Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[ninetylol]

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation.
I unfortunately missed a 24-hour offer here in Greece from a specialist shop for a Dali Oberon 1 for €357 instead of €458.
Of course, the question remains whether a €640 for a DBR62 or the €910 for a UBR62 can justify the high more cost versus a €458 Dali Oberon-1.
We hope there will be another promotion from Elac for BF here in Europe but I think it will be false hope.
The problem is that the purchase has to be right away because we have no possibility to go and listen to speakers first.

I personally wouldnt order a speaker anymore without
1. Listening to them first
Or
2. High quality measurements around
Or
3. A good review from a trusted reviewer

 

[wyup]

If you can't listen them in advance, you can order in Europe and tryout for two weeeks for free return. I did that with these and of course kept them.

Hidden Audio in Germany whom I bought have the DBR62 at the best price.

 

[ninetylol]

If you can't listen them in advance, you can order in Europe and tryout for two weeeks for free return. I did that with these and of course kept them.

Listening to mine right now. They are awesome.

 

[O Akroatís]

I personally wouldnt order a speaker anymore without
1. Listening to them first
Or
2. High quality measurements around
Or
3. A good review from a trusted reviewer

Yes, it is what it is I am not going to be able to spend 2 x 8 hours on a ship or take a plane to buy a set of speakers. That's why I want to read as much as possible here about quality speakers. A considerable selection has already been made and some brands have already been eliminated. Together with my wife we will chose from, either Elac's or Dali's.

 

[KaMiKaZeCATS]

I can't comment on the Dali Oberon 1, but the Zensor 1 measure like poo.

Zensor 1 measuerments for reference.

The difference should be night and day with DBR 62. But I will wait until I receive to draw any conclusions.

Zensor 1 will go to surround duty.

 

[Paspolc]

I have them, the Elac dbr62, and they are just fantastic, considering the price range. I bought them for 389 euros in may 2021, new. I followed Amir review, i was not able to listen to them before, since all hifi stores in my town have closed down.

 

[O Akroatís]

I have them, the Elac dbr62, and they are just fantastic, considering the price range. I bought them for 389 euros in may 2021, new. I followed Amir review, i was not able to listen to them before, since all hifi stores in my town have closed down.

Cheeeeeeeap!

 

[Doenerkunde]

Cheeeeeeeap!

They are pretty cheap in Germany. The countries biggest electronics retailer (Media Markt/Saturn) sells them for 299€/pair at the moment. I paid incredible 226,05€ for a pair in october 22. Best value hifi purchase I ever made. Very satisfied with them.



I think the best current offering that ships to Greece is Hidden Audio at 438€/pair: https://hidden-audio.de/product/elac-debut-reference-b6-2-paarpreis-regallautsprecher-1012592/

But maybe there are better offerings that I couldn't find. Look through german online retailers. If you have friends or relatives in Germany you could ask them to buy them for you at Media Markt and send them to you:

https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/product/_elac-debut-reference-b6-2629634.html

Greetings from a greek stronghold in Germany (Ruhr area)

 

[wyup]

These have to be the best hifi speakers for the price, if you like a neutral, non aggressive sound. But they are gourmand with power! They are a bit hard to drive.
Minimum impedance is 4.8 ohms at 110Hz, but phase angle is 50 degrees there as Amir pointed out and effective impedance makes it around 2-3 ohms as Erin reports.

Plan to spend on a good and powerful amplifier. Otherwise they sound thin in the midrange and bass. I have tested them with 5 different amplifiers. They shine with a hybrid amplifier, with subwoofer-like bass at ear piercing levels with no hint of distortion. Beautiful tonality with a Musical Fidelity A1, though lack body. Metallic with a Hypex NC122MP. At present while I look for a suitable amplifier I drive them with an affordable but remarkable for the price Onkyo A-9010 that does the job.

DBR62 midrange is phenomenal. Top end can be a bit rolled off, but it also depends on the amplifier. The A1 drove to extended highs. I compared them with Andrew Jones' Mofi SourcePoint 8s, which are 3k€, and held up amazingly, their sound profile is very similar.

P.S.: I watched a demo with A.J. on YouTube with these speakers and he associated them a 80W Elac class D amplifier. This tells half the story.

P.S.2: We observed a bit hump or peak in high-mids, around 6-8KHz, as Amir's frequency response suggests, that can make them just a little bit shouty in my opinion, but I've seen this depend on the amplifier, although I think it is part of the character of this speaker.

 

[ninetylol]

They are pretty cheap in Germany. The countries biggest electronics retailer (Media Markt/Saturn) sells them for 299€/pair at the moment. I paid incredible 226,05€ for a pair in october 22. Best value hifi purchase I ever made. Very satisfied with them.

View attachment 325203

I think the best current offering that ships to Greece is Hidden Audio at 438€/pair: https://hidden-audio.de/product/elac-debut-reference-b6-2-paarpreis-regallautsprecher-1012592/

But maybe there are better offerings that I couldn't find. Look through german online retailers. If you have friends or relatives in Germany you could ask them to buy them for you at Media Markt and send them to you:

https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/product/_elac-debut-reference-b6-2629634.html

Greetings from a greek stronghold in Germany (Ruhr area)

yeh we germans normally pay 30% premium on everything but sometimes we really get good deals. I got them for 230€ too this month and i feel like a super hero cheating god at that price

 

[IndieSynth]

Am I likely to notice any great improvement with the DBR-62 over the Diamond 12.2? I recently bought the Diamonds and am happy with them but have a nagging doubt I should have paid the extra. For context the DBR-62 are roughly twice the price of the Diamonds in the UK.

 

[wyup]

I recently read someone comparing the two that the DBR62 were superior. The Diamonds have an excellent reputation among audiophiles as for value for the price.

The main advantage of the Diamonds is that they are easier to drive, which is a huge advantage. I'm getting hard to find an amp with power the Elacs that sounds refined at a sensible price. And I've tried up to 1.600€. I have the Purifi left to try.

Amir probably tested the Elacs with a powerful device, which I fear is not representative of what people use in this range.

The Elacs underpowered are half the speaker IMO.

 

[Deleted member 21219]

I'm getting hard to find an amp with power that sounds refined.

Amir probably tested the Elacs with a powerful device, which I fear is not representative of what people use for this price.

No amp, powerful or otherwise, should sound "refined" or not "refined". A well-designed amp, operated within its capabilities, has no "sound" at all.

That idea, as well as the idea that powerful amps will sound different than less-powerful amps, constitute "audiophile myths". Some manufacturers feed into these myths by designing and producing amps that DO have a "sound" ... but those are not well-designed amps. They are affected garbage, commonly used in "snake oil" presentations or less-than-scrupulous sales comparisons.

Jim

 

[tw 2022]

No amp, powerful or otherwise, should sound "refined" or not "refined". A well-designed amp, operated within its capabilities, has no "sound" at all.

That idea, as well as the idea that powerful amps will sound different than less-powerful amps, constitute "audiophile myths". Some manufacturers feed into these myths by designing and producing amps that DO have a "sound" ... but those are not well-designed amps. They are affected garbage, commonly used in "snake oil" presentations or less-than-scrupulous sales comparisons.

Jim

exactly..placebo effect.. i've got a pair of books that are "hard to drive", i'm using a very basic entry level denon avr.. the trick is : proper room placement , eq , sub usage, and realistic expectations...amps *sound* the same when not overdriven...

 

[Svend P]

They are pretty cheap in Germany. The countries biggest electronics retailer (Media Markt/Saturn) sells them for 299€/pair at the moment. I paid incredible 226,05€ for a pair in october 22. Best value hifi purchase I ever made. Very satisfied with them.

View attachment 325203

I think the best current offering that ships to Greece is Hidden Audio at 438€/pair: https://hidden-audio.de/product/elac-debut-reference-b6-2-paarpreis-regallautsprecher-1012592/

But maybe there are better offerings that I couldn't find. Look through german online retailers. If you have friends or relatives in Germany you could ask them to buy them for you at Media Markt and send them to you:

https://www.mediamarkt.de/de/product/_elac-debut-reference-b6-2629634.html

Greetings from a greek stronghold in Germany (Ruhr area)

Looks like you found a glitch in the Matrix. But I think it must have been an error, since the price is double now?

 

[Doenerkunde]

Looks like you found a glitch in the Matrix. But I think it must have been an error, since the price is double now?
View attachment 326243

Right now the best offering with international shipping is the white version at Hidden Audio for 318,62€. Most priceworthy passive speaker in Europe for shure.

Elac Debut Reference B6.2 -Paarpreis Regallautsprecher (Holz weiss) - Hidden Audio

| Elac Debut Reference B6.2 -Paarpreis Regallautsprecher (Holz weiss)

hidden-audio.de

 

[wyup]

Here I post the impedance and phase versus frequency from erinsaudiocorner.com. Note the Equivalent Peak Dissipation Resistance (EPDR) dotted line which accounts the impedance and phase for a equivalent load the amplifier will see. (ASR cites it here).

According to Erin's measurement, from 100 Hz to 130 Hz approx a combined minimum 2.4Ω is calculated (from a 5.2Ω minimum impedance) when both cross at around 50º, which is rather low. Amir's graph also noted 5Ω there. Andrew Jones himself cites 4.8Ω minimum impedance in a youtube video on these.

With this I mean to document further why you need a powerful amplifier with enough current to move this speaker. For comparison, a Dynaudio Emit 20, another 'hard' standmount speaker that weighs 10 kilos with a 7'' woofer, also has nominal 6Ω but a min. 5.5Ω and 2.9Ω EPDR impedances, both half an ohm higher than the DBR62.

 

[Theodore8]

Here I post the impedance and phase versus frequency from erinsaudiocorner.com. Note the Equivalent Peak Dissipation Resistance (EPDR) dotted line which accounts the impedance and phase for a equivalent load the amplifier will see. (ASR cites it here).

According to Erin's measurement, from 100 Hz to 130 Hz approx a combined minimum 2.4Ω is calculated (from a 5.2Ω minimum impedance) when both cross at around 50º, which is rather low. Amir's graph also noted 5Ω there. Andrew Jones himself cites 4.8Ω minimum impedance in a youtube video on these.
View attachment 327773
With this I mean to document further why you need a powerful amplifier with enough current to move this speaker. For comparison, a Dynaudio Emit 20, another 'hard' standmount speaker that weighs 10 kilos, also has nominal 6Ω and a min. 5.5Ω and 2.9Ω EPDR impedances, both half an ohm higher than the DBR62.

That's extremely helpful.

I did not know about the EDPR measure.

Thank you.

 

[Erici]

That's extremely helpful.

I did not know about the EDPR measure.

Thank you.

You can use a calculator to determine how loud the Elac speakers will play at various distances with different amplifiers. The majority of people are satisfied with 95 dB at the listening position.

Peak SPL Calculator

 

[Paspolc]

do you think that a Yamaha R-N803 is enough powerful for these speakers?
Thanks
P.