As an audio reviewer I am not one, as a critic my wife is. The Take 5's are incredible quotes my best critic (why are you spending so much money on speakers?). I agree they sound incredible, they really are quite the beer priced package that delivers champagne sound. To let you know how much of an audiophile I am not, they are hooked up to a Yamaha RV 1103 with Audioquest type 2 cables running throughout (Did I mention budget..somewhat?) and I am hearing clarity of music/surround like I have never heard before!! Maybe I am easily impressed, definitely amused, but I love them. I also am appreciative of this site and the wisdom imparted on the various products. It is through here that the consumer can make an informed choice or at least ask intelligent questions when comparing. I would give the Take 5s a 4 only because there are other speakers out there that probably sound better if you want to spend the money. But they are getting a 5 because of the price to sound quality ratio and more importantly my wife finally is enjoying/appreciating good sound. Maybe my next upgrade will be B&W Nautilus speakers?!!

After much research on this site and others I narrowed my choices down to the Take 5, a NHT Super One/Super Zero/sub combo and the Def Tech Pro Cinema 100. I listened to all three and while I have to admit the NHT's and Pro Cinema systems had a slight edge in overall sound, they were well over double the price of the Take 5 with the ES-10 sub. In my opinion there was not that dramatic a difference in the quality of the sound that would make them worth the extra cash. Also the satelites on these systems were quite a bit larger and would not blend into my room as well.
I ordered the Take 5 system from the AudioShop in Canada and got the whole thing delivered for under $650 U.S. including four mega-mounts. The system arrived in less than a week in perfect shape. I hooked it up last week and am very happy with the sound for both music and HT. I have it set up in a decent sized (18' x 20') room with vaulted ceilings, and it plays plently loud. The ES-10 sub can definitely shake the place. I would highly reccomend this system to anyone with a budget of less than $1,000, because for the price, nothing even comes close.

Small Size, Easy to mount, Great sound, Subwoofer will take everything you can give it.

Black Glossy finish requires dusting/cleaning fingerprints off after all your friends can't believe the sound that they produce.

These speakers are worth every cent!!! I have the Take 5 Surrounds with a 8.2 Subwoofer. The place I bought them from still had the Take 5's and the 8.2 Subwoofer, which adds a switch to allow for music or video. These speakers surprised me for their size. If you have a small room or like you sound heard and not seen, then you must purchase these speakers. Century Electronics is extremely knowledgeable about their products and beats the national stores hands down. I would seriously consider buying these speakers.

Incredible Value, clarity and presentation

None I can hear....

I love these babies...Blend together beautifully...I have mine matched with and e:xls 8 subwoofer...These speakers have got to be the best bang for your buck...Bought online from Marc at Audioshop, great service

Nice gloss finish, great imaging

some lacking in midrange for music

after looking for sub sat systems for a few months, my wife and I decided the best sounding system we heard was the Energy Take 5's. I originally wanted full sized front speakers but my wife did not want to sacrifice the space they take up on the floor. With that in mind i was not sure that the Take 5 system would give us enough sound for the size of the room they would be played in. The dealer insisted that they would be fine and suggested that I upgrade the sub-woofer to the 10 inch rather than the 8. When we got the system home I set it up acording to the instruction book. We then popped in a DVD and sat back to watch. After several adjustments to subwoofer placement and speaker output levels, we were ready to go. Let me tell you that we were both very suprised at what we heard. These little speakers sounded awesome out of the box!! For the next several days I burned the speakers in and the sound got even better. I am not saying that these are the best home theater speakers out there, but i am saying that for the money and for their size they are very hard to beat!! My system consists of a Nakamichi AV-8 reciever, Toshiba sd3109 DVD player and a 60 inch Zenith Inteq tv. My room is approx 29' X 16'.

Similar Products Used:

Bose A.M./ polk audio sub-sat system.

compact size, clean, clear sound

If you a chance go listen to these...Quite amazing actually!

Very clear and crisp sound quality, 8" Sub is plenty for the average size room, DVDs come to life...etc.

Honestly, I don't feel there are any weaknesses in these speakers, they do the job, and they do it WELL!

I must say, this is by far the best speakers I have ever heard in this price range. Even if I paid $1000.00 i would be satisfied. I never knew that there was so many sound effects in many DVDs I own. I am hearing things and special effects that I never heard before on my old system. The only reason I bought these speakers was becuase of the good reviews you folks had on this site. I am running a Yamaha 5250 A/V Receiver, and a Toshiba 50" HDTV ready TV! Lets just say I bought the movie theatre home! There are by far no drawbacks on these speakers, they are small, and sturdy, and are simply awesome!

Similar Products Used:

Bose, NHT - But Take 5 takes it away!

Excellent sound, great dispersion

I've actually not used these speakers that long (they were a Christmas present to myself) but I am amazed at the sound they produce. I bought them mainly for Home Theater use and they fill the bill perfectly for that. My living room is set up awkwardly with a large entertainment unit occupying a corner of the room. I had to place the center speaker about 18 inches above the TV and the right and left main speakers were mounted to the wall using the accessory brackets available for the Take 5's. The rear surround speakers were mounted high on the wall, firing down and behind the listener (maybe not the best arrangement but the best I can manage in the room). The room, by the way, is roughly 20' X 24' with a cathedral ceiling. These little speakers fill it with sound - and the clarity is super. I had to buy an 8" Mirage subwoofer (the Take 5 equivalent wasn't available for shipping when I ordered) and it more than adequately handles the lows. Overall I am thrilled with what I ended up with. I ordered mine from Audio Excellence in NY and paid roughly $600 including shipping.

Oh, the only weak spot I've noticed is the accessory wall mounts - I have one that sags - I've tried everything to stop it - and am almost to the point of drilling a hole through the pivot point and holding it steady with a bolt.

I ordered Take5's and a 12inch sub from Marc at Audio Shop. Marc is a great guy to deal with and very knowledgeable. I can't say how good they sound because since there was a snafu at customs FedEx lost the sub woofer. It could take weeks or months before I get to hear this setup. Do yourself a favor pay a few more bucks and order them locally. Then you can actually write a review of how well you like or dislike the setup.

I purchased the Take 5 setup about a month ago. I opted for the ES-10 instead of the default ES-8. I found a great deal at http://www.audioshop.on.ca/ I had the entire packaged shipped to me in New York for 625.
My first impression was that the quality surpassed the price for the product. Nobody will mistaken them for Definitives but they're pleasant to look at. I have an ancient Denon Pro Logic receiver and I connected the speakers. I immediately fired up the receiver and began adjusting the speakers for my room. I found the bass from the sub to be incredibly impressive, almost over powering. The highs is the one thing I've been disappointed in. I had to lower the treble so the fronts would not being sibilant. I proceed to play cd's from every possible genre I own. I found all my r&b/hip hop cd's to be excessive bassy and my rock/alternative to sound harsh. The higher quality the recording, the better performance out of the speakers. This might sound obvious to some but the extent of which this is displayed using these speakers is startling. I spent the entire night fiddling with the settings. Looking at the settings now, my treble setting is almost off (extreme left twist). I finally think I have something I believe is the right tonal balance.

The next day was spent on movies. This is an area where this setup excelled. Using the settings established during my testing of audio only, I was very pleased with the sound quality. I attached a recently purchased dvd player (pioneer dv 414 - great machine). Sure the sound is down translated to dvd and I lose all the discrete sounds I would have with a dolby digital receiver.

So to sum up, I'm generally pleased with the speaker setup. I'm hoping the issue I had with the speakers being bright/high has to do with my archiac receiver. I'll be picking up dd/dts receiver soon. I would definitely recommend this setup to friends who are budget conscious like I am. I auditioned many others and it's hard to find anything of this quality at this price range.