Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black)

I just want to preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert in the audio field. I have been learning what many audio writers mean by a "balanced" sound as opposed to something overly bassy or lacking bass. With that out of the way, let's get on to the review.Quick Review: These speakers are absolutely amazing. The combination of value, size and sound merge for a truly amazing set of speakers.Detailed Review:Sound quality (The truly important part of this review): Unbelievable. That is the best way to describe it. I don't believe I've even reached the break-in point on these speakers, yet I am continually astounded by the clarity, definition and overall oomph that these speakers deliver. It is truly a joy to experience these speakers and their willingness to tackle every sound I throw at them. Movies sound great and the dialog is always audible from the center channel. Gaming is more of the same. The bass is absolutely incredible but it never dominates the sound. It is always supplemental and it only really booms when the onscreen action calls for it.The Speakers: The speakers themselves have a very sleek glossy black finish. It seems to be a bit "tougher" than other glossy finishes as it is not necessarily prone to fingerprints. They don't seem to attract too much dust, either. However, if you do get the occasional fingerprint or bit of dust, you can clean them without worrying about scratching the surface. Each satellite also comes with a removable speaker grille. As far as connectivity is concerned, you have the option for banana clips as well as bare wire. I believe more options are supported, but I went with the banana clips and I've had no problems.Note: The subwoofer is quite sturdy and has a few inputs on its rear. Just take extra care when removing it from the packaging and when placing it in your room.Setup: Setup is very simple. Get yourself some nice speaker wire, like: AmazonBasics 16-gauge Speaker Wire - 100 Feet to ensure optimal sound quality. I also purchased: Monoprice 109436 High-Quality Copper Speaker Banana Plugs - 5-Pair, Closed Screw Type for the simplest and most secure connection. The positive and negative inputs are color coded on the speakers, red and black respectively, I believe. It's a very simple process. The subwoofer has a bevy of its own inputs.Note: The included subwoofer is a "powered" subwoofer, meaning it requires its own power connection and cannot be powered by your receiver. Make sure the receiver you have has a dedicated subwoofer input. I went with a Sony STR-DN840 7.2 Channel 1050-Watt A/V Receiver for my receiver as it supports up to 7.2 channels of pure bliss.Also note that you need not pay more than about $20 for a dedicated subwoofer cable. You should only pay that much for the length; any standard RCA male-to-male cable will work for the subwoofer's connection to the receiver.Packaging: The speakers arrive in a standard sized box (for a HTIB) and are adequately packaged. Hard styrofoam covers the innards of the box as well as completely covers each satellite speaker. The subwoofer is set underneath the satellites and it is very snug as it too is surrounded by hard styrofoam as well as covered in a very nice cloth. My set had no signs of wear and everything has been working flawlessly right out of the box.Overall, I could not be happier with these speakers. I did a lot of research on these speakers before I purchased them and I can attest that the reviews were spot-on. These are an incredible value for the quality of sound they can produce. I HIGHLY recommend them.

I consider myself as a veteran home theater enthusiast. Having worked for 5 years part time for Circuit City before they went under as a Home Theater Sales Associate. I’ve had the unique opportunity to review and test a wide range of speakers. I owned high end Infinity Kappa speakers for the longest time, but ended up giving them to my brother-in-law when we moved to a new house. I went for over 2 years suffering with a cheap Sony home Theater-in-a-box that sounded muddy and downright….well….cheap. I finally saw Amazon put these speakers on sale for $299 so I bought 2 sets of them (I’ll explain why in a moment).A little about my system. I watch a lot of Blu-ray movies in hi-def surround formats and we have a PS3, Xbox One, and a Wii-U integrated into my system as well. There is also a Grand Videoke TKR371MP as a top of the line wireless Karaoke system that my wife uses that also outputs hi-def audio on certain song choices. I use Verizon Fios as my cable provider. I purchased 2 of these Energy systems because I wanted to do a 7.2 setup in my man cave. The extra speakers left over will hopefully someday be integrated into a 9.2 Dolby Atmos setup down the road.Here is my unbiased review of these speakers:PROS:a. The sound quality is much better than I had expected them to be. I have a slight hearing disability so dialog from the center channel is difficult sometime for me to hear, especially on cable TV. The Energy’s center speaker is crystal clear on all sources and I have yet to struggle with any dialog. Even my Infinity’s were not this clear and they cost thousands more!b. The blend between the subs and the satellites is the best I’ve encountered for a system in this class. I’ve tested similar sized systems from Polk, Infinity (TSS Series), Definitive, and JBL. None blended so seamlessly as this Energy system does. You must set your volume on the sub to the mid-way point and set the cutoff frequency to 110hz, then do the auto calibration with your receiver. I have an older Sony STR-DH-810 and I hate the auto calibration DCAC that Sony uses. I much prefer Audyssey, but had to use what I got for now. With the Sony DCAC I still had to do a few minor manual tweaks here and there, especially on surround levels (there was a bias of too much volume on the left side). I fully intend on getting a new Denon next year once they finally work out the HDCP 2.2 issues for 4K, so I can calibrate these with the Audyssey XT32 calibration system instead.c. The two 8 inch subs put out cleaner and tighter bass than my 12 inch infinity sub ever did. Put the new Godzilla in during the Honolulu airport scene and you will know exactly what I am talking about.d. The satellites are small and easy to position around the room. I recommend putting them on dedicated wall mounts so that the bass tube on the back of the speakers can breathe. You can wall mount them flush with a nail as there is a key hole slot on each speaker including the center, but for best performance, let them breathe a little away from the wall.e. They work very well for both music and movies! Something that many speakers can’t do (it’s either one or the other). I listen to a lot of 80’s metal so guitar work is the focus when listening to music. I listen more for the guitar work from the likes of Randy Rhoades, Zakk Wylde, Jake E. Lee, and especially George Lynch, so I wanted speakers that could handle this type of music. The Energy’s did not disappoint!f. If you’re into the karaoke thing, they will pleasantly surprise you. We had my Karaoke system hooked up to an Onkyo system and a Bose Lifestyle system at two different friend's houses and my Energy’s smoked the competition on voice clarity and overall sound quality from both the background music and the singers voice (disclaimer: They will not make you a better singer. If you can’t sing, there is no speaker on earth that will help you….trust me, this is me! I don’t sing, remember, it’s my wife’s system not mine….see autotune for help on that).g. If you want that IMAX feeling in your man cave. Definitely do the 7.2 setup if your receiver will allow, you will be totally blown away! The 2 subs combined with the processing of the extra back channels of the 7.2 system will put you right in the movie, literally.h. Construction of the actual speaker modules (tweeter and the midrange) are superb and look and feel like they would last forever. The housing is ok but nothing to wright home about. It is durable enough that you don’t have to worry too much about scratches or peeling, but it is a laminate/pressboard finish so definitely not indestructible. My infinities were real wood so I guess I got spoiled a little. Energy does make higher end speakers with better material but you will pay an arm and a leg for them. Keep in mind these were only $299 for me on sale with Amazon!CONS:a. Fingerprint magnets. The high gloss finish will need to be cleaned after you handle them or anytime you touch them. This is a very minor gripe by the way.b. As other reviewers have noted, there is a break in period for these speakers due to the type of material they are made of so out of the box they may sound a little bright at first but will gradually become warmer sounding after a few days of using them. The manufacturer recommends 50 hours of use to properly break them in. Mine are already sounding much better than day one when I first hooked them up. Just be patient.Summary:I highly recommend this system to anyone wanting smaller speakers for a surround system. The performance of these speakers greatly, and I mean GREATLY outweighs the cost. It is money well spent because they perform like high end speakers allowing you to use the rest of your home theater budget on better equipment such as a higher grade receiver or that overly comfortable man cave couch. I would buy these again for another room without hesitation and I have already recommended this system to a good friend of mine who is currently in the process of hooking up his own new home theater system. Again, it is money not wasted….enjoy!