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Wharfedale Denton vs. Elac B6

I get your question...one could certainly make the argument that the mids on the BS22's are ever so slightly sweeter, pronounced, and clear. Overall, for impact, depth of sound, detail, speed, thickness of sound, bass, sound stage, presence..etc the Elacs wipe the stage w the Pioneers...in the mids, I would have to call it a draw and if I was forced to give up my Elacs and live forever with the 22's I would be happy. Possibly the overall amount of bass hides the mids a bit as well....they stand out much more w the 22's because they are battling against so much low end. How bout you?
 
I actually think that my speaker cables had loosened in the back of my amp because after I tightened them last night, the amount of bass that was coming out of the speakers was unreal and definitely more than the day before...either that or the speakers are just starting to get broken in. I tell you one thing, I will not need a sub and the Pioneer A20 is certainly man enough to handle the B6's!
 
Bit of a tangent...anyone round here have thoughts on the PS Audio Sprout? Just curious how that little guy might mate w the B6's? Also, if anyone thought that the Sprout (or Denon PMA 50 or TEAC A1-301) would be upgrades over my Pioneer Elite A20?
 
Tin Bird said:
Possibly the overall amount of bass hides the mids a bit as well....they stand out much more w the 22's because they are battling against so much low end. How bout you?
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In choosing...I "guessed" I would prefer the 5's over the 6's just because it "might" have a slightly better midrange having a smaller mid/woofer to come out of. I'm also sure I would have been very happy with the 6's also. AJ knows how to design a speaker. The 5's are keepers. The 22's are still an enjoyable speaker. The 5's have more resolution but still forgiving of lesser products driving them.

I actually thought of getting the 6's in addition but in a few weeks the Elac uni5 (if that's the correct name) should be coming out at around 500. I'd be interested in what it has to offer.
 
It looks that the uni fi will be more detailed on the top. Might be more pleasing to the folks that didn't care for the 6's darkness...
 
I'm getting kind of a "pusher man" scenario...;) also a scene from Pulp Fiction. :cool:

AJ baits you with the gateway BS22's for about a 100. Cheap music drug anyone can afford. Oooh, that was good, what else ya got?

Elac B5, about 200 and for just a little more, the B6. Ooooh, is there anything better? Daddy needs more sugar!

Elac Uni-Fi coming soon. Oooooh, 500 for the high.

etc, etc, etc. You're now hooked. I hope they start using a disclaimer for their own sake...CAUTION, MAY BE HABIT FORMING.
 
Yes, well, one could make the argument that being an audiophile is an addiction. Always chasing that perfect sound. :) With the limitations that my ear health presents, I am kind've lucky because I already know that I am bumping up against the ceiling. If I had perfect ears that could tolerate really hi-fi sound, I would be in serious trouble! It's one of the things that most makes me such a fan of Andrew Jones...that he has brought a whiff of hi fi to me that I can deal with makes me very happy indeed.
 
I got my Dentons today . Build quality is exceptional , solid cabinets , beautiful mahogany veneer looks better in person than in pictures . These Dentons are hefty at 17 lbs each . I'm breaking them in using my home theater receiver ( Yamaha RX A720) . So far ,I'm loving the Dentons . The wife is upset because she thinks I'm getting rid of the Wharfedale Diamonds ,told her I'll get rid of the Diamonds two days after never ......more to come
 
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They sound awesome . I played some atrac rips from my PS3 using analogue out , Santana's Shapeshifter , I was blown away by the sound . Bass is deep but tight , mids and highs sound just right . I'm loving these speakers so far.
 
onemug said:
In choosing...I "guessed" I would prefer the 5's over the 6's just because it "might" have a slightly better midrange having a smaller mid/woofer to come out of. I'm also sure I would have been very happy with the 6's also. AJ knows how to design a speaker. The 5's are keepers. The 22's are still an enjoyable speaker. The 5's have more resolution but still forgiving of lesser products driving them.

I actually thought of getting the 6's in addition but in a few weeks the Elac uni5 (if that's the correct name) should be coming out at around 500. I'd be interested in what it has to offer.
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One thing I've noted about the Uni Fi speakers is that they appear to be 4 ohm rated and have lower sensitivity. With my fairly low powered amp, I don't think they would be my kettle of fish. For someone with better gear, probably so....
 
Darksyde said:
They sound awesome . I played some atrac rips from my PS3 using analogue out , Santana's Shapeshifter , I was blown away by the sound . Bass is deep but tight , mids and highs sound just right . I'm loving these speakers so far.
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Glad you are liking them Dark...keep us posted as they progress.
 
I owned a pair of the 80th Anniversary Dentons for awhile. I was *very* unhappy with them, quite frankly. Dull as dishwater. I even took them to my tech to make certain everything was working properly, which it was. But when he opened up the speakers to check out the drivers and crossover, his jaw dropped. My tech was appalled to find Eagle caps in there, which he said were absolute bottom of the barrel quality wise. He told me that the tweeters Denton used were the same being sold for $13 on Parts Express. He claimed there was no more than $80-100 in parts used including the very nice cabinets. No wonder these $1,000 retail speakers were being sold for half price by Music Direct.

If you read through the long Denton thread on AK from a year or two ago, you will find a small but significant minority of listeners who do not like these speakers. They are voiced to be "dark," and I've found that anything descried as "dark" does not float my boat. I compared them to my upgraded EPI M50s, a pair of Klipsch KG 1.2s and a pair of modern PSB Image 4s and the Denton were severely lacking against all. I've never been more disappointed in an audio purchase. FYI, they were connected to my recapped Sony TA-1130, about 50 wpc. I am now using a pair of PSB Image 6s in that setup, and am much happier with the PSBs.
 
The Elac B6's have been described as "dark" as well....while I have heard speakers that were brighter than the Elacs, I personally think that their top end sounds great smooth, easy to listen to, non-fatiguing... Listened to them for over 3 hours last night.... I started this thread because some were describing the Elacs as wanting in the upper frequencies. I have noted that the Denton specs state that they run
6 Ohms
Frequency Response: 44 Hz - 24kHz (+/- 3dB)
Sensitivity: 86 dB (1W@1M)

while the Elac B6's specs are
Frequency response: 44 to 20,000 Hz
Nominal impedance: 6 Ω
Sensitivity: 87 dB at 2.83 v/1m

So, based on these, the B6's should reach a bit farther on the top and play a bit louder. That said, I actually prefer a bit of a warm sound signature to my music due to ear issues...so...I'm looking forward to Darksyde's comparisons.
 
[QUOTE=" That said, I actually prefer a bit of a warm sound signature to my music due to ear issues...so...I'm looking forward to Darksyde's comparisons.[/QUOTE]

After I wrote my criticisms of the Denton, I was concerned that I came across the wrong way. *In my opinion,* with my personal set of ears, in my room, with my particular amp, the Dentons greatly disappointed. I will not say they are bad speakers, since this is so subjective. For someone else's ears, room, amp, etc., they could be happy with the Dentons. And by the way - at first, I liked the Dentons. I had to crank them up to get a sound I liked, louder than I normally listen, and the volume misled me (louder sounds better, right?). After getting used to them for a few days, the disappointment began to set in.

I have evidence the Dentons are cheaply made, and my opinion is that people are swayed by how gorgeous they look and by the Wharfdale name. But I cannot deny that a lot of folks do enjoy these speakers. It all goes back to knowing your ears and preferences, and hopefully having a chance to actually hear them in person before buying (which I was not able to do).
 
My Dentons arrived yesterday, and I immediately set them up facing each other, out of phase, with a (bass-heavy) pop music station playing on the radio. I left it going for about 11 hours yesterday, while I was out of the house. They are nowhere near fully broken in yet, but that at least got them on their way. Amplification is from a recapped Yamaha CR-1020 receiver (75 wpc), which tends to be on the cool side of neutral IMO.

Upon my return last night night, I rewired them in phase and put them into listening position. Stands are heavy, sand-filled metal (Target?), with the tweeters raised to proper ear level.

My initial impression is these speakers are not nearly as warm as I was expecting, but they are smooth and easy to listen to without being boring or rolled-off. If anything, they are very slightly lean-sounding, but this could probably be attributed to the Yamaha's character and also to the fact that the speakers are still breaking in. I am reserving final judgement on that for now. They do an especially good job of reproducing the human voice. Listening to NPR on FM, I was struck by how natural the announcers' voices sounded. I found that the Dentons have a nice "quickness" to them, an aspect which reminded me of the perky little Rega R1's that I used to have.

I am so far disappointed in their imaging, which so far sounds very flat and two-dimensional. Even my ancient AR4x's have a better realized soundstage. Again, this very well could change once the speakers burn in.

As others have stated, the rosewood finish on these speakers is rather stunning, much more so in person that how they look on the web. The wood grain pops with wonderful vividness and depth. These speakers are lovely to look at and look "high end."

In conclusion, keeping in mind that my reference system has a pair of highly regarded KEF LS50's, the Dentons may or may not live up to my expectations in the long run. Music Direct (whom I purchased them from) has a 60-day money-back guarantee, so I will continue running them in and see how they evolve.

Stay tuned for further evaluation...
 
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