A great in-depth review of this relatively inexpensive but good sounding speaker. Thank you as always for your time, effort, and informative review. Stay well, Sir.
Tarun, I think you’ve ended my audiophile journey 🙏🏼 the DALI Menuet SEs with a REL T5x, Exposure 2510 and RME ADI2 have stopped me from listening to my system - just listening to and enjoying the music. Without having to sit frozen in the sweet spot 😊 Many thanks. However, I still wait for your reviews. Enjoyed this one too. Keep up the good work.
Once again a well organized insightful review that is very helpful to someone who is thinking of buying these speakers. As a Led Zeppelin fan, the better my equipment gets the worse their recordings sound.
Led Zeppelin fan since I was 13 in 1969. I found the same thing with CD for 30 years+. The 1994 and 2014 remasters improved things on 1,2, 3 and 4 particularly. It was only when I downsized and moved a system into a smaller room and got some second hand Neat Motive SX3's that I finally got the sound their wonderful music truly deserves. Graffiti will always be a problem with its patchy recordings? Black Country UK, born and bred, not far from Robert and John Henry❤I wish you well. 'zoso', my friend.
I have these paired with a class d amp and think the combo sounds great. That slight analytical and dry character of the amp combines very nicelly with the slight full, warm and smooth personality of the elacs. The sound coming out of the elacs maintain its relaxed character but benefit from the added detail and dynamic control the amp provides. Listening to the new Alfa Mist record sounds magical.
Even though I'm not in the market for audio gear, I tune in regularly to view your detailed, smooth and unbiased presentations. Thoroughly enjoyable! As far as your question of the day, Traffic's Low Spark. To be fair, I primarily spin records and my only source is an LP from my high school days. It's not a bad listen, but there's room for improvement, especially with the vocal mixing imo. Keep on.
Thank you for your video, and for your research! I own the Elac Unify Reference paired with a Yamaha AS1100, and two Bowers & Wilkins ASW610s; I do no wish for anything else! Take the time for correct placement, good cables, some finetuning and good music sources.
Great review of these AJ designed speakers Tarun - thanks!. I bought this model because of their links to AJ who is a well respected speaker designer. At first I thought the UBR62's are very dull sounding speakers, but I kept on experimenting with different amplifiers and wires. I found a good match using my Arcam A80 amp and silver speaker wire worked best to tame the bass and open up the midrange and treble frequencies. These speakers are definitely a keeper for the long term as they are easy on the ear without any fatigue from the upper freq. They aren't the last word in transparency or details, but produce a powerful sound and punchy bass and work well across different genres of music. They can certainly match some floorstanding speakers for their bass punch and depth!
They definitely seem amplifier dependant, I have 3 different amps and they sound quite different on all three. I do find them pretty transparent though when fed with a good source.
I realise there are pros & cons to this Tarun but I often wish reviews would put price to one side when declaring how good components are. Partly because equipment is often available used at much different price levels but also because budget is often not the defining factor i think most reviewers assume it to be. If I can be persuaded the benefits may be worth it I'll absolutely multiply my budget by significant margins (and have done a few times) but when, for example, £700 speakers are described in a similar way to say £3000 speakers it can be difficult to translate those reviews into meaningful buying aides. Obviously it's more nuanced than a youtube comment can reflect and the relevance of price can never be dismissed but I'd be interested to hear your views on this. Maybe it could even feature in a video segment one day...? As ever, keep em coming 🤘
Thank you. There is an fairly strong correlation between price and performance in my experience. I try to find price appropriate comparisons where possible but this is sometimes difficult. I can only compare to products I have heard at home 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Maybe a better way to explain it is to suggest that you should sometimes do comparisons at very different price points. But I still think the best compromise is to keep doing what you do but instead of assessing & describing a component according to its value for money just describe its performance irrespective of price and trust the viewer to fill in the gaps and factor in price when making their own buying decisions. It's really quite obvious when you really look at it and the traditional way of comparing value rather performance makes reviews less useful to buyers and will be less effective at helping us upgrade.
I think AJ has always aimed for the wider audience with both sound and cost, I think he’s done an excellent job with this approach. I know some viewers are not fans of D amplification but as with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 it really brings the best out of these type of three way speakers (just my opinion) Thank you for the review Tarun .
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Yeah been working a lot of overtime lately ' its tuff finding good Maint Techs these days in the Automotive Industry ' 70 plus hours a week ' but i will have Monday off so finishing my Vidar 2 review vs Vidar and Freya plus vs Freya Noval hope you stop in ! 😃
Excellent review once more Tarun. I figure that these UBR-62s would pair up very nicely with an Audiolab 6000A, combining the warmth of the Elacs with the bit of coolness from the Audiolab. Thank you.
I was thinking about that with the old 8000a, but with this honest review I have a doubt. Maybe these amps deserve a speakers that present more detail. But I understand what you say about the bit of warmth that these Elacs would add.
Terrific, balanced review, Instead of telling us whether we should or should not buy something, you highlight what a product appears designed to do and how well it fulfills that mission. Thank you. As to music I wish was better recorded, every rock album from the 1970's, particularly all my Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton collections, would benefit from better engineering. Additionally, every Sarah Vaughn record I own is so poorly recorded that I have them stored away in a closet. Her oeuvre deserves better.
Hi Tarun. Nice wee speakers and great review as usual. Recordings that I wish were better are anything from the bands Rush, Yes and Asia. For some reason they all sounded a bit thin in the bass and harsh treble, otherwise great music.
Thanks! Yes's "Leave It" is one of my favorites that I wish could be redone. The upper register can be gritty and harsh at high volumes on a good system.
Hello! Wow… I’d need a lot of time to answer your question about what I wish was recorded better. You don’t make things easy. So… maybe let’s go in the other direction… and I’ll say, as a kid I was transfixed by the Stones Honky Tonk Woman recording turned up really really, well you know! That intro! Took me there! I could just play that over and over. Wonder how they miked that? Charlie, I miss you!!! Hope you’re doing well!
If I might borrow Tarun's Audiophile Cliché Handbook, I'd thank him for a warm presentation, full of detail and transparency! As for poor recordings? Bonham's squeaky pedal, perhaps? To my mind the threats to audio quality would be 1) Modern remastering and compression reducing the dynamic range 2) Tape Archives being damaged eg. 2008 Universal Studios fire.
Very interesting. Last couple of years I've owned/borrowed S2 ,Z1, Evo 4.2, and Linton's but have settled on Emit 20's, sounds like they're fairly similar to the Elacs but with a superior tweeter. Only reviewers I trust are you and Zero Fidelity !
I like to test the speakers by listening to the song Mule by Govt Mule; the bass arrangement is incredible and allows you to know the capacity of your speakers and sound chain. Good video!
Thanks for the thorough review; it's a pleasure to hear a well-balanced thoughtful assessment. As a collector of CDs since nearly the beginning of the technology, and listening to Rock music since the early 60s, I have spent countless hours and way too much money seeking better recordings of my favourite albums. I have come to the conclusion that the best way to improve the classics is, in most cases, doing a remix! The trouble is that purists (and rightly so) will argue that you would then not be hearing the original music as recorded. However, when done right, it can be worth it in my opinion. One example I can think of is the reissue of Deep Purple's Machine Head years ago, where they had two CDs included: a remaster AND a remix by Roger Glover. The sound improvement was quite amazing, and I loved to hear more detail and perhaps a better representation of what it may have sounded in the studio (or at least the intentional sound). But issuing both at the same time satisfied me more than just the remaster. I could write a book on my journey through the jungle of remastering, but there's a lot of my favourites that just can't be saved without a true remix.
Hopefully the AI technology Peter Jackson used to extract and separate instruments and vocals in "Get back" will lead to better remixes of 60's recordings a la Revolver by Giles Martin. The updated Revolver is impressive.
@@pnichols6500 I totally agree - the only misstep in the remixes, to me, has been the Let it Be (Phil Spector) version. I know it wasn't great to begin with, but I think he should have left that one alone.
thanks for your great review. These speakers are a consideration for me. Some tracks I really enjoy: 1) Codeine by Ray Bonneville 2) Birds by Dominique Fils-Aime 3) Resurrection Blues - Otis Taylor 4) Rain by David Rodigan 5) Alien Gibberish - Heyoka and last but not least ...anything from Tipper. I would start with Gulch
Hi Tarun, I had two pairs of Elac speakers, mind you, of a lower line. I had a pair of B6.2 and a pair of F6.2 . The B6.2 was quite "dark" sounding, and the F6.2 was rather shrill. This being said, I very much love my Warfedale Linton Heritage speakers. As far as the Elacs... musical yes, but, dark, dark, and mystical sounding.
Hi Tarun, These speakers are designed to be close to the wall i.e. a minimum of 1. 5 ft from wall to the tweeter. Also to enjoy the best out of it, you really need a Subwoofer. I have paired it with Leema Integrated Class-D Amp(neutral) which is only a, but solid 56Watts per channel and an SVS Pro 1000 Sub and I couldn't be happier. An Awesome speaker for my liking of warm sounding speakers. But Thanks for the review 😊
Thanks again Tarun I have the Axa35 Cambridge Audio (a purchased based on your nice review) and also am considering these UBR62 as a future pair of speakers. I like your work Tarun- keep it up plz 🤗 Pat
I have these set up nearfield for my PC use, which is mostly comprised of UA-cam videos, music and some gaming every now and again. I have them paired with the IOTAVX SA3+PA3, and every time I switch out the speakers or amp/preamp I always end up putting them back. I would love to upgrade the amp but we all know how that game works, and I have another system for higher fidelity anyways. What's important for me for this setup is no matter how long I listen, or what I listen to, I never get listening fatigue from this setup. Perfect as is for the price and quality.
Good honest review as usual. Well done Tarun. I was always under the impression that Elac speakers are hard to drive. I am looking for speakers to pair with Audiolab6000a and I was about to go for the Triangle BR03, but if these Elacs are ok with Iota vx they should be ok with the 6000a. I often listen at low to moderate volume in a 35m2 room.
Thanks for this review Tarun. I have this speaker for fhe past 6 months. I love it. I am using this with WiiM Pro, Schiit Modi3E and Rotel A11 Tribute. I am going to try Cambridge AXA35 instead of Rotel now. I know you are not a great fan of Rotel but you should try A11 Tribute once. It is very neutral. May be I will settle with AXA35 though for some energy. Cheers😊
I tried an A11 Tribute last year on the warmer Elac DBR62 Ref's, it has some good things going for it but the biggest no for me was that it lacked mid bass and generally sounded too thin, I can't see it being a good match for these Elac Unifi's as they need a bit of oomph to stir the bass driver. Change your amp for one with a bit of grunt, the the Unifi refs will bounce into life with powerful bass and superb clarity. I'm running a Denon PMA1600NE and a Chord DAC with them and they sound incredible for the money.
Thanks Tiken. If you like a warm sound, the AXA35 is a great pairing. I haven’t heard any recent Rotel amps in a critical listening environment so will reserve judgement. In the U.K. Rotel is distributed by Sound United. I will ask if they are interested in sending me the A11 Tribute to review 👍
Great question, here's a few of my faves that I've returned to recently (w an increased awareness of recording quality) that I wish had more clarity/separation: Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints; DJ Kicks Kruder & Dorfmeister (lovely dub-infused journey through downtempo, drum n bass); the first 3 Chic albums (quite surprising, given Nile Rodgers' producer pedigree); "KC Doppler" by Slide Five (dubby acid jazz). Great review, cheers.
Hi Tarun, I hope you and yours are all well, great examination of the A.J. approach. Thank you. Your question about which tracks would I like better recordings of made me stop and think for quite a while, as it is quite a common gripe with us lot A great question, that opens out into many debates. I often feel that the voices of Nick Drake and Sandy Denny do not sound as clear as I would like to imagine them. Perhaps that was just the take on the day and that's what we got. Perhaps no matter how legendary or good the equipment and engineers were or are, some beauty and perfection just defies capture? It's like the journey for ultimate transparency, it's never going to be transparent enough perhaps? I went on that journey and really enjoyed the effect of climbing into a Steinway Concert D grand piano and hearing and feeling everything in there and out there. I just missed the joy and emotion that was often absent on that road, and eventually was taken back to a place with more 'Boogie Factor' satisfaction, an easier enviroment for me to be happy in. 'Horses for Courses'. May you and all your readers enjoy where they are now, the journey itself, or eventually find their happy place if they still hanker for perfection. It's all a load of fun of course! That's why we do it. Cheers all the very best, looking forward to more👍 🙂
Thank you, Tarun for another interesting and informative review. Unfortunately, in my experience, so much great rock music is just so poorly recorded. Especially albums from the 60s and 70s, music that means a lot to me. And remember the awful sound of many early CD issues of rock albums that were initially LPs? Sometimes, re-issues sound better, but not always.
Thanks for the summation of the Elac UBR62. Everyone seems to like Elacs but they're never anyone's fave. I'd love to hear an audiophile pressing of The Soft Boys "Underwater Moonlight" LP. They didn't have much of a budget to record it, but to me it always sounds more like the record pressing is the culprit in it's not-very-hi-fi sound. I don't think it was produced to sound as harsh as my copies do (early 80's Italian pressing on Armageddon and 3-LP Matador reissue). Robin H. needs some audiophile love.
It's very refreshing when you find questions that you've had for a long time being addressed in a review. One, I now have a good idea what to expect from an Andrew Jones speaker design that's not shoehorned into a strict budget, and, second, I know that some of my poorly recorded favourite music will still sound pleasing, rather than being dissected and disfigured by a highly analytical speaker. Speaking of which ... Iggy Pop's 1986 "Blah Blah Blah" is one such poorly recorded album. It sounds so dry and hollow on a mid-fi system to begin with, that it becomes almost unlistenable on an analytical system. Still, I would love to be able to crank up "Isolation" and "Cry for Love" to 11 without grimacing or putting my hands over my ears. Looks like these Elacs might be able to get me there. Thanks, Tarun!
There are surely things you can do to temporarily ‘lo-fi’ your stratospherically detailed high-end system rather than buying a whole separate (relatively) lofi system for the express purpose of being more ‘forgiving’ to bad recordings… I would venture.
@@emotown1 I wish I had anything close to a super detailed system ... it's just that some favourite albums sound terribly on even a passable hi fi system. Hopefully a future remaster will fix that.
Than you for the hype free review. As a musician, I listen often to poorly recorded music often captured on an iPhone or a poorly placed field recorder. A forgiving sonic character is important. To be honest, I also utilize an equalizer to focus on specific instruments. But my current go-to recordings are: On the good, Frederick Fennel and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds performance of Holst. An early digital recording released on vinyl in 1978. You can’t fake pitch, timbre, or dynamics of a wind orchestra. On the poor side, the 1987 Yes track “Love Will Find a Way”. The vocals suffer from glare. Between CD, streaming and vinyl, I prefer the original vinyl. Thanks for putting together an enjoyable channel.
Well, it is certainly a much more difficult task to design good speakers on a limited budget, but Andrew Jones always seems to rise to the occasion. My hat is off to him. We need good value, affordable gear to encourage young folks to involve themselves in audio, and to also keep us the cheapskates smiling. Speaking of rising to the occasion, Tarun, thanks for the very thorough and complete examination and review of the Elacs' capabilities. Well done. A tune I just played that got a little harsh and strained at higher volumes, where the Elacs might smooth that edge, was "Brass in Pocket" by Pretenders.
Andrew Jones is a great engineer and his speakers are quite good especially when you look at the price range they are usually in (yes, he has designed some very expensive ones at TAD but the majority are well within the reach of most people)...
I own a pair of the UBR62 speakers. The good - the sound stage and imaging are superb, and the fit and finish is very good for speakers in this price class. The cabinets are very sturdy and seem to be braced well. The vinyl wrap (mine are oak) is the best vinyl wrap I have seen on speakers. Although not real veneer, one would only be able to tell if inspecting the speakers from a close distance, and the wrap closely matches our oak wood floors. The bad - they are a little lacking in dynamics and detail, and without a subwoofer the bass extension is not great. To be candid, I purchased the UBR62s because they matched our decor better than any other speakers I could find, and thus received the aesthetics approval from my wife, which was hard to achieve. To optimize the UBR62s for my room, I use them with a subwoofer, and have plugged the ports on the the UBR62s to improve the crossover to the subwoofer. I used Room EQ Wizard (REW) to determine the appropriate time delay between the UBR62s and the subwoofer, and used Dirac Live for room correction. These steps have significantly improved the sound characteristics. Still, if I could find speakers with equivalent sound stage and imaging, but with better dynamics and detail, and that matched our decor as well as the UBR62s, I would consider purchasing them even if more expensive.
“As you upgrade amplification, the resolving limitations of this speaker will become more apparent” answer the question in many people’s heads. Another lean and mean review from the professor of stereo:)
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Too bad. I have them( with Quad Artera pre+Power,) and I think you would like them. Let me thank you for the insight you bring to this hobby. I watch every video you make, even when I don't care for the product at all. You are the gold standard in UA-cam reviews and the best reviewer overall in my opinion. Thank you so much.
Great review as always. Regarding recordings that could have been better I’m going with Interstellar Overdrive by Pink Floyd. A clearer recording with better resolution would have been quite incredible but given the limitations of recording at the time it’s highly doubtful a remastered version will pop. Really hoping for a review of the Wharfdale Elysian 2 speakers which is practically non existent on the internet. With thanks.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Well said Taron... There's some wonderful recordings made way before the 60s drug fueled studio setups.. Oops jazz, blues and of course classics... Keep up the good work sir
Check out Nick Mason's "Saucer full of Secrets" Live at the Roundhouse.(2020) Opens with Interstellar Overdrive, and covers a lot of my favorite early Floyd songs, ending with Saucer Full of Secrets!
Hi tarun , another great video, I am contemplating buying these over my B&W 606s2 anniversary which I already have, I currently using Rotel A11 set up .it’s interesting that B&w have re-engineered these with the S3 model . Regards mark
Thanks very much taran , 8:22 although they sound petty good but I think the Ubr62, may not as bright as 606 and I personally prefer front ported bass , I still have my old B&w dm 602s3 which I prefer , but I will put my 606 on my Cambridge audio Sonata system. As I seen the ubr62 for £499 I may give them ago , bearing in mind I did get the 606 s2 for only £349. Kind regards mark
Hi Tarun, 5:35 "...metal enthusiasts that I think will be left wanting." Sounds about right in my experience. I've paired these with NAD 3045 and the sound is quite good for my taste - but I miss a bit of "punch" in the drums. The bass drum sounds round, sort of. Which begs the question: What should a metalhead consider when browsing for speakers (and amp)?
I had the modestly priced 8" Pioneer subwoofer AJ designed - musical and easy to integrate. After losing it to a power surge, I replaced it with a 10" Elac Sub1010 that he probably also designed but didn't sign (same back panel and cabinet size). Now it's one of a pair and they're quite impressive for the price.
Nice review . Re your end of video question - I wish the led zeppelin catalogue was better recorded . The first 4 albums sound terrible on revealing system , even the early purple label vinyl
Great review as always. I would nominate all the classic Smiths studio albums and both Joy Division albums for remastering, along with several early/mid period REM records. The 1980s were a very important period to me musically and I recollect first hearing the debut Smiths album on a basic system with a Rega Planar (3?) front end. It sounded great, but through the Chord, EAR, and ATC equipment I currently own all these records sound as rough as old boots. I agree with Lm Oc and Agoston Deim about LZ and Oasis too.
Another, typically, excellent review. Thank you. As for music, any track on “The Inner Mounting Flame” by The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Excellent musicianship poorly served by the production of their music. I cannot say if fault lies with studio or engineer, but certainly better recordings were made, at the time. I guess it was a “rush job,” quality not a forethought.
Thanks, very good review. For recordings that would be better recorded: think of the Beatles Rubber Soul - Revolver - Sgt Pepper period but recorded in the 30th St Columbia space as heard in Duke Ellington's Jazz Party or Blues in Orbit. I know it wouldn't have been technically possible. Thinking how more spaciousness would improve the sound.
Kleiber's Brahms fourth was an early digital recording from DGG, and though they really did get their digital thing together pretty quickly and very well, there's glass in those strings. They seem to have had some success with remastering it, and its probably my favorite Brahms fourth, but still...
Nice assessment Tarun, that’s been my experience with the lesser priced Elacs as well. It’s nice to have a “forgiving” set of bookshelf speakers for not so stellar recordings, vinyl, tape, CD, and compressed streaming, if you can find a viable place for it.
As always, a great review, I bought a routel a11tribute amplifier, tell me which speaker will suit him, I heard you really praised dali menuat se, will they serve?
Always enjoy watching your content Tarun, thanks, keep up the good work. Any chance of getting in the new Heaven 11 Billie amp? Quite an interesting design, would be very interested in your opinions.
I currently have this speaker paired with a Yamaha AS2200 and Gustard R26. Your review is spot on. Curious if you tried that Yamaha @2:23 with these Tarun.
Hello, as for the IOTA SA3 (been using mine for 2 years) to get rid of its "Smile Presentation" I backed off the Treble 2 clicks & Bass 3 clicks, which seemed to benefit my lower-priced ELAC Debut References (of course YMMV)
Nice review, just about right in terms of depth and general description of the sound. Maybe I missed it but does it have good or above average tone and natural timbre? Does it strain when you play louder? Size of sweet spot ok? Adele earlier albums could use a much betteer recording when she was churning out these really good music...
Hi Tarun, great review as usual, though these speakers are not for the direction I want to go. I know that is not the point becasue they will appeal to plenty of people. I like Joe Jackson but the LP album Look Sharp (which I really like the music of) has sibilance. Like many people, I have a low tolerance for that and consequently don't listen to that album very often.
I just bought a pair of these a few months back on amazon,, saved $250 buying a returned pair. also at the same time picked up a yamaha AS-801 used on amazon for $500. i love the speakers but i wont call them audiophile quality! but they sound nice! i think you need a ton of power on them! i can turn my AS-801 almost 3/4 the way on these speakers to get them to scream,, but the mid ranges really heat up quick when playing loud!
You should test the mofi sourcepoint 10 from AJ. There he had more "budget freedom" to design and he made something unique. Andrew is also very active in the DIY speakerbuilding community
Hello Tarun my friend! I was _very_ interested to hear what you think of these. Andrew, Arthur Khoubessarian (Pink Triangle, Funk Firm) and I were in the same physics set at Surrey University in the 1970's. Both Arthur and Andrew went on to be key figures and influential in the Hi-Fi world & I went into defence & aerospace.... Oh well! I am contemplating recommending these to a friend... All the best, Rob in Switzerland
Hi Tarun, thank you for an in-depth review of the UBR62. I saw in the video, the speaker was shot in front of the Yamaha AS-1200(?). Did you try the combo and if you did, what was your opinion? TQ
Thank you, Tarun. Any plans to review WharfeDale Denton 85? How would you compare WharfeDale Denton vs Elac UniFi Ref in terms of resolving upper range?
Unlike the Elacs or the Denton 80, the Denton 85 has elevated treble, which can be annoying, especially with cymbals and hi-hats. To bring down the HF to a more linear level, I replaced one of the metal bridges with a 2 Ohm resistor.
Great review. Bad recordings, the first that come to mind are London Grammar's Californian soil, especially the first half of the album and Goldfrapp's Black Cherry. Both are very sibilant. Lots of pop from the eighties, it all sounds so thin.
Hmmm, these are interesting! I finally got my new amplifier and are desperately inneed of some new speakers. My Linn Katan have seen better days in the driver & twitter departments. I was really considering the B&W 707s3/706s3 mainly for the finish. (Real wood veneer). But I really hate that logo on top. Such eyes sore. Hopefully I'm couple of months out before I make my decision and pull the trigger on some new fancy audiophile speakers. Really enjoy low level listening. lol.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Always amazing to see that you keep in touch with your viewers Its pretty rare i can tell you that ! I really hope your chanel grows exponentially ! If i can do something lemme know
I use Unifi fs 2.0 ( which are much smaller in size) with Cambridge audio's CXA80. This combination dishes strong midrange presentation with nice soft envelope of high's. I wonder how Elac UBRs pair with Hegel H190. Share your valuable thoughts. Thanks
Hi Tarun, Probably 18 months ago, I had picked up a pair of the Elac UBR52s for $455, which is a steal. I used them for a year and then decided to upgrade. By that time, Elac had raised the price of the UBR62 to $1200. Here in the US, that price puts them in the thick of competitive speakers. Then, at the end of 2022, KEF was selling the LS50 Meta for $1300. My primary use is TV/Movies and Qobuz at lower-volume levels. The UBR52s are very good for non-critical music listening, but only average for TV/movie dialogue. In certain parts of the US, it's pretty much impossible to find a decent hi-fi shop, so I end up relying on folks like yourself. John Darko and Andrew Robinson, both had done a detailed review of the KEF, so this made my decision easier. Also, with Andrew leaving Elac, I'm certain that impacted my decision as well. As always, I enjoy your work, and have a nice weekend.
Thank you for this review. I wish -some of the earlier- TOOL albums were less compressed. Can I request... in a future video, could you please touch upon the value for money aspect when buying a British vs Continental European vs North American brand ? Does physical distance [shipping cost] play a role in pricing, or does the offshore manufacturing in China or SE Asia make it a moot point ? e.g. European brands do cost about 20 % more here in Canada, on average... but the made - in - France Focal Aria is a whole new level of ripoff [ $6200, $7800, $8500 for the 926, 936, 948 respectively]
All those other speakers in your room reminds me of a time I did the same and a driver was vibrating sympathetically. Drove me nuts until I figured it out.
Well at least you can be guaranteed there is absolutely little phase discrepancy between woofer and tweeter on and near off axis as it's a concentric designed and the woofer and tweeter are built very close together eliminating basic time arrival issues. That's always good.
Ohh,, how I wish that Dalbello,s Baby Doll and Til Tuesday,s Voices Carry, were recorded, mixed and mastered in a MUCH better way, and 99% of all late 60,s, and 70,s rock. My Arcam SA20 + vinyl lathe, fixes some of the LS3/7 and NS-10 hell-mixes from those days, but a programmable full parametric eq wouldn't hurt, with one program for each album I have from that era,, 😬. Or,, simply just buy a couple of used Advent speakers. 〽 Things were somehow easier back in the day. 😅 Cheers and have a excellent weekend Mr MasterReviewer,, 🍻😎👍👍
A track I really like, but wish was better recorded: Maneskin: Zitte E Buoni (best Eurovision Tune for a long time!) Love a bit of Eurovision madness - Roll on May 13th in Liverpool, whoop!
To your point re records I wish were recorded better, my immediate choices would be the stones from ‘72 about ‘80 (Exile, Goats Head to Emotional Rescue). And, Derek & The Dominos.
One of the Mahavishnu Orchestra albums Birds of Fire, or Inner Mounting Flame I tried listening to the other day and it wasn’t good. Those were albums I played a lot years ago, but on my more resolving gear it was not pleasant.
@@abritishaudiophile7314 👍Ya, I screwed up though. I wasn't paying attention apparently. I got my daughter the DBR62. Just haven't had time to correct my post. Judging by your analysis, I would think they have a similar sound. They look almost identical, obviously the crossover/driver set up is different, with similar results in sound. Which is better? Maybe I will get the UBRs and find out. Sorry for the confusion, another great video thanks for you efforts.
Studio recordings Get my pick. Live versions doesn’t sound right for me. Would love if you got to review Coppice X1 speakers from the UK. Texas design and UK quality build.
I went to the Sydney hifi show just yesterday and the Ufr52 was my favourite speaker in my price range. Great review.
Great! Thank you 👍
Thanks for this very useful review. I am an ELAC UBR62 owner and super happy pairing it with my Audiolab 6000A amp.
Nice system. Thank you 😊
A great in-depth review of this relatively inexpensive but good sounding speaker. Thank you as always for your time, effort, and informative review. Stay well, Sir.
Thank you kindly Simon 😊👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 You're always most welcome, Sir.
Bought these for my daughter, we all loved them. I wanted to keep them for myself. Very smooth, clean sounding.
That is great 👍
Dziękujemy.
@@karhaj120 thank you kindly. I appreciate your support 😊👍
Tarun, I think you’ve ended my audiophile journey 🙏🏼 the DALI Menuet SEs with a REL T5x, Exposure 2510 and RME ADI2 have stopped me from listening to my system - just listening to and enjoying the music. Without having to sit frozen in the sweet spot 😊 Many thanks. However, I still wait for your reviews. Enjoyed this one too. Keep up the good work.
The Exposure has done that for me also, with the Neat Motives, welcome to the happy club. Jeremy🙂
Many regards, Steve
@@hallaiged Great news, Steve. Enjoy!
Thank you Jeremy. You are most welcome. I really appreciate all the support you have given me 😊👍
Wow, an ABA review to watch with my coffee! Greetings from the Antipodes.
Kia Ora my friend. Thank you for watching 👍
Once again a well organized insightful review that is very helpful to someone who is thinking of buying these speakers.
As a Led Zeppelin fan, the better my equipment gets the worse their recordings sound.
Do you know the "original" RL cut (LP) of Led Zeppelin II?
How the West Was Won remaster sounds fantastic from CD through the Elac's and PMA1600NE amp
Thank you kindly. My Led Zep recordings aren’t the last word in fidelity either 😊👍
Led Zeppelin fan since I was 13 in 1969. I found the same thing with CD for 30 years+. The 1994 and 2014 remasters improved things on 1,2, 3 and 4 particularly. It was only when I downsized and moved a system into a smaller room and got some second hand Neat Motive SX3's that I finally got the sound their wonderful music truly deserves. Graffiti will always be a problem with its patchy recordings? Black Country UK, born and bred, not far from Robert and John Henry❤I wish you well. 'zoso', my friend.
Love Zep I but can’t stand Zep II sound wise.!
I have these paired with a class d amp and think the combo sounds great. That slight analytical and dry character of the amp combines very nicelly with the slight full, warm and smooth personality of the elacs. The sound coming out of the elacs maintain its relaxed character but benefit from the added detail and dynamic control the amp provides. Listening to the new Alfa Mist record sounds magical.
I can see how that would work 😊
Well done Tarun , and thanks for this particular as it was in my radar and thanks again for in depth info
Thank you. You are most welcome Atri 👍
Good, balanced, sensible review. Sounds like these speakers would fit right in to a lot of peoples' listening needs!
Thank you 😊
Even though I'm not in the market for audio gear, I tune in regularly to view your detailed, smooth and unbiased presentations. Thoroughly enjoyable! As far as your question of the day, Traffic's Low Spark. To be fair, I primarily spin records and my only source is an LP from my high school days. It's not a bad listen, but there's room for improvement, especially with the vocal mixing imo. Keep on.
Thank you TB. I appreciate your support 😊👍
I have enjoyed these speakers since their launch. Your take on them is similar to my experience. Thank you for this video :)
Thank you Tyler 👍
Thank you for your video, and for your research!
I own the Elac Unify Reference paired with a Yamaha AS1100, and two Bowers & Wilkins ASW610s; I do no wish for anything else!
Take the time for correct placement, good cables, some finetuning and good music sources.
That is great 👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 So not so good cables ,where can you buy them or are they so expensive that they are rare .?
Great review of these AJ designed speakers Tarun - thanks!. I bought this model because of their links to AJ who is a well respected speaker designer. At first I thought the UBR62's are very dull sounding speakers, but I kept on experimenting with different amplifiers and wires. I found a good match using my Arcam A80 amp and silver speaker wire worked best to tame the bass and open up the midrange and treble frequencies. These speakers are definitely a keeper for the long term as they are easy on the ear without any fatigue from the upper freq. They aren't the last word in transparency or details, but produce a powerful sound and punchy bass and work well across different genres of music. They can certainly match some floorstanding speakers for their bass punch and depth!
They definitely seem amplifier dependant, I have 3 different amps and they sound quite different on all three. I do find them pretty transparent though when fed with a good source.
Thank you for sharing 😊
I realise there are pros & cons to this Tarun but I often wish reviews would put price to one side when declaring how good components are.
Partly because equipment is often available used at much different price levels but also because budget is often not the defining factor i think most reviewers assume it to be. If I can be persuaded the benefits may be worth it I'll absolutely multiply my budget by significant margins (and have done a few times) but when, for example, £700 speakers are described in a similar way to say £3000 speakers it can be difficult to translate those reviews into meaningful buying aides.
Obviously it's more nuanced than a youtube comment can reflect and the relevance of price can never be dismissed but I'd be interested to hear your views on this.
Maybe it could even feature in a video segment one day...?
As ever, keep em coming 🤘
Thank you. There is an fairly strong correlation between price and performance in my experience. I try to find price appropriate comparisons where possible but this is sometimes difficult. I can only compare to products I have heard at home 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314
Maybe a better way to explain it is to suggest that you should sometimes do comparisons at very different price points.
But I still think the best compromise is to keep doing what you do but instead of assessing & describing a component according to its value for money just describe its performance irrespective of price and trust the viewer to fill in the gaps and factor in price when making their own buying decisions.
It's really quite obvious when you really look at it and the traditional way of comparing value rather performance makes reviews less useful to buyers and will be less effective at helping us upgrade.
Great review! I`m using them with 2 IOTA VX PA3s, Tooping A90 and Denafrips Aries II like the sound a lot. Also big plus bassreflex in the front.
Thank you. Much appreciated 👍
I think AJ has always aimed for the wider audience with both sound and cost, I think he’s done an excellent job with this approach. I know some viewers are not fans of D amplification but as with the Wharfedale Evo 4.2 it really brings the best out of these type of three way speakers (just my opinion)
Thank you for the review Tarun .
Thank you 😊
Nice Job Tarun - I almost heard the speaker without hearing the speaker 😊 Thanks for the video
Thank you Tee-Jay. Much appreciated. I hope things are going well with your channel 😊👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Yeah been working a lot of overtime lately ' its tuff finding good Maint Techs these days in the Automotive Industry ' 70 plus hours a week ' but i will have Monday off so finishing my Vidar 2 review vs Vidar and Freya plus vs Freya Noval hope you stop in ! 😃
@@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120 that is a lot of hours. Good luck with the review. I will check it out 👍
thanks!!!! i like ELAC, great to see them reviewed!!!
Cool 😎
Excellent review once more Tarun. I figure that these UBR-62s would pair up very nicely with an Audiolab 6000A, combining the warmth of the Elacs with the bit of coolness from the Audiolab. Thank you.
I was thinking about that with the old 8000a, but with this honest review I have a doubt. Maybe these amps deserve a speakers that present more detail. But I understand what you say about the bit of warmth that these Elacs would add.
I agree, on appear that pairing should work nicely and would be worth trying out 😊
Terrific, balanced review, Instead of telling us whether we should or should not buy something, you highlight what a product appears designed to do and how well it fulfills that mission. Thank you.
As to music I wish was better recorded, every rock album from the 1970's, particularly all my Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton collections, would benefit from better engineering. Additionally, every Sarah Vaughn record I own is so poorly recorded that I have them stored away in a closet. Her oeuvre deserves better.
If it is on Mercury Vaughn's records are generally good sounding
Thank you Mike. That is a great synopsis of my approach. I love Sarah Vaughn too 😊👍
I’ll go along with ‘every rock album from the ‘70’s.’ 🙂
Hi Tarun. Nice wee speakers and great review as usual. Recordings that I wish were better are anything from the bands Rush, Yes and Asia. For some reason they all sounded a bit thin in the bass and harsh treble, otherwise great music.
Thank you. Great music 👍
Gorgious round corners 😍 Love the black front.
Cool 😎
Another well thought out and well presented review
Thank you Keith 👍
Thanks! Yes's "Leave It" is one of my favorites that I wish could be redone. The upper register can be gritty and harsh at high volumes on a good system.
Thank you 😊
Hello!
Wow… I’d need a lot of time to answer your question about what I wish was recorded better. You don’t make things easy. So… maybe let’s go in the other direction… and I’ll say, as a kid I was transfixed by the Stones Honky Tonk Woman recording turned up really really, well you know! That intro! Took me there! I could just play that over and over. Wonder how they miked that? Charlie, I miss you!!!
Hope you’re doing well!
Thank you Chuk. Great to hear from you. I hope you are well 👍
If I might borrow Tarun's Audiophile Cliché Handbook, I'd thank him for a warm presentation, full of detail and transparency!
As for poor recordings? Bonham's squeaky pedal, perhaps? To my mind the threats to audio quality would be 1) Modern
remastering and compression reducing the dynamic range 2) Tape Archives being damaged eg. 2008 Universal Studios fire.
Thank you kindly. Borrow it any time you wish. I use it regularly 😂👍
Very interesting. Last couple of years I've owned/borrowed S2 ,Z1, Evo 4.2, and Linton's but have settled on Emit 20's, sounds like they're fairly similar to the Elacs but with a superior tweeter.
Only reviewers I trust are you and Zero Fidelity !
Thank you Dale. Much appreciated 👍
great video , thankyou for your complete review!!!
Thank you kindly 😊👍
I like to test the speakers by listening to the song Mule by Govt Mule; the bass arrangement is incredible and allows you to know the capacity of your speakers and sound chain. Good video!
@@DavidGonzalez-fh9zn thx 😊
Thanks for the thorough review; it's a pleasure to hear a well-balanced thoughtful assessment. As a collector of CDs since nearly the beginning of the technology, and listening to Rock music since the early 60s, I have spent countless hours and way too much money seeking better recordings of my favourite albums. I have come to the conclusion that the best way to improve the classics is, in most cases, doing a remix! The trouble is that purists (and rightly so) will argue that you would then not be hearing the original music as recorded. However, when done right, it can be worth it in my opinion. One example I can think of is the reissue of Deep Purple's Machine Head years ago, where they had two CDs included: a remaster AND a remix by Roger Glover. The sound improvement was quite amazing, and I loved to hear more detail and perhaps a better representation of what it may have sounded in the studio (or at least the intentional sound). But issuing both at the same time satisfied me more than just the remaster. I could write a book on my journey through the jungle of remastering, but there's a lot of my favourites that just can't be saved without a true remix.
Well said
Great to learn about your experiences Bob. Thank you 😊👍
They recorded that in a hotel hallway after the casino burned down !
Hopefully the AI technology Peter Jackson used to extract and separate instruments and vocals in "Get back" will lead to better remixes of 60's recordings a la Revolver by Giles Martin.
The updated Revolver is impressive.
@@pnichols6500 I totally agree - the only misstep in the remixes, to me, has been the Let it Be (Phil Spector) version. I know it wasn't great to begin with, but I think he should have left that one alone.
thanks for your great review. These speakers are a consideration for me. Some tracks I really enjoy: 1) Codeine by Ray Bonneville 2) Birds by Dominique Fils-Aime 3) Resurrection Blues - Otis Taylor 4) Rain by David Rodigan 5) Alien Gibberish - Heyoka and last but not least ...anything from Tipper. I would start with Gulch
Thank you 😊
Hi Tarun,
I had two pairs of Elac speakers, mind you, of a lower line. I had a pair of B6.2 and a pair of F6.2 . The B6.2 was quite "dark" sounding, and the F6.2 was rather shrill. This being said, I very much love my Warfedale Linton Heritage speakers. As far as the Elacs... musical yes, but, dark, dark, and mystical sounding.
Thank you Tasha 👍
Hi Tarun,
These speakers are designed to be close to the wall i.e. a minimum of 1. 5 ft from wall to the tweeter. Also to enjoy the best out of it, you really need a Subwoofer.
I have paired it with Leema Integrated Class-D Amp(neutral) which is only a, but solid 56Watts per channel and an SVS Pro 1000 Sub and I couldn't be happier. An Awesome speaker for my liking of warm sounding speakers.
But Thanks for the review 😊
Thank you for sharing 😊
Excellent/informative review!!
Thank you. Much appreciated 😊👍
Thanks again Tarun
I have the Axa35 Cambridge Audio (a purchased based on your nice review) and also am considering these UBR62 as a future pair of speakers.
I like your work Tarun- keep it up plz 🤗
Pat
Thank you Pat 🙂
I have these set up nearfield for my PC use, which is mostly comprised of UA-cam videos, music and some gaming every now and again.
I have them paired with the IOTAVX SA3+PA3, and every time I switch out the speakers or amp/preamp I always end up putting them back.
I would love to upgrade the amp but we all know how that game works, and I have another system for higher fidelity anyways. What's important for me for this setup is no matter how long I listen, or what I listen to, I never get listening fatigue from this setup. Perfect as is for the price and quality.
Thank you for sharing 😊
Another good and honest review ❤
Thank you kindly 😊👍
Good honest review as usual. Well done Tarun.
I was always under the impression that Elac speakers are hard to drive. I am looking for speakers to pair with Audiolab6000a and I was about to go for the Triangle BR03, but if these Elacs are ok with Iota vx they should be ok with the 6000a. I often listen at low to moderate volume in a 35m2 room.
Thank you. They should work well with the Audiolab 6000A 😊
Thank you Tarun.
Thanks for this review Tarun. I have this speaker for fhe past 6 months. I love it. I am using this with WiiM Pro, Schiit Modi3E and Rotel A11 Tribute. I am going to try Cambridge AXA35 instead of Rotel now. I know you are not a great fan of Rotel but you should try A11 Tribute once. It is very neutral. May be I will settle with AXA35 though for some energy. Cheers😊
I tried an A11 Tribute last year on the warmer Elac DBR62 Ref's, it has some good things going for it but the biggest no for me was that it lacked mid bass and generally sounded too thin, I can't see it being a good match for these Elac Unifi's as they need a bit of oomph to stir the bass driver. Change your amp for one with a bit of grunt, the the Unifi refs will bounce into life with powerful bass and superb clarity. I'm running a Denon PMA1600NE and a Chord DAC with them and they sound incredible for the money.
@@mgsamps this is exactly what I have been missing, the oomph. I think I will have to change the amp. I am thinking of NAD C316BEEv2
Thanks Tiken. If you like a warm sound, the AXA35 is a great pairing. I haven’t heard any recent Rotel amps in a critical listening environment so will reserve judgement. In the U.K. Rotel is distributed by Sound United. I will ask if they are interested in sending me the A11 Tribute to review 👍
Thanks Tarun. Really appreciate your inputs. Will look forward for the review. Cheers
@@mtiken Try a Rega Brio/elex R, or Musical fidelity M3si, these sould wake them up.
Great question, here's a few of my faves that I've returned to recently (w an increased awareness of recording quality) that I wish had more clarity/separation: Paul Simon's Rhythm of the Saints; DJ Kicks Kruder & Dorfmeister (lovely dub-infused journey through downtempo, drum n bass); the first 3 Chic albums (quite surprising, given Nile Rodgers' producer pedigree); "KC Doppler" by Slide Five (dubby acid jazz). Great review, cheers.
Thank you. Much appreciated 😊👍
THANKS 🤗 TARUN…FOR REVIEWING BUDGET SPEAKERS…HONESTLY 👍💚💚💚
Thank you kindly 😊👍
Hi Tarun, I hope you and yours are all well, great examination of the A.J. approach. Thank you. Your question about which tracks would I like better recordings of made me stop and think for quite a while, as it is quite a common gripe with us lot A great question, that opens out into many debates. I often feel that the voices of Nick Drake and Sandy Denny do not sound as clear as I would like to imagine them. Perhaps that was just the take on the day and that's what we got. Perhaps no matter how legendary or good the equipment and engineers were or are, some beauty and perfection just defies capture? It's like the journey for ultimate transparency, it's never going to be transparent enough perhaps? I went on that journey and really enjoyed the effect of climbing into a Steinway Concert D grand piano and hearing and feeling everything in there and out there. I just missed the joy and emotion that was often absent on that road, and eventually was taken back to a place with more 'Boogie Factor' satisfaction, an easier enviroment for me to be happy in. 'Horses for Courses'. May you and all your readers enjoy where they are now, the journey itself, or eventually find their happy place if they still hanker for perfection. It's all a load of fun of course! That's why we do it. Cheers all the very best, looking forward to more👍 🙂
Thank you kindly 😊👍
Andrew Jones is like you, great presentation skills! 😉😇 The fact he also knows what he's talking about is a plus. 🤔😬
Thank you kindly 😊👍
Thank you, Tarun for another interesting and informative review.
Unfortunately, in my experience, so much great rock music is just so poorly recorded. Especially albums from the 60s and 70s, music that means a lot to me. And remember the awful sound of many early CD issues of rock albums that were initially LPs? Sometimes, re-issues sound better, but not always.
I agree with you, the remastered are not much better . Bass always seems overdone like a compensation for the vinyl .
Thank you Gerald. I agree there are plenty of butchered remastered releases as well 👍
Thanks for the summation of the Elac UBR62. Everyone seems to like Elacs but they're never anyone's fave.
I'd love to hear an audiophile pressing of The Soft Boys "Underwater Moonlight" LP. They didn't have much of a budget to record it, but to me it always sounds more like the record pressing is the culprit in it's not-very-hi-fi sound. I don't think it was produced to sound as harsh as my copies do (early 80's Italian pressing on Armageddon and 3-LP Matador reissue). Robin H. needs some audiophile love.
Thank you Al 😊
It's very refreshing when you find questions that you've had for a long time being addressed in a review. One, I now have a good idea what to expect from an Andrew Jones speaker design that's not shoehorned into a strict budget, and, second, I know that some of my poorly recorded favourite music will still sound pleasing, rather than being dissected and disfigured by a highly analytical speaker. Speaking of which ... Iggy Pop's 1986 "Blah Blah Blah" is one such poorly recorded album. It sounds so dry and hollow on a mid-fi system to begin with, that it becomes almost unlistenable on an analytical system. Still, I would love to be able to crank up "Isolation" and "Cry for Love" to 11 without grimacing or putting my hands over my ears. Looks like these Elacs might be able to get me there. Thanks, Tarun!
That is great. Thank you 😊👍
There are surely things you can do to temporarily ‘lo-fi’ your stratospherically detailed high-end system rather than buying a whole separate (relatively) lofi system for the express purpose of being more ‘forgiving’ to bad recordings… I would venture.
@@emotown1 I wish I had anything close to a super detailed system ... it's just that some favourite albums sound terribly on even a passable hi fi system. Hopefully a future remaster will fix that.
Than you for the hype free review. As a musician, I listen often to poorly recorded music often captured on an iPhone or a poorly placed field recorder. A forgiving sonic character is important. To be honest, I also utilize an equalizer to focus on specific instruments. But my current go-to recordings are: On the good, Frederick Fennel and the Cleveland Symphonic Winds performance of Holst. An early digital recording released on vinyl in 1978. You can’t fake pitch, timbre, or dynamics of a wind orchestra. On the poor side, the 1987 Yes track “Love Will Find a Way”. The vocals suffer from glare. Between CD, streaming and vinyl, I prefer the original vinyl. Thanks for putting together an enjoyable channel.
Thank you Michael. Much appreciated 😊👍
Well, it is certainly a much more difficult task to design good speakers on a limited budget, but Andrew Jones always seems to rise to the occasion. My hat is off to him. We need good value, affordable gear to encourage young folks to involve themselves in audio, and to also keep us the cheapskates smiling. Speaking of rising to the occasion, Tarun, thanks for the very thorough and complete examination and review of the Elacs' capabilities. Well done.
A tune I just played that got a little harsh and strained at higher volumes, where the Elacs might smooth that edge, was "Brass in Pocket" by Pretenders.
Thank you 😊
Andrew Jones is a great engineer and his speakers are quite good especially when you look at the price range they are usually in (yes, he has designed some very expensive ones at TAD but the majority are well within the reach of most people)...
Andrew has done a lot to produce speakers that most can afford and sound great 😊
I own a pair of the UBR62 speakers. The good - the sound stage and imaging are superb, and the fit and finish is very good for speakers in this price class. The cabinets are very sturdy and seem to be braced well. The vinyl wrap (mine are oak) is the best vinyl wrap I have seen on speakers. Although not real veneer, one would only be able to tell if inspecting the speakers from a close distance, and the wrap closely matches our oak wood floors. The bad - they are a little lacking in dynamics and detail, and without a subwoofer the bass extension is not great. To be candid, I purchased the UBR62s because they matched our decor better than any other speakers I could find, and thus received the aesthetics approval from my wife, which was hard to achieve. To optimize the UBR62s for my room, I use them with a subwoofer, and have plugged the ports on the the UBR62s to improve the crossover to the subwoofer. I used Room EQ Wizard (REW) to determine the appropriate time delay between the UBR62s and the subwoofer, and used Dirac Live for room correction. These steps have significantly improved the sound characteristics. Still, if I could find speakers with equivalent sound stage and imaging, but with better dynamics and detail, and that matched our decor as well as the UBR62s, I would consider purchasing them even if more expensive.
Thank you for sharing your experiences 😊
“As you upgrade amplification, the resolving limitations of this speaker will become more apparent” answer the question in many people’s heads. Another lean and mean review from the professor of stereo:)
Thank you. Glad you found it useful 😊👍
Love your channel! I hope you can review the LS50 Meta. In my opinion it is still the benchmark in this category.
Thank you. I asked but they declined 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Too bad. I have them( with Quad Artera pre+Power,) and I think you would like them.
Let me thank you for the insight you bring to this hobby. I watch every video you make, even when I don't care for the product at all. You are the gold standard in UA-cam reviews and the best reviewer overall in my opinion. Thank you so much.
@@007soedal thank you Ole. That is very kind and much appreciated 😊👍
Great review as always. Regarding recordings that could have been better I’m going with Interstellar Overdrive by Pink Floyd. A clearer recording with better resolution would have been quite incredible but given the limitations of recording at the time it’s highly doubtful a remastered version will pop.
Really hoping for a review of the Wharfdale Elysian 2 speakers which is practically non existent on the internet.
With thanks.
Thank you. I love Pink Floyd and concur. Some of their stuff could have been recorded better 👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Well said Taron... There's some wonderful recordings made way before the 60s drug fueled studio setups.. Oops jazz, blues and of course classics... Keep up the good work sir
@@Michael-zg8qw thank you kindly 😊👍
Check out Nick Mason's "Saucer full of Secrets" Live at the Roundhouse.(2020)
Opens with Interstellar Overdrive, and covers a lot of my favorite early Floyd songs, ending with Saucer Full of Secrets!
Hi tarun , another great video, I am contemplating buying these over my B&W 606s2 anniversary which I already have, I currently using Rotel A11 set up .it’s interesting that B&w have re-engineered these with the S3 model . Regards mark
Thank you. Two different sounding speakers. I would audition both 😊
Thanks very much taran , 8:22 although they sound petty good but I think the Ubr62, may not as bright as 606 and I personally prefer front ported bass , I still have my old B&w dm 602s3 which I prefer , but I will put my 606 on my Cambridge audio Sonata system. As I seen the ubr62 for £499 I may give them ago , bearing in mind I did get the 606 s2 for only £349. Kind regards mark
Hi Tarun,
5:35 "...metal enthusiasts that I think will be left wanting."
Sounds about right in my experience. I've paired these with NAD 3045 and the sound is quite good for my taste - but I miss a bit of "punch" in the drums. The bass drum sounds round, sort of.
Which begs the question: What should a metalhead consider when browsing for speakers (and amp)?
You may want to check out the Monitor Audio Silver range or Q Acoustics 5000 range. I have reviewed the Silver 50s and the 5020. Both are great👍
Oasis, first two LPs less compressed. Remastering helped them a lot. But it only noticeable - to me - when I listen on higher end gear.
Thank you 👍
I think he’s great at designing a speaker to a budget. Perhaps not the best designer on earth but for a budget he does well
Most of the cost of a speaker is the cabinet, shipping and warehousing, you need a large company to keep those costs down.
He designed many really awesome TAD speakers. He is in S tier 👍
I think he's Great cause he's develop speakers from $99 to $70,000-$90,000 with TAD , a high-end pioneer company.
I agree, Andrew is a very good speaker designer 😊
I had the modestly priced 8" Pioneer subwoofer AJ designed - musical and easy to integrate. After losing it to a power surge, I replaced it with a 10" Elac Sub1010 that he probably also designed but didn't sign (same back panel and cabinet size). Now it's one of a pair and they're quite impressive for the price.
I enjoy your spin on audio equipment. Tracks that I wish were recorded in better quality ? Golden Earring's Moontan album.
Thank you 🙂
Nice review . Re your end of video question - I wish the led zeppelin catalogue was better recorded . The first 4 albums sound terrible on revealing system , even the early purple label vinyl
Thank you. I agree 👍
Great review as always. I would nominate all the classic Smiths studio albums and both Joy Division albums for remastering, along with several early/mid period REM records. The 1980s were a very important period to me musically and I recollect first hearing the debut Smiths album on a basic system with a Rega Planar (3?) front end. It sounded great, but through the Chord, EAR, and ATC equipment I currently own all these records sound as rough as old boots. I agree with Lm Oc and Agoston Deim about LZ and Oasis too.
Thank you Alban 👍
Could the poor sound you now hear be due to being played hundreds of times in the decades they were released?
Another, typically, excellent review. Thank you.
As for music, any track on “The Inner Mounting Flame” by The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Excellent musicianship poorly served by the production of their music. I cannot say if fault lies with studio or engineer, but certainly better recordings were made, at the time. I guess it was a “rush job,” quality not a forethought.
Agree 100% but there is a remaster that sounds much better. I have both issues
Thank you. That is very much appreciated 😊👍
Thanks, very good review.
For recordings that would be better recorded: think of the Beatles Rubber Soul - Revolver - Sgt Pepper period but recorded in the 30th St Columbia space as heard in Duke Ellington's Jazz Party or Blues in Orbit. I know it wouldn't have been technically possible. Thinking how more spaciousness would improve the sound.
Thank you. Much appreciated 👍
Great Review 😊Am thinking of upgrading my KEF Q350 speakers for these.Have an Arcam SA20,Audiolab 7000cdt ,and a Marantz CD6007.
Thank you 👍
Kleiber's Brahms fourth was an early digital recording from DGG, and though they really did get their digital thing together pretty quickly and very well, there's glass in those strings. They seem to have had some success with remastering it, and its probably my favorite Brahms fourth, but still...
Thank you Frederick 😊
Nice assessment Tarun, that’s been my experience with the lesser priced Elacs as well. It’s nice to have a “forgiving” set of bookshelf speakers for not so stellar recordings, vinyl, tape, CD, and compressed streaming, if you can find a viable place for it.
Thank you SA 👍
As always, a great review, I bought a routel a11tribute amplifier, tell me which speaker will suit him, I heard you really praised dali menuat se, will they serve?
Thank you. I would need to hear the A11 Tribute before making any suggestions 😊
Always enjoy watching your content Tarun, thanks, keep up the good work.
Any chance of getting in the new Heaven 11 Billie amp? Quite an interesting design, would be very interested in your opinions.
Thank you. It is on my radar 👍
I currently have this speaker paired with a Yamaha AS2200 and Gustard R26. Your review is spot on.
Curious if you tried that Yamaha @2:23 with these Tarun.
It is the A-S2200. Listening tests are underway 😊
Fantastic!! I’m looking forward to your review.
Got them for 550€ sealed about a year ago and now planning to upgrade my system to a Dolby Atmos one around them.
Cool 😎
Hello, as for the IOTA SA3 (been using mine for 2 years) to get rid of its "Smile Presentation" I backed off the Treble 2 clicks & Bass 3 clicks, which seemed to benefit my lower-priced ELAC Debut References (of course YMMV)
Thank you for sharing 😊
Nice review, just about right in terms of depth and general description of the sound. Maybe I missed it but does it have good or above average tone and natural timbre? Does it strain when you play louder? Size of sweet spot ok? Adele earlier albums could use a much betteer recording when she was churning out these really good music...
Thank you. The UBR62s were able to deal with 90dB peaks without hardening. I didn’t play any louder 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Thanks for the reply. Cheers.
Hi Tarun, great review as usual, though these speakers are not for the direction I want to go. I know that is not the point becasue they will appeal to plenty of people. I like Joe Jackson but the LP album Look Sharp (which I really like the music of) has sibilance. Like many people, I have a low tolerance for that and consequently don't listen to that album very often.
Thank you Hugo 😊
excellent job
Thank you 😊👍
I just bought a pair of these a few months back on amazon,, saved $250 buying a returned pair. also at the same time picked up a yamaha AS-801 used on amazon for $500. i love the speakers but i wont call them audiophile quality! but they sound nice! i think you need a ton of power on them! i can turn my AS-801 almost 3/4 the way on these speakers to get them to scream,, but the mid ranges really heat up quick when playing loud!
Thanks for sharing 😊
You should test the mofi sourcepoint 10 from AJ. There he had more "budget freedom" to design and he made something unique. Andrew is also very active in the DIY speakerbuilding community
I have requested them when they arrive in the U.K. 😊
Hello Tarun my friend! I was _very_ interested to hear what you think of these. Andrew, Arthur Khoubessarian (Pink Triangle, Funk Firm) and I were in the same physics set at Surrey University in the 1970's. Both Arthur and Andrew went on to be key figures and influential in the Hi-Fi world & I went into defence & aerospace.... Oh well! I am contemplating recommending these to a friend... All the best, Rob in Switzerland
Hi Rob, I bet defence and aerospace was fun. Always great to hear from you 👍
Hi Tarun, thank you for an in-depth review of the UBR62. I saw in the video, the speaker was shot in front of the Yamaha AS-1200(?). Did you try the combo and if you did, what was your opinion? TQ
It is the A-S2200. I am listening to that combo now 😊
Appreciate your opinion on this combo. Many thanks!
Thank you, Tarun.
Any plans to review WharfeDale Denton 85?
How would you compare WharfeDale Denton vs Elac UniFi Ref in terms of resolving upper range?
Unlike the Elacs or the Denton 80, the Denton 85 has elevated treble, which can be annoying, especially with cymbals and hi-hats. To bring down the HF to a more linear level, I replaced one of the metal bridges with a 2 Ohm resistor.
I would have to get the Dentons home to find out. I have heard them with Audiolab electronics in demos and they sounded great 👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 I hope WharfeDale send Dentons to you. I dont find their treble to be elevated treble, but opposite.
I love your videos. Have you ever been asked to record audio books?
Thank you Mike. I have never been asked but am very flattered 😊👍
Mofi has now released a similarly designed floorstander
Indeed the SP 888s 😊
I love ELO but do wish their recordings were much better including greater dynamics.
Thank you. I love ELO too 😊
Totally agree 🎶👍
Great review. Bad recordings, the first that come to mind are London Grammar's Californian soil, especially the first half of the album and Goldfrapp's Black Cherry. Both are very sibilant. Lots of pop from the eighties, it all sounds so thin.
Thank you 😊
Hmmm, these are interesting! I finally got my new amplifier and are desperately inneed of some new speakers. My Linn Katan have seen better days in the driver & twitter departments. I was really considering the B&W 707s3/706s3 mainly for the finish. (Real wood veneer). But I really hate that logo on top. Such eyes sore. Hopefully I'm couple of months out before I make my decision and pull the trigger on some new fancy audiophile speakers. Really enjoy low level listening. lol.
@@rvbsoundfactory thx for sharing 🙂
Will you be doing anything from dynaudio eventually ? Like the Heritage specials maybe ? :P
Love your reviews !
Thank you. I hope to get around to one of them this year 👍
@@abritishaudiophile7314 Always amazing to see that you keep in touch with your viewers Its pretty rare i can tell you that ! I really hope your chanel grows exponentially ! If i can do something lemme know
Guess the audiolab6000a would be a good choice for these speakers
I would expect so 😊
I use Unifi fs 2.0 ( which are much smaller in size) with Cambridge audio's CXA80. This combination dishes strong midrange presentation with nice soft envelope of high's. I wonder how Elac UBRs pair with Hegel H190. Share your valuable thoughts. Thanks
I did try the H190 with the Reference UBR62s. The character to the speakers shone through but the H190 is overkill for that speaker 😊
Elac Ubr62 or Buchardt s400 mk1 ? Which is better? Cheers
@@karhaj120 S400 😊
I am wondering how it suits an AVR like Denon X3800H, Marantz SR5015 or Onkyo TX-RZ50. Not everybody has a discrete Amp setup.
I didn’t try them 😊
Hi Tarun, Probably 18 months ago, I had picked up a pair of the Elac UBR52s for $455, which is a steal. I used them for a year and then decided to upgrade. By that time, Elac had raised the price of the UBR62 to $1200. Here in the US, that price puts them in the thick of competitive speakers. Then, at the end of 2022, KEF was selling the LS50 Meta for $1300. My primary use is TV/Movies and Qobuz at lower-volume levels. The UBR52s are very good for non-critical music listening, but only average for TV/movie dialogue. In certain parts of the US, it's pretty much impossible to find a decent hi-fi shop, so I end up relying on folks like yourself. John Darko and Andrew Robinson, both had done a detailed review of the KEF, so this made my decision easier. Also, with Andrew leaving Elac, I'm certain that impacted my decision as well. As always, I enjoy your work, and have a nice weekend.
Thank you. Great to learn about your experiences 😊
Thank you for this review.
I wish -some of the earlier- TOOL albums were less compressed.
Can I request... in a future video, could you please touch upon the value for money aspect when buying a British vs Continental European vs North American brand ? Does physical distance [shipping cost] play a role in pricing, or does the offshore manufacturing in China or SE Asia make it a moot point ?
e.g. European brands do cost about 20 % more here in Canada, on average... but the made - in - France Focal Aria is a whole new level of ripoff [ $6200, $7800, $8500 for the 926, 936, 948 respectively]
Thank you. Pricing across continents has to be judged on a case by case basis but generally products are best value in their domestic market 😊
All those other speakers in your room reminds me of a time I did the same and a driver was vibrating sympathetically. Drove me nuts until I figured it out.
You must have been playing pretty loud 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 ALWAYS
Well at least you can be guaranteed there is absolutely little phase discrepancy between woofer and tweeter on and near off axis as it's a concentric designed and the woofer and tweeter are built very close together eliminating basic time arrival issues. That's always good.
Mechanically? Yes, but there can still be phase issues introduced electrically by the crossover 😊
Ohh,, how I wish that Dalbello,s Baby Doll and Til Tuesday,s Voices Carry, were recorded, mixed and mastered in a MUCH better way,
and 99% of all late 60,s, and 70,s rock. My Arcam SA20 + vinyl lathe, fixes some of the LS3/7 and NS-10 hell-mixes from those days,
but a programmable full parametric eq wouldn't hurt, with one program for each album I have from that era,, 😬.
Or,, simply just buy a couple of used Advent speakers. 〽 Things were somehow easier back in the day. 😅
Cheers and have a excellent weekend Mr MasterReviewer,, 🍻😎👍👍
Thank you Lars. Always great to hear from you 😊👍
A track I really like, but wish was better recorded: Maneskin: Zitte E Buoni (best Eurovision Tune for a long time!) Love a bit of Eurovision madness - Roll on May 13th in Liverpool, whoop!
Thank you David. I hope you are well 👍
To your point re records I wish were recorded better, my immediate choices would be the stones from ‘72 about ‘80 (Exile, Goats Head to Emotional Rescue). And, Derek & The Dominos.
One of the Mahavishnu Orchestra albums Birds of Fire, or Inner Mounting Flame I tried listening to the other day and it wasn’t good. Those were albums I played a lot years ago, but on my more resolving gear it was not pleasant.
Thank you 😊
I agree they seem to be pretty forgiving on lower quality recordings.
They have that kind of presentation 😊
@@abritishaudiophile7314 👍Ya, I screwed up though. I wasn't paying attention apparently. I got my daughter the DBR62. Just haven't had time to correct my post. Judging by your analysis, I would think they have a similar sound. They look almost identical, obviously the crossover/driver set up is different, with similar results in sound. Which is better? Maybe I will get the UBRs and find out. Sorry for the confusion, another great video thanks for you efforts.
@@ericnortan9012 thank you 😊
Studio recordings Get my pick. Live versions doesn’t sound right for me. Would love if you got to review Coppice X1 speakers from the UK. Texas design and UK quality build.
Thank you 😊