ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2 Floorstanding Speaker, Black (Each) - 1” Cloth Dome Tweeter & Triple 5.25” Aramid Fiber Woofers - 3-Way Bass Reflex - Up to 35,000 Hz Response

Updated Aug2025 (after owning and keeping these ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2 speakers for several years) to include graphical interpretations (attached pictures) as well as what you need to do to these ELAC Budget Speakers in order to transform them into Audiophile Grade…this update is a Complete Guide to Unlocking the ELAC F5.2’s True Potential:With proper setup and room correction, these $600 speakers can punch LOUD in the $2,000 class (this updated review compares the ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2 now to Polk Reserve R700s and Triangle BR08 as well as Klipsh RP8000f)…My System & GearSpeakers: ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2 (Front L/R), ELSC Debut 2.0 C6.2 Center.AVR: Denon AVR-X4500H (powered with Emotiva & Monolith external amps).Source: Bluesound Node N130 streamer, Nvidia Shield TV pro, & Panasonic UB420 4K disc player.Calibration: Audyssey MultEQ-X PC App.Optional Warmth: Little Dot MKII (tube buffer) or xDuoo TA-26s (tube buffer).Subs: Dual 10” REL TH/1003 subs integrated for 2.2 stereo listening.The Problem with these speakers: “Good, Not Great” Out of the BoxI’ve owned my ELAC F5.2 Debut 2.0 speakers for several years, and initially, I was underwhelmed. Straight out of the box, in Pure Direct mode on my AVR, they sound good but not great:Test Track: Norah Jones – “Don’t Know Why”Vocals were harsh and forward, especially at reference levels.The band sounded recessed and distant, lacking fullness.Bass was light (-2 dB regionally per chart), leaving vocals exposed and edgy (harsh at volume levels close to Reference).This was especially disappointing coming from my previous Klipsch RP-8000F & RP-404C soundstage, which while room-filling and dynamic, was overly BRIGHT and TOO inaccurate for music. I needed a speaker that excelled at both music AND movies, and that’s where the ELAC Debut 2.0 speakers started to shine—but only after proper break-in and calibration.The Break-In Period is real! (Critical Step)Yes, these NEW Speakers need to be broken in first. For the first 30–50 hours, the bass feels thin and treble harsh (in pure direct mode especially). Play pink noise and music with full dynamic range at moderate volume daily for 2–3 weeks. After break-in:Bass tightens and deepens.Midrange smooths out.Treble softens slightly, reducing early harshness.AVR Pure Direct Mode vs Room-Corrected Stereo Mode (Night and Day Difference!!)Here’s the key: In Pure Direct mode on your AVR, you hear the musicians “raw voicing”:ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2s have a natural -2 dB bass dip due to their smaller 5.25” woofers.Polk R700 (+2 dB) & Triangle BR08 (+2.5 dB) naturally sound fuller without EQ (due to their dual 8” woofers).Solution: Audyssey MultEQ-X PC App Room CurveRoom EQ added an incredible +4 dB bass lift and smoothed vocal harshness.Now, my ELACs rival the Polk R700 and Triangle BR08 in tonal balance—despite costing far less, per chart.Dual Subwoofer Integration (2.2 Stereo Mode)Adding dual subs or a single subwoofer transforms these speakers into full-range floorstanders:Deep extension flat to 20 Hz.Vocals anchored perfectly by low-end weight.Now they truly perform like a $2K speaker setup!Tweeter Design & Andrew Jones’ VisionThe soft-dome tweeter naturally rolls off above 10 kHz (per chart):This avoids fatiguing treble over time (a deliberate Andrew Jones design choice) and makes them ideal for long listening sessions. Compared to metal tweeters (like Klipsch), the ELAC’s silk dome trades “sparkle” for refined smoothness.Optional Tube Buffering for Analog Warmth (this is just my personal recommendation)For music lovers, pairing these ELACs with tube warmth creates a magical new 3D, warm, and smooth sound signature (per graph and also called tube buffering):The tube rolled Little Dot MKII or stock tube xDuoo TA-26s adds harmonic richness & warmth to the ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2s.The result? Vocals soften beautifully, highs shimmer naturally.It’s subtle but addictive—especially for critical music listening sessions that include Norah Jones, Diana Krall, and other vocal-heavy tracks.Great at both Movies AND Music? Rare Combo for tower speakers to handle!Unlike my Klipsch RP-8000F setup (great for movies, poor for music), the ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2s excel at both music AND movies. Properly calibrated, these speakers deliver:Cinematic dynamics for Atmos movie soundtracks and accurate, intimate imaging for 2-channel music.The Verdict“Good out of the box. Truly great with calibration.”Break them in, apply room EQ (Audyssey MultEQ-X or equivalent), add subs, and optionally tube buffer.Expect a night and day difference between Pure Direct Mode and EQ’d 2 channel stereo mode, per graph.Add a Panasonic UB420 4K disc player for lossless music/video playback, and these speakers compete in the $2,000 tier.If you want an affordable speaker that grows with your system and can sound “audiophile-grade” with proper care—this is it.Updated in 2024:I have owned both these affordable mid-tier tower speakers. The $279 ELAC Debut 2.0 f5.2’s and the Klipsch RP-8000f at different times played using the same preamp and amp combo. Do both of these affordable tower mid-tier towers sound the same or is one better suited for you?First my Denon AVR x4500, that I use as a preamp for almost all channels in my current 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos setup with REL subs. The main difference between the two is that Audyssey consistently detected the Klipsch RP-8000f as a LARGE full range speaker and it is! The ELACs soundstage is consistently detected as SMALL at 40hz crossover. The Second is the “vertical immersion” effect of the horn tweeter on the Klipsch creating a much more immersive sound field than the ELACs. The ELACs are “Balanced” and as a result do not have vertical immersion. The ELACs definitely lack the bass and vertical immersion of the slightly more expensive Klipsch RP-8000f but after spending years slowly building a mid-tier affordable best bang for the buck system I currently own and prefer the ELACs due to there balanced, neutral, and accurate sound making them perfect for critical music listening sessions and still great for Dolby Atmos, while the ELACs may elack the vertical immersion caused by the forward energy of the Klipsch Horn Tweeters and the bass coming from the 8” woofers but the ELACs just sound great! The Klipsch’s have no accuracy and are known for having harsh treble, which I found to be absolutely true! I enjoy listening to lots of music on my ELACs, the Klipsch music was awful and too hard to listen to! I saw Denon and Marantz ads with Klipsch speakers and thought I would get the same. The Dolby Atmos experience of the Klipsch vs ELAC is completely different. The klipsch RP’s put out a ton of great immersion but it’s “sloppy immersion” as calibrating the RP’s is next to impossible compared to the highly accurate, and neutral punch of the ELAC Debut 2.0 series! The RP’s can never sound calibrated correctly or accurate because they are not designed to. Both speakers are worth owning don’t get me wrong, there are times I greatly miss the Klipsch RPs! If you’re considering ELACs this hopefully highlights the pros and cons of the ELAC DEBUT 2.0 F5.2 when compared to Klipsch RP-8000f. Please note a more favorable comparison would be the $299 Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-5000F. All the same would apply, except I highly doubt the RP-5000f’s would be LARGE and detected as Full range speakers via audyssey.Updated:I have owned my 7.2.4 ELAC debut 2.0 speaker setup for over a year now. I upgraded from the Klipsch RP8000f and equally massive Klipsch RP-404C. The Klipsch Reference Premiere line is definitely great at creating a “vertical immersion” Dolby Atmos experience, however I found Klipsch to be completely in accurate, due to the horn tweeters, and music sounds terrible coming from them. These elac debut 2.0 speakers are the best bang for the buck as far as both immersion and accuracy (please note these speakers are neutral and clear sounding and extremely well balanced with great detail and imaging, nothing artificial added, which I love) along with being great for not only movies but music as well! IMHO, to get anything better than what this speaker offers you would have to spend $1K per tower and about the same for a Center. Thats what it would take to beat these ELACs! Their just that good 🙂I highly recommend the ELAC Debut 2.0 series. It pairs well with good, affordable amplifiers that are under $500. For example, I am running the ELAC Sound Stage on an Emotiva Bass-X 3 channel amp pushing 140 watts 3 channels driven. Most speakers like klipsch, polk, and Kef require you to buy amplifiers that cost thousands to make them actually come alive. ELAC did a great job of pairing their speakers with amplifiers that are 140 watts and below, so you can afford them! Also love the pure, direct, and natural sound as there is no artificial warmth or brightness. Plus there is an excellent level of imaging and detail. I highly recommend these speakers I just wish the warranty met industry standards at 5 years as opposed to 3 years, thats my only complaint. Other than that the ELAC Debut 2.0 series is a solid investment as it will be your last speakers as there is no way to upgrade from ELAC unless you want to spend thousands more for only a slight improvement in sound. Thank you!UPDATE:So now that I’ve had these speakers for months I’ve noticed they’re great for movies but even better for music!! Wow!!ULTIMATE CONCLUSION: get the ELAC Debut 2.0 F5.2s on sale along with the matching ELAC Debut 2.0 C6.2 center channel. Adding subwoofer(s) is a must, room eq’ing with your AVRs room correction software is even more paramount then adding subs, adding a tube amp for tube warmth is a great musical upgrade option. I would not invest in the more expensive Debut 3.0 line, Reference line, or Unifi Reference line. As these affordable speakers will blow your mind when properly calibrated. Pure direct mode vs stereo mode as a specific example. In addition there is also an enormous, night and day difference between streaming dolby Atmos via Dolby Digital and playing Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD via a 4k disc player. This review allows you to make these ELAC F5.2s hit way above what they cost. Save money and make these sound like Polk Reserve R700s or the Triangle BR08s!

After 25+ years, I thought it was time to replace my Infinity RS5s, and the Debut 2.0 F5.2 floorstanders are the perfect upgrade. The midrange is less chesty while the high end is more crisp without being harsh or overly brittle like I found the B&W 801s I owned nearly 40 years ago. The soundstage for music is full of both depth and width for a speaker costing as little as these do, and they also add to things significantly in my Atmos surround.If there's a weakness to these speakers, it's the lack of usable low end bass. This isn't a problem for me since my system also includes an SVS SB1000, but I felt it should be noted for those that may not be planning on using a sub.For the money, there's no tower out there that I'm aware of that's going to give you more, and there are speakers out there that cost far more that deliver the performance these do.

As I can afford it I’ve slowly updated my home stereo equipment. I started with a new amp, new Bluetooth adaptor, still rocking my original 1979 turntable (that one isn’t going away anytime soon) and finally the speakers!These ELAC 2.0 F6.2 floor speakers or something like them have always been on my wish list. They finally went on sale and wham! Got ‘em! They sound absolutely fab!These are totally worth the wait and highly recommended.I noticed ELAC brand speakers being used in a review about amps and thought if this person who reviews stereo equipment is using them, they have to be worth a listen, and they definitely have not disappointed!They shipped double boxed, heavy but easy to set up, sounded great right out of the gate! Go for it! Your ears and brain will thank you later! They don’t look too bad either…

I've been listening to bookshelf speakers with no sub (I hate subs) by B&W (awful, bright, fatiguing speakers!!) PSB, and Wharfedale for 5 years. There is no substitute for filling out the lower frequencies to round out the frequency spectrum. I only listen to music. The Elacs just went on sale by more than $200. I jumped on these after brief research. Previously I was unimpressed by Andrew Jones hype. I believe now! Smooth, seamless, detailed, neutral, and three dimensional. The only word needed is "beautiful"Enough can't be said about Amazon. They sent two men in a box truck to do the heavy work of delivering these towers. They brought them inside my house! I received them 24 hours after ordering them. Amazon is arguably the 8th wonder of the world.Of possible interest I'm using my new Audiolab 6000a integrated with Pangaea Premier digital coax cables (also new). The sources are two Tascam CD200bt "pro" cd players (because they last longer than consumer cd players). Also, I use Gear It 12 guage speaker cable which is a gem of a cable I learned of right here on our little Amazon Reviews section priced at about 30ish? per pair.The only source material I've used thus far has been exclusively Classic and Modern Jazz. Alot of old classic recordings, some of dubious recording quality. With my aforementioned bookshelves, I'd be quaking and cringing in discomfort at the saxes and trumpets. The Elacs purr contentedly while my previous anxiety attacks have dissipated. The Elacs let you listen. They let you hear naturally. They let you pay rapt attention.

I replaced 30 year old speakers with these. They sound great for music and my TV surround sound. The sound quality for the cost is great.

When I ordered these speakers, I did so purely off of reviews as I was unable to find anywhere, where I could listen to them. I bought them as an upgrade over my Sony SS-F5000P and as soon as I had set them up, I was impressed. They were on sale at the time, and they were well worth the price!