Well, I've had these speakers for about 10 months now. I'm still impressed. As mentioned below, they do image quite well for Bi-Polars. They work much better in a bigger room though. I have mine about 15 inches off the back walls and angled in just a tad. They are not even close to side walls. Far and away the best bi-polar series of speakers going. They have a very big sound, the tweeters can be just a tad bright, and the bass doesn't go incredibly low, but not bad considering the driver size. Bass remains very tight and punchy though. A very good rock/blues speaker as mentioned below, and for home theater nothing short of excellent. I also have them hooked up to adcom amp/preamp and an NAD cd player. Tara Labs bi-wire really smoothed things out. If you need a all around music/ht speakers these would be very hard to beat. Just for music I would feel they are worth a listen in the 1000 price range. I just hope energy doesn't bastardize the line by going mass merchant with these. Given what I need the speakers to to they are worth 5 stars. In the price range as a music speaker probably more like a 4, but I love them. Check them out, as stated much better than Def-Tech, and I feel a tad better than their sister brand, Mirage.

The entire Audissey line is not as good as the Connoisseur line. Recently listend the AA 3+2 and A5+2 and Veritas v1.8 in the same room with C6 and Klipsch KLF10, KSG 10.5, KG4.5. The Ax+2s has very muddy sound. The C6 is much better but found the highs too bright and harsh. The Veritas v1.8 is good but compare its $4K price tag to the KLF10, the KLF is a much better value.
Overall, if I have to buy an Energy, I will get either C8 or C6. The Ax+2 line may be good for some HT applications but not at the prices they asked. Two sepakers.

I've owned these speakers for a few months now and have been completely satisfied with their performance. While they are not the most cable dependant speakers I've had proper room placement is a necessity. I've currently got mine in a second system with a Moon Celeste I-5080, Adcom GCD-700, API power pack II and kimber cables and interconnects. I would like to address the unkonwn persons comments that the Connosuer line outshine the Auddiseys. The AA 3+2 throws a much larger soundstage, is more timbrally accurate, has a smoother midrange and cleaner treble response. I'm guessing that they were reviewed in The Good Guys **** audio room. I worked for The Good Guys for a few years and can testify to the rooms terrible harmonics. The speakers are run from spliced zip cord, run through a switching box and thown around with no thought on placement. Any speaker would sound terrible under these circumstances. You obviosly enjoy the bass response of the Klipsch speakers. As is your right, but these aren't designed for heavy metal and rap. The Energys are great with female vocals, ochestral and acoustic musics. I've also used these with a home theater set up with wonderful results. Alas the only reason they've moved to my den was I fell in love with the Hales Transendence fives that I'm currently using in my main system. I do highly recommend these speakers, especially for their modest price. Overall four stars, price as a factor five stars ( I did have to spend nearly $6000 to feel motivated to change)

The A 3+2's have changed the way I listen to music. These speakers reveal so much detail it's hard to describe. When I listening to my favorite music even though I've heard those familiar tracks a million times I descover something never heard befor everytime I hear them. Let me start with the soundstage of the A 3+2's. It simply fills the room. I have them twenty-four inches off the wall and they are free standing. When placed correctly it would be very hard to find a speaker that performs quite like this one for the price. Right now I'm in transition with my system I have mediocre electronics, excellent speaker cable and interconnects. The A 3+2's are my foundation to an awsome system. The A 3+2's are one of the best speakers I've ever heard and for the price they are the best. Five stars.
A 3+2
JVC (reciever and CD player,their days are numbered)
Z2 Biwire speaker cable
Z2 Interconnects

musical, full-bodied, no fatigue, detailed, dynamic and provides an amazing 3-D soundstage

A touch sub-bass shy but its strengths overrides this

System:
Energy Audissey A3+2
Rotel RB-1070 (bought almost new thru marketplace page)
Marantz CD6000OSE (run directly into amp)
AR interconnects
DIY braided Bi-Wire Cat 5 speaker cables w/soldered spades
Total system cost: $2000

Normal Setup:
Speakers 7 ft apart
Front of speakers 2-3 feet from front wall
About 3-4 feet from side walls
Toed-in slightly towards each ear
Medium Size wall unit between speakers (not good!)
Listening position ~9-10 ft from each
Room is 13 ft wide by 19 ft long with high vault

Favorite Music:
Wide ranging taste – alt/modern rock, jazz, blues, ambient, trance, a few large dynamic classical symphonies. Very little hard rock - no {C}rap or country.

Detailed Review:
This system is upgrade from a system based on AR9 Towers and a Denon AVR-2800. I thoroughly enjoyed this system for about a year – then I began to realize many of its faults after auditioning a pair of Mission ($1k pair) bookshelfs. The AR9’s had its strengths and its weaknesses. Its primary weaknesses were a very forward sound combined with common listening fatigue (I wont mention its strengths because I just don’t miss them). The forward sound problem was greatly reduced by moving the listening position back 2-3 feet, but I still found the treble somewhat hard to deal with for extended periods. It was not a bad system – I just wanted a significant upgrade (yes, sometimes money CAN buy you happiness).

My main upgrade objectives were:
- increase musicality through improved tonal balance (warmer)
- reduce forwardness
- eliminate fatigue (smoother treble)
- increased 3-dimensional soundstage

My budget for speakers was $1-1.5k and I researched everything under the sun – ribbons, planars, electrostatics, etc. I was intrigued by bi-polar and di-polar speakers but there seems to be a general consensus on dynamic limitations, poor efficiency, and weak bass response with many of these and I was concerned about losing the lively jump factor that is so satisfying after a few cocktails...oh yeah.

So I began contemplating DIY, but I simply don’t have the time. Then I came across Definitive Technology bi-polars – I thought “this is it!” - a combination of technologies into a hybrid design that provides the best of all worlds. Then I decided to look into other “Box-Bipolars”: Mirage, Audissey, others. I decided to buy the 3+2 Audisseys mostly based on Planet HiFi’s review (I think this review is quite accurate), ABR design, reviews on this site, Energy Veritas 2.2 stand mount audition (awesome speaker but very pricey), its price/performance ratio and just a good gut feel based on four months worth of intense research (this research included some time for amp and cd player research). I also noticed that there are a lot of Def Techs for sale on this web site’s Marketplace area and very few, if any, higher-end Energy speakers – to me that says a lot (I do realize that this could be a simple function of numbers). It was not an easy decision to make – but now, I know I made the right one.

Btw, these speakers were impossible to audition in SoFla and I got them from California. In fact, most of the Energy dealers I contacted did not know this line even existed - could this be the best hidden value in speakers on the planet? Hmmm...

I ordered and received each of the three components within a two-week period – then I connected everything and let it break-in for a 2 days and then 1 week. Right out of the box, the 3+2 sounded real good, but I sensed that the treble was a bit rolled off, perhaps too smooth.

After one week, these speakers (or my hearing senses) have fully bloomed and are simply awesome. These aren’t heart pounding, wall shakers – just beautiful providers of music reproduction. I actually listen to classical a little now just to experiment. SRV sounds incredible – Pat Metheny, awesome – Micheal Hedges, like he’s in the room - William Orbit, sensational. The best feature is the soundstage – its much bigger and not “in-yer-face” anymore – totally 3 dimensional. There is no loss of detailed imaging either. In fact, they're much improved in this dept over the AR9s.

I’m just tickled to death with this system and can honestly say that I will keep these for many years to come. I may build or buy other speakers just to satisfy my passion but I seriously doubt I will ever sell these. They also look great. My current goal now is to stock up on CD’s.

Although my normal setup has these on either side and away from a medium-size wall unit, I have experimented with other setups. I had these in a small 10 x 11 bedroom (yuck!) for a couple of days and the bass was pronounced and a bit boomy - want more bass, put these “near” a corner combined with some small cylindrical bass traps.

The setup that provided the best soundstage was on the opposite side of my normal listening room. This setup basically eliminates the corner and side walls, as if you set them up along the long wall of a medium-to-large rectangular room. W/o the wall unit there (this is recommended in the owner’s manual), the soundstage is even more amazing, particularly voices and centered instruments, most sounding like they emanate from between or behind the speaker plane . However, low frequency reproduction was weakened significantly (perhaps a good sub to augment). Note that I run the Marantz directly into the amp and there are no tone controls. A preamp with tone controls would easily overcome this weakness. This will be my set-up as I move into my new house and I do plan to get a high quality preamp w/tone controls and/or sub. I also plan to experiment with DIY convex and cylindrical reflectors behind the speakers in the future. I suspect that the ideal “typical” room size for these is around 12-14ft wide by 18-20+ ft long – with convex reflectors on the corners and other modest acoustical room treatments. In the end, I will have probably spent $3k+ on my system.

I’m astonished that these speakers are so hard to find and aren’t selling like they should. I mostly blame Energy for this – I can only assume that they are making more money with other speakers. What a shame. I would have paid 20% or more for these. This only proves that if you want the most bang for your buck, you’ve got to do your research – I did obsessively for four months (this on top of all of my existing audio knowledge). I’m just glad I purchased these before Energy did something stupid like discontinue this line (I’ve heard this rumor, even from one of their distributors! ???). For the rest of you out there, good luck finding these and use online sites if you can’t find a local Audissey dealer (I did).

CONCLUSION
Buy these if you are looking for a musical, full-bodied speaker that minimizes fatigue, is detailed, dynamic and provides a large, realistic, amazing 3-D soundstage. Although these will play loud, look elsewhere if you want ear-drum shattering, wall-shaking performance for hard rock or home theater. Since I highly value my sense of hearing, playing super loud is not one of my priorities.

“May the upgrade Gods be with you”

Similar Products Used:

Owned Acoustic Research - Considered Def Tech, Mirage, Energy Veritas, Mission, Maggies, others.

I bought these back in July and I have been happy with their performance. If I have any complaints it would be that the bass is a little sloppy at times, but for the price I paid they sound great. I compared them to the Vandersteen 2c, AR 1 and Klispsh speakers in the same price range. These speakers were the most full sounding in that price range(1000-1500). Understand that what I may be looking for as far as sound may not be your cup of tea, so I would recommend that you audition as diverse a field as you can before deciding.

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan 3.5R, Snell, ESS AMT

Very nice. While recently auditioning speakers I listened to several, NHT 2.5i, 2.5, Vandersteen 2c and 1B, Paradigm Studio 20,60, and 80, Bostons, Polks, Def Techs, PSB's etc... After listening to the Def techs I had ruled out Bi Polars and was ready to buy the NHT 2.5i's. Then I listened to the Energy Audissey A 3+2. They were very nice. They radiate in a 60/40 rate toward the front which enables them to image much better than any bi-polar I have heard. The bass is nice and tight on them and it dips pretty low also. Not quite as low as a def. tech, but the speakers sounds so much better overall than any def tech in the line up. The A 3+2 is a bit forward in its sound but is nice and detailed at the same time. The forwardness of the speaker can in part be attributed to my adcom electronics. They do an excellent job for home theater as you would expect of a bi-polar but are suprisingly musical. They retail for 1200 bucks but I was able to get them new for 950. If you are looking into bi-polar speakers I highly recommend you listen to the audisseys. I personally think they blow away anything else out there. Even if you are looking for a direct radiating floor stander in this price range I suggest you look at these if possible. Just make sure they are a foot or more off the rear wall. I like the A 3+2 more than the 5+2 since your amp doesn't have to push the big woofers in the 5+2 leading to a much more controlled sound. Plus with the money savings you can look into a sub to do that work for you. 4 stars, others can image better but the best way I can sum these up is as a "fun" speaker. If you like rock and roll, blues, and HT they are an excellent speaker.

Can be found a great prices

won't be best choice for placement sensitive rooms

I've been running these for about two months now and for the most part I've been very happy. When I write a review I usually tend to point out the things I don't like more that those that I do like. So keep in mind that I am very satisfied owner.
I won these demo speakers off Ebay for $600 with new warranty. At this price how can you go wrong?
I've been running Energy 3.1e's for my fronts and an ac300 center.
I knew going in to this that being a bipolar speaker, placement in my room would not be ideal. I'm planning on moving soon so these problems will be addressed later. In my current room I have to place them too close to the rear wall. I'm only about 3 inches away. I angled them to point directly at the listening position. Actually they sounded better if I pointed them at a point about 2 feet behind the listening position but then my dang door would hit them every time someone opened it!
First impression was that the soundstage is bigger than I've ever heard on my system. I'm sure it will only get better in another room. Being bipolar didn't mean I lost the imaging either. I'd say it's maybe 90% as good as my 3.1e's imaging.
Without the spike mounted on the bottom of the speakers, the bass was WAY too much. It even overpowered my sub. Putting on some brass spikes tamed the bass considerably. I still think the bass seems a little less defined than I'd like but that I'm sure is caused by my terrible listening room.
Vocals also seem a bit farther back in the mix compared to my other Energy's. At lower levels I like the old ones, but a louder levels, being a tad bit laid back actually puts less strain on the ears.
The AC300 seems to match the 3=2's very well. Much better than my old Energy's did. The AC300 is definatly the center you need to go with to match up this speaker.
Build quality looks fine for this price range. There is not much to say about it. It's just a big sock with two endcaps.
Like I said, for $600, it was money well spent and I recomend it.

Similar Products Used:

Energy 3.1e's

Bass timbre, bass extension, treble clarity & lack of tizz

octave-to-octave tonal balance. Sound "less than present" in midrange with typical solid-state electronics. Tubes help, but then the bass loses tightness. Placement is critical. Speakers like to be well out from rear wall and toed-in directly at the listner. The midrange problems are worse if the listner is off-axis on the tweeters. This would have been a better speaker if a midrange driver (or a wider range tweeter) had been used.

A GREAT speaker for home theater, only so-so for audio alone. If you use these speakers (and aren't deaf or stupid), you won't need to purchase a subwoofer at all. Speakers seem well made & should mate well with "warm" sounding solid state equipment (musical fidelity comes to mind) or better quality tube gear (VTL, modified Dynaco). If you're using a surround sound receiver, the speakers won't sound as neutral as they should for this price. Also, beware - cats want to use these fabric-covered towers as scratching posts! I can live with these, but might have been disappointed had I purchased them new instead of used.

Similar Products Used:

Sound-Dynamics RTS-3, Dahlquist DQ-10, AR-11a, KEF towers, Magneplanar SMG's.

Excellent soundstage, depth and detail. Great low freq. extension. Stylish. Nice set of gold 5-way binding post for bi-wiring

It's hard to find any real weakness' in this speaker, keeping in mind, it only sell's for $1200. But, if you must,
it can be a little top heavy (because of its height) but,
extra care in leveling the spikes can greatly reduce the risk of them being knocked over on the carpet.

I recently changed my system to go for a surround sound.
I sold my, long loved, Vandersteen 2Ce's, and was worried
about loseing soud quality in my change. However, when I
heard the A3+2 at my dealer, I was shocked, they sounded
terrific. So, I took them home. Once in the room, I connected them to my 200X3 Rotel Amp. Let them burn-in for a few day's, and then listened with enjoyment. I was very
impressed with the sound. They were almost as deep as the vandersteens, not too far off, maybe they needed to burn-in
longer, however, I was still very impressed with the bass
extension. I do recommend a true bi-wire. I love Kimber cable 8TC. I first did the 8TC as a single cable bi-wire,
then a week or two later, loaned another pair from the dealer, and now run a double run of 8TC. This improved the
bass extension even more!! Being a bipolar speaker, you will
be amazed at the soundstage and depth. Proper placement
should be looked at very closely to get full appreciation
of the sound stage. I highly recommend these speakers.
At their price point, they are unbeatable.