Elac B5/B6
- Thread starter moebuster
- Start date
undertowmusic
New Member
Just ordered a pair of B6 from Amazon. Looking for a pair of speakers for my son's room and decided to take a chance on these. We'll be pairing with a vintage Marantz 22XX receiver or Yamaha AS-500. I'll report back once we have a few days to check them out.
undertowmusic
New Member
The B6 speakers arrived today from Amazon. the outer shipping box was literally twice the size of the ELAC branded box with zero padding to fill the space. i'm surprised the inner box wasn't more beat up. And... these are obviously a customer return. sloppy re-tape job, box cutter marks on the inner styrofoam packing material, plastic bags with the speakers inside have been cut open and taped closed. dirt and finger prints all over the speakers and scratches on the bottom of both speakers. huge bummer. If i wanted used speakers i would have waited and bought these used for a discount. these are going back to Amazon and i'll order direct from ELAC. Lesson learned.
undertowmusic
New Member
Before I send these back to Amazon i had to give them a listen. I put them in place of 4 year old pair of Monitor Audio Silver RX-2. I'm playing vinyl on Technics 1200 with Ortofon Pro S40 cartridge or digital through Schitt BiFrost Uber to a Marantz 2252 receiver (recently fully restored by Tom Williams). Initial thoughts are these speakers sound OK so far. There's nothing "wrong" with them but it's not a mind blowing holy cow moment either. But i'm coming from speakers that are 4x the price of these ELAC speakers. I'll keep 'em in the system for a few days to see if they grow in me. Maybe i'll take 'em home and try with a PrimaLuna Prologue 2 amp and a Yamaha AS-501 in a few days.
undertowmusic
New Member
the B6's are sound pretty good so far with the Marantz 2252. i'll try them with the PrimaLuna amp this weekend.
undertowmusic
New Member
here's the review i posted on Amazon.
---------------------------
Looks like I'm the only person who doesn't totally love these speakers. I wanted to love them after reading so many glowing reviews. My expectations might have been too high? I tried these speakers with a Yamaha A-S500 amp, vintage Marantz 2252 receiver and Primaluna Prologue 2 tube amp. These speakers sound pretty good with each of these amps. They have lot of bass. Sometimes too much and it overwhelms everything else. Even when I pulled them pretty far away from the back wall. The mids and highs are rolled off a bit and not as detailed as my old Polk Audio RTI38s the ELACs would have replaced in my basement system. There's nothing wrong with how the ELACs sound but I decided to stick with the Polks for now. I also tried the ELACs against a pair of Monitor Audio Silver RX2 speakers I use in my main system. No contest there. The Monitor Audio speakers are better in every way. To be fair, the Monitor Audio speakers cost 4x as much as the ELACs. The ELAC B6 speakers are well built and probably sound better than most speakers in their price range. But you could do probably do better if you can spend little more money. Monitor Audio Bronze 2 or Wharfdale Diamond 220 would be worth checking out. Happy listening.
EDIT: I wanted to add that Amazon's packing and shipping was substandard. They put the ELAC box in a shipping box that was way bigger than it should have been with only a piece of brown paper wrapped around the ELAC box. So the ELAC box was pretty beat up from being loose inside the shipping carton. I'm surprised the speakers weren't damaged in transit. Amazon needs to take a look at how they ship larger items like this and do a better job. You'd probably be better off ordering these direct from ELAC or from Music Direct where they know how to properly ship audio gear.
---------------------------
Looks like I'm the only person who doesn't totally love these speakers. I wanted to love them after reading so many glowing reviews. My expectations might have been too high? I tried these speakers with a Yamaha A-S500 amp, vintage Marantz 2252 receiver and Primaluna Prologue 2 tube amp. These speakers sound pretty good with each of these amps. They have lot of bass. Sometimes too much and it overwhelms everything else. Even when I pulled them pretty far away from the back wall. The mids and highs are rolled off a bit and not as detailed as my old Polk Audio RTI38s the ELACs would have replaced in my basement system. There's nothing wrong with how the ELACs sound but I decided to stick with the Polks for now. I also tried the ELACs against a pair of Monitor Audio Silver RX2 speakers I use in my main system. No contest there. The Monitor Audio speakers are better in every way. To be fair, the Monitor Audio speakers cost 4x as much as the ELACs. The ELAC B6 speakers are well built and probably sound better than most speakers in their price range. But you could do probably do better if you can spend little more money. Monitor Audio Bronze 2 or Wharfdale Diamond 220 would be worth checking out. Happy listening.
EDIT: I wanted to add that Amazon's packing and shipping was substandard. They put the ELAC box in a shipping box that was way bigger than it should have been with only a piece of brown paper wrapped around the ELAC box. So the ELAC box was pretty beat up from being loose inside the shipping carton. I'm surprised the speakers weren't damaged in transit. Amazon needs to take a look at how they ship larger items like this and do a better job. You'd probably be better off ordering these direct from ELAC or from Music Direct where they know how to properly ship audio gear.
DaverJ
Active Member
Thanks for your review! I might be in the market for a pair of speakers in the $1000 to $1200 range to connect to my Yammy A-S500. Had my eye on these ELACs as a possible solution, but sounds like I might be better served with different speakers. I'll look at the Monitor and Whardale speakers mentioned.
Appreciate your honesty and suggestions.
Darksyde
Well-Known Member
At their price point , the Elacs are good speakers maybe great speakers. I've been enjoying my Elacs for a month now . I tamed the bass somewhat with a piece of packing foam about 5 inches behind the port . I think they have a rich warm sound especially when listening to latin jazz . Build quality is ok but would have been better if thicker mdf was used ( cabinet vibrates ) . This my opinion .
undertowmusic
New Member
agreed. good / great speakers for the price.
PR Audio
Super Member
Have not heard them, but seems like for me these will be the same story as with the AJ Pio BS21 and 22...I did audition those extensively and never got what was all the hoopla about, guess the price; I wasn't impressed at all. I have posted that opinion many times, and thought I would get mauled by the crowd, but actually there were a lot of AK'ers agreeing. I would expect better from ELAC, but seems to be the same, lots of expectations not so much delivery. Not saying they don't sound good, after all I have not heard the ELAC, but seems like we are expecting too much from AJ with a constrained budget.
I'm sure many of you have done A/B comparison with AJ Pio BS22, and AJ ELAC B5, does paying more for the B5 is worth not getting a $100.00 new pair of BS22?
I'm sure many of you have done A/B comparison with AJ Pio BS22, and AJ ELAC B5, does paying more for the B5 is worth not getting a $100.00 new pair of BS22?
Darksyde
Well-Known Member
I have only heard the Pioneers once and that was actually in the Playero store at the Ponce mall . I didn't think too much of them but then again I was only in there for a few mins . I would actually like to see a comparison with the Wharfedale Diamonds or Dentons , those were the other speakers I was thinking about .
PR Audio
Super Member
Why would "Playero" have them? Unless they are used for background music at the store. I have heard both Wharfedale, and IMO much better than the Pio BS21/22. Cannot say vs the Elac B5/6.
ictwoody
I like vintage gear — my preamp is from 2007.
I'm not saying the Pioneers are the end all of speakers by any means, but as someone who has owned both the BS21 and BS22 I can say what I say about all speakers...
To me, the mark of a well designed speaker is in its ability to reward the listener for what is upstream of the speaker. That means that the higher end the front end, the more rewarding the resulting sound. A good speaker isn't a glass ceiling or a bottleneck. For this reason I will say that I believe the BS22's to be a great speaker FOR THE MONEY.
I ran my BS22's with a Rega Brio-R, as well as with my Job 225/Pre2 combo. The speakers responded VERY well when running on those amps compared to my Trends TA 10.2 chip amp or my unrestored Marantz 1060.
It is worth mentioning that I had them on Skylan Stands, well into the room, and I had just pulled off my Kef LS50's when I purchased a pair out of curiosity.
It is very easy to see, to me, why not everyone is impressed with them. I always question the associated gear, the room, proper stands and placement etc...
If you toss them on your dresser and hook them up to your AV receiver than you opinion no longer matters to me.
Based on my experience with the prior inexpensive AJones speakers, I'm guessing the Elac's are similar. I bet they respond quite favorably to nicer associated gear. The were receiving A LOT of praise at the audio shows hooked up to a Bel Canto C7R — a $3k integrated.
You bet your ass Elac wanted to show them off at their best. I'm guessing any naysayers might change their tune with a little bit loftier front end.
My 2cents.
I haven't heard the Diamonds, but by all accounts they are an excellent range.
When it comes to the Dentons on the other hand, those are a speaker I just can't get behind. I owned them. They didn't stick around too long.
In my room, which is fully treated, they just never sounded right. If you listened to the top end, there was detail and sparkle. And they made good bass. And the midrange was smooth. But there was an OBVIOUS, to me, suck out of upper-mids that just made them sound soooooo flat. And I didn't find the soundstage and imaging to be anywhere near what they should have been for a small stand mount. They are miles and miles behind the Kef LS50 which I was comparing them too. They did look pretty though.
I agree with several of the professional reviews I read that in trying to voice them more "vintage" Wharfdale kinda overdid it. I think the components were good, but they should have just been designed for flat frequency response instead of trying to tune them as an homage to the studio monitors of days past.
Hate me for not loving them if you want, but I have my references, in the same room, same stands, same front ends, same music, same ears.
Given the choice between the Dentons or the SB22's — I'd keep the Pioneers. Now if they were just prettier.
I'm sure I'll end up with some B5/B6's eventually... Curiosity and such.
- Woody
Darksyde
Well-Known Member
I don't have my Elacs placed in an optimal postion or on stands , they were purchased primarily for music in my bedroom which is tiny compared to my living room , the advantage of having them in my bedroom is that there is a brick wall separating me from my neighbor and the floor below is the entrance to the apartment house so no one to disturb there either . I do have them placed on an open shelf ,sitting 6 inches inches from the wall with foam squares placed behind the speakers to absorb some reflections . My bedroom system is a work in progress which consist of a Yamaha A S501 , an Apple TV and a Sony DVD player( to be replaced with a dedicated cd player in the near future ) . Other components include a Sony flat screen and a pair of wall mounted JBL Loft 40 speakers for TV sound . Have I reached audio nirvana ? I don't know but I surely enjoy the music coming from my bedroom .
PR Audio
Super Member
I am a big believer of system synergy, and I get what you are saying, and would totally agree with you. Only, if it weren't for the fact that 90%, maybe 95%, of the people who buy the referenced Pio's or Elac are buying based on price, therefore they don't have the budget for a Rega Brio-R, and much less a Bel Canto C7R. They have budget for an off the shelf receiver from Sony, Denon, Marantz, or a Class D or T amp, and the likes, probably at a price point of around $200.00 tops. If you have a nice receiver/amp like the ones you mention, it is most probably that you will look for something better than the referenced Pio or Elac, because you know what you are buying, and if you don't; then you bought it to brag, and bragging deserves better speakers at a higher price point.
IMO, your $0.02 cents are somewhat accurate, but you say that if someone tosses them on top of a shelf or dresser, then their opinion doesn't matter to you, IMHO, is a way of dismissing 90%+ of the consumers who will buy those speakers. It is a two way street as to those your opinion doesn't matter either, they will buy because it is a good brand with an affordable price, not because Juan and Woody said they are good.
ictwoody
I like vintage gear — my preamp is from 2007.
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.
The point I was trying to make is that any time a reasonably priced product starts getting a lot of acclaim/press/whatever because of it's price point, it's generally for what it CAN DO at that price point, I see people who purchase it and then start saying "I don't get it," "I'm not impressed," "Overrated" etc... Just because a well designed and executed pair of speakers became accessible to a lot more people cause of price, doesn't make everyone's opinion valid. I appreciate that everyone wants to put in their 2-cents... but I just want it to be clear that not everyone is giving every piece a fair shake. I take peoples opinions pretty seriously, but only with careful consideration. If they don't mention associated gear, room details, or what their references are, you bet I'll disregard a negative review.
Again, in my opinion, what makes what Andrew Jones is doing/has done, both at Pioneer and now with Elac, special is that he is bringing a product with a higher-end pedigree down to an everyman price. The problem is that these types of higher end products aren't as forgiving to associated gear. Their honesty a lot of times shows the lackluster quality of what they are hooked to. This to me is one of the earmarks of upscale components. Their honesty can also be very rewarding when they are hooked up to other premium products.
If someone can spend $280 for speakers, than they can probably save up a little bit (people don't seem to know how to save for something anymore,) sell off a vintage receiver or two and easily pickup something like a Yamaha A-S*01 integrated, a Brio-R, etc... I have purchased two Brio-R's both for under $500.
- Woody
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