excellent highs

weak midrange and bass

I did an in store comparison of these with the Paridigm monitor 7s. Both speaks use the same layout of drivers but sound very different. While the Energy speakers have much louder highs - I think they may have been ever so slightly clearer too, but that could just be the loudness of the highs, - the Paradigm's have much tighter midrange and base. Overall the Paradigm seems to be a much more "natural" sounding speaker. Check out the monitor 7's if your looking at speakers in this price range/style.

These were selling at $800 Canadian. With the exchange I'm guessing this would be about $500US.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm monitor 7

Hometheater and sensitivity 94 db, Classical, New age

highs are overwhelming(maybe I haven't worked it in yet).

These speakers are fantastic for hometheatre in cojunction with the Exl c2 center, exl s12 sub and exl 16 bookshelf. The tones are well balanced with this set-up since they use the same woofer and tweeter.

I'm not going to comment too much on how it sounds since it is purely subjective. A speaker is only as good as the way you set it up along with the amp you power it with.

Initially, I was really dissappointed with these speakers when I heard them at Canadian Sound( Stop using Pioneer elite amps for these speakers, bad combination). Also the setup was really poor or something.
When I heard them at Bay Bloor they sounded more to my liking, that's because the room set-up was a lot more favourable. As well, they were using a Denon 2801 reciever.

Currently I am using the Onkyo 595 and they sound very similiar to the set up in Bay Bloor but in a smaller room. So when you audition these make sure it's not in squashed room because you'll be very dissappointed although the bookshelf sounded fine in a smaller area, exl16.

Conclusion, great for hometheatre but only excels in certain generes of music, instrumental in most cases. Pop, rock etc. it's descent but have heard better to my liking. So if your a HT person 90% of the time, these speakers will be great addition to your house.

AUDITION THE SAME SPEAKERS AT NUMEROUS PLACES AND MAKE NOTE OF THE ROOM SETUP AND RECIEVER SINCE IT WILL GIVE YOU AN IDEA HOW SIMILIAR IT WILL SOUND IN YOUR HOME.

Similar Products Used:

exl 16

Good imaging. Wide dispersal. Good clarity on the mid-bass.

Sorry, but I think they are slightly wierd looking. "Hey, hey look at me!" (no biggy though)

I have an old pair of Pioneer HPM-100 speakers purchased in 1977. Polk was an infant back then (but the Polk 10's were great sounding), and JBL-100's ruled. The Pioneers are very close in sound (Pioneer used to turn out high-end audiophile stuff back then, $600/pr/MSRP in '77 dollars!)

I couldn't find a better sounding speaker for under a grand each so I decided to keep the Pioneers for fronts.

Here comes the Energy's. I needed surround sound rears. Most would consider the exl-26's overkill for surrounds, but I wanted a strong set of surrounds for 5 channel stereo and Matrix mode for CD playback through my new Denon AVR3802.

I am quite happy with my choice. The exl:26's have better imaging/openess than I was used to; and they have a sharper mid-bass attack that compliments the bigger boominess coming from the Pioneer's 12" carbon fiber blend woofers.

Where the Pioneers become more life like at authoritative volumes, the Energy are already there. BUT I notice that the Energy start to sound too boxy (i.e. more like a speaker and less like the real thing) once the volume, and therefore the bass, gets high. So if you're looking for mains, I'd suggest stepping up one more notch OR simply consider a sub to pitch in below 80HZ. If you don't get above moderate levels, this should be no problem.

I also have a Boston Acoustics VR920 for the center speaker.

I'm looking for a sub myself. Torn between Velodyne CHT's, SPL's and Klipsch RSW. Most importantly, if I cut below 80HZ to a sub, it has to be worth it for what I will be giving up from the four Energy 6.5" drivers and the two Pioneer 12" woofers. But I don't want to blow my drivers with LFE on DVD's

Any suggestions on a sub that is great musically as well as for home theatre, please write.

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None, But listened to Polk and Infinity before choosing these.

I find it interesting that just about everyone who low rates these speakers has based their rating from an "in store comparison". For those people, don't rate something until you have had some experience with it. Do you honestly think professional reviewers rate something without taking it home and trying it for a while. Just a comment.

Very Accurate highs mids and Lows. Need to spend much more to compete with these babies!

Does looking too good count as a weakness?

I have owned these particular speakers for some time now and am constantly suprised by the sound these speakers produce. I have listened to many speakers ranging in price from $500-$1500 dollars each and they can't satisfy me like the Energy E-XL26 does. When listening to any kind of music from rap to classical, I have never been dissapointed. When watching Star Wars Episode I, I actually debated buying a Subwoofer because the lows were couch shaking. Of course I did eventually buy a sub, but I wasn't in any huge hurry. All in all, I am very pleased with these speakers and would highly recommend them to everybody, no-matter what your tastes are.
System:
Fronts: 2 Energy E-XL26.
Reciever: Yahmaha RXV596 500W
Surrounds: 2 Yahmaha NS-AW1
Center: Sony SS-CN495H (needs upgrading)
SUB: JBL PB12

Similar Products Used:

too many to list

Solid Base, Good Definition

Cheapo Feet, Takes a while to get used to

I purchased a pair of these 'cosmetically blemished' at the beginning of September and have really enjoyed them. Hooking them up to my new Cambridge D300se and my old (are you listening santa) Kenwood reciever I have been playing around with them for about a month. Despite the limitations of the amplifier I am getting a really good clean sound from these units and have the following comments.

The sound reproduction across the frequency range (37hz - 20khz) is very good. I find that most sub $1000 speakers are designed to make many compromises in an attempt to create a more pleasing sound despite a shorter range and lower quality amplifiers. This often shows up as extreme emphasis on certain bass harmonics over others to simulate a loud base. It also shows up when midrange sounds like voices appear elevated above other sounds.

I find that these speakers, while not perfect, have avoided many of the pitfalls that others in their price range have faced. To those who say that these speakers have recessed vocals, go to a live concert first and evaluate just how loud the voice should sound above the surounding music. These speakers do not try and boost the mid range like so many products out there. Instead, with the strong base and good highs that this speaker generates, the mid range has more sound to compete with so it seems quieter when in fact it is now sounding correct.

My only sonic complaint is that the base does seem to have some favoured harmonics. There are a couple of CD's that occasionally have a disconected boominess to them that I don't feel should be there. Improving my amp may however improve this somewhat.

Cosmetically these speakers are quite impressive. They certainly are not the kind of speakers that dissapear into the room. I do wish however that they had incorperated a better system then the dumpy looking feet. Personally I decided not to use them at all.

I can't say much about the power handling except that these speakers soaked up the 50watts or so that my amp can generate without problems.

All in all great speakers. I got these at a steal of a price but even at MSRP they are good value for the money.

Similar Products Used:

Cheap Panasonic, Old Boston Acoustics

I was looking for some speakers, and after reviewing $ 3000 Monitor brands, (very nice), I was about to buy the Energy or Mirage OmniPolars, but on the way to the till, I see the Energy e:XL 26's....and WOW! They do not sound as clear as the Monitors, but at 1/3rd the price, I think they are awesome.
Very clear, but not TOO clear. Very rich, but not TOO rich. In short, for the money, I have yet to find something better.

I am looking at the 26's two 16' and a centre channel.

About $ 1300USD.!!!

I'll search the net for a better deal from someone, and then i'll buy a pair.

I have had my Energy e:XL 26's for about 3 months and really, really like them!!I compared them side-by-side to B&W 604's and found them fairly similar but about $300 less and slightly more neutral. I also considered Paradigm Studio 60s or 80s. At the time I was only going to use my receiver to power them so I wanted an efficient speaker which ruled out the Studio 80s. I am now using 2 Audio Source amp 3's bridged that put out about 400 watts each. I am extrememly happy with the sound as I have a two story open family room to fill with sound. I also have a Cambridge Soundworks 12" sub and slave 12" to fill out the bottom end. I am using 2 e:XL 16's for my center channeland no surround currently.I highly recommend these speakers to anyone at this price point up to several thousand $$$s. I still have some preference towards the Paradigm Studio 80's but for half the cost and very good imaging, sound reproduction and excellent construction, the Energy e:XL 26's are hard to beat!!

Enjoy!!!

I want to respond to Lu-I don't know what kind of amp Lu used to listen to the speakers---but I have had audiophiles with $10,000 to $50,000 worth of gear listen and they are blown away by the warm natural sound of these speakers. Listen to them with an Onkyo receiver SV-444 and they are wonderful. Listen with a Cary tube preamp and an Adcom power amp and you will be dazzled. Listen to jazz organ and tenor sax, a symphony, or classic rock and you will feel exhilerated.

This is the largest model in the new Energy line. This is new line is also the worst of the Energy line. The sound is just bad. No definitions, no sound stage and not focused. I first thought the dealer wire the thing out of phase because I can not believe Energy will put out such bad speakers at $750 a pair. In the same room with the same electronics, I think you can even argue that the Take 5 has better sound. There are much better speakers at lower price. One speaker.