ELAC Debut F5 Speakers

[HiFiFan]

Just bought a pair of the new ELAC Debut F5 speakers by Andrew Jones. Needed something very affordable but decent for a second room. Haven't actually heard them yet but the buzz about them is good. Should have them in a week or so.

[Diapason]

The buzz is indeed quite something, so I'll look forward to your views. I've heard a few Elacs before, but I don't remember anything about them. That might be a good thing!

[Fran]

HiFiJoe here has some fairly stunning high end ELACs - they're about 6ft high mind you!!

[HiFiFan]

I don't think you can go any more low end than these (other than the bookshelf version) but they are meant to punch above their weight, though how often have we heard that. I'll be driving them from a Pioneer Elite VXS-45 and will be using them for streaming radio & music.

[Kevin]

OK - here's my take on the Debut B6. I have been listening to them for the past 2 days, driven by Quad 99 series electronics. Well they certainly are good for the price (I paid 390euro from HIFI hut). Big, 'rounded' sound, well balanced across the spectrum and and decent but not exceptional mid-range. I was expecting a bit more given the hype. The good surprise I had was their relative indifference to positioning (1 foot vs 3 inches to the back wall seemed to make very little difference at all). The finish is fine if not obviously luxurious - as good or better than BW 685 I think. However for this speaker purchase it's all about the quality/price balance. They were not a revelation in anyway, despite the rave (albeit casual) reviews they have received. There is a huge gulf in balance and detail compared to my Harbeth P3ESRs for example. And despite being twice the size of the Harbeth, they don't seem to handle higher volumes half as well (hard to explain but presumably engineering and the closed box of the Harbeth). I also compared them to my Dali Mentor Menuets (tiny stand mounts) and although the ELacs had a bigger, more expansive sound in a medium sized living room, the quality of midrange and treble was greatly inferior. Bottom line is they are definitely superior entry-level and excellent for the price but no-one should consider trading good quality standmounts for them.

[HiFiFan]

Thanks, that is pretty much what I would expect. For where I am locating them and their intended purpose they just have to be better than the TV speakers for me to be happy. Tax/import in Ireland is brutal. I paid $570 (dollars) for the F5 pair, the B6 would have been $285 after tax.
Kevin - hopefully there is a bit of a break in period on the speakers and they improve for you a bit in the midrange/treble.

[HiFiFan]

They just arrived. Did a quick listen, just on for a few hours but initial impression was very positive. It will be a while before I actually get them set up but will post more detailed impressions then.

[HiFiFan]

Finally got them up and running. Initial impression is very positive. I can say with certainty they are worth the money. I wish I could remember back far enough but my initial impression is that they may be in the same ballpark as the system audio 1250 (I think) that I had years ago. The low end is reasonable and they are quite musical and seem to capture most but not all of the various nuances, with decent resolution, pace etc. With my layout where the speakers are set near the back wall and just to the sides of the TV cabinet the soundstage is OK but not great.

They are very light and overall quality seems good.

I just got my copy of TAS yesterday and it had a review in there for the F5 and a B5 comparison http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/elac-debut-f5/