Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A little background on myself, I am a 21 year old guitarist/musician with an understanding of and experience in recording and production. I know what is actually necessary to reproduce the sound of recorded music in stereo, and I am a firm believer that good sound doesn't have to cost an absolute fortune. Now, for recording purposes I find it more convenient and accurate to use a good pair of active monitors, so I am not reviewing these for recording purposes or neutrality. These for me I bought for ultimate music listening entertainment purposes. I have heard all kinds of high end systems and have owned the Pioneer BS-22's designed by Andrew Jones and I liked them. They were decent but needed a sub as the low end performance was lacking. When the original Elac B6 bookshelf speakers came out, I bought those and have loved them for almost 2 years. I never thought I would need to upgrade. They sound amazing and always will. Recently my old Sony receiver crapped out and I purchased the Yamaha RX-V385 and Sewell cables which really pumps out quality sound into these. When I saw that this new updated version of the B6 was released I had to jump on them and make the purchase. Now I will review these and the original B6 together and then explain the difference between these and the originals. The original B6 and these are both very full bodied sounding speakers that sound bigger than their bookshelf size. They are very complete sounding and in my opinion a sub is not needed to enjoy the sound they produce. No frequencies stand out overbearingly and no frequencies really overpower other frequencies in the spectrum. They are well balanced and sound like music, quite simply. The low end and bass sound is fantastic. There is weight, punch, slam, and musicality. The bass on either pair is very satisfying. I personally listen to all kinds of music but have a specific love of modern progressive metal, and to reproduce this kind of music requires very detailed and powerful sound and these speakers make metal sound like metal, and they never sound as if they are struggling, no matter how loud I turn them up. I have never heard them distort even after having turned them up past volumes I would ever listen to them at. They handle sound, period. Now these new B6.2 speakers in my opinion are better than the original, in just about every way. It is not a night and day difference and they don't crap on the originals but they have overall tightened up and improved in general. The tweeter is now more resolving and has been brought towards the front of the speaker instead of being recessed and more directional like on the originals. The originals sounded best in their sweet spot and so do these but the sound is more open and they sound very good no matter where you're standing in the room. The soundstage is perceivably wider. These are now front ported and seem to project a better sounding and more punchy bass. Some reviewers have said that they have less bass weight but in my opinion the bass on these is actually of a better quality and less boomy due to the originals being rear ported and more dependant on their distance from a wall. This is coming from a metalhead who thrives on a weighty bass and the bass on these is as good as I could ask for. So overall, a more musical, clear, and resolving experience. I love these speakers. If you are looking for good, real passive speakers and don't wanna spend a fortune, buy these. They sound better than anything I've ever heard, period, regardless of the price.