After the Hype! Living with the ELAC Debut Reference (DBR 62) Loudspeakers. 

As a DBR62 owner, I am certain of two things 1) absolutely zero listening fatigue and 2) I’m keeping it.

I've had my DBR62s for around 2 years now (paired with Bryston) and love them. As others have said, no listening fatigue, which goes a long way to enjoying extended listening sessions. I have a pair of Monitor Audio tower speakers (RS6?) and while they give better dynamics and punch (understandably), they are fatiguing. You can't go wrong with the DBR62s, they are excellent speakers. Great video, thanks.

I've always felt that a speaker system is only as good as the signal fed them. Proof is in the pudding, exactly what you are promulgating . . . and, after careful review of the 'mainstreamed' (re: affordable) audio gear reviewers . . . We believe your channel is the most honest, technically correct and professional (along w/ the audiophilliac) on the tube. Keep up the good work, Sean!

Speakers just keep getting better this is good for us who cannot afford the more expensive ones but we can still get the kind of sound that was only afforded those with higher incomes years ago.

Your exactly right ZF! I have them hooked up to my Musical Fidelity M5si with 150 wpc with a REL T7i and I am totally blown away with the performance of these speakers. I found a keeper for a long long time! Thank you for your review on these Elacs, it convinced me to purchase them!

I agree; put in a good signal and the Debuts will reward you with gorgeous sound. I use a Shure SC35C on a Denon VL12 plus Schiit Mani. Extremely dynamic, alive sound that’s downright addictive.

I have the Debut 2.0 B5 & B6 set. I absolutely love them. I have just above budget receivers hooked up to them. They are great value for money.

Good overview. I did an experiment a while back based on the comments among reviewers (inc you:) that the B6.2's were extraordinarily scalable. Bought a pair and dropped them into my good bang for buck but high end (sound quality) system and was floored. This was in the context of a well set up stereo sub system, which increased system dynamic range to the point the B6.2's were nudging SOTA level playback. I went back to much more expensive main speakers, but I still remember things about the B6.2 that were better.

I'll be honest my favorite content from Sean comes in the form of after the hype. I always find that with my purchases I have a difference of opinion sometimes months after the purchase.

I have had speakers that were the price of a home! Then there were the Elac 2.0/6.2 Zero fatigue-no need for a sub woofer-great with any amp - its totally magic

Hi Sean, excellent vid. After doing more research on new book shelf speakers, these Elacs keep coming up Number 1. Although i recently purchased the Fluance Signature HiFi Series about 10 days ago from Amazon, pursuant to this and other reviews, i placed my order to buy theze Elacs. Price drop too!!!!! $279 from $349. I will put these up against the Fluances in my own Taste Test. I play the sound system in my basement , "man cave", where i play My Music (68 years old), where i play my Drums. The speakers will be connected a cheap Pyle Preamp / Recei ver. I know, thats tacky, but the Pyle seems to do the job to drive the Fluances easily. Worse is that the Pyle is hooked up to really cheap multi player Boytone unit which has a cassette deck, CD player, "turntable", USB and SD card players, and to top it off, can record those sources directly to a flashdrive without software. Yeah its not audiophile to any extent but works . I do have the quality stuff upstairs in the LR: NAD 1300 Preamp, NAD 2600 Amp, Dual CS5000 TT, and Onkyo CD player all connect to Superb KEF 103 tower speakers.

I'm running these speakers with a Vincent SV-500 Integrated Amp w/a tube preamp section. With a good CD, I'm totally satisfied with the sound coming out of this system in my small room. I was happy to find demo versions of the speakers for under $500.

I bought a pair (June 2020) for my son along with a 50w vintage analog receiver. For someone who previously used his phone with ear buds and really horrible external "speakers" this was a major upgrade. I told him that I thought the DBR 62 would be really good with the amp but that those same speakers would perform even better if he wanted to start upgrading and matching gear on his own. I wanted him to have something he could enjoy now that could grow into an even better system.

I noticed zero rambling or stumbling, Sean. Just another great vid. I really dig these, “after the hype” vids. Thanks, man.

Love your new acoustic wall panel...but seriously, another good review.

I have the Elac debut B6 version 1 and the unifi ub5 love them both. On my present setup i have the unifi ub5 with cambridge audio cx60 and the cxc, as humble as that setup may seem, sound is just wow. Yeah i invested in good cables from Biss Audio and room treatment but the uni5 is really something special. Awsome review again Sean.

The Douk ST-01 Pro with tube preamp and around 45 clean WPC is a great amp to drive Elac DBR62 Reference speakers at a low proce. After two years breaking in, they play down to 30 htz, filling the room with bass that you can feel sitting on the couch, 8' from the speakers. I can feel the bass at 28 htz. The amp is a class D with tube preamp, claiming 200 watts max. I'm not using a sub for now. I can hear the tubes "wake up" the speakers even at lower volumes. My setup is not standard, so other rooms may yield other results. Dimensions may help explain why my setup sounds balanced. Room is 13' deep, 12' wide. Speaker placement; Left, 50" from back wall, 20" from left wall. Right; 16" from back wall, 28" from right wall. Both speakers tilted up 5 degrees, cross streamed 10 degrees toed in, on speaker stands ear level. A 7' couch is parallel to speakers and TV. Sources are; IBM I5 PC, DVD, CD, Smartphones on WLAN, and Sony Bravia Smart Inet TV, copper connections. Being older I only hear to about 17 khz, but still know what a real cymbal sounds like. Elacs sound real to me. Power plus tubes helps all speakers sound better. Elac Reference likes some power. They sound great to me, better than my B&W's at 5x the cost. Pretty=pricy, not better. Walnut Elacs look fine to me. Thank you Andrew Jones, and thanks for this honest review.

Thanks for keepin' it real. I would expect nothing less from you.

I thought all your videos were one take…. I’m always impressed with presentation skills. I have the Elac uni-fi UB5 as my front stage in my home theater. Powered with my 20 yr old B&K amp (43lbs of toroidal 120watt/ch goodness) fed by a Denon receiver. Sounds awesome to my ears.

Interesting review that highlights the difficulty with picking speakers and component matching. Steve Guttenberg did say that when Steve Jones demos the speakers he uses much higher spec amplification which makes these speakers shine. PS Audio bundles these with their Sprout integrated amp as an entry level package. I recommended a pair of these to a friend but he seems to prefer the B&W 606 which have more of that hi-fi sound.

Sean, I remember asking you if these speakers would match up with the Sprout 100 and you said that you thought it would be a pretty good match. This was after I returned the BRO3 which was clearly not a good match. I was reluctant but I went ahead and bought them. A match made in heaven, I found my sound. 😊

I have learned so much from this channel !!!! Thanks Sean 😃 Great looking speaker , really enjoying the revisit series ,

Sean havin' some fun! Still impressed by the sound, and build quality of my Debut 2.0 6.2 speakers. Got them from Amazon Black Friday 2018 for 143.99 for the pair. Definitely got a lot of bang for my buck. Using the B6.2's in a secondary system. If I did not have them already, I would definitely consider getting a pair DBR62's for that system. Have a great day!

Thanks, for another for the price, good enough review. We have to start somewhere.

Im currently using Klipsch RP160M with Yamaha RX-V450 and I get very unpleasant feeling in my ears and tinnitus gets worse very quickly even at moderate levels. I was thinking about getting either this speaker or Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 as a replacement. Im mostly doing moderate level HT and moderate level music listening. Which one would you recommend more? Thank you! I was almost convinced by Uni-Fi but I have that little fear inside me that doesnt want to get burned again like with Klipsch RP160M

Pleasure to listen to you as always

Can you take a look at the wharfedale EVO 4.2, I just purchased the 4.2 and the Soundstage is very very wide with great Instrument separation

Thanks for the review. When you have a chance, I would like to hear your thoughts on the Elac Carina.

Pairing with a parasound halo, is it good enough to "make the speakers special" like you mentioned in the review?

Yes, sounds like revealing high end speakers that has it's sweet spot paired with higher end gear.. imo

Good follow up. Still sounds like a quality affordable option.

Great job as always Sean. Love these follow up reviews. Was thinking of these but decided on Jamo 93. Couldn’t pass up their sale price. Plus I will move them to home theater duty later on. Really want the Uni-Fi ub5 which are on sale often. But like you said you need the right front end. And I don’t have the electronics for it. 🙁

Sean, have you received the new Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 bookshelf speakers for a review?

Excellent presentation! With yamaha a-s 701 are a good match?Wharfedale diamond 11.2 test??

An excellent post honeymoon overview, and in my opinion, spot-on. These DBR62's really woke up and started slamming (sans subwoofer) when I hooked them up to a ten year old Naim XS integrated amplifier. The bass was fast, solid, super punchy. Highs, never got grating and it always seemed like it could keep powering on and on regardless of genre. I also have a Cambridge Audio Azur 540A that I use for running speakers in and they were not too bad too, but if you really want to hear this speaker do some audiophile acrobatics, do like Sean said. Pair it up with some better quality electronics and listen to it start singing, slamming and dancing all at the same time. Very entertaining speaker and the best sub $1000 speaker I can think of. As a dyed in the wool audiophile (like Sean said) for over 25 years, I have heard and still own quite a few exotic products including a pair of Magico Q1's and S1's. I love two way speakers and rarely deviate from that format in spite of my rather large listening room. The most fun I get from this has always been finding these budget products that are so well built, they rock my socks off. P.S. Zero Fidelity changed my opinion about video reviews for audio products.

I look forward to your review of the new elac uni-fi reference

Hello friend and thanks for your disclosure !! I wanted to ask, would these monitors work well with a Denon pma 600 amplifier? Or would it fall short,? .. If with a better quality amplifier, it would get more benefit, and performance. Or would it not be worth investing more money in an amplifier?

Hi, thanks for yet another great review. I have DBR62s and driving them with a Yamaha Aventage RXA4A avr with below 40hz bypassed to my active sub. Is this avr enough to properly drive these Elacs? I'm wondering if there would be any benefit to adding a power amp to my avr just for these elacs for 2-channel listening and if so, what reasonably priced power amp/s might improve my listening experience. I listen between 50-65% volume and wonder if by adding a power amp will it smoothen the treble and midrange more. thanks

Is it recommend to plug the ports on these? I have them on my office desk in a corner as I can't put them anywhere else and I'm getting some boundary reinforcement.

Really enjoying 'After the Hype'. What you said about the speaker sounding so much better with more expensive equipment makes me wonder. Is there anyone that is going to go out and buy a(n) integrated / separates that cost 2x- 3x the price of these so they can get the best out of them? I don't believe there is. Seems a shame really. Kinda like having a jet-ski in a swimming pool. Keep up the awesome reviews my friend. Be safe.

Well I picked up a pair of these as the BRO3's were quite hard to come by where I live. I paired them up with a Moon Neo Ace and... I love them.

So I am really torn. I keep coming back to my 25 year old Energy C2's. I returned the Unifi's, and also the 6.2s. Yet I am looking for the next move. I am using a Denon PMA1600NE, so plenty of power. What do you think?

The ub5 and 5.2 floor standing I have are incredible. Looking at this one next.

Hey Sean, just finished my review and then i see your video pop up and guess what. You stole my endline dude: it's an excellent allrounder!!! No, just kidding it's indeed exactly that. And also what you say about the amps needed is also spot on. That's actually a real bummer because no one is going to use these with high-end gear. Anyway, great job!!!

Shawn, my brother gave me his NAD C388 integrated amp, and I have a $2000 CAD budget for speakers. What do you recommend for a match in a medium size room?

Can I ask you a question? I love the "warm and not fatiguing sound" of these Elac Reference, as living room speakers. I think they are not meant to be used as desktop speakers (right?), do you know if there are some speakers with a similar warm sound, that can be used on a desk? Kinda nearfield (desk is 60cm deep). Thank you

More than a bit late to the party here but... @8 mins or so when you talk about how great the speaker is with a better source and electronics, that, in my experience is true for any quality speaker. The typical mythology in the US is that speakers make the most difference and should take up the majority of the budget. But you can't get great sound from a crappy source and cheap electronics. A speaker will reward or punish your upstream choices. Full disclosure: I came to this after seeing your latest video rant on "calling out audiophile BS" and this is one of my pet peeves - audiophiles with $2000 speakers and a $200 cd player or turntable. Keep on keepin on Sean

Excellent. Really glad you are going back and doing these overviews! But, I still think the Bose Waveradio is the way to go (jk)😜

I bought its younger brother,the The ELAC B6.2 (Debut 2.0). I have enjoyed the music more and worrying about my system less and ..at the the price...lets just say I'm REALLY satisfied!! I'll let others get the sizzle and boom

Hey Sean. Great video. Appreciate your honest perspective. Just want to know your thoughts on whether the Cambridge Audio CXA61 would be a great match for these speakers.

Hi. Does this speaker suitable for my Tangent Ampster BTii ? Thanks

I'm still burning in the triangle signature theta so i spend most of my time listening to the borea br02 and the elac debut 2 5.2. I felt exactly what you said about both of those speakers. I paired it with the Atoll In30 modified with Audio Note kasei capacitors in the signal path and Mundorf cap in the power supp, The sound is amzing ! It's only 50W into 8ohm but enough for a small space. Paired with a chord mojo Dac and audioquest cinnamon interconnects (your reviews :), good power cord (150euro). Triangle borea br02 (modified: changed caps for jantzen superior z caps, mills resistors and new coils with higher gage for the woofer and tweeter) Before modifications the Elac were clearly superior with more accurate sound and the voices were clearer and the bass impact more pronounce. The Triangle were sweet with a better tone and more enjoyable bass. I was constantly switching depending of what kind of sound i was listening to. Singing and hip hop were for the triangle and jazz for the elac. But since i made the changes in the triangle and the amp : The triangle became more define, the bass has texture and nuances. It feels like it can expend and contract the soundstage. Create waves + different notes in the bass. It is really enjoyable. Specially when i play rock music, it feels like it can electrify the air. can you explain that phenomenon ?

Nice video again! Also great no intro teasers, loud music etc. Curious if you will gonna review the Danish iron cast made Jern's too maybe

The debut 2 and debut reference work very very well with integrated tube amps like Taga Harmony hta 700 v2. I get an amazing sound with this combo.

What speakers do you personaly like? I'd like them not too bright with enough bass and a wide scene! Please, tell only 1 or 2 for the price range under 500 USD. I'm not sure what I will hear, but I'd like to buy some speakers, that I'll enjoy! What do you think about Audio Bronze 100, Borea BR03, Wharfedale Diamond 225, Klipsch RP-600M, Elac Debut Reference DBR62, Dali Oberon 3, SVS Prime Bookshelf and at what price is the next step forward!?

I have a Totem Rainmaker for 5 years now. Is an ELAC Unifi Reference be a good upgrade?

Which one you recommend Edifier 3000pro vs Elac debut speakers DBR62 . thank you for great video.

Hi Sean, big fan of the channel. I recently picked up a pair of these Elacs and, to my ears, you are 100% correct on their sound character. I really like them, but I am looking to add that touch of excitement. Would you recommend the Emotiva A-300, sprout 100 or the XTZ edge for a more dynamic and forward presentation (medium-large sized room) ? Both of which you mention will pair well with neutral/warm speakers. A quiet noise floor is a plus for me😁. Thanks for the help

Will driving these with a Parasound New Classic 200 be a suitable amp for these speakers? Thanks.

I have them paired with a Marantz PM7000N with Mogami cables and using Amazon to stream high resolution FLAC audio and they're perhaps the best bookshelf speaker I've heard. They have broad, flat, and incredibly smooth frequency response without being fatiguing on the high end and good imaging even on the outside(s) of the placement. I began with an old set of Energy speakers, tried the KEFs from my living room, tried a Monitor Audio Bronze, ELAC Uni-Fi, and these were easily the best of all. Highly recommended.

How would these scale with something like the Hegel H120 or H190 ?

Does that rule out lower wattage vintage receivers? 50 wpc is that gonna not breath it enough life? My listening room is small 16 x 9 ish

I have the Cambridge CXN v2 streamer which is very revealing and clear hooked up to an emotiva amp. I wonder if I should do this or the Triangle BRO3.?

How would they sound on the Peachtree Nova 125? Very tempted to "buy and try" for 30 days. How much better than my cheap Definitive Technology SM45's?

looking for some warm sounding speakers with good sound on low volumes for my Naim Uniti2 any suggestion ?

beautiful thoughtful review, as always! bravo! your last comment comparing them to the Uni-fi line, was revealing. It is obvious, by your comment, that the speakers to buy, for me at least, would be the Elac-Uni fi ub5. I currently own the IOTA stack, powering (lovin' that IOTA presentation!) a pair or Revel Concerta 2M16. I like what i'm getting, but I feel the revels are a tad heavy on the mid bass (could of course be my room, and a bit of lack of space between walls and the speakers; they are placed 60cms from the walls). tried moving the revels around, but there's still a bit too much mid bass to my ears. Looking to change my revels for something a bit more honest and revealing (listen to classical and jazz), and that will allow a better placement of instruments. Do you think the elacs uni-fi could be a way to go? or a lateral move? in which case, could you recommend a pair (that would also not suffer from close wall proximity) up to $1600US. A good musician friend of mine told me I should wait until I can afford a pair of ATC SCM11. Would love your thoughts about it... thanks for your dedication and love to this passion...

How would you compare it with the Diamonds 12.2’s ?

Correct. I have the Debut 6.2. No they are not for everyone. They never piss me off, pleasant to hear and tuneful. Curious about the Klipsch RP bookshelves but I am in no hurry. These do great in the bedroom where costs were a factor. You are right otherwise Sean that it is not really going to float everyone's boat, but that could be said about any speaker. You love them or not. Easy right?

I was wondering these elac vs dynaudio emit M20 any comparison.

How do you think these will pair up with the Cambridge Audio CXA61 amp? @Zero Fidelity Thanks for the great review

Hi Sean, would you recommend them paired with a Denon PMA 600ne amp? Is it powerful enough to make them sing properly? Thanks and congrats for your reviews

OMG i don't know what should go for... my main speakers to day uses horns (but not over detailed, i like horns for the way they project and disperce the sound) so i think the DBR's should be a best matching for my needs (but i don't know if these or the older model) or go with uni-fi for more precense in treble and a more precise bass (which i actually like)

Love living with the hype series!!!

I bought a pair of these for a second system that does tv audio most of the time. I was pretty happy with them for a few months until their lack of airiness in the highs became a quality I couldn’t “unhear”. Having said that I would still echo the high value proposition offered by the DBR and also the fact that in my case, it took a speaker costing more than twice as much(KEF R3’s) to “solve” my issue with the DBR. The slotted bass port in the front will literally blow your hair back in action scenes in movies too, which amused the hell out of me when it happened.

I own these. Yes, the tweeter is more mellow than my Klipsch, but it's probably more accurate. I prefer this pairing with my Bluesound DAC which is known to be a bit metallic, so this works.

Lower sensitivity speakers in general seem to call for better amplification to get the most out of them.

Great review. The fact that this is "warm" would this be a suitable speaker for a bright sounding amplifier which has a tad harse treble?

A question about Bookshelf speaker placement? What is typically recommended?

What’s the ideal listening point of the speakers? I have mine about 8ft apart. Is that too close or too far?

Great video - this is very useful information for people. I've found similar qualities in other models designed by Andrew Jones. They were balanced and coherent, somehow lacking in enough get up and go (even at lower levels) for my taste.

Anyone know how these sound being driven by a Vidar?

Sure, but are they as good as the Bose Wave Radio, Sean ?

Would be nice to see a unifi 2.0 eventually. With maybe 6 ohm load instead of 4, nicer cabinet and a 6.5" woofer and higher sensitivity.

So what I'm hearing is that the $400-$600 DBR 62's & UniFi need a quality front end to sing, Correct?

I know the older top series with jet tweeter elacs really well . The Andrew Jones series, I had the debut ?! Totally disappointed me and I did not venture any further into it .. This might be a good time to try one again

Thanks for the DR vs Uni-Fi2 line-up comparison. For a 5.1.2 setup on a something like a simple X1700h receiver in a mediumish room, which of the two would you go for?

I bought these and the Klipsch RP600m's and believe it or not the Sony SS CS5's, all at the same time. I think they all sound good. It depends on what I want to hear that day. I just swap em out. I power them with an Adcom GFA555 amp, and Adcom preamp and for CD's I use an Adcom DAC. Variety is the spice of life!

Your comments on the Unifi series made me think - would the Crown 2502 be a great match for them? Plenty of power and pretty neutral presentation. As always, thanks Sean.

I have a set of the B6.2 I bought used for the hype. I also have a pair of Polk Lsi-7s, also used. When I compare the two, the Elacs are more forward and edgy in their highs. The Polks are smoother more tonally pleasing to me. Many say they're veiled, but I don't agree. I will say that amp pairing is even more important with the Polks. They need good power to shine. Otherwise they sound meh. I do like the Elacs and appreciate what they can do, but the old Polks are less gritty and more laid back, soothing. Of course they were more than twice the Elac MSRP.

How these work with something like the Crown XLS Drivecore or XTZ A2-300?

Hi Sean, loved the video, you describe exactly my experience! I chose the Elacs (+Iota SA3) over the BR03 as I listen much to old recordings, and there I am happy, but I long for the liveliness of the Triangles on better recordings, so I am trying tweak things a bit. Any improvements you recommend besides the stands? Would adding the Iota PA3 help, or should I save the money to upgrade in the future? Cheers, and thanks for the great content!

which is better for sound quality alone, Wharfedale Evo 4.2 or Elac DBR62?

what’s your take on pairing this dbr 62 with audiolab 6000a?

Does anyone has any idea (or bet) of how these Elac speakers compare to the new Wharfedale 12.1 ? I'm trying to decide between the two.

How do these compare with Debut B6.2's?

comment deleted ? seriously ? that was a genuine response & added tip(s) for everyone who is interested in the subject...

Would a Rotel A12 drive these well?

I’m personally keeping them - great midrange

It's the only ELAC model with a "Yes" recommended product review by Audio Science Review.

What stands do you recommend for the dbr62s?