Summary – ELAC B6 Review
The ELAC B6 Series 6.5” bookshelf speakers are a really solid pair of bookshelf speakers that give solid audiophile performance for a fraction of the price. It comes with custom made drivers, woven aramid-fiber woofers, an integrated custom waveguide system and an intricate crossover to produce the best quality sound. The sound performance of the B6s is hands down phenomenal – it produces natural, smooth sound with a detailed top end, uncoloured mids and extended lows with superb imaging and separation. These speakers use aramid fiber in the woofers which gives a superior strength-to-weight ratio and improved damping characteristics over conventional drivers, giving it a broader frequency range and smoother response. The B6s come with thick MDF outer walls with a textured vinyl finish to reduce sonic vibrations. It even features waveguide technology around the drivers to improve directivity control and shield the dome tweeter from cabinet diffractions. All in all, the B6s are great sounding bookshelf speakers that come highly recommended.
The Pros & Cons
The Pros. The ELAC B6s are really good sounding stereo bookshelf speakers that deliver really crisp highs, detailed midranges and good bass response. Vocal performances sounded crystal clear with great stereo separation, and these speakers provide good soundstage with detailed separation.
The Cons. The ELAC B6s have practically no serious flaws to mention about – they are really well engineered speakers that provide top-tier performance.
Sound Performance
Our first impressions of the B6 were that these speakers were incredibly good for their price. These speakers pump out phenomenally good sound with every genre of music from instrumental to vocals to rock and pop. Given the right placement, these speakers sound absolutely stunning – the soundstage is exquisite, the bass is tight and controlled, and the mids are crisp and clear. The woven woofer is extremely nice aesthetically and we absolutely loved just sitting in front of these speakers and enjoying the music performance. We were also very impressed by the quality of the bass – on the B6s you get bass that is incredibly tight and musical, and will literally bring your old soundtracks to live. We tested these speakers with vinyl recordings and were highly impressed – the highs were detailed, very clear and life-like, without being sharp or granting. Musical performances were deeply felt together with an incredible soundstage which gave the music a certain depth of quality and beauty.
The B6s was able to pull off the midrange well, making it sound sweet and smooth and much fuller than other bookshelf speakers. The B6s produced so much bass that we think you don’t really need a subwoofer to add to these speakers. Furthermore, the bass feels more satisfying and clean than a dedicated subwoofer, which is really amazing given the size of these bookshelf speakers. On top of the incredible sound performance, these speakers provide phenomenal imaging and the sound is extremely well put together – even at high volumes the B6s will not distort or deteriorate the sound quality. Our experience with the B6s was nothing short of stunning.
Design
The build quality of the B6s on the whole is clean and simplistic. The thick MDF outer walls give these bookshelf speakers a clean and modern finish while reducing sonic vibrations. The materials used are of very good quality and you can feel the weight in these solid speakers straight out of the box. Apart from placing these speakers on your bookshelf, you can also mount them as a pair of stand-mount speakers to serve as front channels for your home theatre system. These speakers will provide a very detailed, convincing and satisfying presentation at a budget price, and deliver an incredible and emotion music performance that redefine the way you hear music.
The Verdict?
If you are an audiophile looking for a set of bookshelf speakers that will deliver the bang for the buck, the ELAC B6s are your answer and come highly recommended. These speakers have the potential to redefine everything you knew about music and home theatre, and bring home a world of true, full listening. These speakers produce incredible depth and quality to the music with phenomenal imaging and soundstage. Given the right placement in your home theatre system, these speakers could well and truly be some of the best bookshelf speakers you have ever heard. In terms of acoustic performance, we would conclude that the B6s are without a doubt at the very top of the spectrum and provide really crisp and detailed stereo sound performance without the hype.
Be sure to check out our top picks for the best bookshelf speakers that are designed to deliver really crisp sound performance and great stereo sound.