I auditioned the Energy e:XL-16s and found them very nice, but unattractive. The very high end seemed overly bright, but the speakers probably were not broken in properly, so I attribute most of the difference to that. I ended up buying the PSB Century 300i. At this price, all speakers are compromised, so you have to find compromises you can live with. My main speakers are Dynaudio, so this makes me unusually critical of small, lower-end speakers.
Still, not a bad choice at all. I would recommend comparing them to the PSB Century's and see which you prefer.

The Energy e:XL 16 speakers are extremely good. I compared them with Klipsch 3.1's, NHT SuperOne's and Infinity RS2's and RS3's. I borrowed them all and went home to listen. I'm using an Onkyo TX-8511 stereo receiver. The Klipsch 3.1's were very good, but lacked a little in overall tightness. They also cost about $130 more, so I expected more. The NHT's are amazing, but the Energy's had a better sounding high-end. I suppose the word is "brighter." The NHT's are also more costly than the Energy's by $50. The Infinity speakers couldn't really compare, although they cost less and are easier to find. The RS3 had great bass (down to 40Hz by specs.) but the soft dome tweeter wasn't nearly as nice as the NHT's soft dome tweeter. The 1/2 inch tweeter on the RS2 was considerably worse than any of the other speakers. The Energy's were excellent in handling the entire range. Add to that their amazingly low price (bought mine for $260), these speakers were the ones for me. This is only my opinion and which speaker you perfer is all an issue of personal taste. I prefer a brighter speaker. The Energy e:XL 16's, in my opinion, are the best speaker in this size/price range.

It seems like many others in this thread, I initially found these speakers visually unappealing. Aesthetics are important to me so I nearly passed these by, but thanks to an informed salesman, I gave them a listen.
I wanted to compare these to Polk Audio (which I was replacing because of a blown speaker) and other recommended brands like Klipsch. I'd never heard of Energy until that day, and was surprised on how this unknown could sound a notch above everyone else.

I personally think the bass could be a bit thicker, but don't be misled, this little thing still delivers: 5 stars for me.

Although there is a fine line between audio enthusiast and audiophile. Mine being - an audiophile is one who spends money unnecessarily to achieve the same goal and purchases products that don't justify their cost.
Having said that, after going from shop to shop looking for a system to act as a fully functional musical facility as well as an home entertainment center I came to a few conclusions. Simply use your own ears and don't let salespeople sway your opinion. Go in with your own music, ask for pamphlets and tell the sales people to leave you be.

Obviously, certain stores are only going to carry various lines and are not going to include their direct competitors - it's just the way things work. So try to do everything in one day - your hearing fluctuate from day to day so try to eliminate as many factors as you can when performing your comparison.

What I found:
Paradigm mini monitors - nice sound, nice price, a little nasal for me after hearing the Monitor 3's. The monitor 3's had a luscious full sound. Excellent bass response for a mount stand speaker.
Unfortunately, all of the hype of the cc350 and cc175 fell short for me. Due to the fact I was already going to purchase a subwoofer since bookshelves cannot provide the total bottom fill needed for the HT environment I had to rule out the Paradigms. The center channels are too full for my taste coming from a center. They seem to blare when the volume is turned up and take away from the poise of the monitor 3's. The ps1000 on the other hand was outstanding.
Unfortunately, I had already had it set in my mind to buy all the same brands because I didn't feel like dinking around wondering will this center match my fronts? will it blend in well enough with the sub and the rears. So for me it was an all in one store package. Many will go against this but your ears have a selective memory.

Second in line - the b&w. 601, cc6, 301 rear package.
In a word - way too overpriced for what you hear. The monitor 3's keep with the 601's and in my opinion sound much better. Along with the price - see ya b&w.

Third - NHT. I think I blew it by hearing the Paradigms first. I can't believe what some people try to charge for a speaker just because of the name.
They sound super but when you compare to the lesser expensive brands and you can't hear the difference then it just isn't worth it.

Which brings us to the Energy Lineup. Energy being a Canadian company along with Paradigm I had to give them a listen. I went into the showroom for the Take 5 system and I was amazed at the small speaker package and what it threw out. Bose, go take a nap. You are over-prized and do you think you pump enough highs out. If you are in the market for a space convenient system that sounds rich and full - much better than the bose which lacks midrange and deep bass then this bad boy package is for you. If you want to extend the lows change the es8 for the XL10 and it brings the range down to the lows you will want.

Unfortunately when I tried various styles of simple music it just didn't cut it. It had sweet highs and nice lows but it needs the lustre of 5" cones to pump out the mid's. There is a certain thinness about playing music through the take 5.

A step provides the xl15's which are very shallow sounding. I actually prefer the take 2's to these little guys and then I hear what you've been waiting to hear. The xl-16's sound compares to that of the monitor 3's. It doesn't provide the lows that the 3's provide but when a subwoofer is going to be added it just doesn't matter. Go Bill Murray. The 6 1/2" mids are fully capable of sweet sounds from Jewel, Sarah, Rush, Red Hot Chili's - anything you want to throw at them. The ES subs have been replaced this year with the XL line and sound more full than ever. The center XLC provides the perfect range in a subwoofer arrangement, not too boomy - yet just enough midrange to fill in with the xl-16's and the XL10 isn't basically a less snazzy version of Paradigm ps1000. The only difference being the phase control.

Finally, the xl-16 in a subwoofer environment - 5 stars
not in a subwoofer environment - 4 stars
the take 5 system as an ht system - for your buck - 5 stars
as a musical utility - 3 stars

Sorry for the long-windedness - I could have written much more including many more reviews but you've probably heard enough.

I just picked up a pair of these speakers after reading several positive reviews and several auditions. I wanted to update my HT and free up some floor space. First, let me say that these are truly some amazing speakers for their size and price. They work very nicely for HT. As for music, I think my old floor standing Pioneer's worked better. Perhaps I was expecting too much from a bookshelf speaker, and since they're brand new, they will probably perform better when they are broke in. All things considered though, they are nice speakers.

I bought the e:XL-16s as the front speakers in my home theater system, which includes xl-15s as surrounds, the XL-C center channel speaker and the XL-10 powered subwoofer. I bought this system as a step up from the Energy Take 5 system as I have a rather large room (22ft. x 20ft., with a 12ft. foot ceiling) to play it in. I also wanted speakers that sounded well on music as well as home theater. The XL-16s have satisfied both needs perfectly for me. With a price of $199 per pair from Shop4.com, I can not think of a better value out there. Speakers are a somewhat subjective topic and I know that others will argue that NHT, Paradigm, B&W, et al are better for them, but in this price range, the XL-16s are right for me.

Based on reading these reviews, the home theater newsgroups, and the home theater forums I purchased 4 e:xl16's e:xlc, and e:xls8 for $750 from a dealer. Used costsheets.com info and said I could mail order from several choices at around 15% over cost. Dealer matched it with no questions. For the extra $200 over the Take 5 package I was willing to spend the extra. Although I will probably always wonder how much difference there really is between what I have and the Take 5 system. I am happy and will not regret the decision. Bass is nicely handled by the 16's and the sub is great. All speakers are set to large and the sub is set to both on my new yamaha 995 (paid $800 at the same dealer)
What I learned over the net adn groups like this was to get good pricing information, narrow choices down to a few, go and listen to the systems (which I did at the dealer I bought from) and give them a price you are willing to pay. I was ready to walk out and mail order if they would not talk with me. I told the dealer I would do all the work and not waste his time and he accepted the offer I made on both the speakers and the receiver. I will continue to give him my business but I will also know what is a fair price for me and him.

Now to the TV... the DVD... the CD player......

Recently, I decided to replace my aging Bose Reference Speakers/ Pioneer receiver combo with an upgraded system geared more towards audio than home theater. I bought a Nakamichi AV300 at UBid auction for $129. As one fellow on the net put it , it sure is a good time to be alive as a consumer !!As for the speakers I was leaning towards the Infinity Reference series after
listening to (and have buyer's remorse with the Bose) them at my friend's place.
I wanted to shop retail because IMHO speakers should be heard before buying them irrespective of however fantastic their ratings are in Stereo Review. After I had a chance to try Boston, Infinity, Definitive technology (only stuff available retail in our area) I decided that Energy's e:XL16 provided the best sound for the money ($300/pair). I can describe the sound produced using one of Energy's own ad superlative : Sweet. What I found lacking in Bass I made up for buying a matching Energy XLS-8 sub ($279) with it. BTW, I did try the Take 5 combo with the sub and was extremely dissapointed with the sound. The richness in the mids and highs of the XL16s were absent in the Take5 s. Despite Energy's heavy duty advertising on Take 5s for home theater I would recommend upgrading to their XL16/XL-C/XL-R combo if you want HT setup.

Originally I very aggressively shopped and compared the Energy Take 5 system against anything out there. Once I determined that it was the best sat/sub combo (specially at the price point), I was sold. Then I started shopping price from California to the East coast to Canada. I found all the deals out there trust me! However I was also finding deals on other speakers as well. Once I realized the saving possible, I found that I might be able to try for something better. I then went and listened to the EXL-15 speakers and really liked them, but something was missing. So I tried the EXL-16 speakers and fell in love. These are incredible speakers and I found some excellent deals on them. But they were out of my range and so I went to buy the Take 5. However, at the last minute I found a stellar deal on the EXL-16s and scored. I ended up with EXL-16s for fronts and backs and the EXL-C for the center. Wow do these sound great! I also got such a good deal, tht I ended up with the EXL-12" sub vs. the EXL-10". I am very happy with these speakers because they have exceeded all my expectations.
The music quality is superb. I am hearing instruments so clear that I can just sit and listen forever, and I am not a big music listener. I bought them for 80-90% HT uses and man does it sound incredible. My Fiance, who thought speakers were a waste of time nad also warned me to not expect her to hear anything different, is completely impressed. She now invites friends over to watch movies proudly. I couldn't be happier. While I think the Take 5 system is great, this is better and for the price, is a set-up that can't be beat!

SWest

These speakers are absolutely amazing. I was considering buying a take 5 system but after i heard them side by side with the 16's I noticed there was a pretty big difference. The 16's came out on top by far. i cant believe the sound that comes out of these small speakers. They havn't broken in yet but when they do im sure ill be blown away even more. Theyre hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V595 and the sound is so clear and awesome. Sick speakers for the money.
5 Stars Easy.