First review of Energy Connoisseur C-3!! (1 Viewer)

[Sebastien David]

...and it's a good one!
Reviewer's choice @ Soundstage! magazine.
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/energy_c3.htm
quote: "the Energy Connoisseur is a textbook example of a high-value speaker -- and a Reviewer's Choice"
Listen to one and judge for yourself, I for one am in complete agreement with the reviewer. I'm getting C-7s for mains, C-3s for surrounds, and waiting for the upcoming CC-3 for the center.
and I was set on buying a completely different set of speakers before auditioning those.

 

[Danny Tse]

The C1, which I have, is a great little speaker as well. I got it for $275/pair, which puts it in the running with speakers like Axiom's M3ti.

 

[Robert_Z]

Just bought a pair of C5s today. Have 'em breaking in the other room right now. Man these speakers look good, even though I bought the black finish rather than the maple:frowning:.
I auditioned the maple pair in my house and it just stood out too much against all the other black stuff. But I actually like it better than the black.
I was debating buying the C7s, but they only go down 2 khz lower than the C5s for an extra $250. To me, that, plus slightly better imaging, did not justify an extra $250. I can save that money now and use it for the CC3 that will have the same size 6.5 inch woofers.

 

[Paul Chalk]

Not going with Klipsch anymore, eh Seb?

I haven't heard the Connoisseur's yet. The only Energy speakers I've tried are the Veritas, very nice but not exactly cheap. All the salesmen I've talked to say the Connoisseur's are incredible speakers. I've talked to three different guys so far and they all said the C-7 is the best floorstander they've heard for under $2000.

My current speaker budget is about $1400. I was originally thinking about getting some good bookshelves, but with all the good things I'm hearing about the Connoisseurs, I'm going to put the C-7's on my list to audition.

 

[felix_suwarno]

seb, how can you agree with the review when you havent purchased the speakers yet?

 

[Sebastien David]

because I work in a store that carries them and audition the C-7s almost daily. I have also listened to the C-3 several times.

and no, I'm most likely NOT going with Klipsch anymore.
almost makes me sad, with all the time I've spent on their bulletin boards, I felt like I owed something to the company... I have a lot of emotional attachment to the company, however I can't justify spending a lot more for what I feel are inferior-sounding speakers (namely the RF-3s). Besides, the Klipsch rep in our region stinks.

 

[Ken Leggatt]

Seb,

Everyone over at Klipsch BB will be sad that is for sure. The new Energy line is great though. I myself was looking at the new Klipsch RB-3's wich are retailing for about a 1,000 CDN and I can pick up the C-3 from Energy for around 495 CDN. The Energy sounds great and is a better value to boot! If the C-7's were on the market two years ago my HT may be different from the Rx-3 series that it is now. But after two years the RF-3's keep sounding better and better. I don't think you would have gone wrong with the RF-3 setup but dollar for dollar the Energys can't be beat in Canada.

 

[John Dunlap]

I bought the C-9's a couple of weeks ago. I probably would have ended up with the C-5's but my dealer was out of stock at the time. I auditioned the C-9's and liked them well enough to buy them on the spot thinking that they'd be a bigger upgrade over my e:XL26's. No regrets so far. Sweet sounding speakers!!

As some have said on this site, the weakest link in the new Connoisseur lineup seems to be the C-C1 center. It's really nothing special, especially considering that I love the Energy AC-300 center I have. I will probably buy the C-C3 center when it comes out at the end of this year.

 

[Sebastien David]

I personally like the C-7s better than the C-9s. The C-9s offer better bass performance, but with my very good subwoofer that will not be much of an issue, and to me the C-7 just sounds better (except for the bass). Plus, they're less expensive to boot!

Not only do Energy speakers offer very good bang for the buck here in Canada, but I also get better deals on them than Klipsch. I had decided that was a non-issue, considering my brand allegiance, but I really can close my eyes (and ears) no more: I'm getting far more for the dollar with Energy, as painful it is to admit.

I'll try to work up the courage to tell the guys over at the Klipsch BB. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, they are a very understanding and cool bunch.
:b

/EDIT/

sorry, must have been drunk. at the time of this post, I hadn't listened to the C-9s yet. The only feedback I had was from the Energy rep, who told me exactly what I repeated above.