Energy Owners Thread - Page 1257

Great choice! I love mine and the best part is I was listening to some music today and I think its just about broken in. I have mine in a 13wx15lx7h living room that is open to a kitchen which is 13wx16lx7h and it sounds great.

Just a warning -- you're comparing a recording using different sources, all of which have the ability to add tons of processing on that recording. For example, by default on my Pioneer receiver, when you're using the iPod input, the Sound Retriever feature is "on" by default. This boosts bass, overall volume, and God knows what else. Not that it's ugly -- depending on the source material it may sound way better that way. On tunes with already exaggerated bass, it's almost unbearable.

On your PC, the media player app can add processing; the audio drivers can also. So it's pretty hard comparing all of this unless you know you have complete control over all processing involved.


Wow that's a strange reply. How com Vann's have no way to request anything from or communicate with their own warehouse? Or maybe it's not their warehouse? Maybe it's shipped directly from an Energy warehouse, or from a west coast warehouse where the China-built speakers are first unloaded? I wouldn't be surprised if Vann's was only an intermediary / front for a "direct from the factory" operation with Energy's blessing. That would also explain the very low prices.

Good advice--thanks for reminding me to disable the new receiver's Restorer function ;-) I stand behind my complaint though: my PC's onboard audio must be negatively gaining the bass. It's the same problem whether I'm playing audio files through WinAmp, iTunes or Windows Media Player, watching Netflix through Chrome, or even playing games (there really are games on PC! Long ago, when the world was young, the PC was the gaming platform of choice; a golden age, but none live who remember it.) In every case, I'm raising the sub channel 5dB or more above where Audyssey set it.

When I listen to the same music (on the same flash drive) plugged in to either of the receivers that take flash (regardless of whether Restorer is on) or either of my game consoles, there are subtle (maybe even imaginary) differences in the sound, but let my PC join the circle and it stands out in a noticeable and bad way.

There could be some factor(s) I'm not considering of course, and thanks for advising caution. I do frequently hear that onboard audio is always junk, up to and including the really fancy motherboards, of which mine is not one.

I have had the CF70's now for about a year. They sound excellent with my Denon AVR3311 and I wouldn't change a thing. For me I prefer my speakers a bit on the bright side but I don't find these harsh at all - no ear fatigue here. It's a matter of your own preference. Take a listen to all of the speakers you are considering and select what sounds right for you.

Tom

I received a second reply the same day, this time with a sales representative's name that said the person had put in a request to over box my speakers and he believed he caught them in time.

Also, the tracking information shows the shipment originating in Cincinnati, OH. Maybe Vann's has a warehouse in OH. Although their website shows locations only in Montana.

It seems to me that most of the bad shipments originated in Montana. I received two boxes from Vann's in Ohio and there wasn't a mark on them. Ohio to a Kinek point in Maine.

I will keep you guys posted on how the speakers make it here. I feel quite confident that if there is any damage, Vanns will take care of it. They have done good with almost everyone on here that has had the misfortune of having their speakers damaged in transit.

doing a random google search for "Energy RC-6W" (helping a friend out who is installing in-wall speakers in a new media room, and I was checking to see if there is still bargain pricing out there) and I stumbled upon this:

http://www.customsoundco.com/product...id=270&promo=g

or through their Amazon storefront: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all

This is an Energy branded, in-wall "back box" specifically designed for use with the RC-6W in-walls, and only $59 shipped each! I didn't even know this product existed but here it is! http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en...m-wm-overview/

Having a sealed, properly designed enclosure will significantly improve the performance of an in-wall speaker, so this might be really enticing to some of you out there who are considering in-walls. It really mitigates the compromises inherent to in-wall speakers by creating a proper enclosure (vs. using the wall space as the resonating chamber) and isolating it from the wall cavity.

The RC-6W still looks like it's available for $99 each from Crutchfield. So for around $300 total you could get a pair of RC-6W with matching back box.... just another option which may appeal to some. I'm actually contemplating this myself since I'm a bit concerned about the curious hands of the batpiglet knocking over one of my RC-10's once she starts pulling herself up on stuff (which is only months, or weeks, away) but was always leery of in-walls, especially because of the potential for the sound to travel up the wall in my townhouse. But finding a sealed in-wall back box enclosure that is specifically designed for the RC-6W is pretty enticing. The 6W is a 3-way design with the 2" midrage of the RC-LCR, and a 6.5" woofer that is larger than that of the RC-10, so in theory the RC-6W + backbox enclosure may actually outperform the RC-10's and be a better tonal match for the RC-LCR center... hmm...

Well I would definitely like to hear your opinion. The specific matching enclosure is a very nice find. I wonder if there were/are enclosures for the RC-8C?

Vann's still showing:

Energy RC70 (Black)

Instant Rebate: $100.00 Ends 03/05/2012

Your Price $399.88

^ It's today's Deal of The Day at Vann's.

That setup is very similar to mine, except I am using 3 FPS up front (very similar to the TWR) and a bigger sub. The guy who left the comment at the bottom is right...the sound from this setup is very detailed and pleasing.
I had all my grills off on the weekend to give all the speakers a good wipe down, and left them off for the rest of the weekend. The room looks more badass like that


I use an external USB sound card (dongle) from Turtle Beach with an optical cable to the avr. A world of difference let me tell you...

But I am wondering if the same amount of research went into this "backbox" as the cabinet for the RC10. I would have to hear it to believe any 'in wall' would outperform the 10's

I've done some searching, and found some good information, but am hoping for a single direct answer.

I'm currently running RC-10's up front with an RC-Mini-CC and some Take's for surrounds. With the deal on 70's right now, I'd love to pick up 2 for fronts. What I'd like to do is move my 10's to surrounds. From what I've gathered it sounds like the Mini may be overpowered by the 70's? Would moving a 10 to the CC be worth considering? Or should I look for an LCR or something similar?

I was hoping to not have to buy a new center with the 70's but it sounds like that might be best.

Thoughts?

One member here said his in walls were better than RC-50s. I only have my phone right now so it's not too easy to check for that members name. I don't know if he was using an extra enclosure with them or not.

I think that was Instance. He was using a pair of RC-8c in his ceiling, without the box and was very happy with them.

As you may be suspecting, the RC-LCR will do a better job with the 70s than the Mini CC or RC-10. However, since you already have both, why not just get a pair of 70s and try both your Mini CC and RC-10 to see for yourself? If you have a receiver with Audyssey (or the like), you may find that one of those works for you. If they don't produce the sound you're looking for, you can always pick up a LCR down the road. Either way, I would jump on the 70s at their current price ($399/speaker), as I think you would be very pleased with that upgrade.

Yep. Onboard audio is not very good for analog output. I recently upgraded my internal sound card on my PC and gave my 12 year old son my Asus Xonar D1 for his. HE could tell the difference in his machine after the upgrade

However, are you running digital out from your PC to your receiver (optical or HDMI)? If so, then you should be getting comparable sound because your receiver is doing the digital to audio processing.

Been reading through tons of this thread, and am thinking of upgrading my 12 year old Take 5's. My HT room is 24x16x8..and is for 100% home theater use with carpet and drywall.

I just replace my Energy xl-s8 sub with a SVS pb12-nsd...and am now looking to upgrade my Take 5's upfront (lcr).

For the WAF, would love to keep with the small form factor of the Take 5's...but if there is a big benefit to going to bookshelf, could probably make that work, as long as they are wall mountable. My Energy's have served me well...and would like to stick with Energy.

From reading this thread, having a hard time with the differences between RC minis and V minis..and compatible center. Looking at Vanns, the V series seem to be reduced quite a bit...thinking it might be do to new models coming out. The V5.1 and V5.2C seem to be marked down the most.

Any suggestions for an Energy fan? Oh...I have a denon receiver with Audyssey.

Thanks!

I wasn't bad at all at Quake 3 at the time Spent most of my nights as a student on a great server called Burial Grounds.

Well in that case either your perceived problem comes from processing (e.g. EQ) applied globally on all apps by your audio driver, or as you say, the DACs are not that good on your sound card.



Exactly. If your sound card has a digital out (either optical or coax), or if you can get audio on an HDMI output, then the source won't be analog-converted and your receiver will do the DAC job. When I'm using my laptop as an HTPC, audio goes through HDMI anyway. It won't necessarily be the end of your headaches as it's still hard to see what funky effect is applied by the audio driver, but at least bypassing the DACs on your sound card will help you pinpoint the problem. If the problem persists even when you use a digital connexion, then the problem is software, and if it's not in the player app, it will be an audio driver setting.

This is what I thought as well. The trick though is to software that can use WASPI or similar to bypass windows completely. If not windows processes it before output order digital and you loose quality. By using this set up I can play dts or dd files converted to flac and when I play them my AVR detects them properly.

I had RC70's and 2 pairs of RC10's and a RCLCR shipped from Montana to CA. came in 2 huge boxes and were very padded all over to protect the original speaker boxes. It had that form fitting foam on all corners and a lot of that same stuff between the actual boxes.

You are probably right that the 70s will overpower that mini cc but it really depends on how loud you want to listen so I agree try it out and see. The RC 10 would work great as a center but then you can't use them as surrounds and have one of your best speakers not doing anything. What I would suggest trying is running it with a phantom center. If you run it with no center the receiver will send the info for the center to your 70s which will image the sounds right between them as a center would and would be a seamless front sound stage. You just have to make sure you set the receiver to no center channel or rerun your calibration program so the receiver knows to re rout the audio. The drawback to this is if you are sitting off axis it will sound like the center audio is to the right or left of the screen but in the sweet spot it will sound fine. Eventually though if the mini isnt cutting it as center I'd try and sell that mini cc and put the money to an LCR because of how much info the center gets for movies but running the 70s as a phantom center should hold you over well until you are able to save up for this.

not that I've seen, like I said I didn't even know this particular product existed. I assume there are solutions in the custom installer market but none that are available direct to consumers for so cheap! (at least AFAIK)




well it may or may not, but the fact is that it does have a better driver array (3-way design, 6.5" woofer, 2" mid, 1" tweeter) and the sealed backbox enclosure will close the gap between an in-wall and the regular box speaker. The main compromise of in-walls is the unpredictability, you are at the "whim" of the wall enclosure in determining how it ends up sounding.

I heard the RC-8C's at my friend's place and they sounded awesome with no wall box, able to keep up as "height" speakers with his very high end M&K setup (about $10k in speakers for the other 7 channels + 2 subs). I wouldn't doubt that the RC-6W with a box would be a pretty strong performer for those who desire a really low profile setup. Certainly better than without the box!



Yeah, that was Instance. He didn't use any special enclosure from what I remember.

Like I said, the problem with typical in-wall installs is the unpredictability. You could end up with a great install and awesome sound, or you could end up with the sound really compromised by the peculiarities of your wall/ceiling. The backbox enclosure alleviates that concern a lot, and if you have Audyssey XT or better to smooth out the freq response I bet they will sound very close to the "true" RC sound.

I am also attracted to the 3-way design... I've always noticed the clarity edge that the RC-LCR has on the RC-10's, and especially since having the Veritas 2.1's in my house I have longed for something with a bit more transparency/clarity than the slightly "thick" sound of the RC-10's that we have talked about on this thread.

Bullet point answers:

1) the RC/V-Mini's are a major step up from the Takes
2) there is a VERY big benefit to going with larger speakers over the tiny Take satellites, especially in a room your size
3) The V-Mini replaced the RC-Mini but they are very similar in performance
4) The Veritas models were released pretty recently so don't expect a new model to come out. The current discount pricing should be taken as the "new normal" pricing for these models, and is pretty standard for the middle of the life for a speaker's product cycle. I also bet they weren't selling that well at full msrp.
5) that SVS sub is a monster, you should definitely upgrade the speakers to give it some worthy companionship!

for a room that is 100% for HT use I'd want some good sized speakers with solid power handling, and 24x16 is decently sized. If the WAF is important and you can wall-mount, but don't want to go as large as the V5.1's, what about using RC/V-mini CC's at all spots? The CC version is better than the little bookshelf with a larger cabinet and dual bass drivers. A front setup of 3 RC/V-Mini CC's would be better than a CC + two bookshelfs.

get the 70's and figure it out later. Not being sure about the center channel right now isn't a good reason to skip over the current deal on RC-70's

some people have reported success wiring two bookshelfs in series as the center channel in situations like this (i.e., running two RC-10's together as the center). Of course, then you need to buy new surrounds, so that money could just go to an RC-LCR.

either way, you can figure it out eventually. Don't pass on the RC-70's because of that temporary uncertainty.

Thanks Batpig! I will take a look at your suggestions!

BTW, thanks for all your great work on the Denon thread....I got the 2112 and setup Audyssey using your website...was a life saver

The SVS sub is really good..however Audyssey set my xover to 150hz (lcr/surr) due to the Take's range. That causes some low dialog to come through the sub. I am guessing/hoping better lcr will allow the sub xover to be more like 80 or 100 and dialog will not come out the sub.

Not sure if the Takes match the V5.2c...but maybe I could buy that one first as a center to go with my Takes...and get a better feel for WAF.

Since the theme of the day seems to be in-wall speakers, I thought I'd share this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ENERGY-SPEAK...item1e6bef0767

I've never seen or heard of these before...

yeah, the 2nd gen Veritas speakers had a whole line of in-wall / in-ceiling speakers using the same drivers. A year or two ago there was a huge blowout sale just like we are seeing with the RC's right now. It's unfortunate that there only seems to be that one available!

look at this bad boy: http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en...-3wm-overview/

all my energy speakers came from Cincinnati they where home the next day .except for one that I ordered from the clearance center that one took 5 days to arrive from Salt Lake City, UT to Ohio.!