Accurate, quick bass response from a $300 little sub, and price (with the Sunfire Junior´s price you can get three S 8.2!)

Not too much SPL, specially in a big room

I will talk just about the S8.2 sub because I think it deserves it. I have a music only system in my bedroom consisting of a NAD C521 CD player, a Parasound HCA 1000A amp, a Creek OBH10 volume control and a pair of Super Zeroes on modified Boston steel speakers stands. I was looking for a little sub for it and auditioned the Sunfire Junior, who really impressed me and I still think it is the best little sub over the Earth, but the $900 stopped me. Don´t get me wrong, the Sunfire Junior deserves this price, but I was looking for something less expensive. Then I auditioned the Energy Take 5 system and was very pleased of its well balanced sound and asked myself about how the sub would sound in my system. So, I took the risk and paid the $300 for it. After I made the right settings (by the way, a difficult job), I went very satisfied about what I got. Since my bedroom is not too big and I don´t want to go deaf in a few weeks, I don´t need to shake my bedroom with the big blasts that delivers, for example, my two years old Boston Acoustics VR2000 sub that I have in my home theather room. All I wanted was to add nice and well controled bass notes to the bass lacking Super Zeroes, and for my surprise the S8.2 fit very well with them. The S 8.2 is capable of go down to 25 Hz at 82 dB SPL and in a big room delivers an honest 32 Hz bass response without boominess (if you don´t put it in a corner). And, if you want 3 or 4 dB more SPL and better bass definition you can get two subs for just $600! Another aspect of this little sub are the materials: IM cone and rubber surround for the driver and heavy duty speakers connectors are guarantee of a very durable enjoyment.

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Boston Acoustics VR 2000 sub

Great natural sound for music and home theater. Fantastic fit and finish with high gloss. Package is perfect blend of compact satellites and small sub that still will amaze you with its capability to reproduce music the way the artist intended it to sound.

None.

You CANNOT beat these speakers for the money. Great sound, solid brackets included to wall mount all 5 speakers. I am finding new material in music that I have listened to for years on inferior speakers (Infinity SM112). I compared these to alot of stuff in the $1000-$1500 range and none of them sounded as good. These speakers are very smooth and reproduce acoustic, jazz, and vocals with amazing clarity and no harshness. The S8.2 sub punches out more bass than I thought it would. The amount of deep bass that I never heard with my Infinitys (with 10" woofers) is amazing. Now I''''m hearing music the way the artist wanted me to. No exagerated midbass, no overly bright highs or boomy bass. I have these hooked to a Denon 2802 and they play plenty loud. For home theater, it''''s simply an amazing experience. Thundering bass, clear dialog, seamless imaging. I''''ve listened to music in 2 channel stereo and 5 channel stereo, and I swear in 2 ch, it sounds like the center channel is still pumping out. (it''''s not, I checked) These just have a large sweet spot and flawless imaging. The sub and satellites seem to blend perfect with the crossover at 100hz. I couldn''''t notice any holes in bass reproduction. OK, I''''ve never listened to some of the REALLY expensive stuff, but in this price range, it blows away the competetion. I think you would have to spend more than 1000 to get something as good. Def Tech was good, wouldn''''t budge in price. Atlantic was good, but not as sensitive or detailed. Polk, Bose, not in same league. Mirage good, but not as crisp. Find your nearest dealer and give them a listen with a range of music and you''''ll be surprised. Even at full price, it would still be a deal. But why pay retail when there are great companies like www.acousticsounddesign.com PS> It''''s great to have the extra floor space now that those HUGE Infinitys are gone.

Similar Products Used:

Replaced Infinity SM-112 set. Auditioned Mirage, Polk, Bose, Def Tech ProCin80, Atlantic Tech T70 and a lotta junk.

Qualty binding posts, polished look, and dynamic sound

Finding the Energy speaker stands

When putting together my first home theater I wanted to get floor standing speakers for the fronts but my budget wouldn''t allow it. After some research and recommendations I choose the Energy Take 5.2 speaker system. This has turned out to be an excellent decision. Dont let these small speakers fool you, they put out amazing sound. They are recommended for small to medium rooms but I would not hesitate to put them in a larger room if need be. The speakers have quality binding posts which help ensure a great connection and they have some weight to them which signals quality parts inside the casing. The small size and included wall mounting brackets offers many placement options and makes installation easy. When deciding on the subwoofer I wasn''t sure if I should get the S10.2 or S8.2. I had intended on the S10.2 but price ultimately led me to purchase the S8.2. I figured that if I needed more bass down the road I could always get a second subwoofer. Upon hearing the S8.2 for the first time while watching The Matrix I was amazed at how much bass the subwoofer was putting out considering it was only 8 inches. It far exceeded what I had expected. I can see why Energy strongly recommends the S8.2 with the Take 5.2 system, the S10.2 would seem a little overpowering, especially in smaller rooms. The subwoofer seemed to sound best when tucked away in a distant corner of the room. I would highly recommend this speaker system, its one of the best values for the money if you are looking for something other than low-quality, mass-produced brands. Energy''s reputation and success of the former Take 5 line also helped in my decision making. My other equipment consists of the following, which all works wonderfully together: Denon AVR-1602 Receiver Playstation 2 for the DVD player using s-video and optical cable Sharp 36" TV Radio Shack 14 guage speaker wire Also, if you plan on getting speaker stands get the ones made by Energy specifically for these speakers as they are the only stands that mounts the speaker with a screw, all others use sticky-tape. They are difficult to get but worth it. Note: Price of $900 includes subwoofer

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Various Home-Theater-In-A-Box products

size, value, sound

Nothing significant

These are very good speakers. I decided on these speakers after reading the reviews for the Energy Take 5s.

The overall sound is very good. The effects are good, the dialog is clear and the bass is very good. I have a large room and have not had any problems filling my listening area.

I have the white finish and most people don't even notice them until they hear them and start looking for them.

The sound is especially good for movies. Though not the best I have heard, the sound is competent for music also - especially in 5 channel stereo mode.

The rest of my set up:
Sony Wega 36"
Sony DVD player
Yamaha HTR 5460

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Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble II

Great sound for a small size. Very nice mounting brackets.

None yet.

First, the price above includes the matching Energy 8.2 subwoofer. I have the speakers hooked up to a Denon 1602 receiver and Denon 1500 DVD player. Room size is ~11'x13'.

I can't imagine a better performance for the price than what this system offers. 5.1 home theater is awesome and stereo music works nicely as well. I've had no problems setting up the satellites and subwoofer for consistent sound.

The satellite speakers are small and visually appealing (great wife factor). Very solidly built - nothing insubstantial about these speakers. The included wall brackets are very easy to install.

If you're looking for an awesome satellite + sub home theater system under $1000, this is a great choice.

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Klipsch Quintet

Build quality, performance

Wish there was more into on placement.

I love these speakers. Despite all the reviews I read beforehand, I can;t beleive how much sound I get out of them. Although I am still not really satisfied with the placement (it's my first attempt at setting up a surround system), the performance is impressive for movies and music both. I am having the most trouble with the sub. I think it is performing great, but it tends to be 'boomy' which I think is being caused either by poor location or maybe it's even too much for the room and I need to cut the power to it.

All in all, I would highly recommend the system. My only regret...I couldn't justify stepping up to the Encore or Veritas systems!

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None. 16 year old Mitsubishi stereo speakers.

Size, mids and low base

Very weak upper base.

I was using the S10.2 sub with this system. That's why the low base as a strength. The satellites can't do as they are asked when it comes to the upper base frequencies. I proved this to myself by turning off the sub and playing different music sources. I then replaced the sats with my old speakers (15 year old 3-ways). The difference was very noticable. The base now had some punch to it, something the sats could not do. Now remember, doing it the way I did, the sats and my old speakers both were getting the same frequencies. My receiver was set to send everything above 100Hz to the front speakers. If you are considering these speakers, try plaing them with the sub turned off and comparing them to even a small bookshelf speaker. you'll see what I am talking about.

Similar Products Used:

None

Price/Sound Ratio, Design (gloss black, nice grilles), *Beefy* terminals, crossover/level controls on the *front* of the subwoofer, audio/video switch to enhance bass (45hz, I belive) of movies

For the price, there's not much to whine about except maybe the break-in period

First of all, I'm giving this product an overall of 4 simply because of all the other great reviews. In terms of price (I paid $650 delivered), you probably won't find anything better.

All the speakers are pretty and are on par with the gloss black of the new Polk's. This finish is, of course, a dust magnet but not too much of a problem for being the eye candy that they are. As far as sound goes, don't take anyone's word if they haven't had the speakers for a couple weeks as the break-in period takes a while and the speakers don't really shine until afterward. The subwoofer can get out of hand (boomy) so if you have multiple sources, make sure that your reciever will equalize all of them (including the sub output). My Marantz SR6200 works pretty well for this.

The new Polk RM7600s don't have anything on these speakers expect maybe a bit more volume, slightly deeper bass and... oh, yeah... about $1000. At normal volume levels with normal movies, you won't regret saving that extra money.

Similar Products Used:

Bose AM10, Polk RM7600