Rich Massive Sound, Nice Finnish,

I still trying to get some midrange out of the system.

After a little less then a month, I must say that I am very impressed with this set. I ‘m very happy with this purchase, I don't think that I could have found a better set of HT speakers for less. Also, the shop that I purchased them from is in Canada. This company has their act together, BIG TIME. If your like me and really look for a good quality shop to make your purchases from, these guys can't be beat!

home theater... clarity and bass

none yet

decided to go with Energy Take 5 after reading all the great reviews on the site. purchased from audioshop (great guys) in canada for $730US delivered including upgrade to 10" sub and 2 sets of speaker stands. must say that they sound awesome, and the sub was beyond my expectations as having gone from old front towers with 15" woofers. hard to believe how much the small sub puts out (my room is 14' x 30'). the highs sound great, and i have not noticed any lacking midrange (not a big music listener, though). all my friends (including my wife) can't believe how good they sound for such small speakers, and how much bass. also amazed at how well they handle high volume... no distortion/problems at all. love these speakers already, and if you are looking for an inexpensive sub/sat system, this one is hard to beat (trust the reviews). believe i have obtained a very good home theater for relatively low investment. --

Television: 36" Sony Wega -$1499
Receiver: Yamaha 5240 - $299 (Sears internet price matching)
DVD: Sony dvp-s660 - $269 (Sears internet price matching)
Energy setup - $730

Similar Products Used:

none

Compact size excellent for smaller living rooms like mine. Clear and crisp sound.

None as I can tell.

So far I have only been able to use to two front and two surround speakers and not the center channel. They sound great and can hadle a good amount of volume without any distortion (the amp being used is only rated 75 watts per channel, I believe these speakers can handle up to 100 watts RMS). Pretty soon I should be able to use the center channel as soon as the manufacturer (under warranty) fix my faulty DVD/AMP unit sold to me by A PLUS DIGITAL (Warning: Do NOT purchase anything from A PLUS DIGITAL as they are rather rude and unfair in their return/exchange policies). As far as I can tell these speakers are perfect if you do not want your living room cluttered with large over-sized speakers. I will write another review after I receive the AMP unit being worked on. Enjoy.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Series 301 Bookshelve speakers and old Infinitys.

Excellent sound imaging. Sub has excellent response that is deep yet solid.

None

After well over six months of home theater speaker research, I chose the Energy Take 5 system with the XL8 subwoofer. My vendor choice was the Audio Shop in Ottawa, Canada. Their service was excellent!! My speakers were shipped within 2 days from the date of ordering. Since I have a separate systems for both video and audio, my Take 5’s are dedicated solely for home theater. Coupled with the Denon AVR2800, the Energy speakers system truly brings the theater into ones home with a sense of sonic excitement that far surpasses that of any speaker in it’s class or above. Unequivocally, this is the choice for the serious home theater audiophile.

Price, sound quality, size

Nothing significant

I spent about 2 months reading reviews on speakers. I read a review for the infinity HTS-10 speakers where they mentioned the Take 5s, so I started reading about them as well. Unfortunately, no one in my town had these speakers so it was pretty scary to finally choose them, I would have really liked to compare them to the infinities, which also had a good review. However, having got them, I am very glad I did. I payed $540 shipped with the e:XL-S8 sub. At first I noticed a bit of the mid range problem, but after playing with the settings on my reciever it is gone. I set my reciever speaker size to small, and plugged the reciever into the X-over input (bypassing the internal sub crossover) on the e:XL-S8 sub and it sounds great. I was worried I would loose the surround effect by high frequencies coming out of the sub but haven't noticed that at all. These settings made everything sound great, I wish I had done it earlier. Music sounds tremendously well now with very good definition. I listen to about every genre and haven't noticed much of a problem anywhere. I was amazed at the bass from the sub, I wasn't expecting much from any 8" sub, and was very pleasantly surprised at how well it could shake the floor in Armageddan. I have it hooked up to a Sony STR-DB830 ($330 shipped) reciever and think it is a pretty good combination. My wife even loves how it has enhanced movies and we actually listen to Music all the time in our home now. She even let me mount them on the walls in the family room. The music creates a wonderful feel in the home. I would definately recommend them.

Similar Products Used:

Old HH Scott system, friends have many high end systems

The Energy Take 5 Home Theater system is by far the best sub/satellite package I have ever heard. The size of the speakers are very deceptive. Don't be fooled by the size they pack a lot of punch.

Great small speakers!! five stars.

Unbelievable sound from such small speakers! Add a sub and you're all set.

Mega Mount Wall brackets... A waste of money! I know this review is for the speakers, but I think if you're looking to buy this great set of speakers, you deserve something sturdy enough to hold them in place on your wall!

This was my first attempt at building a home theater. I'm normally a rather impulsive buyer, but this time I decided to take my time, read reviews, and make the right decision. Like most people I've always thought that Bose was the best in home audio. After reading numerous reviews on this site, I quickly found that not to be the case. To be honest, I never heard of Energy (did I tell you I'm new to this?). But after reading rave reviews and asking my friends what they know about home audio, it came down to two systems: The Energy Take 5, and the Energy Encore system.

After making several trips to the Good Guys and auditioning the speakers, I decided the Encore package, although slightly better in sound and looks than the Take 5 package, wasn't worth twice the money. $1200 for the 6-piece Encore Vs $600 for the 6-piece Take 5. And since I live in an apartment, it doesn't take a lot to fill my living room up with sound, not to mention I needed to save money to buy the outrageously expensive Monster cables to hook up the rest of my equipment. So the Take 5 system it was!

After all was hooked up and ready to go, I popped in my 'Matrix' DVD and was absolutely blown away! The rumble from my XLe8 Sub shook my floor and the clarity from the center channel speaker was outstanding. I may have pissed off a few neighbors, but who cares. For the price of these satellites and the quality of sound they produce, you can't go wrong! Well, you could go wrong if you bought the Mega Mount wall brackets. They're constantly slipping.

Value, Small Size, SOUND

Few Dealers, Price Variations, Warranty Confusion

Thanks to audioreview.com I was introduced to these great little speakers. We had large 3 way speakers in a small room and wanted small speakers for space concerns. We listened to the Bose, but I'm the type to get options and then decide. These were less expensive and way better sounding. I was concerned that mail ordering these speakers would void the warranty and sent e-mail to energy speakers. They confirmed that the warranty is indeed void in mail order from non authorized dealers. Be careful with this. I purchased from ARM Innovations in Kittery Maine for $560 with the ExLS:8 subwoofer. They are powered with a Sony str-db930 receiver (product of the year from hi-fi magazine). I subsequently listened to my brother-in-laws Bose system and it really didn't hold a candle to the Take 5's.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics, Cambridge Soundworks, Bose

I PURCHASED THE TAKE 5 PACKAGE WITH THE 8" SUB ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO AND AM VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE TRANSPARENCY AND CLARITY OF THEM. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE SUB BEING ONLY AN 8" AT FIRST, BUT WHEN I FIRED IT UP, IT SOUNDED GREAT! VERY LOW TIGHT BASS.
I WAS ABLE TO DO A SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON WITH A COMPARABLE BOSE SYSTEM AT THE STORE AND WAS SUPRISED TO FIND THE TAKE 5 SYSTEM TO BE VERY NOTICIBLY CLEARER THAN THE BOSE SINCE BOSE HAS SUCH NAME RECOGNITION TO THE PUBLIC. THE TAKE 5'S ALSO SEEMED TO COVER A WIDER FREQUENCY RANGE THAN THE BOSE. I WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE BOSE SOUND QUALITY IF IT WAS $100 CHEAPER THAN THE TAKE 5'S. (I PURCHASED THE ENERGY SYSTEM FOR $499.00 W/SUB, THE BOSE SYSTEM WAS OVER $1000). SINCE PURCHASING THE ENERGY'S, I HAVE ORDERED A DOLBY DIGITAL RECEIVER AND AM EXCITEDLY WAITING TO HEAR HOW MUCH BETTER DOLBY DIGITAL IS THAN PRO LOGIC.

(IF ANYONE IS WONDERING, I BOUGHT THE SETUP FROM THE GOOD GUYS WHO MATCHED A WEB PRICE THAT I HAD FOUND.)

I AM GIVING THE ENERGY'S 4 STARS BECAUSE THE KLIPSH FLOORSTANDING SETUP I LISTENED TO KILLED THE ENERGY'S IN SOUND QUALITY. THE ONLY DRAWBACK IS THAT THE KLIPSCH SETUP WOULD HAVE KILLED MY WALLET AT $14,000 A PAIR.