Energy speakers

Energy speakers-price point/value, big box store brand popular with home theater fans.

Relative to price, you get a decent speaker. Especially when you can get them on sale. 

Not worth  exerting  audio neurosis over. Get them if they're in your price range- you don't like them, sell them.

I had a pair of the bookshelf   years ago-very nice, especially since I found them 1/2 @ Best Buy as a closeout of the line.

I'm curious, which ones did you get?

What improvements are you looking for, what sound characteristics are most important to you, and what’s your budget?  There are tons of great budget speakers out there these days so not sure why you’re singling out Energy. 

I'm looking for towers in particular. My fronts are bookshelves, and I want something with really solid bass response. I'm moving into an apartment, and my sub is pretty beastly. I'd like to have something to use in 2 channel without needing to rely on a sub for the lower frequencies. I know towers won't move air quite the same as a solid sub, but I'd like for the neighbors not to kill me lol. I'm looking for well defined but not aggressive highs, a clear midrange, and solid punchy bass. I don't need Cerwin Vega levels of bass, but plenty enough to support the sound musically. I'll plug my sub back in for home theater, though. :)

I threw out Energy because of all the research I've been doing lately, and their stuff seems like they would pair well with my current fronts, which would be repurposed as surrounds. For budget, I'll say under 5k. I'd love to hear some suggestions! though!

Here ya go. Just buy these and you’ll be thrilled, and they do everything you’re looking for and much, much more (Energy isn’t even near the same league as these). At $2800/pr ($7000 MSRP) they’re an absolute steal, and if for some reason they don’t rock your world you can likely sell them at a profit, but I doubt you’d let them go after hearing them. And if/when you upgrade electronics these will allow all of the improvements to shine through. Best of luck.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265698051503

That is a hell of a deal!

+1 @soix 

That ebay listing is only a "deal" if the OP LIVES in SoCal proper.

Listing clearly states NO BOXES PICKUP ONLY.

If the OP is outside of the area, it's a NO DEAL.

I unfortunately live in southern Indiana, so, no deal. They look sweet though

Wish they were in Australia.

Some of the older Energy speakers were pretty good for the money.  They used the Canadian gov't supported audio research facilities and made some decent designs. Now they are owned by Klipsch and like Jamo are just basic cookie cutter consumer stuff.

+1 travelinjack

Back in the day maybe 15 yrs ago when I was auditioning speakers I almost bought a pair of Energy towers.  Don't remember the model.  Then I found a pair of used Snell Type D for half the price and never looked back.  Listening to the Snells right now!  Anyway, the Energy were pretty darn good for the price.  IIRC somewhat similar to a PBS or Paradigm.

@soix 

I'm not at all familiar with Joseph Audio Profile speakers.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Is there another speaker brand they compare with?  Pros / Cons?  Thanks.

Allen

I would look into Sonus Faber Venere.  The new Polk Audio Reserve R700 are getting great reviews too.  

Energy had speakers in Best Buy, but they also made higher end speakers as well. You’ll find great used options out there if you find the Veritas line, their highest... or Reference Connoisseur (RC) series, their mid-level which was a super high quality/price ratio.

They are definitely smooth and not bright or brittle, compared to speakers widely known to be on the brighter side, but there’s nothing missing and they are very very good with imaging, tone and timbre.

Look for Veritas 6.2, or 2.3i, towers. And/or Reference Connoisseur ...RC-70 towers. Can’t go wrong, and will get a screaming deal (value) on some super speakers.

Energy...Mirage...Athena...All very good at their price points. So good that Klipsch (the very opposite of good) swallowed the company because they couldn't compete.

Less competition is always bad.

There's no lack of competition in the speaker market secret guy, and if you think Klipsch isn't good you haven't listened to the right one.

per the above, the veritas speakers from the late 90s/early 00s were seriously good--from what little i've heard the recent iterations not so much. for your budget i'd look at used proac, dynaudio, focal...

So take this with a grain of salt because this is the only pair of energy speakers I've ever owned. I am currently running a set of energy reference connoisseur rc70 and they are the best all-around speaker I have owned. They were made somewhere around 15 years ago and the quality is excellent with Kevlar drivers and Cherry veneer. They were actually given to me by an audiophile friend and I couldn't be happier. I run them with a rogue metis Magnum pre primaluna prologue 6 monoblocks Nottingham space deck turntable and an akai x1650 reel to reel. I own or have owned some stellar speakers over the last 20 years two pairs of Sonus Faber Klipsch forte celestion Ditton Tannoy Sensys dc 2 Magnepan lrs various Kef..etc. Most had their virtues..some more than others. The Energy's are simply better. Truth be told I didn't want them to be because I am kind of a snob on a budget but I just can't get away from their sound

@bubba_buoy  I was actually eyeballing both the RC-70s and Veritas 6.3s. Smooth is the name of the game for me, so that definitely helps. Though, Energy still lists both models on their website. Are they current, or has their site just not been updated in awhile?

@secretguy I don't think Klipsch is bad at all. Sure, the reference line is pretty basic, but the reference premiere series and heritage lines are excellent for what they are. If I were putting a system together strictly for home theater, I probably would use Klipsch exclusively. I only like bright speakers for cinematic purposes. Gives me that IMAX vibe that's nostalgic.

All of you, thank you so much for your input! For anyone that's heard both the more recent reference connoisseur line and the Veritas line, how do they compare? It seems the newer Veritas models are a hair brighter that the reference connoisseurs.

Are they new or used?  Based on price it looks like they are used.  Do you have a home theater system?  If you don't have a pair of subwoofers, I would recommend you looks at REL.  You have to dial them, so they act like woofers.  However, they also have LFE for sound effects.

Welcome to the group.  This is a good place to learn from those who have more knowledge.

At the top end of your budget ($5k) I'd look at Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII demo pair from. They are asking $4,999.00. I have bought from this dealer and they are reliable.

The Veritas 5.X and 6.X models are Klipsch's versions of classic Energy.  For the real Energy sound, look for 1.X and 2.X model numbers.

@allenf1963 IME Joseph Audio speakers excel at pulling off a disappearing act (meaning you don’t generally hear sound coming directly from the speakers) and leave a naturally detailed and palpable 3D soundstage that gives the illusion of a performance happening in your room rather than reproduced music.  Of the other speakers I’ve heard that do many of the same things I’d mention ProAc and Usher that are also outstanding speakers IMHO.  I’d also put Vandersteen in that group with the caveat that these are time/phase coherent designs so the sound you hear can change more dramatically than the others if you’re not sitting in the sweet spot. 

If you find these out of your price range, I’d take a look at the LSA speakers available here from the manufacturer as they largely benchmarked JA speakers during the development stage and given the unanimously stellar reviews I’d surmise they largely succeeded.

Hope this helped answer your questions, and fyi here’s a review of the Profile’s smaller sibling that I think is a crummy review because it for some unknown reason is done almost completely in the nearfield in a desktop setup that doesn’t do the considerable strengths of the speaker justice.  But it does a decent job of explaining how the unique JA crossover design works, which is a huge part of what makes them sound the way they do. 

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/joseph-audio-prism

@soix those specs look really interesting, and I wonder what these would sound like in person. I think the crossover design is pretty neat for sure. Also, the fact that it stems from a McIntosh design is interesting.

If you are doing an HT, you should think first about the center channel speaker….most use horizontal MTM configuration, which sucks no matter who does it. Look for a true 3way CC and get matched L/R towers. I suggest looking into another Canadian brand, Paradigm. The Premier line has a 500C 3way CC and a choice of towers to match. 

There's no lack of competition in the speaker market secret guy, and if you think Klipsch isn't good you haven't listened to the right one.

Only the ones that said "Klipsch". 

HaHa, you're a real hoot! Probably can't afford the good ones...

@soix -- Thank you very much for the detailed, easy to understand description of the Joseph Audio speakers.  Fortunately, the speakers new and used would be in my budget -- but, alas, the pair that are being sold at the extremely fair price of $2,800 are "pick up only", with no boxes or shipping offered, and are located in Southern California.  I'm in Central North Carolina 😣.

I will review the links you provided and very well may explore this speakers much further.  I'm very intrigued with their connection to Wally's LSA speakers, which I've read nothing but stellar reviews about.  If it is the LSA Statement 20's that you are referring to, I am extremely impressed.

Again, thanks a lot.

I recall hearing Energy speakers at a Best Buy years ago. I had just heard a Klipsch model that literally hurt my ears. I love the idea of efficient speakers but just can’t seem to tolerate horns. Anyway, the Energy was very nicely behaved and a real value — a combination of performance and price. Nothing can replace your own two ears when it comes to speaker preference. 

@jfuquay which model was it? I was reading about a model that did sound kinda harsh.

No idea, too long ago. But generally speaking, a speaker company voices all its models similarly. 

Looks like the Energy brand is having it's "moment."

I had a pair of RC30's year's back. To clarify the comment made about their pedigree:

They were MIC(made in China) boxes-good, price point value boxes-nothing more.

The RC line was MIC. Energy speakers made in the 70's-80's were Canadian.

Like most companies, the only way to offer competitive product is go MIC.

baritone1898- perhaps mentioning your budget and associated gear might be more useful for suggestions.

Consider a pair of Coincident Triumph Extreme monitor speakers.

Super easy to drive, so they don't need to be played loud to be heard, & for a monitor they go pretty low. You get it all without upsetting your neighbors.

Frequency Response: 45 hz - 35 khz (+/- 3 db).
Impedance : Flat 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 94 db @1M - 1Watt

I got into Energy way back when they were producing perhaps their landmark model, the Reference Connoisseur 22 - so good that I haven't been able to bring myself to sell them 30 years later.  I haven't heard anything that sounds better from them, made after that.

My first pair of good speakers were Energy Pro 22s. A very nice speaker for the $$ in my books. One of the best pair of speakers I’ve ever owned were the Energy Veritas 2.8s.

They could really energize a big room and had a nice slightly warm left of neutral presentation.

Stereophile were a fan too, back in the day:

I bought RC50 years ago because my DCM Timewindows we're being repaired and I needed some cheap but descent speakers . These babies surprised me with their sound and will stay with me until I replace them with Klipsch RF 7 .I wish I have bought rc70 instead for even better sound ...

Rc-70

amazing speakers. 
 

rolled off at 600hz

 great for metal, rock, acoustic, vocals

 love mine!

best. I’ve heard in years!

the rc-10 bookshelves are amazing!

 The rc-line is great.

veritas have more emphasis on tweeter, giving more soundstage.

rc-70 are great.

mine are powered by McCormack, sunfire, and Odyssey,

I switch out amps often.

recordings are , good in good out etc. 

 I love mine, as I don’t like harsh treble.

warm and amazing, metal, and acoustic guitar shine.

Rc-70 are much warmer than b and w

if your looking for spacious , treble, highs, cymbals, they are there, but not as lively as b and w. 
 

I love mine, there  is no fatigue what so ever, mine play all day, while I’m home, no “s”  fatigue either for me. Brought up my Odyssey upgraded kismet monos, this weekend, with ld-2 preamp and udp-1(switched out) for pioneer elite dv-79avi.

     Playing new scorpions, hexx, Satan, pink cream 69, yakuza, Saxon, loudness, and the munetaka higuchi free world II

 vinnie Moore;Japan cds. thin Lizzy  (Japan box set) sound great 

the midrange is perfect for electric guitar and acoustic guitar. Smooth !

@tablejockey I have some b&w DM601s, a def tech powerfield 15+, and an Integra DTR 30.6 powering everything.

I bought a pair of Energy Veritas 2.8 back in the early 2000s. I was looking to replace a still working pair of Kef Reference 103.2 speakers. The Veritas 2.8 was a very smooth contender, without any sonic "bunions" that I could discern. Front end was vinyl (Oracle Delphi Mk 2) with Audio Research Pre/Phono and Nakamichi PA-7 at the time. They really did a nice job with scale and soundstage, without being aggressive in any way. I kept them for about 2 years, and sold them to a friend. He had a much simpler system, with less power, and kids. they blew them up...twice.

If you are going to go the Energy route, definitely look for the older models used. You'll get a great deal for the money. But ask about driver replacement, etc. before you buy. The older speakers drivers were made in Canada, and they had better QC than the MIC models of later years. 

At this price point used, check out the Proac Response 2.x or Aerial Acoustics Model 6T (Audiogon 6T). They can pull a disappearing act similar to the Joseph Audio speakers and sound beautiful, especially with tubes, but they need POWER. 

@baritone1898 check these out, 

The best Energy if you can find a good working pair.

roxy54

5,639 posts

06-09-2022 at 03:16pm 

HaHa, you're a real hoot! Probably can't afford the good ones

HAHAHA...you're clueless.

Fortunately, I'm way beyond Klipsch. 

"Fortunately, I'm way beyond Klipsch." 

Oh really? And where would that be? When you make statements about things that you don't really know about, that is the definition of clueless. 

Energy was disconnected awhile back I thought?

I have a pair of RC-70 and I like them ok but with your budget I’d look to get some Revel F208 or F206. (I have both)
 

how big is the space you’re going to be putting them in? 

"Energy was disconnected awhile back I thought?"

A statement that makes no sense with a question mark...

20 years ago, I owned a pair of Energy speakers. I enjoyed them just fine. Good value for the price. I replaced them with Paradigm Studio 100s which was a noticeable step up.
If your budget is $5k, you have a lot of options. I just went through the process of buying new speakers with a similar budget. My short list came down to Fritz Speakers and Spatial Audio. I was able to demo Spatials but not the Fritz. I went with a pair of Spatial M4s because of the open baffle design. They have incredible sound stage and detail. I doubt I’ll ever go back to a box speaker, but if I had to, I’d start with Fritz.

Going on a couple years now w the rc-70 speakers. 
they are the best sounding,speakers I’ve heard, with the altec Lansing 510s a close second.

they keep getting better!