Clarity

bass extesion

I auditioned these in my home for ~3 weeks. While they are vastly better than the take 2 sound I preferred the C2. Of course you get what you pay for. for the below post go to http://www.audioshop.on.ca./. thay have great deals on Energy products because of the exchange rate. Again, for the price, these are fine speakers. But, as any audio enthusiast knows, there is always a better speaker out there if your wiling to pay.

Similar Products Used:

Energy take 2 and C-2

Crisp, clear, great imaging, big sound but small size

slide down the shelf when they're up too loud ;-)

I was looking for the best speakers for my money, and found these at Good Guys. I was surprised that they had replaced the carrying of Bose, as I had never even heard of Energys before. However, i was impressed at these little suckers, and i suspected that the emplyoee had the center channel and/or the subwoofer going at the same time, but when i later tried it myself, i found i was wrong. They were amazing, especially for their price.
I then went onto the internet, and found great reviews for them, but a complaint that they were lacking in bass. I am not sure why so many people want heavy bass in their systems; it seems the stress on subwoofers insystems has led people to thinking that it can't be right unless it's vibrating the floor, which isn't realistic. I go for the realism in speakers. And these speakers aren't lacking in bass.
I've got these in a small room right now, and they're great even a close range and low volumes. I couldn't have gone better without spending a lot more.
(plus, these're an investment, i can put them as surround speakers for any larger speakers i get)

Similar Products Used:

auditioned: klipsch, bose, boston acoustics, klh, sony

Clear, precise sound

Incapable of strong bass due to bookshelf size

I admit to knowing pretty little about speakers... I listened to a few different speakers at various dealers and these were, plain and simply, the most clear-sounding. The sound was crisp and seemed to be able to bring out the finer details in the track. The PSB's and Infinity's at this price range were clearly outmatched, though their higher priced speakers seemed to be about as good. I bought the following as a home-theater system (w/ DVD):
Sony STR-DE635 Receiver
Energy eXL-16's front
Energy eXL-15's rear
Energy eXL-C center
Energy eXL-8 8" powered sub

I am very happy with this system. The 16's do lack bass by themselves, unless backed up by the sub... but I expect that from a bookshelf speaker. Movies sound absolutely great. I'd recommend these to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Others auditions: PSB's, Infinity

Picked up a set of e:xl 26s, e:xl 16s, and an e:xl C this past weekend. I spent a lot of time researching these babies, and almost passed on them due to thenegative reviews I've seen here of the e:xl series. All I can say is, I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to buy them. They sound absolutely wonderful right out of the box, and if they sound even better after a break in period (as some have suggested) then I can't wait. 5 stars for a smooth sound, killer looks, and a great price.

Excellent construction and looks, Sounds fantastic. Great speaker for the price, Very versatile...can be placed upside down and is threaded for screw-in type wall mount (not included).

finding dealers that carry it.

Sounds like a much larger speaker. Buy two pairs, a center, and combine with a sub for an awesome 5.1 system. Much better value than most pre-packaged 5.1 speaker sets.

If you're considering getting the Take 5 system and have a few extra dollars to spare, give these speakers a listen first. Four of these, together with the eXL:C and a sub-woofer sound fantastic for both home theater and music listening. They've got a nice mid-range you won't hear with the Take 5's. In addition, the total package should cost you less than $1,000.

I had originally bought the Klipsch 3.1 bookshelfs to match my center channel KSC-C5. I had considered the Energy line of speakers but found them aesthetically unappealing. So I never gave them much thought. After living with the Klipsch bookshelfs for about 2 weeks, I returned them for a refund. I then started looking for reviews on other bookshelfs, and I kept getting pointed to the Energy line. So I decided to give them a listen. I gave the E-xl16's some critical listening, and all I can say is WOW. Great high's, decent bass, and a nice package. I really am impressed with their port design as well. I'm sure after a few hours of hard playing, these will get properly broken in and will sound even better. These are very musical and disappear when you close your eyes. I spent about 3 hours last night with the wife just listening to some soft music recorded to MD. I am very very satisfied with these little gems.

Gorgeous, detailed highs

Not a huge amount of bass, but then again this is a 6.5" bookshelf speaker - whaddya expect!

This is my second review of the xl-16's, as requested off list by a reader:
Hey man.... hows things?

First off...I love my xl16's, but let me tell you a little about my setups. I have had the opportunity to use them in several situations. 1) My photography studio, which is "U" shaped and 42x60 at its largest points. Concrete and glass are everywhere, with *let me think about it* NO sound-absorbing anything. No carpets, wallboard etc. I've got the speakers on the Energy mega-mounts roughly 9.5 feet off the floor spaced evenly along the base of the U. They fill the room quite well, especially with the highs, but I do feel they are lacking in the bass department for such a echo prone and large room. I've added an Energy xl-8 sub and find that it livens everything up. It wont shake the place, but I do *unfortunately* need to hear myself think during the day.

My second setup was a home theater setup in my old apartment. Rectangular room, roughly 15x25, with the theater setup across the short dimension in the left half (does that make sense?) XL-16 for front and rears, xl-8 sub, and xl-c center. Although I never did get the position of the sub quite right (I could always place where it was) I was in love with the sound of the xl-16's. Bass wasnt an issue there in part because of the more dampened room and, well, the Sub handled the bass. (the xl-8 is plenty of sub for urban living, BTW, unless you hate your neighbors)

Third setup is in my studio again, with the same speakers, in a small alcove (open to the rest of the studio) for home theater. The speakers do take on a different quality in such a large boomy space, but the first night I had everything hooked up with my new Samsung Progressive scan tv, my friend and i put in the Matrix for the lobby shoot em up. Wow is all i can say.

I will say that I think I should have bought the larger xl series center channel, if for no other reason than the center gets 60+ % of the soundtrack and bigger is better, right?

Overall, I find the xl-16's wonderfully detailed (especially for a $300 speaker) with adequate (not excessive bass). When I auditioned the speakers I listened to them next to the Energy Veritas bookshelf line $1000 plus, and, while they sounded different, I could not say one was head and shoulders above the other. Especially not for triple the price!

Hope that answers your question!

I purchased these new Energy speakers about two weeks ago and am extremely pleased with the sound quality. The bass is quite satisfying in a smaller room and mids and highs are clear and crisp. 100% satisfaction.

You can find these speakers for less than 110.00 per, and I don't believe it is possible to beat their performance at this price point. Great soundstage and imaging, and bass performance is as good as it gets from a 6 1/2 inch woofer.