Energy Owners Thread - Page 1470

I have not had the opportunity to listen to the Energy soundbar yet, but the Martin-Logan offering sounds pretty good for what it does. A friend (0f my wife's) purchased one at the Magnolia Design Center at the Mission Valley location in San Diego. She returned it a few days later. I cannot remember what the output of the internal amplifier was for the soundbar but the sound quality was fairly impressive. We were all present during her initial audition of the product and its performance exceeded my expectations. I was initially skeptical of soundbars [Not In MY House!].

While I agree with you in principle, the fact of the matter is that soundbars do have their place. There are a lot of people who just don't want to deal with the hassle of multiple components, wiring, extra remotes, etc. and the soundbar is simple -- just plug in the optical cable from the TV's digital output, stick the wireless sub somewhere in the corner, and off you go.

I actually did listen to the Energy Soundbar the other week when I was in Magnolia, and to be honest the sound quality was pretty darn good (ahem, *for a soundbar*). The subwoofer put out some pretty nice boom boom and the quality of the soundbar itself was pretty clear. Obviously, it can't compare to a real setup but if that's what your parents will go for, it will still be a million times better than the TV speakers.


You are correct, unlike some more expensive soundbars it's not conceived as a replacement for a receiver with multiple inputs and the switching function. I checked out the back and it just has a single RCA input and a single digital optical input. What you would do is use the TV as the main switcher (with all component plugged into the TV directly) and then use the digital optical out from the TV direct to the soundbar.

A few years ago I was doing a little googling for a friend who wanted a sound bar. I came across a Sony that had 2 hdmi inputs. While I don't remember the model, they do exist. Hope that helps.

I heard a soundbar in an electronics store and it was surprising how the surround effect worked. My buddy has a yamaha, and I think he said there are 40+ speakers in it. It is a receiver too.
Yamaha YSP-5100.
He said it is pretty amazing.
However, I don't think is worth the pricetag of $1,400 - $2,000
Also: 120W total power !! (2W x 40 + 20W x 2)

I don't even understand the logic of wanting this in a soundbar. The very essence of a soundbar is simplicity -- the person buying the soundbar wants something they can plug in and get sound that is a lot better than the built-in TV speakers, without the fuss of receivers and such.

Why would you need extra HDMI inputs in the soundbar? You aren't getting hi-rez multich audio. And now you've added another layer of complexity in having to switch inputs on more than one device, which again is anathema to the idea of the soundbar.

Almost every modern TV has plenty of inputs; it seems the logical way to do the soundbar is the way the Energy one (and most others I've seen) do it, which is having minimal inputs because the TV is the switcher and all you really need is one optical input for the TV's digital audio out.

My guess, it was made for people exactly like my friend. He ended up buying it (it was $300 +). And said it was perfect cause he was able to hook up his cable box and ps3 to it. I told him he was limiting himself between the sound, connectivity, future upgrades, etc.. He didn't care. I pleaded with him to buy a 2.1 system and add to it later, he wouldn't budge. I will admit a few months after he bought it I asked him about it, and he was still very happy. Then again, almost anything is better than tv speakers.

I don't know much about soundbars, and it seems the term describe very different animals. Some are meant to be connected via a single digital input. Some are 2.0, others 2.1, others 3.1 and others are 5.1 with surround emulation with multiple speakers that are probably dipole designs. Some, I think, are meant to be connected through HDMI between the source and the TV, grabbing the audio and decoding digital formats and forwarding the video stream to the TV. In that scenario, connectivity becomes at least as simple as using the digital out, apart from the fact that the soundbar becomes a receiver/switch for the HDMI sources.

The form factor (single object, minimum wiring) is something that is attractive indeed for my parents. I'm not sure where I'd put speakers as they put their TV in a corner between a fireplace and a window, on a small mobile stand. Anyway, at $450 MSRP for the Energy soundbar, even that would be too expensive, and for that budget, I agree that a cheap receiver and speakers are the way to go for sure.

I looked at the local used market and there is nothing very interesting. By the way, someone was trying to sell a "Rölk Olsen" 5.1 setup for $175. After a bit of googling, I was surprised at those white van brand scams. Looks like it may even be legal, as long as taxes are paid. Nothing prevents those manufacturers to put a $2799 MSRP on $100 worth of junk and sell it directly to unsuspecting chaps for $300 in a parking lot.

Lol. I wouldnt spend much on a soundbar. Doesnt make sense to me. If you are getting it for simplicity sake and your parents arent real picky you should be able to get a pretty nice one for less than $150. I would suggest one with a digi op port. Something like this would probably do well.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HTCT60-Soundbar-with-Subwoofer/dp/B00A44CD52/ref=sr_1_10?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1360690906&sr=1-10&keywords=soundbar+speakers+for+tv

If they dont want a sub you can get a better soundbar.
Edited by Bond 007 - 2/12/13 at 9:46am

Simplicity is something to consider in favor of the soundbar. My brother and I got my mom some Paradigm Atoms and a Marantz receiver a few years ago. We should have gotten her a soundbar. She doesn't really care about the SQ, and she's always messing up something with the configuration. LOL

Great point: SQ is something *we* care a lot about, but surprisingly, some don't

My GF is a great example of this. She actually listens to more music than me and she buys more of it too. But the hassle of using the HT setup, along with its inconvenient location in the living room (as opposed to the kitchen / dining area where we dwell most of the time), is enough for her to prefer that atrocious Logitech iDevice portable docking station. As long as she hears the melody, she's fine. I for one am much more partial to how it sounds, even to the point where melody sometimes almost doesn't matter.

My parents are in between I think. They have a compact stereo system -- an older Sony model that actually sounds surprisingly good for such a small unit. I don't know if it has an aux input that could be used, and I'm not sure my parents would like to move that by the TV either. That's why I was considering something small, inexpensive and easy to set up, just so that listening to music would at least be doable with their new smart TV. You know, just so that they have more to do with the TV than simply "watching the TV".

Is the TV volume setting typically affecting the digital output? I guess not. This is another problem as it means another remote will be involved in any solution. And while there are inexpensive universal remotes, the problem is not the remote itself but the number of devices to control.

I'll end my post here lest I go on in yet another rant about HT control issues.

I'm with you on this one.....when I was purchasing all my HT stuff, she actually asked the question "whats wrong with the speakers in the TV?".......

Yeah.......jaw hit the floor.

Is this the beginning of the end? There is almost a page of posts about soundbars. What's next?

I can't wait for Energy's new and exciting 2013 offerings to come out so we can talk about them. Or was that the Monoprice/Takes? Okay, I'm done venting now.

I'm sorry guys, no more soundbar talk then But that was Energy's new and exciting 2012 offering, along with the, hmmm subs?

Still, if we want to keep this thread alive, we got to talk about something haven't we?

"Men are from Mars, women are from Venus..." - John Gray

My wife loved the shopping experience last year when I upgraded my AV setup with new components and loudspeakers. Occasionally she will even ask me to remind her how to turn on my (Marantz) system. She rarely, if ever, uses the system; she happily uses and prefers the cheap Emerson am/fm tuner-CD player she found at Wal-Mart for less than $100.

She will listen to the system, but she hates to use the system...

It appears that we have fallen down to "Hard Times" when our thread has stooped to the discussion of soundbars.

Nope, the real hard times will be when we discuss these:

Not just subs......POWER SUBS!!!!


WTF????



So.....I'll start the next direction of this thread.......what brand of speakers will you be switching to since new Energy products are rectangular shaped pieces of dung?

I like Jamo.....I'll probably be looking for a pair of C603's to upgrade my C403's......

Just a joke, guys... I hope....

Rofl well played You should have stuck the Energy logo on it though, I can make out the Bose one

I think I'll use my RC setup for a very, very long time. No plan to upgrade at all.

One day, when I'm rich and I live in a large mansion with a whole wing dedicated to home theater, I'd like to try out the Seaton Catalyst or JTR Noesis or similar powered speakers.

Another possibility would be if we do some remodeling and I finally get a HT room downstairs. The RC setup will go there, but I may need a 2-ch setup in the future open-space kitchen / dining room / living room area. I can't see how Energy would fit the bill there unless I find a used pair of older Energy speakers.

It's been shrunken down to the size of the 'woofer', so I thought no normal human being could possibly see it.

Earlier I asked the question about which sub to go with, the BIC F12 or the Klipsch RW12D, the RW12D was reccomended. I tried buying the Klipsch from Newegg however my card has a canadian billing address so that didn't work. I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on the Klipsch from Amazon simply because they are charging $30 shipping (on top of the $335.95 price tag), which irks me when I know it is cheaper elsewhere plus free shipping. The F12 is much cheaper at $187.90 and ships free. It's almost worth it to buy two F12's instead of one RW12D and be out only a few extra dollars. My space can really only accomodate one sub though.

My question is, how much of a difference will I notice between the two? Is it worth it spend nearly twice as much for the Klipsch?

Cheers guys and thanks for all the advice so far.

Nathan

That really depends on you and your expectations. What kind of sub do you have now? Is it mostly for ht or music? If you are looking for someting to provide bass in ht then the f12 will probably do. If you want something more accurate for music and will have more output for a bigger room then the rw will be worth the extra money. If you have a larger room and get the f12 and cant hardly hear it then that is more of a waste of money than paying extra for the rw and getting something that will perform well.

Nathan, what is your situation exactly? I mean purchasing in the US if you live in Canada can be an interesting option, but it also has its drawback. Or do you currently live in the US but have a Canadian credit card? Amazon.com typically won't ship to Canada...

Of course, it's frustrating to have to spend $370 on a sub when others can have it for $300, but then again it's 1) simply not available, to my knowledge, in Canada, and 2) unless you buy second-hand, I doubt you'll be able to get a better sub for $370 in Canada.

You have other options though. If you know someone in the US you could ask a favor and "borrow" his credit card. But if you don't have an Amerifriend and have no other payment option, then I'd advise looking at the used market in Canada for the best deal if you think the Klipsch is too expensive.

It will also matter what kind of room its going in?. Is it a big open room, windows, is it open to other rooms? You 'll to try and pressurize the room. How many cubic ft is the room?

The RW-12D is just a better overall sub. It's going to be capable of a lot more output and also much deeper extension. The F12 is a fine budget sub and it will go boom pretty good with music effects, but it's not very "tight" or musical, and it also doesn't have a lot of output below 30Hz. Budget subs have to make compromises, and in the case of the F12 it's tuned to give a lot of output above 30Hz but sacrifices the really deep stuff. The RW-12D is a much more expensive sub, just closer in price now due to the fact that it's older and on sale everywhere, so it can make fewer compromises.

A big question is how loud you will be listening. The differences between lower and higher quality subs really become more apparent the louder you play. If you aren't going to play movies very loud, the F12 might be sufficient for your needs. But the RW-12D is capable of a lot of output and will still be going strong when the F12 starts to lose control.

That said, give the price differential it's a harder choice. Honestly, if the RW-12D is already pushing $400, and you can only have one sub, I'd strongly consider stepping up a bit more to the SVS PB-1000, which is an even better sub at $500 and is available in Canada through Sonic Boom Audio.

Did you trying checking out with paypal? It might not work, but worth a try...

Picked up the PB 10 today. Um .... bigger than I thought. Wife not happy. Quick setup ... Darla tapping the tank in Nemo ... holly crap. The energy sub could not do that. My setup is in a decent size open concept basement off in a corner. How would the sub work behind a sectional with no wall behind? I guess I'll start hanging out in the SVS forum as well. Unfortunately the ad said mint, but there was a small scuff on the finish a dent in the driver. I didn't see the dent until I got home. Overall a good deal for $150.00;)

Yeah we kind of forgot to tell you about the size... Oops. Then again it's far from the biggest SVS offering. No reason why it wouldn't work behind a sectional. Also, you'll be very welcome in the SVS thread