Anyone got Energy take 5 speaker package.

paulr

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Just finished setting mine up today,with Denon 2802 and Sony DVP900v.

To be honest i think the Kefs do sound a touch better,but i wasnt so keen on the styling.All in all i'm very happy with the energys.They look plain and boring,but give out a great sound.

Whats your experience.anyone had them a long time,or anyone gone off them and sold them.

Finally,is my Denon too powerful for them.Think the Denon is90 watts/channel.Energys are 100 watts......should be ok then.

Cheers
Paul....
 
Originally posted by paulr

Finally,is my Denon too powerful for them.Think the Denon is90 watts/channel.Energys are 100 watts......should be ok then.


Your Denon will drive them quite happily.:)
 
Aye..it does mate...as i'm starting to find out.....:D

Still would like to hear from anyone else who has the Energys.
 
is it the take 5.1 package or 5.2? my friend has the 5.2 and imo they sound better than the kef eggs with music, the only weak point is the sub - but thats with ANY sub £1000 package.
 
Its the 5.1 mate.What do you think about the sound for movies,which is my main use.
Also ,what do you mean about the weak sub,and what is the alternaive.

Thanks
Paul..
 
Sorry Paul - must have missed this thread when you posted :rolleyes:.

Anyway, I have this system so what would you like to know?
 
Groundy..hi,........basically i just wanted to hear from anyone else that had the Energys.How long have you had them? and what do you think of them.I've had mine about 2 months and am very pleased for TV/Film.Not sure yet for music.

Any tips for a better sound?...do you listen to music in stereo or pro-logis 2.What about the sub,your opinion,how did you set it up?

Thanks
Paul......
 
I've had the Energy's for around a year now. Basically I choose them first and foremost because I don't have the space for larger speakers - even the Kef Eggs were a little too big for where they needed to go in my setup :rolleyes:.

Offcourse I didn't want to compromise on sound too much and the Energy's were getting some great reviews ariound this time so I went off and auditioned them, along with the Kef Eggs. The Kef Eggs were indeed very very good for Home Cinema but I felt their stereo performance was somewhat lacking. I just didn't like the kind of sound they reproduced. By contrast, the Energy's excelled in this area and they were a very well made speaker. The Gloss Black versions matched the rest of my equipment and the size was perfect. I even got a good deal at £500 all in inc. the Take S8.2 Sub which is the next model up from the Take 5 Sub.

I find listening to music in stereo is much better than Pro-Logic II as the bass drops away a fair bit in pro-Logic II mode compared to Stereo. I do still listen to the odd track in Pro-Logic II though - things like Hip-Hop and Dance sound great with all the different effects. I use a Marantz Amp which has a 6-Stereo mode reproducing Stereo Sound via all speakers which sounds better than Pro-Logic II for music.

On to the sub. As ever this is the most difficult thing to get right and I remember tweaking it for months on end before I reached a satisfactory balance. I connected the Sub/Sat system using the traditional method - i.e., all speakers to Amp, Sub to Amp via Phono. I never experimented with the High Pass connection as this just seemed too messy. As my Amp has no variable Crossover, the general advice via this forum was to set the Sub's Crossover (LPF Dial on the Energy Sub) to maximum and let the Amp take care of the Bass management. I did this but in actual fact I couldn't hear much difference (if any) no matter what position I set the Sub's crossover to :confused:. Perhaps this makes more of a difference if using the high-pass connection method.

I have my sub behind my TV set in the corner of the room - far from ideal but again, there is no other choice. I set the Sub's Balance (Volume) dial to around a third or a bit more (just before the 12 O' Clock position) and keep the phase switch in Audio Mode. I'm not sure if your sub has this option but mine can be set to Audio or Video mode. Video mode is recommended for movies but I don't like it as it produces a noticable hum and more boominess in this mode so I just leave it in Audio all the time. All speakers are calibrated to 75db at 0 on the Amp though I rarely listen to anything higher than -10db. Reference level is far too loud for my house but I also don't think the Energy's cope particularly well at this level. They're not bad but just a little on the harsh side at this volume.

I think the main weakness of the system is the Sub as it's only classed as a budget sub so my next upgrade will probably be to replace this. However, I will probably go for these new Gallo Nucleus speakers at some point because they sound great for their size etc. As such, I might just wait until I can replace the whole lot. Presently though the Energy's serve my need well and I am more than happy with them.

How have you setup your sub etc...?

:)
 
Groundy..........thanks for the reply.

av2.jpg


Basically after a month or so i'm just starting to get used to the system.Like you i wanted a small speaker package.

On music i find 6 channel stereo the best as well.For me its the closest thing to normal stereo hi-fi that you can get.I also like the fact that it fills the room on the 6 channel mode.

The sub.......mmmmm,this is the difficult bit.
Mine is connected using a sinlge lead from the amp.Also like you i found adjusting the low pass filter makes no difference,i just have mine set in the middle.I'm not really sure what this does to be honest??
The next thing is the volume.Mine is set at 6.I find this about right.I want bass but dont want it to sound too "boomy".I'm not 100 % happy with it though.It does sometimes sound "separated" from the rest of the speakers and not as integrated a sound as i'd like.Would a better sub help,or what about getting it set-up professionally????

Also today i did some experimenting.As well as my A/V system i have a separate hi-fi in another room.

Marantz CD41/Pioneer A400 and Tannoy M20's (12 years old)

I decided to swap a few pieces about.Firstly i added my Tannoy speakers into the setup.Straight away i noticed the difference.I had no bass with my energy set up.I increased the Sub volume from 4 to 6 and moved it neare to the centre/satts.

av3.jpg


I have no audio/tv option btw.

In conclusion i am pretty pleased with the set-up for movies.For music,i think whatever you do ,small speakers will NEVER sound as good as large speakers.Its just a fact of life.
Maybe i could get a new sub,or get someone round to set it properly,(is this possible).

Anyway..thanks
Paul
 
Just to add,i also swapped my Sony DVD player for my old Marantz cd player and must say,i'm well impressed with the Sony.It sounds noticably better than the Marantz,..(although it is 10 years old).
 
Originally posted by paulr
Groundy..........thanks for the reply.

The sub.......mmmmm,this is the difficult bit.
Mine is connected using a sinlge lead from the amp.Also like you i found adjusting the low pass filter makes no difference,i just have mine set in the middle.I'm not really sure what this does to be honest??


It's very hard to notice but I think there is a subtle difference in the LPF setting. I recommend you turn the dial to the max as your amp will then take care of the bass management when you have all speakers set to small - which I assume you do?


The next thing is the volume.Mine is set at 6.I find this about right.I want bass but dont want it to sound too "boomy".I'm not 100 % happy with it though.It does sometimes sound "separated" from the rest of the speakers and not as integrated a sound as i'd like.Would a better sub help,or what about getting it set-up professionally????


Whereabouts in terms of "o' clock" positions is 6 on your dial? I only ask because the dial on my sub has no markings. I do find the sub does not integrate as well it should. I originally had my sub in a far corner of the room a good bit away from the TV and fronts but the bass was too directional that no matter what settings I used, I could still determine where the bass was coming from. For this reason, I moved it behind the TV and it's now much better. I would say the fault ultimately lies with the sub though and replacing with the likes of a Velodyne for instance, should bring a huge improvement in this area.


Also today i did some experimenting.As well as my A/V system i have a separate hi-fi in another room.

Marantz CD41/Pioneer A400 and Tannoy M20's (12 years old)

I decided to swap a few pieces about.Firstly i added my Tannoy speakers into the setup.Straight away i noticed the difference.I had no bass with my energy set up.I increased the Sub volume from 4 to 6 and moved it neare to the centre/satts.

I have no audio/tv option btw.


I'm no expert but your bass should not have dropped away with the Energy's to the point where you say "there was none". Certainly your Tannoy's are full-range apeakers and as such, will be able to reproduce lower-end frequencies much better but you should still have plenty of bass with the Energy setup. Did you change the settings on the AMP from Small to Large when you connected the Tannoy's?


In conclusion i am pretty pleased with the set-up for movies.For music,i think whatever you do ,small speakers will NEVER sound as good as large speakers.Its just a fact of life.
Maybe i could get a new sub,or get someone round to set it properly,(is this possible).

I'm going to PM Uncle Eric and ask him to look at this thread as he should be able to offer some advice and setup tips here (if he has the time).
 
1.Groundy....i do have the speakers set to small yes,.......btw, what is this bass management thing?

2.The volume is set at two thirds of the way round the dial.Around 60% of full volume.At 4 there was basically no bass.
I set it up on music btw.
Also like you i found it too directional,today i moved it next too the amp/DVD player.(if you look on the second pic you can see it on the left).This is much better.

3.I think theres some confusion on the next point.When i connected my Tannoys,what i meant was that i suddenly realise that i'd set the bass on the sub too low.it ws only on hearing my setup with full sized speakers that i noticed this.It was basically my fault for not setting the volume high enough.

Finally a quick question,did you use any meters etc to set your up ,or just by ear.?

Anyway,thanks for taking the time to reply.

Paul.
 
In response to your points:

1. Bass management is a term for the way your AMP handles it's bass output. Basically, with all speakers set to small, your AMP will have a cut-off point where it re-routes all bass below a certain frequency (usually around 100hz on fixed crossover amps) to the sub-woofer instead of the main speakers. You can override this cut-off point using the sub's crossover but most people advise you let the Amp handle this side of things and leave the subs crossover at maximum, which is 100hz on the Energy Sub anyway. Some Amps also allow you to set the crossover point but I'm not sure of the 2802 does?

2. Setting the sub's volume to 2/3 or 60% seems very high to me. As I said I have mine set at around 1/3 or just before the 12 o'Clock position. Any higher and the bass was far too boomy on mine, although room acoustics will also play a factor here. I did my calibrations by ear in the beginning but also used an SPL meter to compare. With the sub volume at just over a 1/3, the SPL meter reading at reference level (75db) was just right as it was bouncing around the 70 to 80db mark.

With these settings, I do hear plenty of bass with music in Stereo mode but it's not too upfront, which I think is correct. The sub should not be heard to the extent that it's acting as a seperate speaker, rather you should feel the bass is coming from your mains instead.

I still do think the sub is the weak-point of the system though. I'm not entirely happy with it and am puzzled as to why the Sub's crossover (LPF dial) makes little, if any, difference to the sound.

Perhaps Uncle Eric will provide some tips or further insight.
 
Thanks mate......i may get my local hi-fi shop to have a go at setting it up properly:)
 
I am looking to audition Energy Take 5.2, along with the Kef eggs.

Based on people's experience of the Take S8.2 Sub, is it going to be that difficult to set up? Will I be better considering the Take 10.2 Sub or another Subwoofer from day one? I have had little luck in finding a dealer that stocks Energy speakers to demo.

Any help appreciated, as I have found little on Energy speakers by undertaking a search(s), which was begining to put me off from considering this package. I think, based on previous posts that they are still worth a look at?

My main use would be for TV/Film
 
GaryL

Sevenoaks sell the Energy speakers. I auditioned them as well and was very impressed, but opted for the Mission FS2s, just a personal thing.
Energys website is :- http://www.energy-speakers.com/

If you can stretch to it, the Energy Encores are fantastic, but about £1500 :(
 
Gary........i bought mine from Sevenoaks in Hull.There is also one in Lincoln.They are the main suppliers for the UK.

Also where do you live.I live in Laceby,just outside Grimsby.

I have a Denon 2802/Sony DVP 900 and the Energy Take 5 speaker package.To me for such a small speaker they give out a big sound.Cant really fault them for films.
I also listened to the Eggs and was impressed.IMO there's not much between them.
 
Originally posted by garyL
I am looking to audition Energy Take 5.2, along with the Kef eggs.

Based on people's experience of the Take S8.2 Sub, is it going to be that difficult to set up? Will I be better considering the Take 10.2 Sub or another Subwoofer from day one? I have had little luck in finding a dealer that stocks Energy speakers to demo.



Gary, I have the Take S8.2 sub and I would recommend you consider a different subwoofer from day one - I wish I had of. The sub sold with these mid-range sub/sat packages aren't really up to the job for deep, controlled and refined bass. They're designed to pump it out when needed but bring little to the general balance of the other speakers.

As Ian said a few posts back, the likes of a REL should bring a huge improvement. Also worth considering is the Velodyne CHT10 from Uncle Eric's power buys forum. Sub's are easy to set up but very difficult to get right. There are so many factors involved such as placement etc..

What is your budget? If you are not that restricted, check out the Gallo Nucleus micro's, even smaller than the Energy's at 4" Spheres. I haven't heard them yet but there are numerous glowing reports on these forums. They are in the Power Buys section as well.

I'm saving the pennies for them myself :).
 
Many thanks for the info.

Bleach..... I did e-mail the engery (uk) contact, taken from their web-site a few weeks ago, but no replies so far. Now I know that Sevenoaks is the main supplier in the UK - that is a great help. Would like to think I could seriously consider / demo the Energy Encores, but just a bit above what I would wish to pay for.

Paul.... I live in New Waltham - so just a few minutes away. A small world ! sounds like a opportunity to catch up sometime? I am looking at the Energy's or Kef eggs to go with a Denon 1602 and Pioneer DV-444. The speakers would repalce my current Sony Floor Standers (SS-176EB) which I would describe as just OK.

Groundy.... Many thanks for that. I think I will have a good look at REL and Velodyne as you suggest. This sounds a good way forward. My budget is £800ish.
 
Originally posted by garyL
The speakers would repalce my current Sony Floor Standers (SS-176EB) which I would describe as just OK.

They were What Hifi speakers of the year in about 1994 and very good value for the money then.
 
Ian J

Thank you for that info. I didn't know that. Somehow that makes me feel a bit better about them.

In search of a full surround package, when questioned about my current speakers, the advise I have received from dealers has been consistent in that my Sony speakers are not that good, I will not be able to find any other speaker to match tonally and these should be replaced asap! I was begining to think I made bad mistake a few years ago. Is is fair to say that many of the dealers advised I should go for Bose (I have at least searched and read the previous posts on this subject)
 
It's a shame that with so many good dealers around you have come across idiots. The Sony were excellent speakers a few years ago and highly thought of by most magazines.

I auditioned a pair at length in 1994/5 and bought a different pair by a small margin only.

Good speakers in 1994 are still good speakers now but the dealer could be correct when he said that you may have difficuly in finding a centre speaker that matches tonally unless you can find a second hand Sony speaker from that range.

Anyone who recommends Bose should be avoided like the plague. Almost anything mentioned in this thread offers far better sound per pound than Bose
 
Gary...if you wanna come round and have a listen feel free.Mine are the Energy take 5 package (£599).
Also have a Denon 2802 and Sony DVD player.Photos on page 1.

If youre interested i'm off work Sunday-Tuesday inclusive.:)
 

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