The Official Energy Speakers Thread

[94GTStang]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

A bit sad that one of them is damaged but hell yeah they sound awsome, As I previously mentionned having experienced that setup I think you'll be just fine even when they are broken in. As Callas said 2db gain on your center should work pretty well for you.


On the other I don't know how much longer the c-50 will be available but you got to do what you got to do. Home bills firsts.

Perhaps I'll just increase the level of the center for the heck of it. It can't hurt

Originally Posted by callas01

I would think that since it is damaged they would have you ship it back and ship you a new one. If you feel its warranted.

I love the looks of those.... to bad they weren't on sale when I was shopping for speakers.... In any case I love the C-300. Awesome Energys speakers are. Heavy yes!! Your way about 44 lbs, I know my C-300s weigh 35.5 lbs. I think this is what makes speakers nice is the fact they are built well and have some weight. I always compare to my dads B&W 603s which weigh about 40 lbs, so I know these are some good speakers.

About the sound, there should be some kick, understand that they extend to about 35hz, so its low but not really low. You need to give them about a week to break in, I noticed that there was a big change in sound after about 60 hours.

Oh, how I love Energy speakers... Congrats man.

Ya these speakers are pretty hefty, but I think that makes for a better speaker. I wouldn't want a speaker that moves around or is easily knocked over.
I plan on running these speakers all day and all evening and doing the same tomorrow. I am sure they will get more kick with more hours on them. I really didn't want to stress them too much out of the box.

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

What size speaker wire are you using 94GT? If your still using your HTIB speaker wire, I'd upgrade to at least 14awg & maybe some banana plugs eventually.

Already taken care of
I ran 14awg to all the speakers when we moved so I wouldn't have to do it again. Monoprice had banana plugs for .94 a pair so I stocked up. The wire that came with the HTIB was about as thick as dental floss so obviously I wasn't going to let that stay around

Originally Posted by callas01

from that picture your setup looks awesome, can i just say that I think you would be better served by pulling the speaker away from the wall about 18 inches or so.

Thanks for the tip! I'll work on getting those pulled back. If I use the port plugs, do I still need to pull them back from the wall? The plugs just cut back on the bass correct?

[ZIPPO]

Originally Posted by 94GTStang

If I use the port plugs, do I still need to pull them back from the wall? The plugs just cut back on the bass correct?

No.
Yes, allowing you to place speaker closer to the wall.
Two foam port plugs are provided for the rear ports of each tower to customize bass output in your listening room.

from manual

They should be placed a minimum of 6 feet apart,
and if the furniture placement allows, keep them at least 12 inches from all walls.


The proximity of the speakers to room boundaries, like walls, will also affect the
bass frequencies. If you find your system lacks bass, first check your
connections to make sure your system is in phase,then experiment with
placement. The further from the wall,the less overall bass output your system
will have, but the bass will generally be better defined. If you position your
speakers too close to a room boundary, the bass will typically be exaggerated
and ill-defined. Adjusting your speakers to your room will generate the best results.

[mattstat]

Happy to see the C-500's 'stang, sorry about the damage to them. Just wait until they open up... like night and day...Mine really hit their stride about 150 hours or so in.

Enjoy !!

[callas01]

Originally Posted by 94GTStang

Perhaps I'll just increase the level of the center for the heck of it. It can't hurt

Thanks for the tip! I'll work on getting those pulled back. If I use the port plugs, do I still need to pull them back from the wall? The plugs just cut back on the bass correct?

I wouldn't adjust the center unless you need to, let the auto calibration set the speakers for you unless you cannot hear the dialog when music or action picks up in a movie.

Yes you can use the port plugs, but with the mid bass from the c-500s why limit them? Your doing them a miss-service

[ZIPPO]

Originally Posted by callas01

Yes you can use the port plugs, but with the mid bass from the c-500s why limit them? Your doing them a miss-service

I agree with callas01, I like the way they sound without the port plugs.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

I agree with callas01, I like the way they sound without the port plugs.

I second that!!!

[callas01]

Originally Posted by ZIPPO

I agree with callas01, I like the way they sound without the port plugs.

so you have hooked them up and listened to them finally....

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

I wouldn't adjust the center unless you need to, let the auto calibration set the speakers for you unless you cannot hear the dialog when music or action picks up in a movie.

Yes you can use the port plugs, but with the mid bass from the c-500s why limit them? Your doing them a miss-service

I have to agree with that no need to adjust it if the center is up to task with the c-500.

My post was a bit missleading, yes +2db will do the trick if it does not keep up after the breaking in period. Do not raise the gain for the heck of it if everything sounds great.

If it ain't broke why fix it?

[94GTStang]

Ok, so I wont touch the center dB level until I notice that it can't keep up nor will I use the port plugs. I think everything meshes really well for the time being.

I spoke with audioadvisor and they wanted me to send that one back and pay for a new one until my defected one arrived. Bein that it's not that big of a dent to justify sending it back, they comp'd me $40 which is fine for me. With how the speaker is set up, you'd have to look for it. Either way I'm happy with the c500's and I'm glad I purchased them!

[erict]

Originally Posted by 94GTStang

Ok, so I wont touch the center dB level until I notice that it can't keep up nor will I use the port plugs. I think everything meshes really well for the time being.

I spoke with audioadvisor and they wanted me to send that one back and pay for a new one until my defected one arrived. Bein that it's not that big of a dent to justify sending it back, they comp'd me $40 which is fine for me. With how the speaker is set up, you'd have to look for it. Either way I'm happy with the c500's and I'm glad I purchased them!

Sorry to here about the damage. One of my C-300's came damaged from wwstereo and I bought another one and they gave me a credit when they received the damaged one. The damaged speaker you have would bother they hell out of me not knowing if there is any internal damage even though the speaker works. If I where you I would exchange it for another one, IMO.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by erict

Sorry to here about the damage. One of my C-300's came damaged from wwstereo and I bought another one and they gave me a credit when they received the damaged one. The damaged speaker you have would bother they hell out of me not knowing if there is any internal damage even though the speaker works. If I where you I would exchange it for another one, IMO.

Me too.... Funny when I ordered from wwstereo, they shipped me the new one and I had it for 3 days before they sent me the return shipping label and never charged me at all.... same happened when they shipped my c-50 surround. Although I had the C-50 for a week because the shipping manager(vince) took vacation for a week.

[94GTStang]

Well, the gouge is only .75" long and not very deep. One would have to be right on top of it to really see it. Perhaps the picture made it look worse than it was. I don't think there is any internal damage and the gouge didn't pierce all the way through obviously. Perhaps I'll consider their offer again, but for the time being, I'm going to continue rocking these out.

[94GTStang]

Ok so I think my receiver is sending all low frequencies to my sub because the speakers (c500's) are sounding quite flat. Am I missing something? All the wire polarities are correct. My receiver defaults to 800hz says the manual. Any ideas?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by 94GTStang

Ok so I think my receiver is sending all low frequencies to my sub because the speakers (c500's) are sounding quite flat. Am I missing something? All the wire polarities are correct. My receiver defaults to 800hz says the manual. Any ideas?

Are you talking about the crossover setting? the crossover should be set at 80hz for the fronts and center speaker, with speakers set to small. If your receiver cannot do that you may need a new receiver. Did you leave the copper bridge on between the binding posts? the only time you want to remove them is if you are bi-wiring or Bi-amping, removing them would cause a flat sound.

[94GTStang]

Originally Posted by callas01

Are you talking about the crossover setting? the crossover should be set at 80hz for the fronts and center speaker, with speakers set to small. If your receiver cannot do that you may need a new receiver. Did you leave the copper bridge on between the binding posts? the only time you want to remove them is if you are bi-wiring or Bi-amping, removing them would cause a flat sound.

No I left the metal bridges on the speakers. I am using the bottom two plugs and not the top 'high' ones.

Perhaps my receiver doesn't do manual crossover settings. I could write Sony and see if no one here knows

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by 94GTStang

No I left the metal bridges on the speakers. I am using the bottom two plugs and not the top 'high' ones.

Perhaps my receiver doesn't do manual crossover settings. I could write Sony and see if no one here knows

This is ok if you're singled wired you did the right thing but I just read in your Sony manual on page 84 that in stereo with a 6 ohm load it drives 120hz to 20 000hz. So your amp does eliminate a lot of the frequency range on the bottom end.
Let's not forget this is a HTIB receiver and I guess this is one of it's limitations.

You can trust all of us that these speakers truly sound great but they can sound awful when paired with other components of lower quality. I've experience that listening to Shine from Collective Soul on cheaper Phillips DVD player. Some of you may notice the part where there is a really high note on the electric guitar during that song well the tweeters did sounded like they were gone, the distortion was painful to say the least.

When I hooked up my HK DVD Player wow it made a huge difference it did hit that note effortless.

I will second Callas on the fact that one of your next upgrade could be your receiver but first I'd get my hands on a pair of C-50 to make sure they're not sold out.

Welcome to the world of Home theater.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

This is ok if you're singled wired you did the right thing but I just read in your Sony manual on page 84 that in stereo with a 6 ohm load it drives 120hz to 20 000hz. So your amp does eliminate a lot of the frequency range on the bottom end.
Let's not forget this is a HTIB receiver and I guess this is one of it's limitations.

You can trust all of us that these speakers truly sound great but they can sound awful when paired with other components of lower quality. I've experience that listening to Shine from Collective Soul on cheaper Phillips DVD player. Some of you may notice the part where there is a really high note on the electric guitar during that song well the tweeters did sounded like they were gone, the distortion was painful to say the least.

When I hooked up my HK DVD Player wow it made a huge difference.

I will second Callas on the fact that one of your next upgrade could be your receiver but first I'd get my hands on a pair of C-50 to make sure they're not sold out.

Welcome to the world of Home theater.

sounds like your issue right there.....

Actually I would get a new receiver first, the surround you could always use the Energy CB-10s or CB-5s if you cant find C-50s surrounds don't have to match.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

sounds like your issue right there.....

Actually I would get a new receiver first, the surround you could always use the Energy CB-10s or CB-5s if you cant find C-50s

I guess this just a matter of choice wheter you can live with it like that for now if you really want to have the same line of speakers.

Lets not forget the price factor. In my situation I'd go with the speakers for their really low price first since I think it'easier to get a great deal on a receiver but hey it's just my opinion.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

I guess this just a matter of choice wheter you can live with it like that for now if you really want to have the same line of speakers.

Lets not forget the price factor. In my situation I'd go with the speakers for their really low price first since I think it'easier to get a great deal on a receiver but hey it's just my opinion.

yeah, I guess you are right if price is the issue, get the speakers, if not then get a receiver..... at least that would be my priority, I could live with speakers that are similar if not exact in sound, but not with a receiver that is just under-performing in all my music and HT

[94GTStang]

Wow thanks for the great help!

I am thinking too it's my receiver as well since it seems like everyone else can really tune theirs and I can't. However I'm going to have to live with it for a while because I don't think the wife will be too thrilled to see another 'high' end purchase lol.
What is everyones reccomendation on a decent receiver? Denon? HK? A refurbed one? Maybe come Xmas I can get one. For now I'll work on getting the rears before they are all gone too.

Thanks again!

I'm jamming out to some Oklahoma city's own flamming lips and it STILL sounds light years clearer than the old speakers. Luckily I have a good sub to pick up the slack