Great sound, small size

Can't think of any

Just wanted to let people know that Audioshop in Canada does not ship to the US addresses any longer... restriction from Energy :(. But after much searching, I found 2 places: audioexcellence.com and 4electronicwarehouse.com. I chose the latter because on Energy's web site, they are an authorized dealer. Spoke with Matt; this place is first class and the speakers shipped the day I ordered. Both had the same price though 4elect had free shipping. These speakers are great. Much better that the Sony SAVE315 for home theater. I've paired them with the Sony SAWM40 subwoofer that has been the talk of this site as well as hometheaterforum. Thanks for everyone's recommendations.

Similar Products Used:

Sony SAVE315, Polk RM6600

Small package, big sound
Price

Center channel is a bit weak
Weak midrange, but I never notice it

I mainly use these for watching DVD movies. The Take5's are hooked up to a Denon AVR1600 receiver, and it's 60 watts/channel is more than enough to power the speakers. As good as DVD video is, I truly believe it's the incredible sound that impresses me the most whenever I'm watching a movie on my system.

If you're looking for something small and inexpensive as your first home theater setup for your apartment or small room, take a look at the Take5's. Their reputation is very deserved.

Similar Products Used:

First home theater speakers
Basically came down to the Take5's or the Klipsch Quintets

Looks, Surround Sound

music quality****

I've had these speakers since boxing day and in general I am happy with my purchase. The surround sound for movies is amazing!

I have a sony strdb840 powering the speakers but i find that when listening to music the sound is a little off, it could be the lack of midrange but i'm pretty sure it's because i haven't tweaked my reciever yet. I've been procrastinating because I have the strdb 940 coming in a couple of days and would like to tweak that instead.
Does anyone have the same setup? Any suggestions on how to tweak my reciever for optimal sound reproduction?

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Good looks

sounds great

Sounds ok for a system of this price

Compact size, easy to "hide". Amazing sound for such small speakers.

Haven't listened to music, so I can't comment on their musical ability.

I got my Mother hooked on surround sound systems when she heard my system (Def Tech Promonitor 100's, BP1X's, Pro Center C2, and Pro sub 200 w/Denon 3801). She loved the sound of my Def Techs, but she didn't like the price. I told her that I had a few systems in mind. After listening to Cambridge, Polk, B&W, and Energy, the Energy's were the best sounding in her price range.

To save a couple hundred dollars (500++) compared to the local dealer, I ordered the Take 5's with the 8" sub through AcousticSoundDesign.com along with a Denon 2801. After hooking up all the leads it was time to see how it all sounded in her home compared to a purpose built sound room at a dealer. I popped in Air Force One and turned up the volume.....MY GOODNESS!!!! I was amazed! How does that much sound come out of those little speakers! The 8" sub woofer was pretty impressive as well, but the 10" model would be better (I'm spoiled by my Pro sub 200)! This system may not be the equal of my Def Techs, but for the price, it's incredible! My Mother was amazed as well! She called all her friends and had them all come over to check out her new system. The most common comment I heard was "it sounds just like a movie theater" or "all that sound is coming from those little speakers?"

So, if you want a surround speaker system that sounds great, and won't empty your banking account....get the Take 5 system w/ sub!

Similar Products Used:

Def Tech Promonitor 100, Def Tech BP1X, Def Tech procenter C2, Def TEch Prosub 200, Polk Audio 6200, Cambridge sound works

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When the boxes came in I was extremely disappointed with the size of these speakers (don’t let the picture above fool you, they are tiny). Boy was I surprised when I hooked these babies up to my Denon 2801 using a 12ga speaker wire purchased at Home Depot :) The sound is unbelievable! (according to my audiophile friend who’s Tannoy speakers cost him $3500). Anyway, great system, music sounds good, I use simulated 5-channel stereo and the sound fills the room nicely. Sub is very powerful for it’s size, moves a lot of air. Crystal clear sound, sometimes too realistic. Great buy.

Ps: I want to thank AudioReview.com for providing this excellent service in helping me decide on all the products I have purchased for my HT system.

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Best Bang for the Buck. My friend had these in his house hooked up to a Denon 3800 and after playing around with his set for awhile, I decided to get my own set. He had an 8" woofer which sounds great. I went for the 10" for the extra kick.

Houston Audio/Video gave me a great deal, 680 including shipping and 2 speaker stands. I got the black speakers. I hooked everything up to an old Kenwood reciever with dobly digital and popped in Gladiator (my usual test cd).

The sound quality and power totally blew me away. The first battle scene highlights the power of the surrounds; with arrows whistling past my head and the noise of hundreds of soldiers hacking away in front of me, it was a totally awesome experience. I turned up the sound until the bass starting shaking the room and the speakers still held their own.

Next, I popped in some of my dj company's mix cd's to see how it would handle music. Melanie C, Amber and even Bon Jovi and Arrowsmith sounded great. I didn't notice any problems with the mid-range that other folks on this forum found. With the 10" woofer, the bass is more than adequate. The dance beats on my club cd's thundered through my house and the speakers covered the mids and highs w/o any problems. No distortion was evident, even at higher volumes...these speakers are powerful!

The also bought the stands that are matched to the speakers. They are a perfect fit and I ran my speaker wires through the base and up the shaft to hide them. They are very solid and had no problems w/ vibration on my hardwood floor..even when the volume was turned up. I screwed in the included 4 screws into the back of the speaker stand and into the speakers...perfect fit all the way. I highly recommend getting these stands. I liked them so much, I ordered 2 more for the surrounds. The stands can be set at 2 heights. I set it on the first height, since the 2nd height was too tall (just take the extra shaft off the stand)

This forum has proven to be an invaluable resource for me when choosing these speakers. Even though I had already fiddled with my friends system, it was refreshing to see other peoples opinion on this system. For the price, nothing beats the Take 5. Thanks!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha and Sony surround systems, Bose

- weak mid-range when playing music

Bought the Take 5 with the 8" sub 2 months ago, based on reviews here and on other sites, and I am very satisfied.

My one complaint is not new - I don't get enough mid-range when listening to music. Maybe it is a configuration issue with the receiver? I 'solved' it by leaving my existing floor speakers in place for music.

The positives far outweight that one complaint, though:
- the price was great
- the speakers are solidly constructed
- the piano black finsh looks great
- the sound when watching movies is awesome (we watched the DTS versions of Gladiator and Remember the Titans recently, and felt like we were right in the middle of the action)

Value gets a '5' because you can't beat the performance at this price
Overall gets a '4' because of the weak mid-range

Similar Products Used:

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Subwoofer and satellites blend well, nice crisp highs, voices from center nice and natural

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Well, as I'm sure you're aware by all the posts here...these are the real deal. I think they sound great for music or home theater. The 8" sub blends really nicely with that sats for best possible coverage of the mid bass. For the price the absolutely can't be beat. I listened and exhausted myself looking for the best possible sound vs price point and there isn't anything close to these. You'll end up paying a lot more to get a sound that, if it is better, isn't by much. For those of you looking for wall mounts, the Omnimount Kit 5 is a nice little mount for the price with none of the sagging problems you'll read regarding the megamounts. I bought mine at www.etronixs.com for $20/ea. From a design perspective it's easy to see why these are superior to the megamounts. All in all a great speaker/sub combo! Also, unless you're absolutely bass hungry or have a big room the 8" sub should more than suffice.

Compact size, great for HT

Music reproduction

A friend of mine puchased a set of Klipsch and gave me the the Take5 system without the sub. I purchased an AR sub, all was great. For watching HT, this is a great system, however; the people that gave reviews that these speakers produce good to great musical sound, What are you smoking?
I have a Harman Kardon system(AVR510,AVR-25MKII)If any of you know anything about the HK-MK25II, you'll know that this is one of the BEST recievers ever produced for music reproduction, just read the reviews here. Anyway,nothing that I could do could get these speakers to sound musical, nothing. These speakers are NOT made for anything other than HomeTheater. If you like listening to music, you'll need another set of speakers. I use my 25MKII connected to a set Infinity SM series speakers. Nothing fancy, just great musical sound. Even if I had to pay $500, I would still give it a 5 star rating for value. Realize its limits and you won't be disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Bose, Infinity