ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 Bookshelf Speakers, Black (Pair) - 1” Cloth Dome Tweeter & 6.5” Aramid Fiber Woofer - 2-Way Bass Reflex - Up to 35,000 Hz Response

Slightly warm character with noticeably rich and detailed bass - especially for a bookshelf speaker. Good bass extension into lower frequencies without any muddiness. Does not need to be paired with a sub. Impressive clarity, articulation, and character in the mids and trebles with very good sound staging and no peaking or harshness. Pairs very well with an affordable class d amplifier and inexpensive streamer/SAC like the fosi za3 and WIIM mini to make an excellent compact budget hifi setup that is a significant step up from most recommended entry-level options. With that combination, plenty of presence for a large home office or medium-sized living room. More than enough bass support for electronic music or hip hop while still maintaining the presence and detail in the mids and highs for live instrumentation and even very good reproduction of orchestral or chamber music. At the top of my recommendations for speakers for most casual listeners and a very good affordable option for audiophiles. The newer debut 3.0’s are just as good.

I originally purchased the Polk ES15 speakers, which were very good, but because they sounded very close to another pair of Polks I had but did not perform as to my liking in the midrange, I returned them. I was looking for some variety of sound, not just another Polk. For the record I very much love my older Polk speakers.I picked up the debut b5.2 for $239 recently which is a beyond good price given what they bring...if given time.At first, the soundstage was fully between the speakers for all chosen music, and linear with respect to depth. After about 30 hours (I would leave them playing overnight to build hours) the soundstage widened to well beyond the width of the speakers and a bit of depth was added. With both of those things, separation of instruments became much more noticeable.Clarity and detail in upper mids and highs were there from the start but the initial accompanying brightness is beginning to soften a bit as the playing hours add up. That is a good thing as nothing but unwanted brightness (to my ears) is going away.For the record, I played a selection of albums consistently and from the same source, so that my comparisons would be as free as possible of variables over time.Jazz, vocals, acoustic, some classic rock were in the mix.System is Wiim Mini with EQ dipped 1.5db at 1k and 2k to eliminate initial slight speaker brightness, SMSL SU-1 DAC, Fosi Audio bt20a pro with Sparkos dual op amps upgrade and the 48v 5amp GaN power supply upgrade and finally, these Elac b5.2's. After my evaluation for this review I added a Polk PSW303 subwoofer as these speakers do have nice bass definition but the sub is really needed for a full range appreciation.Great speakers! Highly recommended but let them break in. It is a real thing.Update: At 60+ hours of playing I absolutely love these speakers! The initial brightness has tamed and the Elacs are giving me everything that this modest system has to offer, which is far more than I ever expected!Thank you Andrew Jones and thank you Amazon for having a return policy that allows customers to acquire the right gear for them.Final update: 100+ hours and the addition of the topping p50 linear power supply for the streamer and DAC and what was a "thin film" of very slight sonic haze has lifted and all ranges have demonstrated additional clarity. What this tells me about these speakers is that they posses the ability to scale and take advantage of subtle but perceivable improvements with the addition of component upgrades.Again, the system is modest but these incremental changes over a period of time speak volumes regarding the possibilities of enjoying amazing sound for under $1k.Giving them time has paid great dividends. Eva Cassidy Live at Blues Alley has my eyes closed and me sitting back soaking in every crystal clear sound!

After 20 years of constant upgrading and flipping amongst speakers found at thrifts and on craigslist, a living room re-design forced me to abandon some vintage floor standers and actually buy new, smaller speakers. I have no surround theater, just two channel stereo for music, but I needed two matching pairs, one for the kitchen and one for the living room. Since I was downsizing, I, along with every other speaker shopper on the planet, started looking for bookshelves with good bass.I soon found my inner obsessive compulsive spiraling down the amateur audiophile rabbit hole. At first glance, the Elac 6.2s seemed perfect – they got mostly glowing reviews, they were reasonably priced, and they were front ported, which made them more forgiving for placement. But then I read the Elacs were unforgiving of poor sources. Another reviewer said they were uninspiring, and another said they were finicky, and to only get them if you like tweaking and adjusting your gear. If you're not a tweaker, he recommended the more forgiving Wharfedale 225s with their downward firing port. And, of course, I couldn't help but notice that the Q Acoustics 3030i, with their fantastic bass, seemed to be dethroning the Elac 6.2s as the king of the bookshelves. They also came in white, which sure would look snappy in the kitchen. And those French speakers, the Triangle BRO3s, had those great looking twin front ports, that special tweeter design, and that certain "je ne sais quoi." And, by the time you get to BRO3 money, you can no longer ignore the highly regarded Elac Debut Reference, right?I bet I watched two dozen videos and read countless articles, and just about when I didn't know how I was gonna make a decision, something wonderful happened: a very nice lady getting out of a relationship sold off her ex's home theater gear on Craigslist. (I know, it makes you cringe to think of it.) I got a minty pair of Elac 6.2s for $150. I took them home and listened to them, and guess what: they were amazing! I liked them so much, I promptly bought a second pair on Amazon. The vocals are fantastic, the highs are crisp and clear, and they have much cleaner, yet fuller sounding bass than my old floor standers. Tom Waits sounds like he's in our house with us, which can be a little unsettling; I hear every grunt Keith Jarret makes while tickling the ivories; and I feel every bit of Thom Yorke's angst, despair and rage when I fire up some Radiohead. I couldn't be happier.I've also learned something revolutionary about speaker placement. I am very aware that we should all place our speakers on speaker stands, two to three feet from the wall. But, because I live in the real world, I cram mine onto shelves in corners, which is where they're always gonna go in my house. I know this will come as a shock, but, because of my horrible placement, I actually get a little more base, which is not exactly horrible for a bookshelf speakers. Is it bloated or boomy? Not in any way you would notice unless you started obsessing about whether your bass is bloated. And there's more good news. If bass bloat becomes an issue, apparently, despite all the high tech engineering that goes into building speakers, it has now become acceptable to put foam bungs in your port (sounds wrong to me). If you start suffering from bass bloat, you can always make your own out of a pool noodle or a dirty sock.To be fair, we all have our obsessions – if audio equipment is yours, and it brings you joy, then dive down that rabbit hole with abandon. But, if you're like me, and you don't have a dedicated listening space, and concerns about imaging are often overshadowed by the sounds of the dishwasher or conversation over cocktails with friends, then I've got great news. These are excellent speakers, at a great price, and I am very happy with mine.