Value, size, aesthetics

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Big sound from a small package......For the longest time in stereo mode I had them set up as big speakers and couldn't run them at high volumes because the bass sucked...I had to use a DSP mode to get the sub active. I was dissapointed until I figured out my reciever had a small speaker option, with this the sub is set on in stereo mode, well that just made me even more mad that I was so stupid. Now they sound great. Now I have a DVD player hooked up and they sound even better. These speakers loved to be pushed on a Dolby Digital DVD. The afformentioned Bose are good speakers but cost much more and do not sound nearly as good. In one of the audio magazines these rated 88 out of 100, the Bose 62 out of 100. That should tell you something and at least when I bought them that saved me 300 dollars over the Bose.

Equipment:

Pioneer Elite VSX-14 Reciever
Pioneer DV-444 DVD Player

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None but compared them extensively to the Bose Acoustimass 12.

None, these speakers sound like !#@(!

The Tweeters, Mid and Woofer, not to mention the sub.

There is no point to even writing a review on this garbage, I will never touch these speakers again.

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Athena, AR

Outstanding overall sound quality

Takes could use a little more mid-range response

It's been 9 months since I purchased this system and I am still as thrilled as when I first uncrated them.
First of all, let me say that the Takes need a few hours of break-in before they really sound good and the Encore sub that I purchased in place of the S-8 sub needs at least 50hrs, or so, before it begans to "sing".
I was able to get the Take 2 satellites, along with the Take 1 center channel at a bargain close-out price of $250 at the Goodguys and that was a big issue as I orginally wanted a little larger fronts like with the Energy Exl line or NHT Super Ones. I was able to get the Encore sub at The Sound Professionals,where I also purchased my Onkyo TX-DS595 receiver(see separate post dtd. 10/31/01). The sub was purchased for roughly $380.
While my Onkyo has an excellent speaker setup program, I found that I had to do a lot of tweeking with the sub itself in order to get a good marriage with the satellites. I used the low-level sub RCA jack hookup as opposed to the high-level speaker arrangement so as to preserve true 5.1 home theater sound the way the sound engineers wanted their movies to be heard. I know that serveral posts here recommend using the high-level hookup for music in order to get a more enveloping sound, however, I find more than adequate sonic response and loudness with the traditional way. The way the music was recorded and the source makes a very big difference. I initially listened to this system with several other receivers, including a Yamaha RX-V800 and Denon 1800-2800 models, with the former sounding a little too strident for my ears and the Denon's much richer, but not as transparent and natural sound,as with the Onkyo.
As I said in my earlier post mentioned above, my 15x20 room setup leaves a lot to be desired and I had to compromise since I couldn't have symmetrical speaker placements. I decided to run all the satellites (including center channel) from my ceiling. Since I couldn't find any provider of appropriate ceiling mounts or, they were well above my self-imposed budget, I chose to get the OmniMount Kit 5 (ordered from avsmarts.com) and I improvised from there, using ceiling fan downrods and aluminum square channel (for the Center channel mount) that I fashion,modified and sprayed satin black in my workshop. It all turned out extremely well and the satellites hang down off the ceiling about 12" while the center channel sits about 16" off the 8' ceiling and about 24" above the 36" Toshiba monitor. The front L/R satellites are about 8'apart and angled down and toward the main seating area 12'away. The rear left and right satellites sit 18' apart and again aimed down at the rear wall directly behind my couch. The sub sits just to the left of my TV and is about 2-4' out from the side and rear walls respectively, as my monitor sits in one corner of the rectangular room with the stereo gear in a built birch in-wall cabinet that I made. Fortunately, the back of my cabinet has a large access panel that opens up in a bedroom closet and it was easy for me to run all of my 14ga (rear channel) and 12ga (front channel) wiring into the ceiling from there. If any of you get the idea to also hang your speakers from your ceilings, don't forget to do some cross-bracing between your ceiling joists.
Having the speakers setup in this fashion gives me, I believe, better in-room frequency characteristics from the satellites with better bass response than if you had them sitting on floor stands.
Be sure to correctly setup the speakers using whatever speaker management system your receiver has. Done improperly, you won't get the correct "surround" or volume levels that you're looking for.
Some of you have noted that there seems to be a "gap" between in the mid-range or upper base level of these satellites. I think that with proper set-up one can greatly minimize this (the mid-range apparently much enhanced with the new 5.2 replacements). What you're probably experiencing is more of a lack of what I call"tone richness" because of the size of the speaker cones and the enclosure(s). Nonetheless and given there bantam size, the very powerful, accurate and clean sound comes through on most material, both with movie dialog, sound effects and music. Try listening to a good jazz ensemble or some funky acoustic stuff from Manheimsteam Roller or even Pink Floyd (new Echos double CD). It is,however, still hard to beat some giant floor-standing speakers for large orchestra arrangements and certain classical renditions.
Finally, the Encore sub is, in my opinion, almost without pear for an 8" speaker element and in it's $500-600 MSRP range. It reaches way down to please almost anyone with a moderate room size and does so without the boominess of less adequately designed models. The 8" size is just right for most music, not over powering but well blended. I find that it does need to be adusted (Bass Level control)for some music sources.
Overall, The Take 5 system,including my Encore sub, is difficult to beat at anywhere near its price range, both for sonic abilities, looks (the piano black finish is aesthetically appealing in most environments) and value. I give it a solid 5 on value and a 5 over-all, only because, even though the lower mid-range could have been better, most likely not for the price and it's definely a "far better(product)than you imagined".

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Flexibility with size, full sound, price.

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Yes all these reviews are the truth, these speakers are THAT good. They also come in white to mount on the walls - the wife liked that one. The 8" sub is ample for our 15' x 20' living room. Listen to mostly music through my Denon 1801 - the midrange can be helped by adjusting your reciever settings - I have had no problems. Get good connections/cables and enjoy. One of the best decisions I have made in a long time. Don't worry - they are THAT good.

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Compared to AR, and Bostons

size!, sound!, price!

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Lets start out by saying that im reviewing the take 5.2 with 8 inch sub. The only problem with this review site is that they dont update the categories soon enough. Well to the review. Let me say that these thing are insane. They come in 2 small boxes, not as big as my friends polk rm6600 boxes. one for the satelites and center, the other for the subwoofer. But the boxes arent big at all. When you unpack them from the box these little guys are solid!
They have a beautiful finish and the grills look hot, there pretty heavy too. The connectors are great too you can use bannana plugs on them. I hooked them up to my yamaha rxv-1000. AND THESE THINGS ROCKED. i live in a apartment and i think my neighbors went a little crazy. But thank god for the easy sub adjustments on the front of the sub. This made for easy adjusting so i dont get avicted. Star Wars: The phantom menace was tuly amazing with these speakers. Espicially the pod race scene. Its also handy to have the Video essential disc to help with the placement, cause thats key to good sounding surrounds. I wish there was a site that would show you different speaker placement layouts, and not the ones you always see that are the ideal room. But rooms that ordinary people have. with weird walls and stuff. anyway I Highly recommend these. for the price the sound and the size.

home theater:

toshiba 40h80 TV
Yamaha rxv-1000 reciever
Panasonic rp56 dvd player (amazing piece of equipment)
energy take 5.2 w/ s8.2

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Great ! Great ! Great ! Coupled with Yamaha RX-V800 receiver, absolutely brilliant.

One question. Are these speakers better wall-mounted or on stands ? Also what is the right height for the surround speakers ?

I live in condo and my sofa is right against the back wall, so I have to position surrounds almost to my side, not behind. PLEASE ADVISE .

Also have anybody compared these to the Take 5.2 ?

Sound!

mountable center speaker dill holes for their stands.

After buying my Pioneer VSX-509S reciever I found the low range audio quality not to be the greatest. Recently I replaced my 509S with the new Pioneer VSX-850S now everything is just wonderful at both low and high range.
I also bought the 10" sub with the original package, recently I bought I another center speaker for my 850S which is 7.1 Channel.

My system includes:

Reciver: Pioneer VSX-850S
CD-RW Audio: PDR-839
DVD: DV-434

Small Size.....fantastic looks.....awsome sound

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For the money you cannot loose !!! This speakers amaze my friends "that sounds all comes from there" Yes these speakers are excelent value for sound

Amazing theater sound
Small, elegant components
Powerful for its size
Good value

None too important, so far.
Music reproduction good, but not spectacular although compared to much more expensive, much larger, much uglier components.

Actually have the Take 5.2 with s8.2 sub. I use these speakers for a decent sized room and they have more than enough power. They sound better from halfway down the block from my house than the cheesy Aiwa speakers I was using before - unfortunately for my neighbors. A must have for inexpensive home theater. Connected them to a Sony STR-DE945 and Pioneer DVC-503. Let's just say that there's a good excuse for me to wait for movies to come out on DVD instead of paying to see them at the theater. Plus these speakers look great - nice high gloss black finish. They are small enough to place virtually anywhere or hang like I did with the included mounting brackets. A great investment for speakers at this price - can't get any better.

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Aiwa minisystem - no comparison
JBL
Bose

excellent value for the money!

Weak mid-range

Listen to me carefully. If you want to spend less than $1000 for a home theater system for a small room, this is your best choice. Excellent sound for the money. Remember, you can easily buy these for under $500 on the internet. You can't do any better than this. A lot of other theater in a box systems that cost $1000 doesn't sound any better than this (i.e. Polk, Klipsch, Boston Acoustics...). Important-this is not meant for music playback. If you listen to classical or Pink Floyd style of music, you'll be dissappointed. Like everyone's said before, mid-range is weak. If you want the ultimate setup do this-buy the Energy C2 or C6 for musical reproduction (around $300 on ebay). This is the setup I have so I can have the best of both world!

Set up includes:
Yamaha receiver
NAD cd player
Denon dvd player
Monster cables and speaker wires
Klipsch 10" sub for the Energy C2s

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch Quintets