SOUND!!!! great sound, much better than anything I've heard in this price range. When played Gladiator, it sounded as if I was in the Battle!!!!!

NONE!!!! excellent speakers!

This is a great speaker system. I got a good deal at good guys with this speaker and a Denon AVR-1802 for $1000. It is so goood! I have never heard a sound system as good as this!!!! The sound is crazy how good it is.

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Bose Acooustimass 12

nice full sound.had to tweak mids with eq.

not very good for music.

great ht. system but plan on getting towers for music.

Clarity and uncolored music. Accurate XL-S8 Subwoofer
(set at 7). Makes for very realistic soundscape for
Dolby 5.1 DVD movies. Subwoofer with adjustment is not
too boomy or thin.
System is designed to work together well.

Get good cable or fiber optic links or interference with
interfere with your sound. AV receivers are complicated
with lots of wires going every which way. Unshielded wires
will mess up the sound and picture.

I believe the research I spent was well rewarded with
excellent results for the price I paid ($1106 for total
system).
Kenwood VR-407 Receiver
Take 5 and 8" XL-S8 Speaker System
Monster S Video Connections
Monster Subwoofer Cable.
Fiber Optic Audio Cable (1 meter)
100 feet 16 Gauge Speaker Wire.
2 pair HTC 3 Speaker Stands
Surge Suppressor.

Without stealing the equipment or buying used equipment,
I do not know how I could have got a better price to
performance ratio for an AV system.

Those people on a budget - be seriously advised that this
speaker system has the most bang for the buck.

Now for the fun part - watching great sound tracks that
take me into the action!

Similar Products Used:

None

Excellent value, size, sound.

None so far

These speakers are absolutely wonderful. You'll be amazed how great they sound considering how small they are. The highs and mids are on par with 1000 plus speakers. I've heard the Bose acoustimass, which I think is overpriced, and these speaker outperformed it in every way. By the way, this is paired with the 8" energy subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

Bose

Small size.

After reading the posts here and reviewing the Home Theater review on the Take 5 system, I decided to go to A & B Sound, a western Canada store chain, to give them a listen.

Certainly they are the best sounding 5.1 speakers for the price. I found that the highs were great, which I prefer by the way, but the midrange was lacking. I wasn't sure if it was the settings on my receiver (Sony DE825) but I'll take my time and experiment with these babies. I'm not an audiophile but do like watching DVD's and the Take 5's really enhance the experience.

The stands are pretty functional, the speakers are screwed onto the stands so they aren't going anywhere.

3 weeks ago, A & B advertised these gems for $899 CDN. As I was negotiating with the saleman, I said I saw these speakers (1 - Take 1, 4 - Take 2, 8" sub) at a competitor for $799 CDN...lo and behold...they matched the price. This price is certainly cheaper than the quote I got from the Audio Shop in Ottawa. I also got the 2 sets (4 stands in all) of the speaker stands for the Take 2 for $65 CDN a set. To top it all off, I got 50' of 16 guage speaker wire thrown in...well sort of...the guys in the warehouse gave me the 12 guage as they were out of the 16. And in Alberta, we just pay the GST (7%) and no provincial sales tax.

Not a bad deal at all!

Sound, Size, PRICE

Cant't think of any

Was looking at Bose and went to hear them and was not impressed, especially at the price. Have never seen or heard of Energy let alone Take 5 HT speakers. Read an article on HT and saw a small mention of the Take 5 system.
Saw all the great reviews and decided to check them out at a store. Wow, really a great sound, clear, small (in white), very good price. I have a 15x17 room and sound fills it, and the xl-8 sub handles the bass very cleanly. Have had them about 4 months with no problems or regrets. Purchased them at Sound Professionals Inc.(excellent also)for $350 less than local dealer wanted.

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None

home theater, sound imaging, size, price

midrange, midbass on music is missing

these speakers are outstanding for home theater. i am particulary amazed at the realism and clarity that they reproduce. the subwoofer is configurable to enable crossover that virtually eliminates any transitional gaps between high/mid and low frequency sounds. these are well-constructed speakers. the price is very good for what you get. i picked these up on a local retailer at around less $500US. i have audio-savvy friends that came over and were blown away by the quality of the sound. probably, the best speaker for its price.

binding posts

lack of midrange

The Take 5 system is incredible on movies. I have the e:XLS10 sub which is more than adequate for a modest size room. I'm running 5.1 from a Panasonic DVD to Denon AVR-3300 DD/DTS receiver. The sound on The Matrix DVD is awe-inspiring. These also perform well on music with a little lack of midrange. I increase the receivers Bass level for music and set the subs crossover to 95-100 Hz. I've only repeated what has already been said many times, these speakers rock! Listen for yourself.

Just look at all of the positive reviews! This review is to save you some time and money (see below)

None

I spent a full day reviewing home theater systems on the internet and nothing I've seen came close to the reviews for this system.

Considerint that there has been a high number of reviews and the score is still almost a perfect 5, that is a very good indication of this product's quality.

To save everyone the time and eye fatigue that I have experienced, here is the absolute lowest price I have found for the complete Take 5 system with 8" Subwoofer (I don't think you need to upgrade the sub for this system).

http://www.shop4.com has it for $499 complete + you'll pay about $30-$35 in shipping. No tax unless you live in CA I believe.

You have to 'join' the Shop4 club to get this price, but there is a 30 day trial period where you can get a full refund of the membership price anyway (About $50 I think). Plus, you get a certificate for 2 free nights at select hotel resorts just for signing up (which you get to keep even after you cancel the membership).

I'll post a review on the quality after I receive my Take 5...but I've got to give Take 5 a pair of 5 scores considering the positive reviews and the low price.

Price, small size, accuracy, overall listening experience

Weak midrange noticable when listening to music, expecially male vocals

After 7 years of owning a Pioneer Dolby Pro Logic Receiver coupled to Realistic tower front speakers and Yamaha rears, it came time to invest in a new system. My introduction to the Energy Take 5 speaker system came via the web where I found reviews of the Take 5 system, rating them the best home theatre speakers under $1,000 U.S. The local shop (Bay Bloor Radio in Toronto) had a post Christmas special of $1287 Canadian ($850U.S.) for the Take 5 speakers, Energy 8" sub and a Yamaha RX-V495 Dolby Digital Receiver. I went in for the demo and was blown away by the big sound for such small speakers.
Well, decided to bite the bullet and bought the system, however I did upgrade to a Energy 10" sub. When I got the system together, the first thing I tried was a variety of CDs and at first did not like the sound. I hooked up the old towers and that is when I noticed that the mid was lacking on the Energys but to be fair the highs were lacking from the towers. I then put on a couple of movies (hifi VCR) and that is when the system came to life.....I was blown away by the presence that was not there with my previous system and couldn't believe how these small speakers filled my 16' x 22' room. I can hardly wait to get the DVD so I can hear them perform in dolby digital 5.1
As for the Energys and listening to CD music. I threw out the old towers (cones were failing) and kept my old Yamahas. I run the Energys as Speakers A and the Yamahas on Speakers B. Running both A&B at the same time gives a very good range and accuracy for music.
So,,,,,would I buy the take 5 system again? I would but if you spend more time sitting listening to music, I would consider moving up to the Energy Encore (twice the price but better mid range) or full size speakers.

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n/a