ELAC DEBUT B6 LOUDSPEAKERS

LOUDSPEAKERS

Famous German manufacturer Elac has hired Andrew Jones (previously with KEF and TAD) and the result has seen a total re-vamp of the company’s Debut Series, including the budgetpriced B6

Despite the objectivity of test processes and measurements, audio reproduction from artist to playback system is, ultimately, a process and a chain of subjective ideas. At the design stage, the original concept (or mandate) and the subsequent engineering craftsmanship may be the result of a single visionary or a combined team of engineers… but it’s always steered by a leader.

German company Elac celebrates its 90th anniversary this year and it has co-incidentally ramped up its global activities by expanding the product portfolio with electronics to complement its wide range of excellently-engineered speakers. It’s also executed a master-stroke by appointing the highly-respected Andrew Jones (ex-TAD) as its Chief Engineer to further strengthen its product line-up. Jones brings extensive experience from both KEF and, just prior to Elac, TAD.

At the former company, Jones debuted the Uni-Q transducer, now a KEF signature element refined over multiple generations, and while he was at TAD he introduced beryllium- and aramid-based drivers into the very high-end Reference and Evolution series of speakers. For Pioneer Electronics (TAD’s parent company) Jones created the extraordinarily-good-for-the-price SP series of ultra-budget speakers.

Elac must have been taking notice—Jones’ first designs for the new company are in the Debut series, where the wizard has waved his slide-rule over an entry-level range that features, even at this modest level, custom-designed drivers rather than common off-theshelf componentry.

THE EQUIPMENT

In fact, the number of companies with the necessary resources to permit bespoke production at this level are few and far between. Inevitably, there are cost constraints. Kudos for the cabinet employing MDF rather than chip-board at this price, and also for being

well-braced—though the old ‘knock’ test revealed some resonance—and the finish is vinyl wrap (no veneer or gloss finish), though this is, however, of the attractive ‘brushed’ variety, of a high-grade and immaculately applied.

Any costs saved on the B6’s cabinet have been counter-balanced by the level of engineering inherent in the Jones-designed bespoke drivers. The in-house-built tweeter is a 25mm cloth dome type with a large magnet system. It’s protected by a domed metal finemesh grille and sits in a deep spheroid-profile waveguide plate which is claimed to provide a controlled and wide directivity/dispersion pattern while also offering isolation from cabinet resonances.

Low and midrange frequencies are delivered by an in-house-designed 165mm driver whose cone is made from woven aramid-fibre, a material Jones has preferred since his Pioneer/TAD days for its stiffness-to-weight ratio, high self-damping, smooth frequency response and sonic neutrality when compared to plastic/polypropylene drivers.

The crossover is said to use ‘audio grade’ elements, for a nominal crossover frequency of 3kHz. I didn’t dismantle the speakers to examine the drivers because Elac shows exploded views of both on its website. The images show a large metal parts count and a rather small plastic parts count, which reflects a healthy quality-to-price ratio.

Elac specifies the B6 as having a sensitivity of 87dBSPL (at one metre, for a 2.83 volt input), a nominal impedance of 6 and a frequency ‘response’ of 44Hz and 20kHz (I put response in inverted commas because as no dB limits accompany this specification, it actually merely denotes a ‘range’ of frequencies the speaker will deliver.)

The overall package presents as a well-built, modern speaker with an aesthetic which will fit many contemporary environments.

IN USE AND LISTENING SESSIONS

Like any ‘bookshelf’ speaker, it’s essential to place the B6s on a solid foundation. I used 610mm-high three-post Atacama spiked and sand-filled stands. Set-up thus, the level of low-end energy from the Elac Debut B6s was awe-inspiring. It first hit me with the acoustic bass line on Susana Baca’s De Los Amores from her ‘Eco de Sombras’ release. Subjectively, there was bass depth way beyond what is associated with speakers of these dimensions, and that reach is mixed with the undeniable perception of more than adequate quantity and punch. Sure, there was slight ‘boxiness’ that infiltrated the upper bass and lower midrange—the latter providing a subtly enhanced chestiness to male voices and to female vocals in the mezzo soprano and contralto ranges— perhaps between the 400Hz to 600Hz range, but it’s hard to nit-pick this aspect of a small speaker when it’s so capable all-round.

From the same album, Golpe E’ Tierra depicts Baca’s vocals with stunning expression in terms of inflections and fluctuations where the tweeter/mid combination of drivers melds seamlessly. It’s a fast combo, very detailed and with surprising dynamic snap. With complex fare such as Untitled from the same album, the B6s’ absolutely outstanding separation allows easy processing of all the instrumental layers while not deconstructing the music into soulless individual pieces. In fact, the separation of complexity the B6s are capable of will favourably compare with designs with price-tags into the thousands.

A general strength of good standmount designs is their capabilities for accurate imaging and substantial soundstaging. The B6s don’t disappoint here either. Damien Rice’s ‘O’ is a superbly-produced title and the B6s projected a generous stage with images populating the entire space side-to-side and front-to-back. The acoustic and electric guitars in this recording projected forward while possessing warmth and body. Elac has considerable experience in high-end tweeter design via its state-of-the-art JET folded-foil design, so it knows a thing or two about high frequency reproduction, as does Andrew Jones, and their combined wealth of experience has pro- duced a high-frequency driver that is capable of rendering fine detail, respectable dynamic expression and good tonal variation from the upper vocal and sibilance ranges—bells, cymbals and the like—even if its ultimate ‘airy’ extension is a tad subdued.

Despite Elac being headquartered in Germany, the Debut B6 (and all the other speakers in the Debut range, which include floor-standers, other bookshelf two-ways, a centre-channel, several subwoofers and even Atmos-enabled speaker modules) was designed by Andrew Jones at Elac’s research and development facility in California. The speakers themselves are manufactured in Elac’s factory in China.

CONCLUSION

In engaging the talents of Andrew Jones, Elac has pulled off quite the coup. The Debut B6 is a glorious stand-mount speaker that meets the mandate of wringing the best possible performance from a small, inexpensive ‘bookshelf’ design. The Debut B6 heroically features bespoke drivers at a price available to anyone on a budget while being capable of performing to a level that will please even the most jaded audio connoisseur. Elac’s Debut B6s are truly remarkable: Andrew Jones has hit the ground at a gallop. Edgar Kramer

Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the performance of the Elac Debut B6 Loudspeakers should continue on and read the LABORATORY REPORT published on the following pages.

A glorious stand-mount speaker that meets the mandate of wringing the best possible performance from a small, inexpensive design