Customer Reviews

Energy Take Classic 5 Pack 5.0 Home Theater Speaker (Black)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First off let me explain that the Energy Classic speakers in this kit are the exact same as the Energy Take Classic 5.1 except that you don't get the subwoofer. These speakers are just mind boggling good. They come in gloss piano black finish. They sound better than any speakers I've ever owned - even ones 5 times bigger. I use them mostly for music thru my Onkyo receiver but home theater sounds just as good. You can crank these babies up and they reward you with very clean and accurate sound. The first song I listened to with these was Khatru off Keys To Ascension and it put a big smile on my face. Anyway the best reason to get this set as opposed to the 5.1 kit is that you can match these up with a better subwoofer than the Energy sub. I got the Yamaha SW315 in piano black and it's a great match. Highly recommended. Just remember to use the proper gauge speaker wire for the length of your run and you'll be in great shape.

Let me start off by saying these speakers are a great addition to any home theater, especially given their price point. I think you would have a hard time finding better sounding speakers for this price! I replaced my Samsung 32" LCD and Sony Home Theater in a box with a Panasonic TC P50V10 - 50" plasma TV - widescreen - 1080p (FullHD) - HDTV (which is amazing), to this I added an Onkyo TX-SR507 5.1-Channel A/V Surround Home Theater Receiver (Black), Energy Take Classic 5.0, Energy S-10.3 800-Watt 10-Inch Subwoofer (Black), and a Bush 60" TV stand. The sound that comes out of these speakers is crisp and full bodied, the highs are high and the mids are wonderful. Playing games or watching Blu-Rays has never sounded (or looked) better. The first night I used the system my subwoofer wasn't functional due to a faulty cable and the Take Classics still provided ample bass to get by (although nothing compared to the S10.3). I originally wanted to buy the Take Classic 5.1 system but waited too long and it went off the market...I now realize that this was a blessing in disguise. When you pair these speakers with the S10.3 subwoofer the sound is truly "Theater-esque". So, if you are in the market for new speakers or maybe an upgrade from old ones I couldn't recommend these any more.

FYI: I used 12 gauge speaker wire and banana plugs on all speakers except the subwoofer, and the DirecTv HD-DVR, Xbox 360, PS3 are all connected to the Onkyo 507 via HDMI with one HDMI running out of the receiver to the TV.

Very pleased with this set of surround speakers. Pleasant bright sound with good musical presence. They sounded a bit weak to start, but after several hours of playing they came in to their own. very good low cost system.
P.S. added the Energy 8" sub woofer for smashing movie effects.

Pros: These are crisp, clean, lots of range, lots of imaging (ability to sound like an actual 3D event, rather than sound coming from speakers.) Very well matched as a set. They fill my reasonably large TV/audio rooms very, very well. They mounted rather inconspicuously near the corners of the room about 8 feet high on wooden wall beams, yet their wide-dispersion and off-axis accuracy sounds terrific. I just can't imagine a better sounding system anywhere near this price point. And I've heard a lot of them.

Cons: These speakers originally came with a subwoofer from Energy. This version of these speaker does not. I have mine hooked up with a JBL subwoofer, and they are outstanding. I might not think so without the subwoofer, but I haven't tried them that way. If you have a subwoofer to run with them, you're set. If you don't, you might want to consider getting a subwoofer.
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Review: I've been using Energy speakers for a long, long time. My main speakers have been Energy 22 Reference Connoisseurs Rosewoods since 1986. Paid $2,200 for the pair new. I used to sell speakers and nothing touched these.

But I've been looking for surround speakers for a while as my old surrounds were 20 years old and the cones were developing tiny rips. Their sound was sounding a little flubbery, to coin a term. I had seen the small "complete system" speakers (Mostly Bose and Klipsh but others too), but had never heard any I really liked a lot. And many (like the Bose) only work with a integrated receiver. Anyway, I was shopping for smaller replacement surrounds, nothing else.

But I kept reading about these Energy Take 5 Classics, not as surrounds, but as the complete package. Every where I read - and I read a lot - said these were the real deal. Not just as surrounds. I have been so pleased with the Energy 22's referenced above, that I thought I'd try these out. If they were not "all that," I could still use them as surrounds.

They arrived last week and I hooked them up without the "big speakers" in the system. I did leave my subwoofer in place. I expected outstanding sound (I'm a big fan of the Energy speakers; toured the plant in Markham Ontario about 20 years ago before buying the Energy 22's), but I was really surprised.

Wow. They are great.

Precise horns. Sizzling violins. Snappy snare drums. (Assisted by the subwoofer) deep, resonant bass.

The manual "strongly" recommends playing them for 50 hours before subjecting them to loud volumes, and I complied. But now that I've had them a week, we cranked some movies, including some concert disks, over the weekend. And I couldn't be happier. Amazing reality of sound. Despite the reviews that say they might not fill a large room completely, these speakers will fill about any room in a HOUSE just fine. The kids who like their car stereo so loud their the people in the car behind them can't talk might not be satisfied, but the other 97% of the population will find these to be more than enough.

My $2,200 Energy 22's are being relegated to an audio room I'm putting in the attic (I can't bear to part with them); and, the Energy Take 5 Classic's (with subwoofer) now have the audio/video room in my house. I couldn't be happier. And I'm pretty picky when it comes to speakers.

The speaker looks and sounds great. However, they are not as sensitive as my Polk Audio RM6900 satelite speakers. I used Pioneer Elite receiver to automatically calibrate the speaker volume. When I substitute the Energy speaker with a Polk Audio RM6900 satellite speaker at the same position, the Elite receiver decided that the volume with the Polk speaker must decrease by 3 BD to match with other Energy speaker. IT was to my suprise because both speakers are rated as 89 DB sensitivity. It looks like the Energy speaker only has 86 DB sensitivity instead of the advertised 89 DB. 3 DB is significant which means it only gives off half of the sound as the Polk satellite speaker with identical source.

I was throughly impressed by the quality of these small speakers. They are great in fit, finish, and function. They look great and sound even better. They blew my 1 year old pioneer satellites out of the water in their sound reproduction. I found that I did not have to turn up my receiver as loud to clearly hear voices and quiet scenes in movies. They are crisp and clear in both movies and music. Invest in a good sub and you won't be disappointed. I already had a good sub, and didn't feel it was necessary to replace it with the Energy combo package. I have a pretty large room where I watch movies (20 x 15 ft.) and was worried that they wouldn't be able to fill the space, but I was wrong. My wife, the skeptic, was impressed. They perform outstandingly well and are a steal at less than 200 dollars!

I was lucky enough to buy the Energy Take Classic 5.1 (Same speakers as these but w a subwoofer included) at a great price during Circuit City's going out of business clearance. Now I understand why[...] gave the Classic 5.1 a top rating & rave review. Hooked up w Pioneer's latest 1019AH A/V receiver & I get the clarity of far more expensive speakers. I couldn't be happier. Listen to the other reviewer's advice re using the lower gauge wiring (the longer the distance between amp/receiver & the speaker = the lower gauge of wire needed). 16 Gauge works well for me w distances of less than 30'.

They seem to be able to hear all my music and movies now... these things sound 10x bigger than they are. They look stunning too! Make sure you get the Energy ESW-8 Subwoofer (Single, Black) to get thundering but undistorted bass and LFE! I have these hooked up to an Onkyo receiver with 16 gauge speaker wire. These speakers sound okay at low volumes, but the louder you turn them up the better they sound. Impress your friends, annoy your neighbors! Love it!

I looked at Axiom, B&W, Klipsch, & Definitive Technology speakers first and at the $200.00/per speaker price I couldn't quite afford that. Although these can't produce the sound of the afore mentioned they do an exceptional job, and their price is just what I was looking for.

I'm coming from a THX certified cambridge 6.1 computer speaker system I had for my previous HTPC. Each of those speakers were rated at 75watts. These Energy speakers at 100watts produce better sound at higher volume levels. I have these paired with a BIC F12 sub and a Denon 790 receiver.

When money permits I'm going to upgrade to one of the above mentioned speakers for my fronts and center and use the 4 satelites from the Energy system for my surrounds. If you're looking at stepping up from a HTIB and you want value and quality this is a great choice.

I researched various brands of Speakers when my wife told me that she wanted to get me a new set for Christmas. It was narrowed down to 3: Definitive Technologies, Mirage, and Energy Take 5 Classic. The Def Tech were $850 at Best Buy, Mirage were $650, and then the Energy Pkg was listed for $600 online. CNET rated the Energy set as their recommended set for this size and price point. I decided to go with the Energy set based on reading a few professional reviews and the feedback here on Amazon. After a week, I am impressed with the sound quality and ease of set-up out of the box. My living area is 19x19 and is open on 2 sides. Most would recommend a larger sub for the room, but the sound is still very good. The satellites are crystal clear and I'm noticing things I hadn't heard in the past when watching movies. I'm really happy since I ordered them without having heard a set prior. I liked the Def Tech set-up at Best Buy, but decided to order these when I considered the price. I ordered the set seperately. I ordered the Energy ESW 8 HG sub from Amazon for $149 and the Take 5 Classic Sattellite speakers off of NewEgg for $179. Both had free shipping which arrived within a week. NewEgg sent me an email a week later saying the Satellites went on sale for $129. For the money, I could not be happier! Having now heard them set up in my living room, I would've ordered these at $600 over the Def Tech at $850. FYI, I'm not an audiophile, or a techie. They are connected to my older (5+ years) Sony STR-DE575 receiver using Monster THX Speaker Wire ($29 for 100') and a Monster Sub cable that I picked up at FRY's for $12 (No frills pkg). Took less than an hour to connect (Not wall mounted). My opinion is that I did not give up any sound quality and now have extra money to upgrade my receiver and possibly a tv.