ELAC B6 tweak


I was a little late to the Elac B6 game because I just didn't want to believe the fuss. I'm convinced now that it's a classic and will remain so for some time. What's interesting is that when you have a signature audio product all of the variations that follow never really have the same impact that that one product had. B6.2, Uni-fi etc. are all excellent speakers and may improve on the original in certain areas but it's the magic that the B6 has which is like a basic BLT sandwich that you just can't improve on significantly because it's rock solid. Having said that- I just modded a pair of Epos Epic 2's with Jantzen Alumen caps (a huge improvement) and although the Epos is more of a "high end" speaker in an audiophile sense, I still spend just as much time switching back to the Elac B6 because it satisfies and it's fun. I was hesitant to try and improve in any way on the B6 but I think that I've found the one mod possibly even Andrew Jones would approve of because it does nothing to change the signature or the voicing of the speaker at all but just provides a little more air around the instruments and opens up the sound stage. What I did was bypass the 1.5uf tweeter cap with a Cornell-Dubilier 940C .01uf/3000V bypass capacitor. They're easily available from Allied Electronics and less than $10. The soundstage has grown substantially, the bass comes more into focus and the highs are just that much more detailed, sweet and extended. If you don't want to butcher the speaker it's easy- unscrew the back terminal, find the cap and just twist the capacitor on for easy removal if you aren't convinced. Make sure you do at least 3-4 twists for a good contact and enjoy!
pokee1016

Showing 1 response by contuzzi

The b5 is the better speaker actually. You should try them out, you’ll be surprised.
The Debut 2.0 don’t have the magic the original debut did. I agree that the original Debut speakers are absolute classics, and I wouldn't be surprised if they start demanding a premium used down the line due to them not being available new anymore.  Hopefully they don’t screw up the Uni-Fi when they eventually release a new version of those.
Unfortunately at this point, there is another contender at this price -- the Paradigm Monitor SE. They are shockingly good.  In fact, I would even say they are better than the Uni-Fi in almost all aspects.  Unfortunately, they don't have the Andrew Jones hype behind them, so they will not be taken as seriously and get as many blind buyers who then have to convince themselves they are happy with the speakers even though they might not be.