The Official Energy Speakers Thread

[PaulWog]

Originally Posted by callas01

there are so many speakers and speaker companies out there that it is hard to review them all. Many times reviewers just go for the top of the line speaker in the speakers lineup because that gives them the best judge of what the company expects from that lineup. Sometimes they will review the largest bookshelf from that lineup also, but that isn't too often. That is where user and owner reviews are more handy. Esp. ones where the person is comparing other speakers also.

Makes enough sense.

I have another question (for anyone):
I keep on trying to read up on speaker break-in periods, and what changes. I get the general idea of it, and I know it's important. However, what I'm wondering is how much of a difference in performance levels people have experienced in breaking in their Energy speakers? And after the designated 100 hours (or whatever the specific speakers you have are), did they continue to break in further after that (in some sort of noticeably audible way)?

I'm horrid at objectively keeping track of how the break-in period is changing the sound (if at all). It'd be nice to think that the sound is improving. It just seems with everything I read online, some people claim improved sound quality... some claim no change... some claim measurable but not noticeable changes. I haven't found any decent objective article with scientifically measured start-to-finish numbers on breaking speakers in.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by PaulWog

Makes enough sense.

I have another question (for anyone):
I keep on trying to read up on speaker break-in periods, and what changes. I get the general idea of it, and I know it's important. However, what I'm wondering is how much of a difference in performance levels people have experienced in breaking in their Energy speakers? And after the designated 100 hours (or whatever the specific speakers you have are), did they continue to break in further after that (in some sort of noticeably audible way)?

I'm horrid at objectively keeping track of how the break-in period is changing the sound (if at all). It'd be nice to think that the sound is improving. It just seems with everything I read online, some people claim improved sound quality... some claim no change... some claim measurable but not noticeable changes. I haven't found any decent objective article with scientifically measured start-to-finish numbers on breaking speakers in.

To tell you the Truth not one speaker is the same, Some sound very good out of the box. Some speaker will seem to open up with time mids and highs and have better coherency in the lows. Some others will tone down abit. I belive the CF don't require any breakin in a mechanical way, it also depends on construction, My Totem is quite obvious they just sound aweful out of the box after 30 hours they are starting to make sense but you still feel that the woofer got to loosen up abit more and they progressively sound better until they hit the recommended 70 hours and after that no noticable difference as time goes by.

What I notice with the CF by comparing directly with the RC line is that eventualy with time the highs tone down to be smoother but the mids stayed present. They have a tad more mids than the RC line and a bit more highs too but honestly out of the box they almost sound as forward as most Polk audio. I have done many side by side comparaison at FS when they came out and they did tone down with time to reach smoother highs.
The older Conoisseur opened up a bit, they sounded hollow out of the box but in the end they sounded perfectly warm with good details.

[milesottawa]

I hope this Is being posted correctly

Im a newbie here. I joined a few minutes ago. I have an issue with my speakers. First here Is my setup..

Energy Veritas 2.3
Sim Audio I3
Modified Denon 3910 Upgrade Company
Rotel RB 1080 power Amp

Im trying to squeeze out more bass somehow outa my speakers and the midrange seems to be recessesed. The simple solution would be to buy new ones but I dont have that kinda cash right now.
I was using the Energy RC-50's and they had more base and a warmer midrange. The down side Is they sound muddy to me.

Question: Can I get more bass and go from a neutral midrange to a warmer one with a cross over upgrade?

[PaulWog]

I have an additional question as well (sorry I don't have the answer to the above question ).

I have my speakers set up like this:

Front Left/Right (CF-30's): Large
Sides (RC-Minis): Small

My x-over is set to 100Hz. My subwoofer is set to "plus", rather than "yes". I have my subwoofer sound level on the actual sub set to just a tiny bit lower than full.

Does this sound like a good way to set up the speakers for universal listening (music, movies, games, etc)? Or would it be better to change the way I've set this up, for a more ideal listening experience.

(My CC-10 center I'll be getting in mid-late December).

From what I understand, with the subwoofer set to "additional", it will play any frequency below the crossover (100Hz) as if the speakers were not playing the frequency. Then the front right/left speakers, since they are set to large, will reproduce all bass frequencies. The side speakers, as they are set to small, will play to what frequency? 100Hz and no lower? I'm kind-of confused.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by milesottawa

I hope this Is being posted correctly

Im a newbie here. I joined a few minutes ago. I have an issue with my speakers. First here Is my setup..

Energy Veritas 2.3
Sim Audio I3
Modified Denon 3910 Upgrade Company
Rotel RB 1080 power Amp

Im trying to squeeze out more bass somehow outa my speakers and the midrange seems to be recessesed. The simple solution would be to buy new ones but I dont have that kinda cash right now.
I was using the Energy RC-50's and they had more base and a warmer midrange. The down side Is they sound muddy to me.

Question: Can I get more bass and go from a neutral midrange to a warmer one with a cross over upgrade?

This is avery good question, I am not an electronics specialist so I cannot answer you, but maybe you could write to Energy and let them know what your gear is so maybe they will have a solution for you, I mean the Veritas 2.3 are Amazing speakers and had very good praise on them but if it's not the sound you are looking for, something has to change in your chain.

X-over would defenatly be the cheapest thing to change.

What is driving your Veritas, the Rotel power amp or the I-3?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by PaulWog

I have an additional question as well (sorry I don't have the answer to the above question ).

I have my speakers set up like this:

Front Left/Right (CF-30's): Large
Sides (RC-Minis): Small

My x-over is set to 100Hz. My subwoofer is set to "plus", rather than "yes". I have my subwoofer sound level on the actual sub set to just a tiny bit lower than full.

Does this sound like a good way to set up the speakers for universal listening (music, movies, games, etc)? Or would it be better to change the way I've set this up, for a more ideal listening experience.

(My CC-10 center I'll be getting in mid-late December).

From what I understand, with the subwoofer set to "additional", it will play any frequency below the crossover (100Hz) as if the speakers were not playing the frequency. Then the front right/left speakers, since they are set to large, will reproduce all bass frequencies. The side speakers, as they are set to small, will play to what frequency? 100Hz and no lower? I'm kind-of confused.

Setting X-over in the receiver for speaker means speaker will pickup anything above the X-over setting and theorically your sub should pickup anything below.

The fact that you setup your CF-30 to large now makes them pickup frequencies below 100hz.

Now I would set all speakers to small as suggested in any HT setup and put your x-over at 80hz. If your sub has a bypass switch then set it to bypass, or else put the control for frquency all the way to the max. The X-over in the receiver will automatically send the low frequencies 80hz and below to the sub.

I am not sure what additional stands for in the Pioneer world but read your owners manual to know what it does.

[milesottawa]

[/QUOTE]What is driving your Veritas, the Rotel power amp or the I-3[/QUOTE]

I had I3 driving the bass. The bass was tight but just not deep enough. So I bought the Rotel to drive the bass hoping There would be an improvement. There was a slight improvement. The I3 drives the tweeter and midrange driver

[milesottawa]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

This is avery good question, I am not an electronics specialist so I cannot answer you, but maybe you could write to Energy and let them know what your gear is so maybe they will have a solution for you, I mean the Veritas 2.3 are Amazing speakers and had very good praise on them but if it's not the sound you are looking for, something has to change in your chain.

I called them sometime back just after they were bought once again. They told me to buy a sub..lol. Not a bad idea but I worry about intergrating it. I dont know a lot about subs but I worry about one note bass coming from the sub itself

[PaulWog]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Setting X-over in the receiver for speaker means speaker will pickup anything above the X-over setting and theorically your sub should pickup anything below.

The fact that you setup your CF-30 to large now makes them pickup frequencies below 100hz.

Now I would set all speakers to small as suggested in any HT setup and put your x-over at 80hz. If your sub has a bypass switch then set it to bypass, or else put the control for frquency all the way to the max. The X-over in the receiver will automatically send the low frequencies 80hz and below to the sub.

I am not sure what additional stands for in the Pioneer world but read your owners manual to know what it does.

The one thing I'm worried about is I've read about people blowing their RC-Minis running them at 80Hz crossover. The manual recommends between 100 and 120Hz, and I contacted Energy, which told me there's the possibility of damaging/blowing the RC-Minis even as surrounds on such a crossover frequency. So working with 100Hz universally makes it more difficult figuring out a nice configuration for the front right/left.

"Additional" on my receiver makes the subwoofer receive the bass the front speakers would normally receive (but the front speakers also receive that bass). So essentially the front left/right receive all bass as "large", and the subwoofer also receives all that bass. To keep that from being too overpowering, I lowered the sound of my subwoofer slightly.

I'd like to set it to 80Hz to allow my right/left to be set to small. However, when set to 100Hz, setting them at small seems to not sound great. I'm guessing with an 80Hz crossover, it would allow for a better overall sound (from lows to mids to highs)?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by PaulWog

The one thing I'm worried about is I've read about people blowing their RC-Minis running them at 80Hz crossover. The manual recommends between 100 and 120Hz, and I contacted Energy, which told me there's the possibility of damaging/blowing the RC-Minis even as surrounds on such a crossover frequency. So working with 100Hz universally makes it more difficult figuring out a nice configuration for the front right/left.

"Additional" on my receiver makes the subwoofer receive the bass the front speakers would normally receive (but the front speakers also receive that bass). So essentially the front left/right receive all bass as "large", and the subwoofer also receives all that bass. To keep that from being too overpowering, I lowered the sound of my subwoofer slightly.

I'd like to set it to 80Hz to allow my right/left to be set to small. However, when set to 100Hz, setting them at small seems to not sound great. I'm guessing with an 80Hz crossover, it would allow for a better overall sound (from lows to mids to highs)?

Yeah it's quite hard with the receiver's limitations, I would use 100hz for movies and bypass the X-over by using analog when listening to music in this case. I thaught maybe set as surround would not be as bad of course and frequencies rarely go below 80hz in the surrounds which is why I thaught maybe you could change your X-over all arround.

I don't want to say get a receiver that will allow you to change X-over per pair of speakers, that would be too easy and it would not help you now, maybe down the road.

What you could do is set manually your X-over on your sub to 50hz and raise the volume a bit since the CF-30 go down to 43hz +/-3 db, it would not be a big range of overlap, you could have big peaks at times but who knows.

Try this and see what comes out of it.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by milesottawa

I called them sometime back just after they were bought once again. They told me to buy a sub..lol. Not a bad idea but I worry about intergrating it. I dont know a lot about subs but I worry about one note bass coming from the sub itself

Energy is known to have linear design tho so most Enegy speaker will not have thunderous bass, they will provide tight accurate and will go low but everything will be balance across the whole range of frequency.

Maybe the RC felt a little more bassy, I have no experience with the V2.3, so I can't tell.

Maybe a tube amp would give you some great low end extension but you alredy purchased a Rotel power amp.

I mean you could write to Big Daddy here, he's the Guru and he builts speakers so he would know more than I do about X-over. I feel that maybe you are looking for a different speaker, Have you tried Paradigm, Totem, Quad, Dynaudio? What kind of music do you listen to?

I'd be scared to touch the X-over network and end up with undesired results.

[milesottawa]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Energy is known to have linear design tho so most Enegy speaker will not have thunderous bass, they will provide tight accurate and will go low but everything will be balance across the whole range of frequency.

Maybe the RC felt a little more bassy, I have not experience with the 2.3, so i can't tell.

Maybe a tube amp would give you some great low end extension.

I mean you could write to Big Daddy here, he's the guru and he builts speakers.

Some good ideas Bigal87 thanks. I will send Big Daddy a message and see what he has to say

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by milesottawa

Some good ideas Bigal87 thanks. I will send Big Daddy a message and see what he has to say

If you can bring your speakers to a dealer and try them on several different amps, I personally don't do blind buys.

Al I can say is the Veritas is an awesome speaker from What I read but I know the Bass is not it's greates streght, it's the accuracy and musicality.

All the reviews on them agree on that and they are so called cause they don't lie.

I have Experince with only with C-series, RC and the New Line of Veritas.

Wish you all the best in finding the right combination.

[milesottawa]

The Veritas are very honest thats for sure. I heard them on a Sim Audio I7 and my jaw hit the floor.
I can have Sim Audio upgrade my Intergrated amp (i3) and take my chances that this will resolve the issue tackle my speakers. The speakers seem to be the better choice.
There Is another choice. I can buy an EQ. Something affordable. I looked at some old ones but Im not even sure they would be comptable now.

I just emailed all my questions to Energy. Lets see what they say ......

[milesottawa]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

I feel that maybe you are looking for a different speaker, Have you tried Paradigm, Totem, Quad, Dynaudio? What kind of music do you listen to?

Your right If I had the money Id sure go buy another set for sure. I heard Totem and liked them. the listening conditions were not the best but they were nice. The others I have not unfortunately. I thought about a DIY kit but Its a tough decision when I cant listen to them before I build. DIY does seem to be a better route than buying retail.

I listen to all kinds of music. Rock,blues,country,hip hop ect. More rock and blues than anything

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by milesottawa

The Veritas are very honest thats for sure. I heard them on a Sim Audio I7 and my jaw hit the floor.
I can have Sim Audio upgrade my Intergrated amp (i3) and take my chances that this will resolve the issue tackle my speakers. The speakers seem to be the better choice.
There Is another choice. I can buy an EQ. Something affordable. I looked at some old ones but Im not even sure they would be comptable now.

I just emailed all my questions to Energy. Lets see what they say ......

If you use analog output to analog in for your listening than and old eq would work and would help you tweak the sound. Maybe you are looking for something a little more dynamic but all things aside Veritas are more than an honest speaker, They do everything beautifully but no speaker is perfect and not ALL combination of amp/speaker is perfect either. Sound is subjective, we like what we like.

I think Simaudio does that right they allow you to upgrade.

There is no i7., are you talking about the 700i? What if you tried the i5.3 or i5 with your speakers, that would be a step up over you i3.

I heard the i3.3 with Dynaudio X32 and it was a great combo.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by milesottawa

The Veritas are very honest thats for sure. I heard them on a Sim Audio I7 and my jaw hit the floor.
I can have Sim Audio upgrade my Intergrated amp (i3) and take my chances that this will resolve the issue tackle my speakers. The speakers seem to be the better choice.
There Is another choice. I can buy an EQ. Something affordable. I looked at some old ones but Im not even sure they would be comptable now.

I just emailed all my questions to Energy. Lets see what they say ......

It might just be your IA that is weak in the low-end. If you heard them on a better amp, then maybe try and see if you can get some in home demos with better IAs and see if you find a combination that works for you. You may even be able to trade-in what you have and get yourself a discount on the new IA.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

It might just be your IA that is weak in the low-end. If you heard them on a better amp, then maybe try and see if you can get some in home demos with better IAs and see if you find a combination that works for you. You may even be able to trade-in what you have and get yourself a discount on the new IA.

It could be but the i3.3 did not lack any low end with the X32.

He use to have the i3 powering is speakers and now he has them bi amplified with the lows on the Rotel Power Amp.

I would give the i5 or i5.3 a try as Simaudio will allow upgrades, and they are 10 years warranty and are indeed amazing products.

[milesottawa]

[QUOTE=BigAl87;4041864

I think Simaudio does that right they allow you to upgrade.

There is no i7., are you talking about the 700i? What if you tried the i5.3 or i5 with your speakers, that would be a step up over you i3.

I heard the i3.3 with Dynaudio X32 and it was a great combo.[/QUOTE]

Sim Audio will upgrade my I-3.
Yes they apparently discontiunued it http://www.simaudio.com/mooni7.htm
I heard the I-5 Is awsome but Its only 80 watts

[milesottawa]

Originally Posted by callas01

It might just be your IA that is weak in the low-end. If you heard them on a better amp, then maybe try and see if you can get some in home demos with better IAs and see if you find a combination that works for you. You may even be able to trade-in what you have and get yourself a discount on the new IA.

What Is An IA?