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!
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This Item  Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $219.63 | $2,440.00 | $527.99 | $319.95 | -15% $109.89 Typical: $129.95 | -11% $196.00 List: $219.99 |
| Delivery | Get it May 15 - 17 | Get it May 15 - 17 | Get it May 16 - 20 | — | Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 21 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Sold By | eTechtronics (Your Trusted Online Retailer) | Acoustic Sound Design Inc | Fluance Audio | Amazing Deals Online | Amazing Deals Online | Amazon.com |
| speaker size | 40.64 centimeters | 10 inches | 10 inches | — | — | 36 inches |
| power source | AC | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | AC |
| connectivity tech | Coaxial | Wired | — | Infrared | Auxiliary | Auxiliary, HDMI |
| speaker type | Subwoofer, Center Channel, Satellite, Woofer, Bookshelf, Surround Sound | Subwoofer, Woofer, Surround Sound | Subwoofer, Center Channel, Bookshelf, Surround Sound | Subwoofer, Surround Sound | Center Channel, Woofer | Subwoofer |
| mounting type | Wall Mount | Floor Mount | Shelf Mount | — | Floor Standing | Sound Bar |
| weight | 39.8 pounds | 37 pounds | 45.3 pounds | 20.65 pounds | 13.5 pounds | 5 pounds |
| control method | remote | — | remote | — | remote | voice |
| model name | Classic | RP 5000F | SX51BC | — | R-52C | V51x-J6 |
| surround channels | 6 | 5.1 | 2.0, 5.1 | 5.1 | — | 5.1 |
| subwoofer diameter | 3 inches | 10 inches | 10 inches | — | 5.25 inches | 5 inches |
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Premium Sound, Budget Price
Fantastic Speakers with great sound at a budget price. If I'd paid $600 for these, I would still think these speakers were a deal. They sound that good. Make sure you are feeding them enough power from your amp and they will perform wonderfully. I'm still breaking them in as i've only had them for a few days and I will update my review with further listening. I have them paired with the Denon AVR-S900W which is awesome. I played a blu-ray with Dolby HD Multichannel audio and it brought "The Avengers" to life. I haven't had enough time to listen to music on them, but I will report back after I hear more material.Mounting them on the key hole mount was simple and I was actually able to move the key hold mount lower than what it was set to from the manufacturer with a screwdriver. This was a big plus and made the installation more aesthetic. Big plus.The downfiring sub is powerful enough for my room, but I will need to readjust the position as some areas are "boomier" than others. No knock on the sub, I was expecting this as the room is drywall and open and there is nothing on the wall for sound absorbtion. I haven't heard a rattle from the sub yet at mid/high volume (only from the windows it rattles and pictures UPSTAIRS). I currently have the sub set to about 50-60% volume with a 50' RCA cable and no issues connecting to the sub on the "Left" RCA input.My ONLY complaint is the lack of midbass on some source material. Take this with a grain of salt as some of the soundtracks to films were mastered this way and each source material is different, but I find some movies to be a bit on the high end. Two things that are contributing to this: - I didn't mount the front and surround speakers 2 feet (suggested in manual) away from the wall or use wall mounts (due to the look I wanted). The speakers are rear ported (except for the center chan. which is front ported) and need some room to breathe. I can adjust this with my receiver so it's not enough to knock a star off. - Calibration from Amp. I relied solely on the Audessy calibration tool and haven't made adjustments to the sound as of yet. I feel like the calibration is about 9/10 of the way there with some minor tweeking needed.Overall- I'd give these a 9.5 out of 10. With my only knock being the suggested mounting 2 ft from a wall. They look phenomenal but attract fingerprints. Tons of mounting options. Premium sound with a budget price ($299).
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sandworks
energy take classic 5.1 speakers
Reviewed in Canada on June 29, 2012Style: Home TheatreVerified Purchase
pankaj k.
I have received an empty box of energy classic speakers ...
Reviewed in India on November 15, 2016Style: Home TheatreVerified Purchase
CHARLES M BRITT
Good sound
Reviewed in Canada on December 5, 2014Style: Home TheatreVerified Purchase
