Very cool looks
Clear Center Speaker
Wall Brackets Included

Wall Brackets

Days away from buying the Bose Acousimass speakers, I stumbled upon this sight and all of the wonderful things that were being said about the Encore system. I sought out a local dealer who had the Encore system so I could hear them first hand. I was blown away. I would have bought them right there, except that he didn't have them in stock. I ended up buying them for less money from the Audio Shop in Canada as many people here have recomemnded.

The only negative I have found with this system are the included brackets. The fact that they are included with the system is in itself fantastic. But, they definately would benefit from an extra screw hole. Also, if you tighten the bracket too tight, you can end up damaging it. I tried to be very careful, but ended up damaging one of them so that the speaker would droop. One email to Energy and I had a replacement bracket on the way. So it seems that they are willing to stand behind their product.

Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.

Good looks, excellent music reproduction, compactness

Manuals, mounting brackets

I bought my Encore speakers after auditioning them in a local Good Guys store and reading all the rave reviews on this site. I teamed the Encore with my older (~9 years) Sony ES receiver and then the newly-bought Sony STR-DB930. The result was more beautiful music than any other systems I have ever owned.

I generally agree with all the reviews on this site about this speaker package. The manual is really inadequate. They should have provided a little more info on the ajustments and connections and cut back on the Russian and Serbo-Croatian language portions.

The brackets should have TWO holes for attachments rather than one. Nevertheless, an extra hole could be drilled (if you have the proper equiment). I found that the extra hole would be required if you mount the brackets HORIZONTALLY (for side-wall mounting, speakers facing the listener) or on the CEILING. For VERTICAL mounting of the brackets, one hole is sufficient due to the mounting angle of the speakers.

I mount my speakers brackets vertically on dry wall. For dry wall, make sure you have good TOGGLE BOLTS made especially for dry wall mounting (available at your local hardware stores). Make sure to buy the good types that are rated to hold up to 90 lbs (the satellite speakers weigh only 6 lbs each). A set of two toggle bolts cost about $3 at my local Home Depot. It’s good that Energy provides mounting brackets, otherwise it could cost us upwards to $100 for a single pair.

Any case, I bought my speakers at a local dealer (NOT the Good Guys) for a very good price and it took him only 2 days to get the speakers. It was better than ordering it through the internet (or travelling to Canada for that matter) because of the size of the package.

Thanks to all the postings from this site, I was able to make an informed purchase. I hope to have contributed a little more info by sharing my experience.

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Klipsh Rebel

Great looks, good sound

Harsh on some music tracks

Not to diminish an otherwise fine product, but after reading the rave reviews here I was convinced that the Energy Encore was what I should buy. Gathered a good sample of CDs and my wife went to take a listen. I found them to be very cool looking and generally good sounding except the transition from mids to tweeter struck us as a bit harsh, non-musical. The low end was great with the 8" powered sub as tight as can be.
Then listened to the NHT SuperOnes and they made those same transitions sound very natural and sweet. Female vocalists and guitar solos with all their subtleties that came through effortlessly on the NHT, were distractingly bright on the Energy.
Those here that are comparing the Energy's to Bose are absolutely right, there is no contest, but most systems blow away Bose after a serious listen.
Moral of the story; as always, listen around, find what sounds good to you. I ended up with the Energy Sub and the NHT surrounds and am very happy with the choice.

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NHT SuperOne

Smooth sound, front plates

The Manual

I had them now since November and find them very natural sounding. I have it paired with a Kenwood 3109 DTS reciever.I listen to music more than movies and you really need to audition these with your favorite tunes. These simply blow Bose away.Take the extra money and get a Dts reciever and invite your Bose friends over and watch them cry. Now, do your ears a favor and pickup some DTS Music Surround 5.1 Cd's from Dvd Express like Police Greatest Hits, Marvin Gaye, and Sting. These are simply amazing and really make these speakers worth every penny.

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Cerwin vega JBL

clean quality sound, mtg system, poweful sub for its size

slight lack of fullness

Purchased the Encore System for my 20'x20' rec room.
Easily fills the space with quality sound. Even though
the sub is only 8"'s it is quite potent. The mtg system
is quite nice. The speakers were hooked up to a Yam rxv595a
that easily drove the speakers but I have decided to purchase the Marantz SR-7000. It is quite remarkable for the size of these speakers the sound they produce. I purchased them through A&B Sound from Len Gerling. Len was very helpful and quite cooperative and would do so again in the future.

Crisp, clean sound. Good tweeter dispersion. Small size and cute look. Quality parts. Prompt and warm service. Powerful sub blends nicely with satellites.

Long break-in period. Heavy for wall mounting. Sounds a little bright. Insufficient manual coverage. Pricy compared with some packages at half price, like Take 5 and Cambridge Soundworks MovieWorks 408.

I had the speakers just over a month. So far I am very happy with them, as they sound better and better everyday.

They look impressive from the moment I got them out of the box. I pariticularly like the center (encore 1), which fits flawlessly on top of my Sony 36XBR. My wife likes them too, though she still thinks the Bose AM speakers look better.

I hooked them up to a Sony DB930 using cheap Monster XP cables. During the first day of audition they sounded next to terrible: harsh and coarse treble nearly buried details of all music(this wasn't that severe with 5.1 movies). I blamed the cables first, then my amp. After swapping some equipments with my friend, I had to blame the speakers finally.

I looked everywhere from the web. All I got was rave reviews from happy users, audiophiles, and professional mags. As I was struggling with the thought of returning them, I felt that they sounded better! I contacted energy tech support, Joe Fraser ansered my questions quickly. He even pointed out something I forgot to read from the manual. (Frankly speaking, I hate to read it, which has too many languages I don't understand:) The major point I got from him is that the speakers need 4-6 weeks to break in! So I fed them with 50w pink noise for straight 2 days...

Then I was happy! Like many have posted here over and over, the speakers sound excellent in HT mode, and pretty close to decent large speaker pairs with stereo music. The 8" sub fits perfectly in the system, bass is tight and clean. There's nearly no "mid-hole". IMHO, Encore performs best for vocal tracks. I feel like the singers are right in front of me. I guess music performance is the major strength of encore over Take 5. However, I have yet to justify the fact that encore costs twice.

I also noticed that the encore's 28mm tweeter has very good dispersion. This greatly enlarged the "sweet spot" in my tiny living room. Be aware that placement can be a very tedious job. (Somehow I feel small speakers are more sensitive to asymmetrical room arrangements.) Avoid wall mounting, especially for front ones, as stands work so much better. BTW, the encore 2's are too heavy to mount on cheap sheetrocks.

All in all I am satisfied with the package. Be patient with break-in and adjustments and you'll get what you want. Highly recommended for users of both HT and music. If you don't care about music that much, try Take 5. If you can't compromise with music, don't buy encore, as I am pretty sure you'll regret.

Sound Clarity, Quality Construction, Size

NONE

LOOK NO FURTHER!!! READ THIS REVIEW!! This review was written truthfully with no bias, kickbacks or obscure hard to understand opinions.

Since, all the past people (Audio Review participants) helped me over the past few months hunting for the best surround sound system at the best price I thought it appropriate for all the new audio truth seekers benefit from all this experience in one nutshell.

I started from scratch to build my surround sound system. I went to the overpriced Audio File stores here in town to listen to what was new and happening. Listen to all the huge B&O, Polk, Boston Accustics, & NHT speakers, with components and receivers, $2 a foot speaker cable and $100 foot speaker cable. Also, went to Circuit City that led with Harman Carden receivers and Bose speakers. Auditioned few in my house, And spent about 275 hours on the web researching just about everything related to speakers, receivers & cable.

First, remember if you go to a audiophile store the stuff you buy will not sound the same as it did in the store unless you have same dedicated acoustically designed room as they have. I have a 28 X 25 cathedral great room with a back staircase, windows everywhere and 1/3 of this room is open that leads into a kitchen. Not the best, for ideal sound.

I have auditioned the Energy Encore, NHT (4 Superones, NHT Center channel & Sub) and BOSE top line with the 75 watt power sub in my home. Nothing could touch the clarity and depth of the Encore Speakers. The BOSE system is a complete piece of junk, with little or no complete sound resolution. Do not get caught up in the BOSE marketing hype... that is where Bose's money is being spent... not on their product . NHT Super Ones sounded good but did not have the overall "Sweet Spot" (fells like sound is coming from all around you) as the Encore. Encore simply filled the room with riveting sound felt like you were right in the action. I found myself looking backwards a few times during scary parts of movies when I heard unbelievable real noises coming from that direction. I was not impressed with the Big bookshelf B&O and Polk, Boston Accustics speakers for Surround sound... Maybe for stereo speakers they would be nice but the voice calrity was not there and I notice a very small sweet spot with these speakers.

For music: again forget the BOSE . NHT Super Ones were quite good but not as detailed and resilient as Encore. Encore seem the most true to life speakers I listen to. I do have Accustat Two + Two's(they are 7ft tall electrostatic speakers) that I use for stereo listing so my preference was not to shop for stereo speakers to replace the Accustat's.

Net: if you are looking for Surround sound speakers and do not have allot of space for speakers or do not have a church to fill sound. Then there is no other speaker than the Energy Encore for the price or performance.

Ok now for Price: Energy Encore speakers are made in Canada and with the Canadian exchange rate great deals can be had. Currently $1.47 Canadian for American dollar. I talked to several Canadian audio shops willing to sell me Encore speakers. I found the most knowledgeable audio person I have been in contact with in Vancouver Canada at the best price by far of any other dealers, this person name is Len Gerling, Len's cell phone number is 604 832 8109.

I was also in the market for some speaker cable. I listen to allot of cables on the same systems up to about $100 a foot after about $10 foot I did not see any difference at least that was worth the money to upgrade. Len Gerling advised me on Kimber Kable TC. I bought it sight unseen from Len this was the BEST stereo investment I ever made! What a difference!! I am convinced that this Kimber Cable TC is better than the stuff that listen to at $100 a foot.... It is VERY hard to fork out Moines for the cable... but for this cable there is a night and day difference in the detail and base. (I was using Monster Cable the best that was made 8 years ago.) Anyway, even though this cable is made here in the states, I bought it cheaper with the exchange rate in Canada. This cable lists for $10 foot in US you can literally steal this stuff when you by it in Canada.

Len Gerling also advised me on a Marantz SR-18 which I got a much better deal here in US... This is also a great receiver I feel allot better than the Dennon 5700 and the Yahama compatible... Quality seems to be built into the Marantz while Dennon & Yahama reviews seemed to
always have some sort of a problems with repairs, sound quality, remotes... I honestly believe this receiver is just as good as audiophile separates.

Again, I get absolutely nothing from writing this long winded history or recommending Len Gerling to help you. I am stating my opinion and all the long hours of research to find the BEST FOR LESS... My thrill is to let the good people that read this benefit from this experience. Good luck to you and happy listing!!

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NHT SuperOne, Bose, Polk, Boston Accoustics

The best all around system period!

NONE!

I have to say that this system is AWESOME! If anyone is looking for the best sat/sub system, this is it. The sound is incredible! You can't get any better. Crisp, clean,and thundering sound for movies and musics. For all you hard core listerners, Go and CHECK IT OUT! You'll be glad you did because you don't have to worry about over spending. You got every thing you need for home entertainment. You are completely done with searching for the perfect set of speakers. GO and BUY it!

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Energy c-2

great sound for both HT & music, good value for the money, size and look

a dot weak on highs and upper midranges for jazz and latin beats

What a combination!! Denon AVR-3300 & Energy Encore!! After looking for the "perfect" speakers for 2 years, finally I went for the Encore System. Just listened this system for 1/2 hour (after speding 2 years listening to all the rest-go figure...) and I had to buy it right away (Brandsmart--- Encore $1124, AVR-3300 $768, 30 days return, manufacturer warranties plus 5 years repair/labor/parts/replacement even--if-it-is-my-fault warranty from Brandsmart for $160 for the whole system).

I cannot believe the sound of this system. Even with el cheapo 12 gauge speaker cable and without doing any kind of adjustment the sound is incredible. DVDs sound super and music (even Beethoven) is very accurate reproduced. The only microscopic minus is that for music, highs and upper midranges are somewhat flat when listening to jazz & salsa (it help that the 3300 seems to be in the brighter side for this kind of music. I mean, just a little bright, not coloured like the sound of cheaper Infinities or older Advents). The bass out of the sub is very tight and warm but don't tell that to my upper-level french-canadian neighbor...

If you are looking for incredible sound, small nice-looking speakers, and don't want to spend much, I highly recomend Encore. Some people compare this system to other minisystems but Encore compare better and closer with the sound of speakers like NHT 1.5s and Paradigm Studio 20s or even floor-standing speakers like Vienna Mozarts (for me one of the best speakers ever made to listen to classic music)

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Energy Take 5, Klipsch Quintet, B.O.S.E spells SUCKS, Paradism C-20, NHT 1.5, super0s & supe1s

sound and versatility

hard to say, maybe resolution

I used to build my own speaker and amplifier system
because I wanted to do it "right". I have used a
German Thiel tweeter C2-11, ceramic membrane, and
a Dynaudio woofer 17W75, 70mm coil, 177mm diameter.

Not having enough time anymore to do these kind of
nice things, I read through all these reviews here.
I must say, these speakers are a very nice piece of
work. I appreciate all these reviews. They were a
great help selecting them.

The speakers sound great with music, even classical, and
work best with movie surround sound. I have a Sony
STR-DB830, which is much better than this consumer line
from Sony. I think that this is the best combination.

Yes, they are not the best speakers for the classic music
listener. I would have probably selected Vienna Mozart
for that. But I wanted surround sound for movies as well.
They might lag transparency. If you close your eyes and
be able point out the speakers, they are not perfect.
I couldn't point to my old once. They were completely
transparent. But the Energy Encore come pretty close.

The sub is a little problem with very loud music.
Put it on a Neopren or other kind of foam. That helps.
Or turn down the volume.
Otherwiese it fits exactly to the satellites. Very nice,
indeed.

Hanging the speakers on the side wall is never a good
idea due to reflections. But also the mount pieces that
come with it are not that stable. Energy should redesign
them for two screws, not only one. They are heavy.

All in all I can warmly recommend these speakers for those
who want one system for both listening to music and for
movies. A very good choice. You won't regret.

For the music enthusiast, go spend more money for the
Vienna speakers for example, or the Dynaudio speakers.

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own grown