These speakers are truly audiophile grade, when attached to a nice power amplifier like a B&K or Harmon Kardon the sound is unbelievable. I purchased these speakers about two years ago and I've been happy with them ever since. Ive added a RVS center, C2 rear, Pro.5 front effect, and an ES12 sub what a combination of awesome sound, they will blow any comparable speaker out of the water.

The C-8's came in this evening. After letting them get closer to room temp for about 1 hr. I took out the good ole Paraigm Studio Monitors and put in the Energys.
I figured that I might as well re-calibrate the DD with the new front speakers. I then tried out a DVD . It's like someone removed a blanket from my sound system. I guess the Paradigms after 10 years were either messed up, poorly designed or who knows what !!

First off these blend almost perfectly with my Energy C300 center channel and my new Polk fx500 surround speakers seem to sound better as well. The Paradigm had become really bottem heavy and actually overpowered the center and surrounds ......kind of mucked them up! The system now blends almost seemlessly and I have yet to play with speaker positions (adjustments) I finally tore myself away from the DVD player and played a few cd's through my aging Rotel 955AX. Again I have been impressed and am hearing sounds that I did not know were on the cd! Soundstage had good depth and imaging is excellent Excellent across the highs,mids and bass. They have a much clearer sound than the Paradigms had connected to my newly aquired Yamaha 2095.

Got em from A&B Stereo (Len Gerling) in Canada for just under $800 USD delivered! For twice the price, you would be hard pressed to beat em for HT and good music. Thanks again to Bruce Abar for recommending them.

Energy is offering a 'close out' price reduction on the C8 so I thought I checked them out. Went down to a local Energy dealer and listened to a pair of C6 (since the C8 were temporarily out of stock). Since C8 are about a $1000 a pair (if you shop around), I felt they would make a great buy. I listened to the C6 in a very ideal sound room driven by an Aragon amp. Highs and Bass were wonderful. Mid was .. slightly chesty, but still OK. Would assume the C8 are similar to C6 in sound signature, perhaps better in the bass department.
Cutting to the chase, I did buy the Energy C8 or C6. The reason was due to a lack of depth in soundstage. The dealer suggested I listen to a pair of JM Lab Cobalt 810 (about $1100/pair) which he seemed to be more partial to. After two minutes of Diane Krall with my eyes closed, I went ahead and bought the Cobalt 810. The 810 lacked behind the C8 in bass and dynamic (which are probably important to a lot of people), but the significant improvements in image accuracy and soundstage that the Cobalt offered were impossible for me to ignore.
However, if you're hard on getting the C8, this would be a perfect time to buy them before they're gone.
Four Star, considering their reduced price.

Finally got a pair to replace my aging reference 22's (still excellent speakers). Driving them with a Technics IA (15yrs ancient) does a decent job but will upgrade to the PM-68 Marantz. Cambridge Audio CD4se and CA interconnects with kimber bi-wire to finish. I do not want to get to anal about these speakers, but they do live up to expectations. Listening to Sarah Mc's Surfacing cd had me believing she was here in my home. Exceptional detailing of instruments and imaging. Bass notes were very clean and deep (where's the sub?) Picked them up at A&B Sound, $1100 demos. You will not find a speaker with these qualities and finish in this price range. Thanks Energy.

I bought my C8 a few months back (nearly 3 months). They are very nicespeakers. However, there are a few things which I don't like about them.
1. I think their bass are a bit too boomy.
2. Their tweeters are easily broken...so try not to by wire them.
Overall, I think they are great speakers, esp. for the price I got.

I bought them from the goodguys, a local audio store. I got them when
one of the speaker's tweeter was blown. I got them for $300/pr. I asked the seller to send them back to Energy to fix it..free of charge. Got them back within a week.

Overall, they are very decent speakers...more for a music person. I personally think you need a big room for these monsters. Otherwise, I think the C6 is a bit better.

I am running it w/ a Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 preamp, Onkyo Integra 504, and a sucky yamaha CD-player (which i plan to upgrade to SonyDVP-s7000 soon)

--Sean

what can i say...i was shopping for system etc....shopped around and tested many speakers...b&w-the nautilis series, paradigm , misson ,klipsh- ksp 400,jbl ( i don't remember..series h something.. stay away from}, celestion the "a" series, castle i found to be very dry; boston acoustics, dynaudio great speakers but expensive; kinetic audio,egglestonworks ( i had the pleasure but very expensive);and i tested a few others to which i cannot remember at this time. After several months of shopping around, out of all the speakers, my ears picked the c-8's.I am very happy with them.i enjoy the sound, very clear and natural,great bass, the mid range is smooth and precise ;the treble is crisp and sharpe for all the high tones;the soundstage is great.But it does not stop here...I DECIDED TO BUY 2 MORE PAIRS OF C-8's....and i got them for a great price....because the going rate is about 1500-$2000 when i first bought them. it was an offer i could not refuse....honestly.I also bought the ac 300 center channel by energy; but i did not quite ;like their sub woofers,i bought a bsw 2000 sub woofer from B&W instead...what a match with my c-8's.... if anyone is seriuosly interested in great speakers take a serious....look at them...u cannot get a better deal ( my first real choice was the veritas 2.8 by energy....but at $6000 per pair its out of my buget...so instead i took the next best thing....my c-8's....happy shopping.

br

andrew

Anyone who needs a canadian mail order for Energy C-8's or the new exl-series, can email me at anytime, I will give you a contact phone #. The C-8's are about $1100.00can. I have being offering this for a while now, and have put many people in contact with an excellent sales person. These are all new speakers, not damaged.

Hold on to your hats, Energy C-8 fans, but I must disagree with all of you below. I am currently in the market for a new set of front speakers, around which I plan to build my home theatre speaker system. Because music is my main concern I'm looking for an excellent pair of fronts; anything that can play audio the way I want it to will be fine for movies (for me). So I read about the Energy speakers and gave them a listen today at a local retailer. I liked them enough to ask if I could take them home for the weekend for an in-home demo, and the store agreed. I've had them home for 4 hours now and I'm listening to them as I write this. As much as I'd love to be able to rave about them and keep them and go back and purchase the complementary surround/center speakers tomorrow, I'm disappointed in the C-8's and I plan to return them and continue searching. Why? Well, let me describe the good/bad points as I hear them:
Good:
Highs are extremely clear and smooth. Mids are also very clear, not muddy like some DefTechs I've listened to (BP6B, ProTower 400). Good bass extension. Very accurate overall, and a very smooth sound. Good imaging and soundstage (not excellent, but very good). Listen to Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable" CD, tracks 1 and 2 to really see whether your speaker reproduces the human voice well. These speakers pass the test better than the other 2 brands I've auditioned (DefTech and Paradigm Studio 60. I don't find the Paradigms to be very musical, and the DefTech models I've tried are muddy/boomy in the mids).

Bad:
Not crisp enough across bass, midrange, and highs. No punch. Music that should kick you in the ass has no growl on the C-8's. Highs are smooth, but maybe too smooth. Same complaint with mid and bass. If any one of these three were sharper or brighter, it might make up for the absence of any crispness in the other ranges, but the speakers are just too soft for my taste.

Let me qualify myself a little bit before you decide I'm looking for a bazooka bass to play rap music on. I don't listen to rap. I'm a jazz/rock musician, so I have a decent ear. I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I do know this much: The right set of speakers makes listening to music an emotional experience. The music should suck you in, should move you, should make it absolutely impossible to stop from tapping your foot or snapping your fingers to the beat (or against it). I don't know how else to describe my experience with the C-8's besides saying that while they're obviously well built and free of distortion, they don't move me. They don't draw me in and make me forget I'm listening to a pair of speakers the way I'd expect to feel for $1,400 retail (you can buy them for $1,000 or so). Hearing great speakers should turn your head the way a great looking woman does when she enters the room. The C-8's leave me flat. They'd be the best speakers I ever listened to (in the price range) if they only had some oomf. The speakers should disappear from the room (like my Allison CD-6 bookshelf speakers do - unfortunately Roy Allison retired and you can't buy them anymore). Carlos Santana's guitar should sing and scream on Moonflower. Jeff Beck's "The Pump" should pump you up. While the C-8's reproduce the music beautifully (excellent clarity and warmth), they are too soft around the edges.

So, I must give the C-8's 2 stars. They're high quality speakers, accurate, nice soundstage, very good imaging, but I'm very disappointed in what sounds to me to be a missing "edge" to the highs and mids. If you get them, make sure they suit your musical taste. They are just too soft (for lack of a better word) for me.

Bought the energy C8's after three weeks of trying all kinds of different speakers. Nuff said.

Very clear,but "narrow" sounding at first. Good imaging (way better than Def. Tech's Pro 400 towers). Inefficient, you have to turn up the volume high to get enveloped by the music, this may be due to the forwardness of the sound. Perhaps the forwardness is from my Yamaha rxv995 receiver or my sony s7700 dvd transport? After 3 months, however the sound seems to be a little bit more open. I think adding a 12" or 15" sub will help open up the sound. Very elegant in gloss black finish.They sound excellent with classical music. I'll give them a 4.5 if I could. Happy listening!