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Wharfedale Denton vs. Elac B6

jvl256 said:
I've also been considering the Elac B5 or B6....the YouTube demo of the B5 at CES was incredible. But my main issue is, I really love a speaker which has tons of midrange punch without sacrificing vocal clarity and control. I'm not sure the Elac B5 or B6 will be punchy enough ? but I'm pretty sure they will have the vocal clarity ? Any opinions on how these ELAC Debut series would sound with a Marantz SR9300 ?
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Youtube demonstrations are fine, except you hear not the speakers, but you computer's speakers. I would love to find a place where I could listen to these for a little bit. I have heard so many good things about them. As far as using them with your Marantz, I would imagine that they would sound splendid. From what I hear, Andrew Jones designed speakers sound good over a giant range with many varying types of equipment. Although I have been able to fix my Polk Monitor 7s, I have been still thinking about getting the Elac B6 or possibly the Wharfedale
 
Interesting you mentioned the Polk Monitor 7s.....I had a set of these about 5 Speaker sets ago, and I really liked the mid bass punch but I had to part ways with them because the tweeters were a bit too bright for my taste. In fact if the tweeters weren't so bright, I would have kept those classics !
 
jvl256 said:
Interesting you mentioned the Polk Monitor 7s.....I had a set of these about 5 Speaker sets ago, and I really liked the mid bass punch but I had to part ways with them because the tweeters were a bit too bright for my taste. In fact if the tweeters weren't so bright, I would have kept those classics !
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I have been extremely happy with my Polks. They do sound very nice. I have been looking around, for a long time, for some others from that same era... maybe the 10s or 11s. Right now, Polk as some Monitor 75Ts on sale for $469 a pair shipped to the door. A while back, I had a set of Monitor 70s (The 75Ts are updated versions of those). These were really nice, especially in the mid-range, but the tweeters were incredibly bright. My Polk 7s sound really dark and moody in comparison. I would really love to hear the Elac B6 in person before I buy (or the Wharfedale 10.2). For some, $280 is lunch and a trip to the mall, for me right now, it's a good bit of money.
 
Just out of curiosity.... Does anyone have a pair of Polk RTI a3s? I would wonder how they would compare to the Elac B6s as well.
 
I owned the B6s for about three weeks...played them frequently during that time. If you are looking for punch, power, low bass...I think B6 would be your best bet. They are very dynamic speakers with the most bass I have ever heard from any speaker without a sub. I liked them a lot. My only gripe was that the high frequencies included occasional sibilance on vocals...the "S" sounds would be overly pronounced in some recordings...this bothered me so I moved on to the Dentons. The Dentons are a much sweeter sounding speaker...not quite as much bass or overall power, but delightful to listen to, more detailed, much sweeter mid-range, and an overall more enjoyable presentation of music (to me).
If you are into gaming, movies and such, the Elacs might be a better choice. If you are into 2 channel stereo listening and like speakers that make strings, horns, subtle percussion, vocals come to life before your very ears, go w the Dentons.
I would say a musical equivalent would be: Elac B6 = Metallica, Wharfdale Denton = early Frank Sinatra or early Beatles.
 
Tin Bird said:
I owned the B6s for about three weeks...played them frequently during that time. If you are looking for punch, power, low bass...I think B6 would be your best bet. They are very dynamic speakers with the most bass I have ever heard from any speaker without a sub. I liked them a lot. My only gripe was that the high frequencies included occasional sibilance on vocals...the "S" sounds would be overly pronounced in some recordings...this bothered me so I moved on to the Dentons. The Dentons are a much sweeter sounding speaker...not quite as much bass or overall power, but delightful to listen to, more detailed, much sweeter mid-range, and an overall more enjoyable presentation of music (to me).
If you are into gaming, movies and such, the Elacs might be a better choice. If you are into 2 channel stereo listening and like speakers that make strings, horns, subtle percussion, vocals come to life before your very ears, go w the Dentons.
I would say a musical equivalent would be: Elac B6 = Metallica, Wharfdale Denton = early Frank Sinatra or early Beatles.
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Thank you for the reply :) I love rock and pop from the late 1960s to late 1980s primarily, and my listening room is rather small. It will be strictly 2-channel stereo. I am not that much into bass, but there should be some. I am rearranging my listening room, and my Polk Monitor 7s are just a bit too big, and really don't blend into the decor anymore. I have been examining all kinds of options recently, and if I go ahead and replace the Monitor 7s, the Elac B6s, Wharfedale 10.2s, or the Polk rti a3s come to mind... perhaps even a used pair of B&W 602s, as the room is pretty small 12x14 feet. I love the vocal performances of the artists of the time, the harmonies, and the overlays, so the mid-range would be paramount for me, more so than the low-end.

They should be able to play something like "The Mamas and the Papas, California Dreaming", as well as perhaps Dio, Purple, or Cooper, but generally nothing as heavy as Metallica or Megadeath.
 
Also, I think the Elac UB5s are 4 ohm speakers so I think they might need some fairly powerful wattage to get going.
 
Recommended amplifier power: (RMS) 20-100 W for Denton; Recommended amplifier power: 40 to 140 wpc for UB5.
4 ohm vs 6 ohm
85 db sensitivity vs 86

I think my previous comment that the UB5 " might need some fairly powerful wattage to get going" stands. Not a huge difference, but a noted difference nonetheless.

..and just to throw in, a quote from CNet's review of the UB5 by Steve Guttenberg: "After a bit of head-scratching, we noted a couple of things in the Uni-Fi UB5's specifications that might be responsible for the speaker's finicky tastes for amplifiers. Like the Pioneer SP-EBS73-LR, which shares almost identical electrical specifications, the Uni-Fi UB5 has unusually low sensitivity, just 85 dB at 2.83 volts (the Klipsch RP-160M's spec is much higher: it's 96 dB). That indicates the Uni-Fi UB5 needs a lot more power to play as loud as most speakers."
However, in the pro corner, "At this point we brought out our ELAC Debut B6 bookshelf speakers to compare to the Uni-Fi UB5. The B6 is still an awfully impressive speaker, but the bigger Uni-Fi UB5 is better in every way. It has deeper, better defined bass as well as clearer midrange and treble, and the UB5s image better. Listening to the Rolling Stones "Exile On Main Street" album, the B6 lost some of Mick Jagger's attitude, and the band's energy was too polite and restrained."
 
Bit of an odd question here....the manual for the Dentons states not to use furniture polish when cleaning them. However, without thinking, my wife has done so several times without my knowledge (until now). I cannot tell where or how this was done and I can't see any difference...should I be worried? Is there anything I need to do to protect them?
 
I wiped down the Dentons with a soft, dry rag..frankly, I can't tell where the polish was used and I really don't see any difference. I think everything is cool here...not going to worry about this. :-)
 
Yes, the mahogany is really quite something to see in person...the light simply dazzles off of them! :-) And, the cabinets are super solid and heavy feeling...very different than the feel of the Elac B6s I had that were pretty light in comparison.
 
When I spoke w the MD rep when trying decide between the Denton and the B6, she told me that they were carrying more of the Dentons (they had been out of them for some time) because they had sold so well... however, she definitely tried to steer me in the B6 direction as they were the new kids on the block. The only speakers over $1000 that I have owned were a pair of Vienna Acoustics Beethovens a few years ago...the Dentons definitely are not in that league, so I think $499 is about the right price for them. It seems that perhaps word of mouth has brought more attention to them than they originally received. To this day, I still don't get the criticism of their sound by some...I would agree that they are polite and warm, but I find them detailed, lively and fun as well. Not dark at all...
 
But I think that it comes across as polite and warm, rather than there being a veil over them which is what dark intimates. Either way, I'm very happy with them and have no plans (presently) to trade up. On a bit of a diff note, I would mention that prior to the Dentons, I had tried the Pioneer FS52s, Sony SSCS3, and Elac B6s. All of them nice speakers in their own right...with the best (by far) being the Sony SSCS3. In fact, if one likes lively detail on the top and adequate bass (no sub needed), I really cannot recommend any entry level speaker any higher. The only reason I didn't stick with them was that my ears are sensitive to higher frequencies and the Sony's definitely went higher than any of the others (including the Dentons). But if someone had "normal" ears (maybe younger ears?), I think the Sonys would do them proud. If they are ever on sale, I may get a pair again just to listen to on occasion..they were that good. I thought both the Pioneers and Elacs had a hint of grain and sibilance on the top end...just enough to turn me away. The Dentons have zero sibilance, zero grain...they may sacrifice a teeny bit of the hi frequency to accomplish this, but the sound is still lively and detailed. Almost the perfect speaker as far as I am concerned.
 
Man, listened to Talk Talk's album Spirit of Eden w my Dentons last night...boy did they sound good. I think they have started to really break in now...have had them since March 15...four months...not sure of the hours. I'm grateful to have such beautiful sounding and looking speakers in my home. Certainly an oasis from the ills of the world (and my aren't there a lot of them!) :-) and :-(
 
I was playing some old school rap music ,Pete Rock and CL Smooth . I was amazed at how much bass these Dentons put out . Still loving the Dentons.
 
Funny you mention bass. Stopped by Best Buy this morning and visited their Magnolia room where they have some pretty good speakers. They were playing music...I think it was Sia...not that I listen to her, but I think I recognized her voice, through some Bowers and Wilkens towers..I think they were the CM10 S2 ..and my goodness did they have some serious bass kicking...frankly, as full as it sounded and as big, boomy, and theater-like as they were, I found myself thinking, holy crap. who wants that much bass rattling the walls of their den. It would certainly be too much for me. I agree with you that Dentons have a good amount of bass...while not rafter-rattling, it sounds well balanced with the rest of the sound, clear, and not overwhelming at all. The bass is in the pocket as it were.
 
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I currently have my Dentons on stands about 12" from the back wall. I could move them farther forward if needed (by a few inches) but they sound great like this. Does this sound reasonable to everyone?
 
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