Elac B6.2 600AUD (New) vs Elac B5.2 489AUD (New) vs Klipsh RP160M 550AUD (second hand). The KEF LS50 here is 2000AUD. I need a pair for a PC Desk use. Music used would be Instrumental, Classical and Classic, Jazz, Rock like Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, ColdPlay... Singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Nara Jones, Soft Pop.... The amp will be an Emotiva BASx A-100. Which one would you choose? Thanks
I'd always go for a bigger woofer if I can afford it. As for the Klipsch, I'm not sure if you are okay with horn speakers. If you are, then probably spring for that one.
Decent comparisons here, but don’t base your recommendations primarily on price or a sale or no sale, because you don’t control what promotions that a particular manufacturer might have at any given point in time. If the product is good, it’s good, it’s price doesn’t make it any better or worst sounding. If you are however covering speakers at a certain price point, that’s another matter entirely. Wilson audio and Vandersteen make great speakers and they are expensive, but that doesn’t take away from their sound if you can afford them. A Bentley automobile is still a Bentley regardless of its price. This review does give people with a limited budget options, which is always great in this hobby, so overall great job here.
Thanks for watching. My newer vids have a recommended used price, which is the price which I would likely get the gear; if you dont find them in that price, it's really up to you how much you like the sound or how curious you are to hear them.
i found it pretty funny that people weren't always excited about the 6.2 like the original. I sent the originals back because they were too rolled even though they sounded great and when I received the new versions it was like they fixed everything that was "wrong". In this size category and price range if you want more bass than this for some reason i'd recommend building yourself a budget sub setup later (if b6 vs b 6.2). Also some people say the tweeter is harsh, which I disagree with... it's pretty refined, goes above hearing flat and extends to 1300 hz which really balances the loads. the imaging is very refined, much more refined than anything around its price. If you dont have kids, remove the top grille as it flattens the response. The waveguide is well designed too. And its braced. good review cheers.
Thanks! Some people already loved the sound sig of the original already so changing it probably meant they wouldn't like it as much. But yeah, I agree with everything you said, I like this new one better.
Just got a pair of debut 5.2s at a really great price. I have the original 5s whose laid back sound I really enjoy but where I think the treble needs improvement. I think I'll get that improvement with the 5.2 but my question is will I find them a bit bright and clinical sounding compared to the original 5s? Great review by the way, best on RU-vid imo!
Thanks! I don't think the newer Debuts are too bright and clinical, but still dependent on your system. In my case, it really fixed all the problems I had with the original.
Good review from a Filipino have ordered a pair of Elacs debut 2.0 b6.2. Was choosing between Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 but because of its rear port most reviews tell it is difficult for proper placement unlike the B6.2.
Great comparison. You saved me big by reviewing the manufacturers I was the most interested in. See if you hear any hllowness thru the b6.2s by playing "Close to you" by Susan Wong. Noticed mostly at 8 seconds and 19 seconds in.
Whats the difference between Elac Debut B6.2 and the 5.2? For a "low" audiophile consuming itunes music and a 5.1 front system for movies, does it really worth the 100€ more??
The B6.2. Goes a bit lower and for me, a bit better balanced. The B5.2 is slightly brighter and soundstage isn't as big. I would probably stick with the B5.2 if the difference is a 100 pounds though. But try to listen to both as the B6.2 is better for me overall.
Hi Man, great review, I actually have monitor audio bronze 1, IT Will be an upgrade go for elac b6.2? And whats the difference between those b6.2 and elac b5 ? Thanks a lot
Thanks! Did you mean the older B5? That one has a 5" driver and the port is at the back; bass is slighlty boomier and the highs are rolled off, so it sounds much warmer. As for the Bronze 1, it's been a while since I last heard it but it will not be a big upgrade; you'd have slightly deeper bass, and the treble has more sparkle, but overall, I'd probably just stick with the bronze 1 until I can get much better speakers.
Great review. Thanks for the details, and for review of three speakers I'm often thinking of getting. This makes me lean even more toward 6.2s as it was the cheapest in the group anyway. Subscribed.
@@dc5001 Using the Schiit Ragnarok, both of the speakers are able to handle the max volume without hardening; I haven't tried a more powerful amp, but in paper, max handling of Elacs are 125w while the LS50 can take 100w.
I got the 6.2 for $150 on Amazon last Black Friday and they are so damn good! Especially compared to anything in the $150 price range. I use an modi 2 and Dayton DTA-120 to run power them and they get way too loud for my apartment but sound perfect at all volumes 😁
I hated the LS50. I don't get what the deal is with them. I heard them twice at two different stores and both times I hated the sound. It sounded nasal and like something is wrong with the sound of the vocals like if the singer was in a closet. The tone was soo off. Did you not notice a huge tone difference with the Kef? It wasn't like any speaker I've heard. Maybe I need to revisit it a third time but i don't think I will like it. I went with the Proac Anniversary (original).
I don't find anything wrong with the vocals, except that maybe it can sound a bit more forward than anything else. I actually hold it in high regards for vocals, but we all hear differently and should get the gears that sound the best to us regardless of what other people say.
Good review. Have the original B5 powered by class-D Onkyo R-N855 and they match very well. Beauty rings and tweeter grills removed. Added a little more damping material in them. Amazing (near) audiophile sound.
Thanx for the video. I do not consider myself an audiophile. I bought a pair of the Elac B6.2 thru amazon for $125 each or thereabouts. I think these are wonderful.......in my kitchen on tripods with subwoofer at Volume! Using the 20 watt HK 3300 receiver from the past. I'm in heaven!
This is a decision that needs to be made after you actually listen to them live in person. There are quite literally tens of millions of boxes with one inch dome tweeters in this world. Some are indeed demonstrably better sounding than others but it’s essentially the same technology. An awful lot of people who end up buying Klipsch speakers like the fun and dynamics that a Tractrix loaded tweeter puts into listening. It’s different and it’s affordable.
Those are custom stands. One is a 5 post design that was based on the LS50 stands, and the other was based on Pangea DS400 but has extra 2 posts to make it heavier for the Tektons.
What receiver did you use? I have five LS50s in my room and an arcam 550 receiver. They need subwoofers to make a complete, but they sound phenomenal! Having a good receiver is everything for the LS50s. Before, I used them with a Denon receiver and they sounded like any other speaker. But once I upgraded to an arcam receiver (with dirac settings) it made all the difference in the world. The mids and highs sounded so much clearer with awesome mids. A night and day difference. I absolutely love my setup!
Glad to hear you love your LS50s! I definitely agree that you have to have a good receiver for the LS50s. I used the Schiit Ragnarok in the KEF/ELAC comparison; I believe they are probably one of the better amps for the LS50; the Hegel H190 I reviewed was slightly better but at twice the price is just not practical. I've also used an Arcam A39 with the LS50s and I found it a little too flat for my liking, but would be the most ideal in a home theater setup. I don't use subwoofers so it is pretty much a disadvantage of the LS50 against larger bookshelves like the Elacs, but they pretty much rule the vocal range even against it's big Reference 1 brother.
Now, with Elac prices going up, would your choice still be the same ? With Elac the reviewers will typically start the conversations with something like this, "for the price …". How about for the new price ?
At $350, it's a bit harder to swallow but still competitive. You should try to demo all the competition and listen for yourself which one you prefer. I'd still choose this over Q acoustics 3020i, wharfedale 225, Klipsch RB61, but I think you should still wait for a sale to get it around $270.
You might want to check out Q Acoustics 3020i. They got rave reviews all over the web, including CNET. I replaced my 3020 with the LS50 and was really surprised how close they came in terms of detail resolution. They lack bass though, so should most definitely be paired with a sub.
I love my Q Acoustics 3020s and my Elac B6.2s. My Elacs seem to need better amps running them. My OSD Nero integrated did not sound good with the Elacs but the Q Acoustics still sounded good. I plugged my Elacs into my Onkyo TX-NR737 and the Elacs sound amazing! Also the Q Acoustics do have enough bass for my small 12’ x 11’ bedroom. I wouldn’t say they have no bass.
If you listen to music seriously and critically, get the Elac. If you like a more fun and lively sound, get the Klipsch. I prefer the latter. I have those Klipsch rp-160m’s and really enjoy them. The more lively the music or active the movie, the better it sounds. The Elacs are also much harder to drive than the Klipsch. It takes very little to get the Klipsch to perform. As always, it depends on the listeners intended use and preference.
Hey Andrew! Your debut series are just about tied with a speaker costing 4 X the price (KEF LS50) also with a concentric driver of your design. Nice work! I am also a fan of moving the port to the front and moving the pins to the grill. Good call on both points.
Thanks. I used the Rag during the comparison with LS50, and then the CXA80 with the B6 and Klipsch. I'll see if I can have more amps in future comparisons.
I have to say I wasn't a fan of the new B6.2's after owning the B6. I bet it was about 50 hours when I stop playing Top 100 music and hit some "audiophile" tracks that I really started to find these things were awesome. Looking forward to the Reference!
Yep, but it is a huge jump and I realize that some may not be as patient, so if you find something you really like around the 1k level or a good deal 2nd hand, then go ahead.
Im comparing the KEF Q350s to the ELAC 6.2s right now. Have you heard the Q350s by chance, they are closer to the ELACs in price and have a larger driver than the Ls50s.
I have heard them before. My main concern with them is that the bass is too fat and loose, and it drowns out the details a bit. Blocking the ports don't seem to be effective enough, so perhaps in a system with room correction this might be better. LS50 is still better for me, but like the Debut 6.2, it's not so much better (as long as you don't play any songs with sub-bass). How was your comparison? I'm trying to borrow a Q350 for a review and will compare them to the Elacs as well as the LS50.
@@TheAudiofool I still have a ways to go with the review. I am getting the KEF Q650 center today and should have the ELAC on tuesday. Im using these speakers for home theater and have a rather large sub. The main question for me comes down to the separation and the vocal clarity.
@@garethmorris2042 If you're using the Q350s for HT, the room correction will clean up the bass a little and improve the separation and vocal clarity. Maybe try cut off at 120hz or reduce the bass db at that range where the peak is.
@@TheAudiofool Good call, ill try that. Im going to watch some movies going back and forth with the ELACs and KEFs to see what I like more. The KEFs are double the price so if I go with them id have to justify a decent improvement.
I prefer the Klipch 160m's better. But I like the elacs as well. And lo cost or not...they could have made them more attractive. Polks are less, also great speakers, not the latest things, but a helluva lot better looking than the fugly elacs...
What amp drives your Klipsch? Yes, they could probably have used a gloss veneer or something to make it a little bit better, but I these are already an improvement over the old one. Maybe the 3rd debut will be the charm.
yamaha rs 700 receiver is what is driving my 160m's. And I am sure that they could make those elacs better looking. I usually like speakers witht the screens off. Even some forms of ugly look cool, but there is something very unattractive about elac b6's. They are very solid and they sound good. I do tend to like tighter bass and clean clear detailed highs.
I haven't heard that particular combination yet, but I'm pretty sure the b6.2 will sound great with everything with a neutral-warm amp. I've also tried it on my $100 Lepai 7498 and it still sounded good, although the tides would turn and the Klipsch would sound better.
Just heard it with an A9150. Was a bit dark at low volume, but picked up around past the 12o'clock mark. Sounded fine to my ears, and i think the a9010 is a great bang for buck amp for the b6.2.
I have only tried (from that trio) the Klipsch, and returned it. The Truth, is that the Klipsch can give you ear fatigue very quickly. I cannot listen to my music more time and get relaxed. Very bright speaker. It's more enjoyable for movies though.
hello people out there! another times the kef ls50; hm and of course the klipsch rp600m. I'm on the way to look out for a good pair of speaker. now . linn helik from 1985. kicked out some others over the years from mission, triangle, heco,........... what would you say, is the klipsch in its own way an option to the kef? btw: absolutely hate the looking of the kefs.
Yes, the Klipsch are an option, but they sound quite different from the KEFs. The KEFs are better in terms of vocals, and transparency, but the Klipsch are more fun, and they have that holographic imaging. So if you don't prioritize clean sounds and clarity, the Klipsch are a good alternative, plus they make better bass too. I have a review on the Klipsch RP160M which was the preceding model to the RP600M if you want to watch ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0Ol6oWP4-8I.html
At the end of the day it all comes downs to what people like... everyone might not like or agree with what you say or feedback.. but generally its a good baseline feedback for everyone
What's your budget? In general, I think most people will be very happy with a Rega IO plus a Topping E30/SMSL SK10v2; or if you need the DAC built-in, the Onkyo A9150 (not 9010/9110/9130).
@@TheAudiofool Salamat po. Im looking towards the Onkyo. Regarding with the speakers - I agree with you the looks is not that good looking. I remember 2 years ago when I saw this in the store there was no love at first sight (maybe its the gray looks). The sound was OK, I feel that my Adam Audio t5v was better... Now I'm trying to get an passive speaker with amp.... Again salamat :)
That's really funny when I read someone's comment which is pretty much what I said. I knew it wasn't my imagination. Mark Lewis: To my ears, unnatural sounding. Give me the same system with either ProAc or ATC loudspeakers. Far more natural sounding.
based on your review stars scoring,the q350 is better in all aspects against elac 6.2 while the klipsch rp160 is better than q350,and now confusing part is the elac 6.2 is better than klipsch rp160:)
That's a good observation. Thank you for bringing this up and I hope I can make things a bit clearer. So Klipsch is better than the Q350 at Trials, Norah Jones, and Alicia Keys; The B6.2 is better than the Klipsch at Trials, Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones, and Pines of Rome. I won't talk about Frank Sinatra and Pines of Rome any more as both speakers are better than the Klipsch; and Alicia Keys is better with the Klipsch in both accounts. So for trials of the past, the bass extension from loudest to weakest (in terms of ranking, with q350 ports blocked) is Klipsch > Q350 > Elac. When I did Klipsch vs Elac, the Klipsch felt too boomy in comparison so the tighter and lower bass of the Elac won me over. During the Klipsch vs Q350, I didn't feel that the Klipsch was too boomy in comparison so it was the 3D effect, decay, that made me choose it. For the Q350 vs Elac, again, there was no feeling of being too bassy, so the cleaner output and more details of the q350 prevailed. In Norah Jones, the Klipsch sound more alive and 3D, and is a lot more fun than the Q350; vs the B6.2 though, I found better than the Klipsch because of the more forward vocals, and the bass extension was a bit too much. With the Q350 vs B6.2, the forward vocals of the B6.2 was better than the Q350 but the overall clarity, and clean output of the Q350 made me choose it over the B6.2.
I'm getting ready to return mine too. Got a great deal on them, but after buying the B6.2 and comparing, I like the sound of the B6.2 better. The B6.2 has a smooth transition from the mids to bass. The RP-600M is all treble and bass. After a while I just got tired of them.
i love to listen rare instrumented blues but actually all...frank zappa, t. bozzio, u2, the rolling stones, nora jones, paul simon, mark: al jarreau and george benson "givin it up", prodigy "the fat of the land" and , and and.................the klipsch?
Kef>Elac Klipsch>Elac Dont buy elac because over time the money difference wont matter its like saying you should buy an ortofon blue instead of bronze just save longer instead buy used Patience!
Peter Tia yes they are I 've got the 160 and had the 6.2 I didn't even review 6.2 in my channel they were awful klispch sounds amazing on warm amp dynamics 3d imaging bass clarity lively not Bright owell most likely his equipment to each his own their own instruments it's not even a contest
I don't think any speaker is strictly for one purpose, because everybody have different tastes. Having said that, and as a previous owner of Klipsch, they are very bright, and to me, they fail to be satisfying to listen to music for extended periods of time. Ears fatigued very quickly for example. That doesn't happen with home theater because the speaker, isn't all the time going all out. Only my experience.
I haven't heard the newest Jamos yet, but Danes do know how to make speakers. Jamo is now owned by Klipsch are far as I know, but I'm not sure what you mean by the Russian reference. Are they big in Russia?
@@TheAudiofool Yeah they're owned by Klipsch that's true. The crack about the Russians well, I was just kinda being sarcastic, but I do believe they are quite popular with them as a matter of fact...not sure why that is though : )
@@TheAudiofool Nice! Actually, since last yr they've made a HUUUUUGE resurgence in popularity....and i'm guessing mainly due to Z's review of them about 4 months ago. Maybe you're not aware of his channel yet? It's very popular. Here's the link in case you missed it ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2OYQQAodaWM.html
@@corkydukeII5898 I've seen a couple of his vids before. I do try to avoid watching other videos as it could influence mine. But I'll take a look at that Jamo. Thanks!
Therse are ALL CRAP! Check the amazing MAGNAT TRANSPULS that are BIG REAL speakers with a 15 inch woofer and costs less than 1000 euros!!!! These are toys in comparison!
Ooooh they remind me of old 3 way speakers of long ago, thanks for letting me know about them. Based on their frequency response charts, they seem to be musical speakers like Klipsch. Unfortunately, they weigh 37kg which will be a big problem for me when moving stuff around for review. Would like to hear them one day though.
@@KINESKI-SINDIKAT not true the best audio lovers of the world (the Japanese) put BIG speakers in tiny rooms,and they know the subject better than the average western guy
