M&K Bookshelf 75 or Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2 ?


The boy is moving out later this summer and I wanted to outfit him with something of a decent sound system for he and his galfriend to enjoy. It will largely be for H/T, but will also serve as a 2.1 listening system. I have an older Yamaha A/V receiver and my bullet-proof Hafler DH220 modified by John Hillig (he told me in an exchange that it pushes about 140 watts into 8 ohms, 240 into 4 ohms) that will anchor the system. I have a line on an M&K V75 mark II sub for a very fair price, and was thinking I’d like to pair it with a pair of bookshelf/stand mounts. Obviously, the Bookshelf 75s match the sub, but I also have a line on a pair of the Elacs for a little over $200 new (B stock). I’m not looking to spend a lot of money ($250-$300 and used is fine), just give him a decent, mid-fi outfit that he can start out with. I thought these two speakers represented good values in their own rights, and the V75 sub seems like it has always been well-regarded. I will not be able to hear either of these speakers, and I understand the Elacs will take some break-in. The toss-up seems to be older M&K 75s or the brand new Elac pair.

The place they’re moving into is small, so bookshelf/stand mounts are the way to go. Any A-gon advice would be appreciated.
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Showing 2 responses by hartf36

I ended up with a new pair of the Elacs for $244.  I've been running music through them for several hours each day now for about a week.  Yesterday I finally got around to pumping some volume through them, and I can't remember which CD I was playing, but I could feel the front-facing port blasts from about eight feet away.  Quick, sharp and punchy little blasts.  Was enough of a revelation that I was compelled to summon the wife into the office to feel - not hear (it was a bit loud for her taste.....).  I made up a pair of 12 gauge, single-conductor cables for them, and I've experienced a couple "break points" where I could audibly hear them smoothing out.  These speakers produce a very, VERY respectable amount of bass, and it's not a sloppy bass - and all I'm powering them with is a mid-90s Kenwood KR-A5060 receiver w/100 wpc.  It's got good power for just a basic receiver and will effortlessly handle 4 ohm speakers.  I was reading 86 dB SPL from eight feet away at 11 out of 30 on the volume control - a ton of headroom left over - and the Kenwood was just starting to warm up.  The speakers are breaking in nicely, and so far, I'm very happy with the purchase and highly recommend them. 

Thanks for the input to those who answered.