Speaker Shootout: ELAC Debut F5.2 vs. Wharfedale Crystal 4.3 

This is so well done. There is a lot of time and love put into making this video, I am into photography so I was looking carefully at the lighting and how you handle the camera. Top notch. Love the board idea and great edit. So much I can learn from this video. Keep it up.

Based on what I heard, the Elac is more "open" in the mid-range and detailed on the high end. I would choose Elac

I preferred, ELAC in almost every situation .. I felt, Wharfdale sounded too much muffled while ELAC wasn't .. May be it's the mic which could not capture the exact real scenario that you have experienced .. Again, great job Joe. Love your work. Thanks.

I bought wharfedale 4.3 for my cambridge 640A. The perfect british combo i would say. Midrange just takes over the room space! Had to Waste lot of money on the so called 2.5 way speakers to end up in a conclusion that a ‘true’ 3 way speaker with perfect driver balance would rule out the fancy 2.5’s in the market. Thank you joe for your hard time spent behind the video. It helped me to give a try with the forgotten crystal series.

thks for video. The WD sounds fuller due to the bass but a tad boomy while the bass on the Elacs sounds tighter On mids, WD sounds slightly veiled. It's the Elacs for me

Very well done. With few locations to actually hear speakers in stores any longer, I feel you are providing a very needed and useful way of obtaining a good baseline of what each speaker's overall sound signature is. It is much appreciated.

With the exception of the "surrounding" test, I've preferred in all tracks the Wharfedales. Elacs are great value, too, but if I had to spend in speakers, my decission (based on this video) would be the Wharfs, no doubt.

For my ears, the Wharfedales has more bass and tight and has crystal highs.The music, singer and the helicopter sounded as if they were live.As if I was there. The Elacs sound was veiled.Sounded like a recording as compared to sounding live.The bass and highs were lacking..The volume at the same level setting were louder on the Wharfedales. My vote has to go to the Wharfedales. They have the sound signature that I like. Thank you for presenting these,Joe.

Based on what I can hear in this video, I would have to go with the Wharfedales. The Elacs have a lot of sizzle on the top end that reveals a lot of clarity, but I suspect would become very fatiguing. The Wharfedales sound full and warm and detailed without the extra top end hype. Thanks for another great review!

As soon as the bass kicked in I was able to hear the difference on my Elac UB5s. WD had better meatier bass and wider more open sound stage. Elac had better midrange.... Great video! ... (PS, once I got my UB5s with 10" Elc sub I can never get these speakers. )

Great work! I personally would use ELAC for vocals, but I love how Wharfdales handle the instruments. Tough choice.

Great video Joe, seeing quotes of my comment on screen really cracked me up. Can't wait to see your next review.

Crazy, its been two months and the Elacs, per your link, are showing $220 each. I don't understand how their price dropped so quickly after sounding so amazing. Once again, fantastic video. I loved the professionalism in every aspect. For example your cinematography has the certain "Joe and tell" feel of soft yellow lights with a dark yet crystal clear video feed. Then it was fun to see a more live action take of you rating the speakers at the end. It felt natural to see the deliberation- I got to see you agonize over the decision so it feels well thought out as opposed to being arbitrary. And heck, it was fun. Anyways great job, see ya next vid

I find sound demos very useful. Of course the real deal will sound different but that isn't the point. The point is that differences between speakers or equipment will be highlighted. Great review!

This is gotta be the best comparison on RU-vid. You can actually hear the difference. Bravo!

The Wharfedales sound a lot better to me. Like you said, I noticed a better phantom center image. I also noticed a greater 3D sound in the reverbs and quieter details in the background. The Elacs have some audible distortion in the deeper bass that I heard right away. It almost sounds like the cabinets need braced more internally because the bass is also kind of sloppy. The Wharfedales sound pretty solid in the bass. I also like the flatter high frequency response. The Elacs sounded harsh to me and scooped in the midrange.

I find it funny that you said the Elacs have a more relaxed and forgiving sound ... honestly don't think I could disagree more; a quick listening through my LSR 305 (with a room correction parametric EQ, measured with a UMIK-1) the Elacs sound ear-piercing to me (gotta be that rising treble and peak) and at the same time kinda hollow. There was no track that the Elacs didn't bother me at least a little - they never got out of the way of the music. I also wonder what the off-axis response looks like for these speakers. Conversely, found the Wharfedale to be overall fairly neutral with a nice bit of warmth and nothing stood out as bothersome. Those measurements look exceedingly good. Thanks again for the hard work!

From the music samples presented, I would say the elac sound best with vocal music due to better center imaging than the wharfs (toe-in may help). But on the rest, the wharfs is the winner.

Great video! I bought a pair of Wharfedale 220 Diamond Bookshelf Speaakers 4 years ago. Amazing speakers. I was very tempted to buy the Elac towers 2 months ago, but I ended up buying Focal 726's. They are sublime. Incredible sound.

Joe - You have got to test the Elac F6.2 against these Wharfedale and Jamo floorstanders. The moment I played Alan Walker Fade on my F6.2, I was sold, and my selection confirmed with Adele 25, amd Lorde - Royals.

Love the way you did the AB demo! I'd like to get into doing reviews of speakers and equipment on RU-vid and your videos are definitely inspiring. Great work man.

Elac is a bit harsh in the top end for my taste. Some fans will appreciate it though as it may seem more detailed. Overall the Warfdales were more natural. It will come down to personal preference. Cables and components would change the sound as well so it will sounds different in another person's room. For the price I'd go with the Warfdales.

The warfdale's are on another level.

I have a set of Wharfedale V speakers for almost 30 years now and still love them. A great brand that is often missed by audiofiles.

Thanks for plotting frequency response! Sensitivity would be nice to know along with power handling capacity (to determine max SPL. You could consider distortion plots too. Nice review.

Great test, appreciate it. Years ago, Wharfedale speakers were an enclosure within a box, with the gap between the boxes filled with sand.

There is a dip in the midrange frequencies of the ELAC that is probably intentional. It gives the speaker a more natural timbre and makes it less fatiguing to listen to over long sessions. This is known as the BBC dip (ref. PS Audio). The Wharfedale appears to be flat or slightly elevated in that region. This would give the speaker a more lively persona. I did find the low end of the Wharfedale more prominent and not as detailed as the ELAC and would suggest damping the port with an open-cell foam plug to tighten it up. Light weight soft foam balls may function well. And also lifting them above the floor on stands (paving bricks would be a good place to start. They are inexpensive and you can adjust the height). You could also try dampening the cabinet walls where you feel vibrations with your hand.

I agree you, you can tell the general sound signature of a speaker from you tube videos.

Wharedales easily sound more like a proper 3-way....Elacs sound like there's a gap in the mids

I think the Wharfedale is a tad bit broader and noticeable. However they both match up very close to each other. I think I will save up for the Wharfedale. Seems like a good deal for such a quality speakers. I own a pair of Klipsch towers Fort'e that was made back in 1986 and has never failed me. Thanx for sharing your video especially in 4k!

I've listened to several audio reviews, & in my opinion your the best. Thanks also for telling the prices & where to find them!

I do prefer the wharfedale crystal. Congratulations for such a great comparison in this video

I know this is an old review but I really have to compliment the work you have done. Excellent selection of tracks to showcase breadth and I have never seen anyone do an imaging test like that on RU-vid. I think I would go for the Elacs here. I initially liked the Wharfedale's substance but I was there's an uneasy uncomfortable feeling with its recessed or muffled mid-highs. The Elacs are more expressive. I think in the long run I would sacrifice a little heft for the greater articulation. As for audio over youtube - I do agree its useful for an AB test but its really is no use for a pure evaluation of either equipment or recordings.

Hi Joe. I just bought the Wharfedale based on your review. I must say is a fantastic pair of speakers. Thanks for the recommendation.

at first part of the lisening I tougth that I prefere Wharfedale but still Elac seams to be more better per all (more clear mids and heigth, more complete sounding), but I like better the price of the Wharfedale :) . God Job!

I'm currently using some Paradigm Monitor 7's up front and 5se mk3's for the rear in all channel stereo. Room corrected, I like the sound better than headphones. What I find when listening to speakers through youtube, and where it is the most helpful, is seeing what speakers sound as good as my current setup. If something sounds worse, you'll hear it. If it sounds the same, it may be better. So, listening to speakers on your speakers can be very helpful in deciding if something is worth listening to IRL as an upgrade. Of course, there are a lot of other factors, but it's a good starting point.

I felt Wharfedale sounded better. It sounds like it would not overdoit if I connected to a whole 5.1 set up or more. Like for me it sounds like it would blend nicely and not over take the sound. As a stand alone set up though I would go with ELAC but I like adding multiple speakers and blending into one sound without any speaker overtaking the sound. So I'd go with Wharfedale.

I like the way wharfedale sound but i feel more sound detail on elac

I just bought the whole 7.1 Elac Debut 2.0 set. They are coming tomorrow. Paired them with a Marantz SR6014. Got the F6.2 for fronts and the F5.2 for the rears with the C6.2 for center and the 3010 Sub (will add a second 3010 next month)

I have done the wrong thing. I have started watching more of your vids again. Now I need to get working on my sound room again, a project I've been putting off for a while for various reasons. At least I got some sort of fix when I sorted out my HT amp by removing an auxiliary transformer and killing the hum it used to have.

well done video, I like the accuracy of the Elac, my ears do not have to work so hard to hear the voice , which reflects on me personally because my entire life I have been annoyed by trying to talk to people in noisy environments. The Wharfs bass was obscuring the mids for sure.....but thats me.

Awesome !! I can imagine what kind of efforts you've put for this video .. Great work Joe

My opinion would be that Elacs indeed sound more expressive but Wharfedales sound more realistic and spaceous. Each can benefit to music choice preference. But sure wharfedales can also create the effect of ''where the heck this this sound come from''. Was looking for Elac B5 and couldn't find them here so I went with Wharfedale Diamond 220's. Fantastic speaker for the price aswell.

Best speaker review ever - extremely well done dude thanks! The discussion, the demoes etc. made it a little easier to catch the "signature". More of these types of reviews! Sweet! Don't be too much of a sucker for a fat bass hump - it makes a good impression, but overtime a flatter response will "work" with a wider range of music. Or at least that seems to be the case in my experience.

Great video, Joe! Not in the market for floorstanders cause my apartment is too small, so I bought the Fluance Ai40s and am really happy with them so far. As for this test, I also preferred the Wharfdales. I just found I enjoyed the more forward sound more than the kinda laid back sound of the Elacs.

when i hear the wharfedale it sounds to me like all the drivers are in perfect balance

wow those crystals sound so much richer day and night

Yes, the Wharfedales are indeed warmer (not a sound I prefer in earphones, but will sound great in-room), but the massive standout difference for me was the upper-midrange. The Elac's sound a bit dead in comparison (and a bit thin). I noticed this on Faded, but the second track made it crystal clear. For live music, I like to push the 1k - 2k range down a bit, but for home stereo, I like that range to be clear. My speakers I designed to have about a 2 dB bump in exactly that range, with a 3 dB peak at about 1.4 kHz.

After a while I was able to name the speakers being played without watching the slide. The Elac Debut sounded much clearer then Wharfedale Crystal in almost every aspect. On some cases the Wharfedale Crystal felt like they were played inside a box. My choice would be the Eleac Debut.

Thanks for that great review. I feel like the Wharfdales are lacking in the mids. I have Revels with a very similar driver configuration to the Elacs, so I'm probably biased, but the Piano and Guitar seemed to be missing the detail of the Elacs. My two cents.

Elac sounded better on my system, only because Warfdale bass was more boomy than deep. Bass affected the midrange. Elac is more balanced. But if you have no hifi speakers at all, yes either brand would be a great choice. Thanks for the video!

Firstly, I'm a Wharfedale fan. I've owned and loved their Jade series stuff. However, from what I'm hearing from this video, I wouldn't recommend either one of these speakers. The Wharfedale's bass sounds somewhat bloated and tubby (which is shown in it's frequency plot between 60 to 125 Hz plot). The Elac's suffer the common issue shared with MANY inexpensive "box" systems, nasally vocals. Both of these systems are pretty flawed tonally. Anyway, great review as always!

Wharfedale has soft effects with heavy base and Elac seems sharp slight filterd .And it's all together individual interest on effects.I would go Wharfedale for all effects..Mr.Joe you have really organised the blog very lovely.The efforts you made is wonderful ' worked like awesome .Great job loved the way you put .God bless keep it going.👍

The Crystals are much better balanced, as evidenced by the sound and the measurements, where the dip in the midrange between 1 and 2k on the Elac is clearly audible, and the Elacs rolloff a lot faster above 8khz while the Crystals remain flat out to 10 k and only a small dip above that out to 15khz. They are supremely flat from 300hz to 10khz, especially for a budget speaker.

Try to review some Monitor Audio products, I have been using my Bronze 6's and am very impressed with the build quality and sound. Keep up the great vids, so nice to see a youtuber who actually goes in depth about testing speakers. So refreshing after seeing videos of people just recording their audio through their Iphones lol.

WHY DOES the sound track for the jazz piano always cut out ?? ELAC is brighter sounding and Wharfedale s have more mid range which in some sound tracks sounds better to me.

I definitely can tell the difference between the two speakers. Both are good! But the best thing is that I listen to them on my DIY speakers and proud of them! Don't create an idol! Love what you make and have!

Finally I find someone who actually does a decent speaker review. Instant subscription from me.

Very nicely done review! Weird that the Elacs have such a drop off from 10-20k in your measurements and the Wharfdales are much flatter going higher. But I wonder if your system is losing out on measuring highs? Maybe double check that your mic is sampling at 48K minimum? The ELAC gets so much hype, it's nice to see them head to head with speakers of similar price.

both have smooth transitions in the helicopter bit; being a floorstander the bass of the 4.3 impresses, maybe a sub is not needed but i wonder how "controllable" that bass is, i think a sub's extension and sound level are easier to control; i go for the elac's here.

Thanks Joe! So far ppl say a SVS or HSU. I'll have to check out the Rhythmi

I think the ELAC have a stronger and very sharp high notes and it dont sound so good. but the Wharfedales have a nicer smoth sound. so for that prise its realy nice.

Great video, i liked the comparason in live music you can hear the difference. i clicked on the worfdale and there is no stock on amazon canada.

Just found this. You put a great deal of work in to the presentation. Absolutely brilliant . Thanks so much.

10:19, Wharfedales, less listener fatigue, warm, fun, secure.

Wharfedale diamond 240 or diamond 11.4 test??

I liked the Wharfedales better too. However it was only because I found the Elacs had a ever present top layer of tizz which I would find a little annoying after extended listening of music (Wharfedale had a little too but Elacs had more). If it was purely for home theatre....I would choose the Elacs over the Wharfedales though.

Elacs all the way. if you like non-distinct booming low end, at least in this situation. Get the Warfedales. Look at the curve. I'll take a "lesser" flat low end, any day.

Thanks for another versus video, they’re very helpful. I noticed a more pronounced disparity in your last comparison, these sound quite similar, at least in my Jetta. For 30% less, Wharfedale seems to have the edge.

The Wharfedale looks like with a x-over (acoustically and electronically) design with a need into 180hz region to dsp (all pass filter) work to adjust. The Elac just with RTA minor adjustment around 1k sonically it will be more consistent, Obviously the equalization adjustment is necessary to reduce the zone of 2-3k. For my taste, I still prefer the Wharfedale.

Fwiw, easily located the warfdales, no height. Elacs had a larger sound stage. My sub would fill in the bass missing in the elacs. Strangely noticeable differences that appear to counter our creators impression.

Thanks for the frequency response graph! It helps. The Elac at 30hz is nearly at midrange level. This can be a problem since its little woofers are probably generating mostly harmonics when fed a 30 hz signal. Those harmonics muddy up the midrange. But Wharfedale deep bass sounds out-of-control.

Thanks for doing such a great comparison! I preferred the sound of the Warfedales. They sounded more open and more present, compared to the ELACs, which sounded a little harsh in the treble range. Obviously they both probably sound a little different in person, but that is my impression from this test.

Just got the 6.2 set for $399.98 shipped. ELAC Debut 2.0 F6.2 are $199.99 each on Amazon right now.

I think you should try out some anthony audio speakers in the philippines

BTW you said exactly what i had noticed about the Wharfedale speakers - keep up the good work Joe.

I like the Wharfedale sound much engaging and sweet.

This is the best online speaker review site that I have yet to find! I used my studio Sony MDR-V6's closed my eyes and opened them when I thought I knew the Wharfedales were playing and vice versa and was right virtually every time once I played through a couple of the soundtracks with my eyes opened. GOOD JOB! I also agree with your enactment. I am running Klipsch Ref series with two towers and center and I paid, as I recall close to $1000 ea. for the towers. I don't know how they comp[are to these but your system would give me the best online answer I can imagine without having to get off my Stressless lounger and dive all over town! - Man; bang for the buck has come a long was in the 15 years since I was last in the market. Thanks for the hard work!

I like your reference track it helps me identify the shortcomings of my hearing. With that said I prefer the Warfdales but maybe a little bit boomy.

Wharfedale sound better for me.

Around 12 minutes really flips me to the ELAC. The plucks seem more more clearly defined. That acoustic music really tends to give things away for me. That and the ability to image and show depth of field shows great crossover design and driver selection.

For my taste: I would pick Wharfedale for home theater. Elac for stereo setups (but I would add a sub woofer here)

The ELACs are flatter but have a smoother low end, while the Wharfdale’s are lively sounding but have a muddy low end.

I only have cheap headphones but after a while my ears detected the difference in Sound, the Wharfdale gave a muddier bass while the Elac was more refined/or precise bass.

Wharfdale sounds warm and musical

Also, I've inspected these speakers by opening the enclosure up via the woofer and lo and behold the top portion is sealed and the bottom portion that houses the woofer is ported. This bottom part also contains the crossover, and that portion isn't that good, since the components are kind of 'cheap' like some of the crossovers are not air core inductors, ect, but i don't know if changing these would even improve the characteristics of the sound by 'that much'.

Wharfedale makes great speakers, but unfortunately the Crytal line is very hard to find in the US, and the only one I've seen for sale is the 4.1 and 4.3 on Amazon, although your link show them unavailable, but if I search for "Wharfedale Crystal", I see the 4.1 for $149 a pair, and the 4.3 for $369 each. The Crystal series isn't even shown on Wharfedale's US website, only their UK one. I think they're afraid they cut into sales of the Diamonds too much, which is why they discontinued the D series, because the $250 D320 was far better sounding than the $350 and $450 Diamond 12.0 and 12.1.

Great compariosn. I still have a pair of Whaferdale speakers from 1970! Still good, but getting a bit old, cant compare with the latest. But, still working! Glad to see the make stil lin business!

Awesome review! The audio test sample really illustrate the difference in sound signatures. The Elacs sound very balanced and clean. The WD's definitely bass-heavy and just a tad muffled. Man are the WDs gorgeous though! I know looks is not nearly as important as sound but if I'm going to live with and get joy from seeing something every day it would def be the WDs. Kind of like the diff between driving a Honda vs Jaguar. The Honda is a better car, the Jag is more fun.

I got the whole Wharfedale Crystal 5.0 system for 380 dollars here in Sweden :) dont think anything for that price can compete? My first system ever and i will now be forever biased :P cant compare to any experience before sadly but i like them a lot!

Wharfedale Crystal 4.3 makes the best job to be happy, which is the point of listening to music. Coming from someone who is not a sound expert, but only listening to music of pure joy.

As I watch, listening on my old school Wharfedale Diamond Pro Active 8.1s (which I have become VERY used to), I believe the Wharf have the same woofer and tweeter as mine. They look sexy af. I can't stand the Elac's looks, very basic "blackboxtower". Weirdly I preferred the place sound, I wonder how that could have been?

Well, now I know what I was hearing when listening to the ELAC speakers. Seems like they are tuned for s particular sound. There are other things like off axis response to consider. The Wharfedale probably has wider dispersion, creating a lively sound due to the room.

Good video!...The warfdales have more bass but it's more of a drone. Elacs for me.

nice to hear the differences between them! keep up the good work

Just listened to your first track and Elac speakers sound much better in my opinion. The Wharfedale speakers sounded a bit distorted at times. Thank you for your truly nice review. Your review made me pull the trigger on Elac.

ELACS, have a greater level of Holographic Articulation (thru my setup). But yup, less low Freq... My opinion...

Spoiler: I was using $4 Samsung in-ear headphones for the A/B tests ha ha. I'm looking forward to the Amazon Echo subwoofer review. Keep up the good work Joe!

Nice review. A little surprised that that Wharfedales came out on top? But, to be honest, I've ALWAYS wondered how the new ELAC Debut 6.2s would do against Wharfedale's Diamond series. The series that What Hi-fi is almost ALWAYS giving the nod to when it comes to a 6.5" moderately to low priced two way. My question? Why has NO ONE done a direct comparison between these two. Everyone raves about the Jones speakers. And, in the process, it's like A.J. has reinvented the two way bookshelf. YET, Wharfedales have consistently been among the best if not the BEST two way in that 3-450 dollar range? So, are we letting Jones off the hook by NOT comparing the two? And, IF, What Hi-fi is right and the Wharfedales are better then what does that mean for all the "hype" that has been generated around Jones' designs if after ALL that work, the Wharfedale is still King and has been around forever. Now, I should add, I've never heard the Wharfedales. And am also a Jones fanboy. I own the Pioneer SP-bs22s and center channel, and the Elac Debut B6.2. I find the 22s extraordinary for the price I paid $89 a pair. The Elacs I bought lightly used for $200 so another bargain but you'll be hard pressed to buy them for that NEW! Regarding the Debuts. They are a good speaker but they don't have the most bass, and are a little more treble tilted than the Pioneers. With the Pioneers the speaker just sounds smooth, it lacks the ultimate in resolution and detail, but it makes everything sound listenable. The Elacs can and do show FLAWS, that tweeter is NOT as laid back as the Pioneers. They also have more, tighter, faster bass-they resemble more of an audiophile speaker. But, the problem with many audiophile speakers is that they DRAW attention to themselves. You can begin to describe their audio-signature and start to listen for it on every recording, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. The Pioneers, while not as good, do NOT draw attention to themselves except to surprise because most can't believe a two way speaker with a tiny 4" driver can do that! Especially at that PRICE! So Wharfedale v Debut B6.2 when you can! Should be interesting! Also, since I bought the B6.2 I've been dying to hear the ORIGINALS, which, supposedly have MORE BASS? But less refined highs.

7:13 Wharfedale smooths it like a tube.