Energy Owners Thread - Page 130

I assume you're single-wiring... did you make sure that the gold jumpers connecting the binding posts are on? There should be jumpers connecting red-to-red and black-to-black, they look like little flat gold brackets.

If the jumpers are on correctly, and you still get no sound from the woofers, sounds like a bad speaker. There is no switches or controls on the RC-LCR. Sorry, time to exchange!

The jumpers are on correct. Looks like I have a bad speaker.

Thanks for the help though!

gently put a finger on every woofer and tell us if cou can feel vibration.

Nope...no vibration on the center.

Question about some wiring for my Energy C500.. I need to run the wires though my wall now before the construction gets complete. What wires do i need? This is my first time having a home theater.

I heard good stuff about Monsters Cable and Blue Jeans from www.monoprice.com

Is Blue jeans good enough for these 300$ speakers or should I spend a few more for Monsters?

also... How many types of wires Do i really need? All I know so far is the lower the AWG the better.. but looking at the wires, there's

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10239

12AWG 2 Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation)
12AWG 4 Conductor Loud Speaker Cable (For In-Wall Installation)
12AWG Enhanced Loud Oxygen-Free Copper Speaker Wire Cable

Is the speaker wires different from subwoofer wires? any other wires needed to make this whole system work?

Im connecting LCD TV / Onkyo 606 Amp / 5.1 Speakers with subwoofer / PS3

Thanks and sorry for the newbie questions

First, how long are the runs to be? This will dictate what gauge you need. Yes subwoofer cable is different from speaker wire. "Monster" wire/cable is way overpriced. Monoprice will serve you well. Bluejeans is a bit more expensive than Mono, but excellent cables.
Quick guide.....
Speaker Impedance 8 Ohm Load 4 Ohm Load
Wire Gauge Distance (ft) Distance (ft)
18 AWG 10 ------ 5
16 AWG 20 ----- 10
14 AWG 35 ------ 18
12 AWG 60 ----- 30
10 AWG 100 ----- 50

Well, going up to the ceiling and down, it's around 25 feet to reach the Surround speakers. So 50 feet total would do fine for the in-wall wiring. The front and center I will just run them in the room and that's no more than 5 feet each.

If you're doing in-wall, do 12ga to be on the cautious side.

Yeah, go 12 AWG all around just in case, but you could certainly do 14-gauge for the fronts/center if it will only be 5 feet. Make sure to get CL2-rated (for in-wall installation) speaker cable. Don't buy into any fancy marketing stuff, as long as it's of an appropriate gauge for the distance you're going and it's rated for in-wall it will be fine.

There's nothing really fancy about speaker cable, it's the same as it has been for decades. Just run one speaker cable per speaker, red-to-red, black-to-black (make sure to mark the cables somehow so you know which is which!).

The 4-conductor cables is for bi-wiring/bi-amping, don't worry about that, the 2-conductor is fine.

Yeah, I'm still dreaming about 130dB. Just need to accumulate some money for that
My Yamaha HTR6190 has set fronts to about +1.5 +2 dB. I experimented with sub level so YPAO sets up all speaker levels in range -2+2dB or less.
I do not know why YPAO set all speakers to large and BASS OUT to BOTH. Looks like it does not handle my sub S10.3 correctly because it sets distance 1ft for it. If I change the distance and increase the sub level on 5-7dB then it becomes noticeable. Otherwise, if I set speakers to small and bass out to SWFR and play with crossover freq. then hear a dip below 80Hz. Maybe, something wrong with sub or my room. I got some more furniture, I moved fronts and sub around but no significant change.
Anyways, all speakers to large are ok. Small is fine for movies but sounds "lighter" in music. The loudness is almost the same. 6190 has enough power for this setup, IMO.

Just got an email from FS saying they have credited back the shipping overcharge on my RC-50/RC-LCR purchase. In a couple of hours I will send them an email asking for my 20% off my RC-LCR. Its better than Christmas!

Can't afford LCR, wait and save up or buy the RC-Mini Center? Is there a huge difference?

Did they charged double the shipping (that's what happened to me)? Did they catch the mistake or did you have to call them (in my case, I had to call).

Double for the RC-50. I had to call, too.

World of difference. The RC mini center is not even in the same league. I had it and exchanged it for the LCR. If you own the RC30,50,70, the LCR is a must! Don't forget to bargain.

just what other owners of the RC30's are using to setup their speaker and what is your cutoff point. I have gone back and forth between large-small & 60hz-80hz with very little variance in SQ playing my cd's. I will admitt that I haven't calibrated everything (awaiting some BJC supplies) but have any of you discerned a difference?
Just curious, Bill.

Hey Billy.

I leave mine on small/80hz for movies, and I switch them to large when listening to music. I found that when I switch them to small/80 for music that I lose some of the mid range, although I don't have a great sub either. I've been meaning to try small/60 to see what that is like. I really do prefer having those beautiful towers play the full range for music though.

I have also set my treble to +2 based on some of the discussion here regarding the RC's not being very "bright". So far I kind of like it, and I think it resolved some of my droning bass issues. I'm gonna play around with it further.

Guys. I need a 3 channel amp thats available in Canada. I got the RC 70 and LCR center. Im running it off a Yamaha 6190. I do listen pretty loud and I sometimes crank up the Yammy to -2. I think I could use some more juice to these puppies to really make them sing.

I assume alot of you guys are Canadian as Energy is a Canadian brand, eh. I would appreciate some reccommendations for a good amp. I checked out the EMotiva XPA 3 but shipping is gonna be a bitch. Any other suggestions? I want to spend under 1000.00 THanks.

I actually listen to music in a customized DTS Neo6. I prefer the soundscape over 2 channel listening because my room is small. I tried putting it in 60hz and didn't notice much of a difference, so I left it at 80hz. I was able to tweak my Yamaha's soundfield so that the front soundstage is completely transparent and actually sounds better in 5 channel mode for music than 2.


Conan48, check out Canuckaudiomart for deals on amps.
http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/detai...sound_hca1200/

This is a great amp with THX certification. It will run your RC70s full tilt and not sweat. And I'd let the Yamaha handle the rest. Or if you think that still puts stress on your Center (ie, you're still cranking the volume on the Yamaha to -10 or so) then I'd suggest going all out and getting the Emotiva XPA-5 since it's 5 channels instead of 3 like the XPA3 for $150 more. Keep in mind that realistically your Yamaha probably puts out 75w or so. That is more than enough for most speakers, but the RC70s suck juice like crazy. I was able to completely overdrive a Denon 988 (2808) with the RC70+LCR+2RCRs at Future Shop.

Or if your equipment is far away from your sitting range, then you can look into pro amps like the Crown 402 or Behringer A500. Those have a ton of power but are noisier and MUCH uglier than the pretty HT amps.

will mixing and matching amps from one brand to another create a different sound? If I get that THX amp you recommend and then get a monoblock later in for the center, will I need that same brand? AMP is just extra power right? The sound is still coming from the Yamaha.

Has anyone from Canada ordered from Emotiva and if so what has your experience been like? How much tax, duty, etc were you charged.

Haven't heard the RC-LCR (although I will soon -- just got a heck of a deal on Audiogon! ), but I have the RC-mini center with my RC-10's.

It does a fine job if you are in a small room, and is a perfect tonal match, but a little speaker can never have the same fullness as a dedicted, larger speaker.

You will want to cross it over at 100Hz or 120Hz, so if you don't have a receiver with multiple crossover points you may have to make some compromises to integrate the RC-mini center (for example, I have my RC-10's and RC-mini all crossed over at 100Hz). Search back a few pages for posts by me, I did a post or two a few weeks ago running down some options for integrating the RC-mini into one's system.

It's all really a question of budget -- the RC-LCR is, undoubtedly, much much better. It's not that the RC-mini is bad, it's actually amazing for its size, it's just that the RC-LCR is reputed to be one of the best center channels out there. So if $200 vs. $500+ is a really, really big deal to you, then the RC-mini will be a fantastic choice. But if you CAN afford it, and you are a critical movie and/or multichannel music listener, and have the room, the RC-LCR will undoubtedly be a big step up.

If my wife doesn't shoot me for buying another speaker, I will hopefully be doing some comparative reviews of the LCR vs. mini very soon....

Congrats on that RC LCR oh Piggy. You are gonna love it. Was this the guy who was selling the LCR with those Energy pros? Seemed like a great deal for the bunch, even better if he split them up and only sold you the center.

Yep, that's the one, he agreed to split it out, and since he's only up in Riverside it's a quick and easy ship down to San Diego. it was a great, great deal, very nice guy...

I have nowhere to put it though, it's too big to sit in front of my TV! Now I guess I'll have the incentive to not be lazy on the weekend and spend a few hours mounting my TV...

I have to say, I'm a little shocked that those rosenut RC-30's and RC-50's have sat on Audiogon for so long. The guy just dropped the price on the RC-30's to $450... very tempting. If that ad had been up three months ago I'd have RC-30's right now instead of RC-10's.

I don't really understand it, Monitor Audio RS6's get snapped up instantly for $600-700 off Audiogon, but those RC-30's and 50's have just sat for weeks. Brand name I guess... don't they know Energy RC-30's cause hot chicks to make out with you?

I was sort of debating whether to get the RC-LCR or the RC-30's off audiogon -- in other words, RC-10 + RC-LCR vs. RC-30 + RC-Mini. But since I just spent a bunch of time building those matching end-table stand for the RC-10's, and the deal I got, it ended up being a no-brainer.

Those C-5's for $230 are a really nice deal as well.

Since I'm on the topic, did you notice that guy in Marina Del Rey trying to sell a pair of C-5's for $650 and C-7's for $750? It's on LA craigslist... that is nuts! The C-5's MSRP'd for $750, he thinks he can get $650 today? Yikes...

Hey yeah, saw that. good luck! Those RC's on the gone are good deals. Wonder why they are sitting there too. The guy selling the 50's is the guy I bought my RC LCR from. Nice guy and sure he would deal some more on those. Hey, what color is that center, it never said in the post. It will be great with your 10's.

It's Rosenut of course, couldn't have it any other way with my all-dark-wood setup!

I'm just hoping it's on the darker side of the spectrum like my RC-10's, the RC-Mini center I have is a good bit redder than my RC-10's...

Oh cool. Congrats on that. Mine is black, not a big deal as it sits above my TV in an open cabinet angled down. Too good a deal to pass up for me at the time,(about half price, and it was new to boot) Retail is still pretty pricey, great center though, worth it.

Yeah, mine is front-and-center sitting on top of that big, dark mahogany-looking console, and with rosenut RC-10's flanking either side it would definitely look funny to have a mis-matched center, especially since my wife likes them with the grills off

I know in the goliath entertainment wall unit you have over at the Bobellagio the center is way up there out of the way, so you could definitely get away with it

Blammo! It's always a good feeling when the FedEx guy actually shows up on your lunch break!

Only had time to unpack, quickly plug in and test/inspect, before I had to stuff the RC-LCR upstairs tucked away until I'm ready to break the news to the wife

Two impressions:

1. that thing is HUGE!! It's taller and not as wide as a lot of centers, so it really strikes a massive profile sitting there. It will obviously look better once the plasma is on the wall and it's nut jutting out in front...

2. only did a brief sound test, no level matching or recalibration, but WOW. that is a full-sounding center channel, so much more bass/midrange (even still using the 100Hz crossover!) than the RC-Mini, as you would expect. I cranked some music in 5-channel stereo mode and that thing sounds fantastic!

When I quickly re-hooked up the RC-mini, and did a brief 10-second test to make sure it was working before I headed back to work, I could hear immediately how much thinner the little speaker sounds. Pretty impressive.

And the rosenut looks good, still redder than my RC-10's but maybe a half-shade darker than the mini...

^ Batpig, Do you buy your Energy stuff from stores or online? I live in LA and I checked on their website... pretty much all the stores doesn't carry any in stock and orders from manufacture. I'd really like to listen to the speakers before blowing 2000$ on the entire system. Do you know any store around that has them in demo room? I wouldn't mind traveling to SD for that

Only used stuff, either from local stuff (craigslist) or used off ebay/audiogon. I have a very limited budget, so I only buy things that I can easily re-sell for what I paid (or even a profit much of the time) so if I don't like them, it's low risk.

I agree that it's a big bummer that there aren't many (any?) socal dealers with showrooms anymore. Energy's site turns up authorized dealers in southern cal, but they are mostly custom installers, not speaker vendors with a listening room.

At this point, I just kind of trust the brand, so I'm willing to buy "sight unheard". And, like I said, I always make sure I can return or re-sell if I'm not happy.