Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 Speaker Review

[Destination: Moon]

What small stereo amp on desk someone can recomend for them ? to drive them good ? would be nice something with good well known audio brand.
Thank you.

We got our pair today. Driving them with the controversy ridden SMSL DA9, they sounded very nice. Plenty loud at around 10 feet outside on our deck

 

[vuther]

Sadly for people who would be building typical lounge cinema the matching horizontal DCR52 center channel is 2-way design with known issues. @amirm did you send message to Andrew Jones about this review and asked him here to comment? He never came last time you asked.

I just purchased the DCR52. What known issues does it have? Works and sounds fine to me. Thanks!

 

[mario_rouge]

the da9, if isn't a faulty one, is an outstanding amplifier

 

[SynthesisCinema]

I just purchased the DCR52. What known issues does it have? Works and sounds fine to me. Thanks!

Don`t stress about it if it sounds good!

https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/center-channel-designs

 

[nab1828]

I was also considering this option. I think it would be fine. It seems these elacs respond very well to high end amplification so probably leaving some things on the table.

Only thing to consider is the lack of a high pass filter for the sub out making it pretty abysmal for subwoofer integration down the line. Although it can always be used as a streamer although again it lacks pre outs which the wxc preamp version has. Not too much of an issue but you will be out of luck if you only had a power amp. Also, you will be stuck with the dac because it doesn't have digital out iirc.

What do you mean stuck with the DAC?

 

[vuther]

Don`t stress about it if it sounds good!

https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/center-channel-designs

Gotcha.. any good center speaker recommendations that would pair well w/ DBR62 and Yamaha TSR-700?

Thanks!

 

[Livnmuskoka]

Gotcha.. any good center speaker recommendations that would pair well w/ DBR62 and Yamaha TSR-700?

Thanks!

I have a 3rd DBR62 for a centre and it sounds really good. If you want a traditional centre speaker the new Uni-Fi Reference UCR52 or the original Uni-Fi centre would probably be the next best match.

 

[vuther]

Gotcha. The UCR52 isn't out yet, but I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks!

 

[ezra_s]

So, following yet again @amirm suggestion I found these speakers with good price and I went for them.

To my ears they sound great and crystal clear, I don't use the grille becuase they look awesome without it. Wife factor is back also, she told me I was lying to myself with the S400 and that these speakers really sounded much better....

 

[vuther]

I have a 3rd DBR62 for a centre and it sounds really good. If you want a traditional centre speaker the new Uni-Fi Reference UCR52 or the original Uni-Fi centre would probably be the next best match.

Do you think the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UC52 would be better than the DCR52?

 

[Chromatischism]

So, following yet again @amirm suggestion I found these speakers with good price and I went for them.

To my ears they sound great and crystal clear, I don't use the grille becuase they look awesome without it. Wife factor is back also, she told me I was lying to myself with the S400 and that these speakers really sounded much better....

While they are in good company, they are less refined. The bass and treble are both a little less linear to my ears. It's possible that to her initial impression, the extra...excitement in the treble and/or bass caught her attention. If they were the only speakers I had I probably wouldn't know the difference as they are good speakers. But they aren't the only speakers I have. Singers sound smoother on the S400, for example. And the S400 has way more deep bass. That may matter less if using subs, but it sure makes it easy to blend them.

Let me know what you think after spending some time with them.

 

[Newman]

@Chromatischism I think his wife was joking, and Ezra was relaying her sense of humour!

 

[Shazb0t]

Do you think the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UC52 would be better than the DCR52?

As a center channel almost certainly. It will have wider dispersion as a coaxial and it will avoid the lobing of an MTM center.

Why not pick up the Uni-Fi Reference center instead though? Since they're both Elac "Reference" the tonality is likely to be more similar.

 

[vuther]

As a center channel almost certainly. It will have wider dispersion as a coaxial and it will avoid the lobing of an MTM center.

Why not pick up the Uni-Fi Reference center instead though? Since they're both Elac "Reference" the tonality is likely to be more similar.

Just ordered the UCR52. Will see if it sounds $200 better than the DCR52

 

[ezra_s]

While they are in good company, they are less refined. The bass and treble are both a little less linear to my ears. It's possible that to her initial impression, the extra...excitement in the treble and/or bass caught her attention. If they were the only speakers I had I probably wouldn't know the difference as they are good speakers. But they aren't the only speakers I have. Singers sound smoother on the S400, for example. And the S400 has way more deep bass. That may matter less if using subs, but it sure makes it easy to blend them.

Let me know what you think after spending some time with them.

My wife doesn't care much about my speakers so she was joking but she tends to like brighter presentation and she mentioned she liked these and the KEF Q150 more as more detailed.

After a few tries and back and forth I will comment, but first impression is the DBR were more precise and voices and med-highs were better represented while the S400 sounds more muffled, but I don't have the s400 correctly aligned to ear level on my desk so that could be it. Anyways, that's my initial impression upong changing the speakers right away.

 

[ELberto]

Opinions sought: basic question is should I add another pair of Rogersound Labs CG-25s or these Elac DBR-62s?
Background: I want to add a rear stage to my office music listening setup. This new pair may get moved to HT duty in the future. Amp is an oldish but recently serviced Marantz PM-7200. I added a Mini DSP 2x4HD for DAC, bass control and eq'ing and there's an RSL Speedwoofer.
I have a $700 credit at Amazon so was hoping to find something there, and no more than $1000-1200US. If the unanimous opinion is stick with RSL then I'll bite the bullet and buy them even though don't sell on amazon. Thanks for looking.
Edit: when I boil down the reviews of the Elacs they appear to be very similar to the RLSs but cheaper and I can use that amzn credit, hence this post

 

[Chromatischism]

My wife doesn't care much about my speakers so she was joking but she tends to like brighter presentation and she mentioned she liked these and the KEF Q150 more as more detailed.

After a few tries and back and forth I will comment, but first impression is the DBR were more precise and voices and med-highs were better represented while the S400 sounds more muffled, but I don't have the s400 correctly aligned to ear level on my desk so that could be it. Anyways, that's my initial impression upong changing the speakers right away.

I agree that voices are more forward on the DBR, but my ears tell me it's not as neutral. I should bring it back into the room and do some measurements vs the S400.

Make sure you're at ear level with the tweeter.

 

[fragzone]

What do you mean stuck with the DAC?

Just meant. If you wanted to use it as a streamer in future, the only way to get the data off it into another device would be through its line out. Probably irrelevant to what your use case is.

 

[Chromatischism]

Here are some animated GIFS of the S400 and DBR62:

Spin:

Horizontal Directivity Normalized:

 

[Benedium]

I just got the Polk R200 in brown and while it sounds more controlled and balanced, I think the dbr62 still sounds more pleasantly exotic and more 'high end'. Pardon my non-science heheh.