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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$1290.00
from Ed Frias Summary:
After having listened to my new audio system for about six weeks now, I am very happy with my set of two T-42's, a C-20 center and two B-15 rear speakers. The whole set including Pro-ONE decoder and S/H cost just under $3000. I combined them with a SVS subwoofer, and this combination of speakers effortlessly fills my large living room with wonderfully accurately reproduced sound. Much to my chagrin, I am noticing the big downside of having good speakers: I can now tell how poor a lot of CD recordings are. With good recordings, though, my speakers are now a serious threat to my subscription to the symphony. And even a lot of my historic recordings are now starting to sound really good!
I have a very large collection of classical music, and my girl friend has a collection of historic jazz recordings. We are both blown away by just how realistic the audio is on good recordings.
I am glad I decided to buy the PRO-ONE decoder, too. After Ed helped me sort out one silly initial misconfiguration on my part, I now use it almost exclusively. It works great on DVDs, where I can put more emphasis on the center speaker. This way, I can clearly hear dialog, and I am still not getting overwhelmed by loud effects. And for CDs, the PRO-ONE does a quite amazing job of reproducing surround sound from a stereo recording.
In fact, the sound staging is amazing with these speakers. I can easily locate each individual instrument in a symphonic recording. And choirs feel as if the singers are right there in my living room. I was particularly thrilled listening to the first track on "The Falcon And The Snowman" soundtrack by Pat Metheny.
Of course the best part with the EFE speakers is that they are girlfriend-approved. She wants me to hide all the other stereo equipment and the subwoofer, but the EFE speakers can stay in plain view. In fact, the T-42's are the perfect match for our big TV. They have just the right height to both look and sound good.
And finally, Ed's customer support is exemplary! I love the prompt replies to all of my e-mails before I bought the speakers. And the fact that Ed is checking back after I have had the speakers for a while. It'll be a while before I'll need to buy any more stereo equipment, but I know I will consider looking at EFE products first. Strengths:
- very neutral and realistic audio reproduction
- great sound stage
- perfect match with other EFE speakers
- beautiful design
- reasonable price
- excellent customer service Weaknesses:
- I now need to throw out half my CD's, because I can tell how poor the recordings are.
- after listening to the set of five speakers hooked up to the Pro-ONE decoder, you won't settle for less.
- e-mail only sales. You have to buy the speakers without being able to test them first. This takes a leap of faith. Also, Ed does not have his own web page for his products, so you have to e-mail him for the brochures and current pricing information. Similar Products Used:
Germany has a long-standing tradition of small HiFi manufacturers that sell locally. I bought a great set of stereo speakers many years ago, but never managed to ship them to the US. In today's dollars, the pair would be worth about $4000.
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