This sub delivers outstanding detail. Shortcomings only show if you're using it in a very large room where youmight want to move more air. My ES-10 replaced a vented 12" sub and clearly produces much higher quality bass.

When coupled with a good amplifier (Adcom GFA555, in fact mostly Adcom) the bass repsonse is excellent. I reloacted my Energy pro22's to another room and installed the Take 5 with the ES-10 subowfer. you can Not identify the position of the Sub. THe base comes from everywhere. It puts uyou i the middle of music or video. Great Job again Energy!

None

An excellent investment. (Small that is for such a BIG sound Statge and accurate imaging) Works extremely well with Adcom products. I'm an extermely satisified (Avid) user of both products.

Similar Products Used:

energy Pro22's. Antoher excellent speaker system. (26Khz to 40Khz +-1.5 DB!)

Nice tight bass,great price.

none yet, although sometimes it could be a little deeper. Amp only 100w but seems to be plenty for my needs

I got this sub a week ago and watched U-571, every depth charge shook my windows. This sub rocks. It doesn't even compare with my old passive sub.

Inexpensive
Compact
Very musical from 40 - 80 Hz

Limited Range - needs help from a bigger sub
Doesn't "hit you in the gut" like bigger subs

I picked up this sub about 6 months ago after reading an old Home Theater Mag article about the ultimate sub by crossing over this sub with the Paradigm Servo 15.

Originally, I listened to my stereo (and home theater) using the built in crossover of the Sunfire Theater Grand @80Hz: Active 20s dedicated to all frequencies above 80Hz and the Servo 15 handling everything 80Hz and below. While this gave me a more than satisfactory result, I had a yearning for tightening up that mid-bass region.

Enter the Energy XL-S10 subwoofer; at $299 it is a bargain! It is very compact so placement and moving it around the room was a breeze. And when integrated as a supplementary sub into my system, all the mid bass tightness I was yearning for had been fulfilled. Drum kicks sounded better and bass guitars sounded much tighter and more dynamic. I placed this sub slightly above floor level to further increase the tightness that I was looking for. Now, when I listen to music, there are no gaps in my system.

My few gripes about this sub is its limited range when used by itself. Obviously, it will not be able to reproduce sounds below about 40 Hz without beginning to distort somewhat during high impact movies. Also, it fails on the high end of the spectrum when going much above 80Hz at moderate listening levels. (The manual claims up to 100Hz but measurements indicate otherwise.)

That being said, the other alternative for me would be to buy full floor standing speakers but for now I am more than satisfied with this purchase. An excellent sub for music and a great value for upgrading your system for only $299.

My Audio Equipment:
Toshiba SD-5109 DVD Player
Pioneer Elite PDF-19 CD Changer
VAC HDCD DAC
Sunfire Theater Grand
Paradigm Active 20s
Paradigm Active CC-450
Rotel RB-981 Stereo Amp
Paradigm Ref ADP-450s
Energy XL-S10 Subwoofer
Paradigm X-30 Crossover
Paradigm Servo 15

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne VA-X12
Paradigm Servo 15

output for the money

does nt go as low as i would like

great little sub for the money.i used this sub in a mid sided listening room for one year before moving.for my first sub i saaw nothing wrong with it.quick fast and loud.then after moving to a larger house,with a larger room i found it could not go as low as i like then i found the nht sub 2 know thats fast and accurate but at 1200 dollars you can get 3 energys

Similar Products Used:

nht sub two

Very well built, Compact size, Excellent for music. perfect sub for small to medium size room

really no weakness, other than the fact that it won't go as deep and play as loud as more expensive subs

This review is actually for the Energy S8.2. I am sorry to post here but I have requested a catagory for the S8.2 for a while now. I have seen lots of posts on the message boards from people looking for a smaller sized sub that is good for music. Well, this is it! A true 100 watt RMS amp, 8" woofer, front panel controls for volume and low pass filter, and an audio/video contour switch. This sub pumps out TIGHT, accurate, musical bass down to about 35hz. It blends perfectly with my mains that also have 8" woofers. For movies, it fills in the lower frequencies that my mains couldn't reproduce. If you are looking for 20hz pressure waves to smack you in the gut, look elsewhere. Although, switching to the video mode with this sub will give you more boom. But,if you are looking for a fast, accurate, and very musical sub that doesn't take up much space, this is one to look at. Five stars for value because I don't believe you can get more performance for $275. Four stars overall because obviously there are subs out there that will give you more performance, they just cost a lot more?

Similar Products Used:

first sub

THE ES-10 PERFORMS WELL BUT IS VERY LOCATIONAL. I TRADED FOR A PARADIGM PS-1200 BANDPASS AND WAS AMAZED IN THE
PERFORMANCE. WHILE STANDING DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF IT
I COULDN`T TELL ITS LOCATION. THE PRICE RANGE FOR THE ES-10
IS PRETTY GOOD AND THE XOVER OUTLET IS A MAJOR PLUS.

I am completely amazed with the sheer ability of this sub. My system uses this sub along with the take 5 system and the sound easily outperforms my dedicated musical system on theatre media. Musically, the ES10 holds its own without being overpowering as many subwoofers are. Placement is critical with this unit as with many others...but when it is placed correctly...WOW! Hats off to Energy, a real accomplishment at a truly unreal price.

I was dragged into the world of home theaters by a friend. The ES-10 that I use is combined with a pair or VR-30's and a VR-12. The sub does make a drastic difference, especially in movies. The ES-10 is nothing compared to a sunfire but the price and quality that it comes with is great. Whenever a movie or just a TV show is on, a new view of quality appears.

Nice, tight bass... Using them with a pair of Energy C8's. I have a large listening room, and had some difficulty controlling the bass from the C8s alone. The sub doesn't have a heatsink... it is a high-efficiency design that runs very cool. After hours of listening to bass-heavy tracks, I still couldn't get the back metal plate warmed up! Only a 100W amp but peak power is 400W. Got it for $CDN420 including 15% tax.