Energy Speaker Systems C-9 Floorstanding Speakers

Energy Speaker Systems C-9 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

4-way bass reflex design, 3 x 6.5" injection molded homopolymer woofers, chambered 1" aluminum dome tweeter, 31Hz-23kHz ±3dB, 8 ohm impedance, 94dB sensitivity, 62lb/each.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-7 of 7  
[May 14, 2009]
karister
Audio Enthusiast

These are one of the best speakers I've had. Very open and broad sound stage to them. Very elegant look with the silver color drivers and magnetic grills. It's a very soothing sound to it, can listen for longer periods of time with no listening fatigue. I like the deep cabinets and they give awesome low end with ease. If find on the the used market in decent condition you should jump on them as you'll come to adore them.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 21, 2007]
jp
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

play very loud, very clear. I am running 250watts rms into these things and they take everything you throw at them,

Weakness:

...................hmmmmm

well just wrote a review and hit reset on accident so this is going to be short and sweet......audiitioned and shopped for 3 months. side by side comparison to veritas 2.3, klipsch rf, paradigm, b&w, and snell (no comparison but for fun) I chose the c-9...

they sounded very close the the veritas, veritas were better but not by much in my opinion. these play loud and clear and I have no need to upgrade. I am running a arcam dv-79(incredible), denon 3803, ati 2505, and the matching surrounds center and sub.

Customer Service

...........no need

Similar Products Used:

all in above sumary

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 10, 2005]
L.J.
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

I love that in depth sound. Crystal clear highs.(Especially with SACD's) Overall well built great looking speaker.

Weakness:

I dont care for the feet too much.(But thats not really a weakness just me. I wish I coulda gotem in maple. Good Guys only had one set left so I had to settle on black. But at 50% off who care. Slightly laid back sound after run-in.(Not actually a weakness just me again).

50% off at Good Guys. I paid only $650 for these babies. Talking about wanting to upgrade at the perfect time. My previous set of towers(sonys)were o.k. for HT but no where close to where I wanted to be musically. Notice I said o.k. for HT. My new C-9's R a completely different story. After about that 30 hr run-in mark I couldnt help it I had to get em going. I put on rush hour 2. It was a completely different movie. The sound coming from these speakers is simply amazing. Crystal clear and a nice in depth midrange. I've been playing music non stop since I got em. They work great for my HT & Musical needs.I'm sure the bass area is great but I wont comment on that because my 12 Energy sub takes care of that area. Nice slender design and very well built all around. They look excellent with the grills off but I cant go that route.(Curious hands) These are all around great speakers and if you can catch them at 50% their a steal.

Similar Products Used:

Sony =( C. Vega Yamaha

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 11, 2005]
steveinaz
AudioPhile

Strength:

- Nuetrality - Ability to disappear in a room - Low and high level articulation

Weakness:

- Some may find them too laid back

As with most speakers, give these a good 30 hrs of run-in before listening critically. Initially they will come off as somewhat dry and dark, give it time and you’ll be rewarded with some seriously smooth music. First of all, I’m still amazed at the bass these narrow column type speakers reproduce; it’s almost like an optical illusion. You see this tall skinny thing reproducing incredible bass, and you know there is a sub hidden---somewhere. The C-9 has 2 bass ports; one in the front near the bottom, and a second port on the back, about midway up. I would imagine the combination of the tuned ports and the 18” depth of the cabinets explains the room energizing bass. And these pups dish-out some serious, tight bass. They plunge 6Hz lower than my previous dual-8” towers. I noticed in the Soundstage review of the C-9, they had to push the speaker much farther than they typically do to get any reading of distortion in the lower bass—impressive, and exactly what I experienced; deep, clean well articulated bass. I have to take a second to mention the binding post. These are very impressive; they look like WBT binders with a large heavy grade clear plastic knob surrounding the gold plated screw-down. It makes tightening a tool-less proposition, as you can really get some torque on the posts. Very Cool. BTW, the C-9 is not bi-wireable. Also, quick mention of the grilles; they are magnetized—no posts to break off or wear out, easy on, easy off. The magnets are also damped to eliminate vibration. Again, very cool. I did all of my listening with the grilles in place. The tweeter is nothing short of magnificent. It does everything right. Not too bright, not too laid back. Crystalline and airy without being prominent or etched. The crossover must be very well engineered, as I can’t detect any transition from the mids. There is a very smooth tonal neutrality about these speakers that almost sounds like a single full-range cone. I kept thinking to myself “these remind me of my AR9Lsi’s in a BIG way.” The easy-going, extremely listenable sound has you running through your CD library as if someone is going to take your system away tommorrow. What’s really sort of a paradox is that although they sound a touch laid-back, they are at the same time quick and articulate. Very nice blend. Comparing these to the V.2 Paradigm Reference Studio 60 ($1600/pr) and 100 ($2300/pr), it all becomes clear. The Studio 60 is out-classed. It just isn’t capable of the deep, cleanly rendered bass lines, and the C-9 gives nothing away in the midrange/treble. The Studio100 is a more apples to apples comparison. Though the Studio 100 has a touch deeper bass, the C-9’s smoother upper-midrange and linearity in the extreme treble gets the nod. I will say the Studio 100’s mid and lower midrange is impeccable, and the overall tonal balance, top-to-bottom, leans ever so slightly in the Paradigm’s corner. For $1000 more, it better. Comparing to my Athena AS-F2’s ($600/pr), the C-9 is less bright and in-your-face. Treble is sweet, without being over-bearing. The midrange soundstaging is better, probably due to the smaller 6.5” driver, and a touch more neutrality. The AS-F2 has very good bass, but just doesn’t dig quite as deep, with as much ease as the C-9. The big difference was clear when pushing the speakers hard. The Athena’s would tend to unravel a bit at high volume, becoming a little unsorted. The C-9 just kept sounding better and better, the harder it was pushed---almost like it was saying to me “that all you got, punk?” Again and again while listening to the C-9’s I kept thinking of how much their tonal character reminded me of my early 1980’s AR9Lsi speakers. I even mentioned it to my wife, twice. The entire time I was writing notes for this review, I was looking for the right word….then it finally hit me…“alluring.” The Energy Connoisseur C-9 is alluring. It drags you into the performance and makes you want to listen to every track, just to see how it’s going to interpret the next note. Associated Equipment: - Musical Fidelity A3CR Preamp - Parasound HCA-1500A Amp - C.E.C. CD-3300 Transport - Benchmark DAC1 DAC - Kimber PBJ IC's - AQ Granite speaker cables

Similar Products Used:

Pinnacle, Athena, Polk, AR, Infinity, etc.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 16, 2004]
cuchanu
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

BASS. Not just a lot but it's accurate and full. Not to mention quick. Nice range in the highs, and pretty good all around.

Weakness:

There is definately a sweet spot. It seems to be present more so than my c-4's but I havent done a direct comparison.

Half off at good guys can you believe it? I love these things, the bass is incredibly accurate. I have yet to hear a bassline outside of the range of these speakers, and they have revealed a few basslines I didn't know existed. Sound good at low volumes, too. Pretty good range. If you are in the sweet spot be prepared for bliss as these speakers sound incredible when you are listening to well recorded music. Simply put at full price these are still good speakers but if you can get them on sale at good guys get them even if you don't need them! They are the only piece of audio equipment Ive heard wether car stereo, headphones, home stereo or boombox, that I cant really say I'd change anything about them. This excludes high dollar stuff in the showrooms. $1500 plus

Similar Products Used:

1.other energy 2.good advents 3.I cant remember

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 09, 2004]
HT BUFF
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Rich,efficient, very easy to setup & drive,a real steal at this price & a 5 yr warranty.

Weakness:

None

From the minute I set these up they have managed to fill my room with rich flowing sound, very high efficient @94 db. Every Dec this place has a factory 2nds blem sale and good luck at finding the blem(you need a magnifying glass) because they are sonically perfect. I also got the matching center channel 1 year ago at the same type of blem sale for only $350 CDN,again a bargain that could not be matched.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 11, 2004]
ScottC1
AudioPhile

Strength:

huge amounts of bass very punchy bass, with lots of rythym smooth and detailed chambered tweeter low distortion

Weakness:

imaging is a bit lacking highs and midrange are a bit too flat

After auditioning a wide variety of speakers, I decided to go with the C-9s. The price was reasonable for the quality of sound production. The styling is modern and attractive.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio S6, Paradigm Monitor 9, Klipsch RF 35, RF 3, Polk RTi10, Bose 601, JBL E90, Infinity Beta series, Sinclair, Athena Technologies, Totem, Mission.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-7 of 7  

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