This may be a little long-winded, but please hear me out.
I recently bought some Energy Take 5 Classics and am loving every minute with it. I know it doesn't play as big as I know it should but it plays very clear and accurate in my bedroom. It is currently paired up with a Yamaha RX-V667. The reason I decided to go ahead with this purchase was because my Onkyo 606 crapped on me and I was tired of watching Blus in two channel mode with my Polk Monitor 60s. I figure this will hold me off until I can save up for the Axiom setup that I've been drooling over for the longest.
I bought the 667 from newegg and they had a deal that included a set of Klipsch RB-41 IIs for free. I just figured I'd get it and try to sell off the RBs and recoup some money. I was hoping to sell it new in box, but I just couldn't help myself. I had to try these little speakers out to see why it retails for $279. I decided to do some testing which was rudimentary at best.
I wanted to test how the RB 41s would fare against my energy satellites and my Monitor 60s. Without the complementary sub, the energys sounded small and thin - which was expected. Then I went ahead and tested the polk 60s and was quite surprised. I had told myself that i liked the little energys better than my previous polk setup, but the M60s were definitely louder and clearer. I was convinced the energys were clearer but it turns out I was wrong. I then tried the RB 41s, hoping for a good surprise. it turns out, I was a little bit underwhelmed. For being the smallest of Klipsch Reference series, I was hoping for a little bit more. Turns out my polk 60s came out ahead in that testing.
I then decided to mix and match my speakers to see the difference in a 5.1 setup. The 60s became the mains, and I had a standing energy sat. as my center. I moved the RBs to be surrounds. The sound seemed a little bigger but I could not really discern the difference. I then moved the sats. to surround duty and used one of the RBs as a center. I could definitely tell the center was louder and clearer. After the testing, I reverted back to my Energy speakers as my 5.1 system.
What did this test conclude for me? It just left me confused and concerned. Was my little Energy system that good that I couldn't tell the difference from supposed bigger and better speakers? I know that's not true, but my ears could barely tell the difference. I know my test speakers are not reference speakers by any means.
What concerns me is that if I eventually upgrade to Axiom speakers, will I be similarly underwhelmed? I am hoping not. From reading all the reviews and spending a lot of time reading the forum, Axiom speakers seem to take their owners close to audio contentment.
Please erase my concerns!
Seeking
Last edited by Seekinganswers; 02/18/11 11:41 PM.
