Elac Debut 2.0 updates the best value speakers around
The new range of budget speakers promise better build quality and improved drivers.
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The new Elac Debut 6-2 will arrive mid-March for $300 a pair.
We loved the Debuts, Andrew Jones' first speakers under the Elac brand -- and particularly the B6s. A little rough around the edges, these budget speakers nevertheless offered astonishing sound quality and incredible value. Just two years later the prolific speaker designer has already announced the replacements: the Debut 2.0 range.
From what we've seen, and heard, these speakers are potentially even better than their predecessors. Fit and finish is first-rate and on first impressions they sound smoother than a caramel latte. Look forward to our full review very soon!
Prices are incrementally more than before, around $20 more per pair, which is reasonable given the palpable improvement in build quality.
As before, the standout of the range is likely to be the 6.5-inch model, now called the B6.2, which sells for $300 a pair. Like the rest of the range, the speakers are now internally braced for greater stiffness, have a forward-firing bass port for greater placement flexibility and an all-important black ash vinyl finish.
The speakers now include a new silk-dome tweeter with a "wide-roll surround" for a frequency response up to a claimed 35,000 Hz (your pets will love it) and a revised aramid (glass fiber) cone with improved stiffness and damping.
The full range is as follows:
- B5.2 Debut 2.0: 5.25-inch, two-way bookshelf speakers, $250 a pair
- B6.2 Debut 2.0: 6.5-inch, two-way bookshelf speakers, $300 a pair
- C5.2 Debut 2.0: 5.25-inch, two-way center speaker, $200 each
- C6.2 Debut 2.0: 6.5-inch, two-way center speaker, $280 each
- F5.2 Debut 2.0: 3x 5.25-inch, three-way floorstanding speaker, $600 a pair
- F6.2 Debut 2.0: 3x 6.5-inch, three-way floorstanding speaker, $800 a pair
- A4.2 Debut 2.0: 4-inch, concentric Dolby Atmos add-on speaker, $250 a pair
- OW4.2 Debut 2.0: 4-inch, two-way on-wall speakers, $250 a pair
- SUB3010 Debut 2.0: 10-inch, 400-watt powered subwoofer with AutoEQ, $450 each
The Debut 2.0 will be available in the US on March 15, while the UK and Australia will come online in May or June with pricing to be announced. (For reference, $250 is about £180 or AU$320, but expect final prices to be more than that.)