Energy Owners Thread - Page 1505

So my guess was correct. But as a stranger I do apologize for invading your space.

OEM or not, but they are pretty good and are locking banana plugs. So theres no problem of them falling off. They can be used at both ends : speaker and receiver. They are cheaper, do the job well, are good looking and I guess that matters a lot for people looking for some banana plugs.

Hi, Fears4Ears!
From my experiences, I like the Monster HTS 1600 when it's on sale. It is reliable, doesn't need resetting and doesn't produce any buzz sound. I have 3 of these because I like them so much.
I would avoid the Monster HTS 1700 at any price. It buzzes, and needs resetting too often. It seems to be cheaply made, compared to the HTS 1600.
I think the Acoustic Research AP-08SC is a great deal when it comes on sale for $20.00. For value, this one is probably top of the list.
Belkin PUR AV have some great conditioners for the money as well.

Absolutely. As I mentioned they could be a decent plug, just not a real as advertised Nakamichi.
I use GLS plugs and love them. I am not interested in spending hundreds of dollars on brand name banana plugs. There are some Rocketfish plugs I would stay away from, as they are lose and don't have the turning sleeve to lock feature.

Lol. I was reading that thinking, "I hope Hank doesn't come back right now." Oh well, I love seeing those pictures each time they resurface. Now watch them end up on the Energy facebook page...that seems to be their thing lately, sniping pictures from this thread. Maybe it will inspire them to bring some quality back to their line.

And Monoprice plugs are perfectly good and inexpensive. That is all I have ever used, and never an issue. Not much to go wrong.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=9436&seq=1&format=2

I am guessing that Energy is more interested in burying the old products so that the new ones have a hope of selling. At least the pictures can't be heard, for Energy's sake. That would be funny if they decided to put them up.

Hi Hank, glad to see you back here. Since you're around... I always look at the used market in case I stumble upon a gem at a reasonable price, but so far, no luck. I have no real need for more speakers but hey, I can't let vintage Energy speakers fall in the wrong hands can I?

So if I remember correctly, before the Reference Connoisseur 22 there was the Connoisseur 22, which I think were not that good. Before that there was the Pro 22. Are those remarkable in any sense? I may have asked the same question before, I realize, but a pair just popped up in local classifieds. Price is steep so I wouldn't contact the seller unless it's worth it. 30+ years old speakers are also a risk and I'm not as experienced as you in terms of detecting flaws.

There are also Pro Series 1.5 bookshelves locally but those look much cheaper. It's just the first time I've seen those. And... are the C-5 floorstanding speakers one of the "good" C-series speakers?

Hi neutro
Yeppers, The 22 Pro Monitor and 22 Reference speakers were introduced before the 22 Reference Connoisseurs. I believe they were all released very close to each other. The 22 Pro Monitors are the entry level models, followed by the 22 Reference and then the 22 Reference Connoisseurs.
The 22 Pro Monitors are good speakers, but I wouldn't sell the house to buy some. For around $50 with stands, I am extremely happy with the quality and sound. The tweeters would make me shy away from spending any real money on them though. I am very fortunate to have 4 functional tweeters for the models that I have been able to find. I do want to have them rebuilt.

I have the Pro Series .5 speakers and they would be awesome for surrounds. I really like them for the price I paid. I use mine to demonstrate the receivers that I want to sell. There has been a few people that asked if the Pro Series .5 speakers were for sale and I just say no.

I have not heard the C-5s, but I had the C-8s. The C-8s are very good speakers. I would have to guess that the C-5s are definitely one of the "good" C-series speakers. I would not hesitate to give them a try if you think the price looks good.

Yeah I remember now. Same answer as last time Really this thread is so humongous that it should really be a forum in itself. Well the asked price is 10x what you quote so I won't even bother with the Pro 22's.

They sure aren't expensive on the used market. They do seem more recent than the Pro 22's but they share the "Pro" name -- were they built around the same time, or are they more recent speakers?

That's interesting... Thanks for all that information.

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Losservatore: don't worry too much about perception. It's sometimes hard to decipher the intent in written speech but in my experience, very few people here were ever disrespectful on purpose (one recent exception comes to mind and he's not there anymore). I think your posts are appreciated by most people here and your intent is quite clear despite the minor grammar issues. Anyway, I'm also not a native English speaker, and I know what you mean. But more importantly, I think lots of native English speakers sometimes use doubtful grammar that leaves multiple interpretations open, so it's not only a native / non-native speaker issue. I think the best way to handle all of this is to give the benefit of the doubt as much as possible and assume the writer meant well. If it's not the case, well, you can also ignore it. This is not the place for flame wars anyway.

I use these same ones, from recommendations in the Denon 4311 thread, and they are pretty bombproof. Nice and solid, no way for them come come loose.

@ neutro -- the "Pro" series (though they share the name "Pro" with the Pro 22s) are unrelated to those original 22 series models. They were the entry level speaker in the early/mid 90's (when the "e series" was the mid level line). I have also heard the Pro 0.5's, got them for $20 on craigslist and gave them to a friend, and I agree with Hank that they are excellent quality speakers for an entry level model, definitely suitable for surrounds or for a secondary setup.

The C-5's are part of the "odd number" Connoisseurs, which replaced the "even number" Connoisseurs (C-2, C-4, C-6, etc) around 2001 or so. They are the direct predecessor to the RC's, and the C-5 is approximately equal to the RC-30. Those original two Connoisseur lines are much higher quality (close to the RC's) than the current entry-level line for which Klipsch exhumed the "Connoisseur" name.

I would also echo Hank's sentiments about banana plugs, all of these companies (Nakamichi, GLS, Sewell) are just rebadging similar Chinese products. For example, these GLS Safe Connect plugs are basically identical with the Sewell Deadbolt model linked above. A lot of them are basically knock-offs of the Monster QuickLock plugs.

I had some plugs from GLS that eventually became very loose and would be in danger of slipping out of the speaker post on my receiver. I also had one where the plug literally snapped off of the barrel! It's not so much of an issue of it locking on the speaker wire part, as these screw-on types are secure there, but the actual plugs, if cheaply made, can loosen over time as the metal flanges weaken.

I also have the Monster versions (didn't pay full price of course!) and they are definitely higher build quality, never had any issues with them loosening.

So, like Hank, I am not saying these plugs are necessarily bad, but just be careful as a cheap plug that loosens and falls out of the back of your receiver or speaker could cause a short...

Hank. I like the old Kenwood as well. I have a KA-5500 amp and a KT-7300. Small stuff but like the way the V6.2's sound on that setup.
Believe it or not Sony made some nice gear back then as well. Have a Sony STR-V5 receiver 1978 I think. I like Yamaha as well, have a 2006 RX-V659
I use it for 2 channel as well. Actually like the sound of it better then my VSX-03, VSX-33 or my VSX-1120. Been searching for that Luxman you have, hard to find.

Ah that makes sense. They're very reasonably priced but I'd have no use for them. I'm still trying to see if my parents could handle a receiver + speakers so that could be a cheap solution. However I think they would really like the one-item solution provided by a soundbar, and considering their setup (TV mounted on a mobile stand in a corner by a window), I clearly see their point.

I don't dig the silver-colored baffle but the price is right. The drivers and tweeter don't look like the recent RCs at all though.

Nice to see you around again, Hank. Myself (and many others I'm sure) owe our extensive debt and amazing speaker systems to you haha

I've got a 5.0 set of RC-Minis on their way to me to upgrade the 10 year old sets of generics I'm currently using. I've had the EW-100 sub for awhile now and love it so I figured I'd snag some Energy speakers for the surround. For anyone with this setup how is the Center channel on this? I currently have a Polk CS1 which I assume is better but it also takes up a ton of space. I was thinking about maybe having the Micro Center as my Center back for a sorta 6.1 setup. Thoughts?

I have the RC Mini center as well as a pair of RC Mini bookshelf speakers. They blend very well together and I think you'll like the RC Mini CC. The Polk CS1 is larger but I wouldn't say better. And it doesn't match the RC speaker line.

I also bought the 5.0 set of RC Micros a month or two ago when they were $60 and they don't compare to the Mini's at all. They're in a box in the closet until I decide what I want to do with them.

FYI, the Veritas Mini center is available for $95 from WWStereo with code SDVMINI. Maybe not as great a deal as we've seen recently but probably the cheapest it's ever sold for. Black Rosenut

Hey Hank. Thanks for the info on the Monster HTS 1600 power conditioner. They are $139 on Amazon right now. I'll keep an eye out for deals.

I don't know anything about power conditioners, but I almost want one of these just to get rid of the power strips on the floor lol

You can spend an unlimited amount on this stuff but yeah, I'm gonna build a new rack and want to clean things up back there. One could always upgrade later but I'm thinking this is a good price point and an improvement over a simple power strip.

That's a nice looking receiver. I like how slim it is and its exactly what I need for a bedroom receiver.

I wanted to get one, but haven't looked into them much. I've read that they are pretty much snake oil like high priced cables etc... a friend of mine bought one and didn't notice any difference at all in his home studio.

I almost need the HTS 3600 though because I have 10 things to plugin (most of which are annoying like the Harnony -> Bluetooth adapter, DS charger, router, modem, etc...)

Different volume dials, no level matching. Nothing to do with power, for which there should be little real world difference.

Here's a really good deal for someone in the Mass area.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Energy-RC50-Reference-Connoisseur-Series-Tower-Loudspeaker-PAIR-BLACK-ASH-/281071247099?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item417126defb

If you mostly watch movies/TV or games, you don't really lose too much with the RC-50s vs the RC-70s.

Don't buy it with the expectation of improved performance. It's not going to make audio or video quality better. That part is 100% snake oil.

If your expectation is for a good power strip with some added protection for your gear then you will be happy. Even then it's not really necessary unless you have bad power in your area, although I certainly appreciate that it's nice for clearing up wires on the floor . But it's much easier to be happy with the purchase if you don't believe the hooey claims of PQ/SQ improvement.

Thanks for the info. It is a lot to spend for a neater cable situation, but definitely tempting. I wonder if the power bricks for my modem, router, 3DS charging cradle, and Harmony bluetooth adapter will block the other outlets. If so, I guess I could buy some of those 1ft extenders, but then it may not be tidy anymore, lol.