high volume?

Thank you all in advance, and apologize if my questions and impressions are not well articulated.

View attachment 273704View attachment 273705
Speakers too low and too near front wall. Consider getting speaker stands to place on each side of tv/console. These are bass capable bookshelf speakers that need some space to 'breathe'. If u can't do any of the above, u have to EQ to reduce bass at your amp or source.
 
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