Price, crisp highs

Hard to find - see review

I bought two pairs of these from Audioshop in Canada a few months back. I originally intended to use them in my studio - a big concrete and glass space. I ended up using one pair there and bringing one home - I love em! In fact, last week I called Marc up at Audioshop to order a pair of xl25's, an xl-c, and the xl8 sub only to find out that ENERGY WILL NOW NOT ALLOW AUDIOSHOP TO SELL THEIR PRODUCTS TO CUSTOMERS IN THE US! I was shocked! Now I have to go pay full retail at Harveys. Damn! Anybody know where to get these for a more reasonable price?

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None

good sound, distinctive looks. Good value in it's price range

Distinctive looks are great at first sight - but may get old after awhile (imho). A little bright sounding.

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer. These speakers are good - but they are not audiophile quality.

The comment "I researched the best speaker for the sound reproduction not exactly price. I found it in the Energy e-xl-16s, these are the best speakers for the price, and the sound" implies these are the best speakers for the sound, and they truly are not.

These are good speakers for someone interested in building their first home theater at a slightly above entry-level-price. Most people will be happy with these speakers, with a decent sub, but to try to suggest these speakers are audiophile quality just isn't true.

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Energy C Series, Paradigm, Atlantic Tech

Great reproduction of mids and highs

A little too much sibilance

To be perfectly honest I only became an audiophile a couple of years ago when I could truly afford it, now every penny I have goes to my home theater system, if it's hot I want it. My weekness was a poor set of speakers, so for 6 months I researched the best speaker for the sound reproduction not exactly price. I found it in the Energy e-xl-16s, these are the best speakers for the price, and the sound, I just love these little suckers. I bought two pairs, front and rear surrounds, and the e-xl c for the center, the key to those who want more bass, add the sub from the encore system, encore8, it's only 549.99 at the most and this thing rocks. My system is perfectly tuned for both pro-logic and 5.1/digital, and all that for under 1500 bucks. You can go out and buy the entire encore system for $1500.00 but if you truly want quality and have the prowess to hear quality, buy this system, it's the best one out there. If you have any questions on building a home theater system at whatever price range. below 2000, or above 10,000 email me at kushrules@msn.com. Oh yeah and buy these speakers.

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Paradigm, Bose, Klipsch

Very good cost/performance - sounds great!

Austhetics

Heard demo today at Good Guys and am really excited about these speakers, together with EXL-C and sub.

Many on this thread have mentioned good Internet deals. Can you please be more specific? Where should I look for best deals on this?

Thanks!

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Compared with JBL, Cerwin-Vega, Bose

Crisp, airy soundstage, efficient power output. Suited to both music and movies.

Overly bright sound may not give a good first impression, but this improves after a break-in period.

Late summer I walked into Harvey's with the intention of buying a pair of Boston Acoustics CR8's. However, the salesman heartilly recommened the Energy exl:16's instead, even though they were almost a hundred dollars less. I decided to try them out and was quite impressed with the crispness and the sense of presence these speakers afforded.I took them home and have been enjoying them ever since. While they did seem a bit crisp at first, they improved after extensive movie-watching and loud music -playing. After breaking them in on anything from Enya to Santanna's Supernatural(selections 7and 8 do the job very nicely) or from A Bug's Life to Jurrasic Park,they actually improved, so much in fact, that I sometimes check to see if my subwoofer is on or not. I highly recommend these speakers and pretty soon I'll buy another pair for my rear surrounds

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Paradigm Atoms, Bose 201's

Crisp, airy soundstage, efficient power output. Suited to both music and movies.

Overly bright sound may not give a good first impression, but this improves after a break-in period.

Late summer I walked into Harvey's with the intention of buying a pair of Boston Acoustics CR8's. However, the salesman heartilly recommened the Energy exl:16's instead, even though they were almost a hundred dollars less. I decided to try them out and was quite impressed with the crispness and the sense of presence these speakers afforded.I took them home and have been enjoying them ever since. While they did seem a bit crisp at first, they improved after extensive movie-watching and loud music -playing. After breaking them in on anything from Enya to Santanna's Supernatural(selections 7and 8 do the job very nicely) or from A Bug's Life to Jurrasic Park,they actually improved, so much in fact, that I sometimes check to see if my subwoofer is on or not. I highly recommend these speakers and pretty soon I'll buy another pair for my rear surrounds.

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Paradigm Atoms, Bose 201's

Well defined mids and highs

These speakers have a really unique sound , they reproduce mids and highs very well. excellent imaging. very compact speakers, i compared these speakers to a couple other brands of similar price and these ones stood out with a brighter more detailed sound. they can even handle some of those low frequencies down to 50hz. they had better bass than i expected , but i'm thinking about getting a sub woofer because i like bass.

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jbl, polk

Clarity, imaging, midrange

harsh upper end until broken in

On a per dollar basis, these speakers cannot be beat! Value aside, the soundstage produced from these little guys is unbelievable. The slim profile and shapely baffle that holds the tweeter allows precise imaging without diffraction from larger tower speakers. In fact, the slim design also aids the e:XL 25 and 26 in this respect although I live in an apartment and bought the 16's out of compassion for my neighbors. The midrange is extremely smooth with better bass response than I anticipated from these foot-high rear ported bookshelf speakers. Excellent buy and better all-around performance than KEF (overly bright--yes, they're British) and better clarity in the upper end than Klipsch. 4.5 stars out of 5 with emphasis on value and the remaining 0.5 star reserved for the exceptionally audiophile speakers of the world (Aerial Acoustics, etc.).

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KEF, Klipsch, Paradigm, B & W

Sound quality, size

lack of deep base

I am very happy with these speakers. The sound is very good, but you'll need a subwoofer (even a small one) to really enjoy them. The highs are where the speakers really shine.

Eventhough they are small they still put out more than enough sound to fill the room.

I am planning on getting some e:Xl-15s and an e:Xl-C so i will have a home theater.

I do have one problem with the company. They refuse to let online only retailers sell their products. Even if a brick and mortar store is allowed to sell them on their website they cant give you the price. This makes the speakers hard to find (especially since there is only one store that carries them in the entire state of georgia).

Everything! The woofer is huge and can handle a lot of excursion. I've thrown all sorts of bass at it and it scoffs at my attempts. But the main attraction, for me, are those amazing tweeters, the same ones used in the equally voluminous eXL-Rs. When I first listened to these bad boys, I made the mistake of playing a track of Mephiskapheles' first CD, and the brilliance of the horns made it impossible for me to listen to anything else without desiring it. These speakers are perfect for jazz, rock, hiphop, techno (perfect for techno, even the visual deisgn is right) and everything else, pretty much. As for theatre? Forget about your inconspicous Take-5s, the eXL will be your bookshelf darling from the moment you hit play.

Well...to be honest, they're a little too crisp for records, especially ones with a lot of crackle. You can fix this by dropping the treble a bit on your receiver. And without a nice rear to back them up, these don't perform perfectly for symphonic music (it's only a 4.5 out of 5, i know, real shame). Some users may be put off by Energy's orginal design and artistic scuplting of the eXL series. I think they're works worthy of Warhol.

Buy this speaker. Buy LOTS of this speaker. The price shouldn't even enter your mind, they're simply the best all-around bookshelf within the realm of sane acoustics. Thank you, my Canadian friends, and may God smile upon the Leafs in your honor.

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Tanoy, Mirage, Paradigm, Energy Take and Klipsch bookshelfs