Elac Debut 2.0B6.2 paired with Denon AVR X550BT

[Prodigy]

Hi All, Buying an AVR and a Good Set of speakers was a long time wish and it is party fulfilled now.
Did a lot of reading initially and based on my budget I recently purchased the Denon 550 AVR and paired it with Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 Bookshelves to start off with just a stereo set up. Post one month of purchase I started feeling the need for a Sub and ordered a BIC America PL200 ii and awaiting delivery.
As I have already burnt a small hole in my pocket at present I want to hold on to the existing set up and later in a month or 2 I would like to turn this to a full 5.1 setup.
My usage is 50% Movies and 50% Music. I would like to get suggestions from the experts here to understand what could be best add on to the present set up to make it a 5.1. Since I already have Elac Bookshelves now do you suggest i stick to the same brand or can I look at Polk or other popular brands too for the floor standers and Center CH ? Please sugge

 

[Prodigy]

Hi all. I am still looking for some advise in setting up my HT. Request you to please guide me.

 

[raghupb]

You have a 2.0 soon to become 2.1; Enjoy the setup for a while.
Then add a center to make it 3.1; get a good center speaker. Polk Audio has decent HT speakers.
Later when budget becomes available, add a better pair as L/R and move the ELACs to surrounds duty.
Look for 8 ohm high sensitivity speakers for L/C/R combo (preferably same family).
While Denon X550 has credible specs in power department, make it easier for it to drive the loudspeakers.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Prodigy]

Thank You Very Much for the advice. This is very helpful. When I initially chose Elac’s i just auditioned them and purchased it as it sounded better then Tannoy Eclipse 2 Floor Standers but then I did not know how Speaker Ohms work. So the Elacs are 6 ohms hence does it mean the Amp is struggling to power these speakers because when both the Elac combine it makes it 3 ohms.

 

[Prodigy]

Also please advise if It is better to go for Polk book shelves or Floor Standers for L/R

 

[MaSh]

Also please advise if It is better to go for Polk book shelves or Floor Standers for L/R

Stick with the bookshelves and get Polk bookshelves for the rear surrounds. This will make a good 4.1 setup. See if you can live without a centre. Without a center, the signal is routed to the front speakers.

If your seating positions are not in extreme corners you can get away without a center. However, if you decide to add a center speaker, it will become the most important speaker in your setup as everything happening on the screen comes out of the center. Hence the center needs to be as good or better than the fronts along with timber matched.

I would suggest go for a 4.1 and then take a call for center.

MaSh

 

[raghupb]

Thank You Very Much for the advice. This is very helpful. When I initially chose Elac’s i just auditioned them and purchased it as it sounded better then Tannoy Eclipse 2 Floor Standers but then I did not know how Speaker Ohms work. So the Elacs are 6 ohms hence does it mean the Amp is struggling to power these speakers because when both the Elac combine it makes it 3 ohms.

The impedance presented by speakers is per channel. It is a dynamic thing depending on content being amplified.
Most AVRs/Amps will handle 6 ohm speakers graciously when operated in moderation.
Please be advised that impedance rating is "nominal" meaning they will be around the 8 ohm mark on average, higher or lower at times.
It is the low impedance, that gives amps a bit of a tough time.
Many speakers have a nominal rating and minimum rating for impedance.

Amp may be struggling due to variety of reasons. It may not be struggling at all, but you may find it lacking.
This depends on your room and listening tastes. If your room is big and you sit far away, then you may feel the sound is not room filling.
Typically, the lack of low end shows up in movie tracks, since the sound engineers inject very low freq into the soundtrack for "effect".

If you have room and budget for FS, go for it. BS are a bit more accommodating that FS in terms of optimal placement.
FS can eat up valuable real estate in your listening/living room. If you want more sound with reasonably small speakers that are easy to drive, look at these specs.
Impedance (8 ohm preferred)
Sensitivity (upwards of 88-90dB)
The rest is sound signature which you need to definitely audition.
Blind buys are a lottery; it can vary from I love this, to I need to change it.
Trust only your ears and your room.

BTW, you are in Bangalore; there are enough showrooms and FMs to go seriously auditioning.
Just spare the time and have patience.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Prodigy]

Stick with the bookshelves and get Polk bookshelves for the rear surrounds. This will make a good 4.1 setup. See if you can live without a centre. Without a center, the signal is routed to the front speakers.

If your seating positions are not in extreme corners you can get away without a center. However, if you decide to add a center speaker, it will become the most important speaker in your setup as everything happening on the screen comes out of the center. Hence the center needs to be as good or better than the fronts along with timber matched.

I would suggest go for a 4.1 and then take a call for center.

MaSh

Thank you Mash. I will audition some Polks and see how it matches. I like the FS a bit more than BS as it looks cool and that said I like the BS too. All it matters to me is the sound quality. My living room rise is around 18/16 rectangular shaped and the distance from TV is around 14ft. I can always adjust my seats a bit for better sound.

 

[Prodigy]

The impedance presented by speakers is per channel. It is a dynamic thing depending on content being amplified.
Most AVRs/Amps will handle 6 ohm speakers graciously when operated in moderation.
Please be advised that impedance rating is "nominal" meaning they will be around the 8 ohm mark on average, higher or lower at times.
It is the low impedance, that gives amps a bit of a tough time.
Many speakers have a nominal rating and minimum rating for impedance.

Amp may be struggling due to variety of reasons. It may not be struggling at all, but you may find it lacking.
This depends on your room and listening tastes. If your room is big and you sit far away, then you may feel the sound is not room filling.
Typically, the lack of low end shows up in movie tracks, since the sound engineers inject very low freq into the soundtrack for "effect".

If you have room and budget for FS, go for it. BS are a bit more accommodating that FS in terms of optimal placement.
FS can eat up valuable real estate in your listening/living room. If you want more sound with reasonably small speakers that are easy to drive, look at these specs.
Impedance (8 ohm preferred)
Sensitivity (upwards of 88-90dB)
The rest is sound signature which you need to definitely audition.
Blind buys are a lottery; it can vary from I love this, to I need to change it.
Trust only your ears and your room.

BTW, you are in Bangalore; there are enough showrooms and FMs to go seriously auditioning.
Just spare the time and have patience.

Cheers,
Raghu

Thank you Mr Raghu. I agree that Floor Standers take more space but do you think FS are better than BS? Yes, I am planning to go auditioning for the next couple of days/weeks before I choose my next set of Speakers for sure. I will keep you all informed of my experience. Could you also suggest a few brands I can consider.

 

[raghupb]

Thank you Mr Raghu. I agree that Floor Standers take more space but do you think FS are better than BS? Yes, I am planning to go auditioning for the next couple of days/weeks before I choose my next set of Speakers for sure. I will keep you all informed of my experience. Could you also suggest a few brands I can consider.

Thank you Mash. I will audition some Polks and see how it matches. I like the FS a bit more than BS as it looks cool and that said I like the BS too. All it matters to me is the sound quality. My living room rise is around 18/16 rectangular shaped and the distance from TV is around 14ft. I can always adjust my seats a bit for better sound.

Your room is big enough to host FS. Guidelines for space budgeting for FS in your room.
2-3 feet from back wall, 2-3 feet from side walls. In a 16x18 room it should not be an issue.
Unless there is other furniture, doorways, balconies, etc.
FS will extend bass lower so you may not need the sub turned on for music.
Sub is always fun during movies (if properly integrated into the system/room).
2-way, 2 1/2 way, 3-way speakers all make minor differences sound wise.
The rest is up to what the manufacturer has used as materials, size of the drivers, crossovers, etc.

Usual suspects are in no particular order are (but not limited to):
Polk Audio, ELAC, Q-acoustics, Taga, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, Mission, Wharfedale, KEF, Tannoy, Dali, B&W and many more ...
Other FMs can chime in too, but we need to know what you are planning to spend (Budget).

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[MaSh]

Thank you Mash. I will audition some Polks and see how it matches. I like the FS a bit more than BS as it looks cool and that said I like the BS too. All it matters to me is the sound quality. My living room rise is around 18/16 rectangular shaped and the distance from TV is around 14ft. I can always adjust my seats a bit for better sound.

Agree FS always look cooler, but not necessarily sound better than Similarly Priced bookshelves.

I see you are in Bangalore, if anywhere close to Whitefield, come over to listen to my simple and basic 5.1 setup.

MaSh

 

[raghupb]

Agree FS always look cooler, but not necessarily sound better than Similarly Priced bookshelves.

I see you are in Bangalore, if anywhere close to Whitefield, come over to listen to my simple and basic 5.1 setup.

MaSh

MaSh,
I just saw your signature. You have 12 brands. It is like a showroom
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[MaSh]

MaSh,
I just saw your signature. You have 12 brands. It is like a showroom
Cheers,
Raghu

Ha ha never realised. There are a few not listed. I am just glad they all get under the spot light once in a while.

MaSh

 

[Prodigy]

Agree FS always look cooler, but not necessarily sound better than Similarly Priced bookshelves.

I see you are in Bangalore, if anywhere close to Whitefield, come over to listen to my simple and basic 5.1 setup.

MaSh

Thank you Mash. I would be very glad to visit your place and experience.
By the way my BIC PL200 ii arrived today. Connected it to my AVR and ran the Audyssey setup and voila it’s sounds fantastic. I now see the need for LCR and I am planning to move the ELAC’s as Surrounds in sometime. I would like to get in touch with you personally and take your advice on it.

 

[Prodigy]

Your room is big enough to host FS. Guidelines for space budgeting for FS in your room.
2-3 feet from back wall, 2-3 feet from side walls. In a 16x18 room it should not be an issue.
Unless there is other furniture, doorways, balconies, etc.
FS will extend bass lower so you may not need the sub turned on for music.
Sub is always fun during movies (if properly integrated into the system/room).
2-way, 2 1/2 way, 3-way speakers all make minor differences sound wise.
The rest is up to what the manufacturer has used as materials, size of the drivers, crossovers, etc.

Usual suspects are in no particular order are (but not limited to):
Polk Audio, ELAC, Q-acoustics, Taga, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, Mission, Wharfedale, KEF, Tannoy, Dali, B&W and many more ...
Other FMs can chime in too, but we need to know what you are planning to spend (Budget).

Cheers,
Raghu

Thank you for your feedback. There is a lot to learn from all you experienced folks out here. I initially thought buying a HT is easy but realised it isn’t.
As you know I now have a Denon 550BT, a pair or Elac B6.2’s and a BIC Acoustec PL200ii Sub now, I am looking at adding new set of LCR Channel Speakers and moving my Elac’s as surrounds. As I already spent 90500/- so far I cannot spend anything at the moment for atleast next 2 to 3 months but I am going to keep a budget of 50k for LCR’s.
I am looking at something that can Match the ELAC’s as I don’t want the surrounds to overshadow the LCR when I choose something shortly. What Speakers do you think will be a good option here?

Regards,
Som

 

[MaSh]

Thank you Mash. I would be very glad to visit your place and experience.
By the way my BIC PL200 ii arrived today. Connected it to my AVR and ran the Audyssey setup and voila it’s sounds fantastic. I now see the need for LCR and I am planning to move the ELAC’s as Surrounds in sometime. I would like to get in touch with you personally and take your advice on it.

The B6 as surrounds? He he I think they are too good to be rear surrounds. Keep them as fronts and get cheaper smaller speakers for rear surrounds. The B6 would be wasted as rear surrounds. I used the original B6 for about 3 months, and loved them.

However, for now, run this 2.1 setup. Let everything settle and burn in. Then take a call what to add in about 3-4 months.

MaSh

 

[Prodigy]

The B6 as surrounds? He he I think they are too good to be rear surrounds. Keep them as fronts and get cheaper smaller speakers for rear surrounds. The B6 would be wasted as rear surrounds. I used the original B6 for about 3 months, and loved them.

However, for now, run this 2.1 setup. Let everything settle and burn in. Then take a call what to add in about 3-4 months.

MaSh

Absolutely Mash. I do like the Elac’s. They are quite good for what they are and I am really enjoying them. So I think I will go with your advice. I will run this set up for a couple of months and let it Burn in fully and then as you said I’ll pair it with reasonably priced surrounds like the Polk S10’s, Jamo S623, Taga Azure S40 or Boston Acoustics A25 or even Mission MX1 or the LX1. For the Center if I have to then should I go with Elac’s only (C6.2 or Debut 2 C5.2?). One of the stores in Bangalore suggested me Taga Platinum for Center Ch? Can we use other brands for Center??

Regards,
Som

 

[Prodigy]

Absolutely Mash. I do like the Elac’s. They are quite good for what they are and I am really enjoying them. So I think I will go with your advice. I will run this set up for a couple of months and let it Burn in fully and then as you said I’ll pair it with reasonably priced surrounds like the Polk S10’s, Jamo S623, Taga Azure S40 or Boston Acoustics A25 or even Mission MX1 or the LX1. For the Center if I have to then should I go with Elac’s only (C6.2 or Debut 2 C5.2?). One of the stores in Bangalore suggested me Taga Platinum for Center Ch? Can we use other brands for Center??

Regards,
Som

Also to add on, A’s surrounds do not do much (my assumption) what if I choose basic surrounds like even the Polk T10’s. Would that work. Kindly advise

 

[MaSh]

Absolutely Mash. I do like the Elac’s. They are quite good for what they are and I am really enjoying them. So I think I will go with your advice. I will run this set up for a couple of months and let it Burn in fully and then as you said I’ll pair it with reasonably priced surrounds like the Polk S10’s, Jamo S623, Taga Azure S40 or Boston Acoustics A25 or even Mission MX1 or the LX1. For the Center if I have to then should I go with Elac’s only (C6.2 or Debut 2 C5.2?). One of the stores in Bangalore suggested me Taga Platinum for Center Ch? Can we use other brands for Center??

Regards,
Som

Hmm for the Center, if and only if you need them, try to go for one from the Elac line up. Matching another brand for a seamless panning of sound is tough.

Also to add on, A’s surrounds do not do much (my assumption) what if I choose basic surrounds like even the Polk T10’s. Would that work. Kindly advise

Yes absolutely. No matching needed for rear surrounds. Get any decent quality pair from a decent brand. I used Sony Satellites for surrounds during my initial days for almost a year and had no issues with them.

MaSh

 

[raghupb]

I initially thought buying a HT is easy but realised it isn’t.

We hear you. It is complicated to setup a nice HT, not to mention the cost, wiring, space, tuning, etc.
FYI, I don't have a full HT at home. I gave up long ago and got a soundbar for movies. For quickies, I just turn on the soundbar.
It does dialog pretty well; I really need it as actors in shows/movies mumble a lot these days (or I'm going deaf).
It also does a decent job of rumble and fireworks for many movies.

My kick is from music; good old 2 channel stuff. That's where my investment really is.
A integrated amp (used as pre), monoblocks for power amp and stand mount speakers.
Sources are:
- Laptop+DAC (though DAC is currently busted)
- Laptop/Smartphone stream to Chromecast Audio
- Smartphone/IPAD for online streaming to Chromecast Audio

My TV has optical digital out and analog line out.
So digital goes to soundbar. Analog goes to stereo preamp.
BTW, when I turn on the big boys for movies, it is room filling (12 x 12 open living room)
So I'm happy, my family members are too.

You can live with your current setup and add to it organically over time.
Take it slow, specially if you have to make funds available to execute (don't rush into a mistake).
In the meanwhile, connect with local members and check out their setups.
You will get a better idea of where you are heading (or where you should be heading).

Cheers,
Raghu