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Been doing some research on these speakers. I'm looking for a set myself and may have tracked down one locally. Anyway first off who here has owned these speakers? How do they compare against newer speakers? My other option is to buy a set of new B&W 804S speakers and it would be good to know how those compare. I know both brands are power hungry. Someone mentioned that they modified their pair for bi-wiring. Is it easy to do on these speakers? I'd like to run them that way if possible. Like a dual amp situation. Not sure if that would work on a 2 way speaker though. I am aware of some of the details on these speakers and have seen the pdf file on Energy's site. From what I know is the frequency response on the RC versions of the 22 series was 25Hz to 45Khz. That's pretty respectable numbers for a speaker design started in 1982. I don't see many modern speakers doing this today, even though Energy used a 7 inch woofer. I've seen the woofer out of the box and it doesn't seem all that special, other then I've been told and read the surround has been stitched on to avoid seperation. Plus the RC versions were much better in frequency response then the lower versions of the 22. I actually had a chance to listen to these in the 80s and was impressed with them, though I couldn't afford them at the time. I don't think Energy has made a speaker as good since. Again my main comparison is B&W, so if you can compare those two speaker lines it would be great. I currently own a set of B&W 602 S3 speakers which are only 2 years old. But I was always planning to upgrade from them, so they were only meant to be temporary.
Speaking of sound- how do the 22s sound with midrange and voice, especially since this is where B&W shines.
Follow Ups:
If anyone knows the answers to either of these 2 questions, I would love to have your reply:
1) Can you provide me with the contact information of the person who re-builds the Energy Reference 22 (Connoisseur)dual hyperdome tweeter?
2 Does anyone KNOW what a comparable or better tweeter unit would be that could be used to replace the Energy Reference 22 (Connoisseur)dual hyperdome tweeter...without having to make any significant modifications to the crossovers, etc. in the existing speaker cabinets (and continue to use the low frequency drivers)?
I have a 1986 vintage pair, 100% original, but I would like the tweeters to provide better performance...mine may have faded (or not) possibly due to drying out of the ferro fluid cooling media.
Any solid advice on how I can restore or improve upon what was/is an outstanding product?
Thanks kindly!
Ken Burak
Calgary Alberta
403-804-9911
Kenburak@shaw.ca
I own a pair of these and they live up to their reputation. I have yet to hear a better home speaker! There is a pair on eBay right now going for $3,999US and another repaired pair that didn't meet the lowest reserved bid at $180US. Go figure!
I bought mine in Canada in 1982 and paid $1,200CAN. The hyperdome tweeter is amazing and the relatively small cabinets (mine have a dark walnut veneer) produce a bottom end of 30Hz (which is exactly what the specs claim). No sub woofer required, although I do have a Sunfire (with 2,700 watt built in amp) for the full bottom end. I power the Energy towers with a vintage McIntosh 2100 power amp and the McIntosh C35 pre amp controls all. This system rocks or whispers and these references speakers make it all work.
I sold mine on ebay two years ago for around $230(very good condition) - The tweeter in them was called the "million dollar tweeter" because energy put a lot of money into R&D of it - the speakers highs were very good and overall they were pretty good sounding -
Makes you wonder why they are not using that tweeter today? Cost cutting? Its the only tweeter I know that goes up to 45 khz. Their new speakers are lucky to go above 23khz.
I'm pretty sure they were $1500.00- $1600.00 new.
I had the Pro 22s for along time, I sold them to
a friend, he still has them. I bought a pair of
Yamaha NS500M speakers but to me they only sounded
good nearfield. The store let me trade them for the
22s which I liked much better.
Well the stereo store with a set of these here are asking $900 for a used pair in oak finish. Not exactly a great deal in my opinion. I've seen these sell for way less. If I'm going to spend that kind of money, I'd like to know B&W can't out better them.
I've seen and heard them but it was so long ago I can't really put their performance into perspective for today.
Although they were highly rated in their time and for a number of years after, they are still relatively old by modern speaker design standards.
I too would agree that $900 seems way too much- perhaps priced that high because of their former reputation etc. If you believe that speaker design, for the most part, has come along way in the past 20 years ,buying a newer used speaker ( perhaps like the PSB Gold i's if you like full range speakers) is likely to be a more sensible option for the long run.
The price seems to vary from $125 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170420577522) to close to $1000 from another ad I saw recently.
Adjusting for the dated(?) design and tech, plus the risk/age and known problems with the tweeters ferro-fluid drying up and likely need for rebuild (not cheap!), any suggestions on what is a reasonable price for a pair in good but original condition?
Energy 22 reference connoisseurs usually go for at least 400 bucks. and can be as high as 1000 or more with freshly rebuilt tweeters.(i saw 1 pair on ebay for around 250 from someone who didn't really know what they had and wouldn't ship to Canada I dont think they ever did sell) I found a mint pair of black pebble finish Connoisseurs for $450 Cdn. I consider myself lucky.
The Energy 22 pro are the cheaper stand mount versions and can be had cheaper.
Anyone know what the original list price was on the 22RCs? It might help put in perspective how high a price that $900 is.
The retail on them was around 1900.00 for the ones with the basic black finish and up to 3000.00 for the rosewood veneered ones....I own a pair and they are amazing. The only problem I've been told is that the tweeters dry out ferroid fluid and will go bad...they can be rebuilt and are worth doing it as they are some of the best tweeters I've even encountered.
i just had one of my tweeters rebuilt. it cost me 145.00 and had to ship them to an independent source to get it done. energy has sold the machine that rebuilds the tweeter and i found the guy to bevery competant. i love these speakers,and i am bithering the neighbors with them as i type this.
p.s. i bought them new,when they first came out. i will never give these up.
if anyone needs the email address of the place that rebuilds them, just email me
I have a pair of the 22RC in Rosewood. They are beutiful to look at and listened to. I can compare them to my JBL166, Infinity RS2.5, AR94sx, but not B&W's you mention. They hold their own with the one's I've mentioned, way better than the JBL, on par with the Infinity except in the bass department, and the Infinity is a much taller speaker, so dispersion is different. The are a quite a bit better than the AR94sx at imaging and tighter bass, but these AR's were an economy model and are no slouch for what they went for in their day.
Hope that helps a little,
EricV
Does anyone out there have any comment on how the Energy 22 would compare to my Paradigm 9seMkIII (ported 8" 2-ways of similar cabinet volume) that I'd be replacing them with if/when I find a pair?
I heard the 22's 25 years ago and was smitten by them, but could not afford at the time, but now see they are not that hard to find, and can be had pretty cheap with some patience. (a nice pair sold on ebay in the last week for $125(!)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170420577522
The tweeters on the energy are far superior than the units made by Paradigm or the Vifa units Paradigm used for some time. In fact the Energy Dual Hyperdome is still one of the best dome tweeters ever made...you'd need to buy a high end Scanspeak Revalator, Seas or similar unit to surpass its sound quality. Well worth it to spend the 320 bucks at ABI to rebuild a pair of Energy tweeters. Overall the Energy Pro 22 will be better in every way over the 9seMkIII except maybe for sheer volume. But try to find some Reference Connoisseurs with the built in stand.
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