Help me match my speakers please

I'm looking for a pair of speakers to match my Energy Pro 3.5's but the
stores in my area (all of Iowa!) quit carrying Energy's. Can anyone
recommend a good match?

For those who are interested, here's a longer version of my problem.


About 9 years ago I bought a pair of Energy Pro 3.5 for the main
speakers of my home theater. I've been very happy with them, but have
never had a comparable set of speakers for the rear channel.

The other day my wife says, "You should go ahead and get another pair to
match the main speakers," and of course I was delighted... until I
discovered that none of the audio shops in my area carry Energy speakers
anymore and I can't even find a good used pair on eBay!

I got to thinking about my original purchase and remembered it had been
a really close toss-up between the Energy's and a pair of B&W 601's
(which I thought sounded very similar but a bit more expensive).

So today I went into a pro audio shop and listened to the Series 3
version of the 601's, but they sounded different (maybe warmer???).

Jeremy Schwanebeck wrote in message ...
I'm looking for a pair of speakers to match my Energy Pro 3.5's but the
stores in my area (all of Iowa!) quit carrying Energy's. Can anyone
recommend a good match?

For those who are interested, here's a longer version of my problem.


About 9 years ago I bought a pair of Energy Pro 3.5

Not familiar with these, so I can't comment on them. Don't see on
Energy web site either.

for the main
speakers of my home theater. I've been very happy with them, but have
never had a comparable set of speakers for the rear channel.

I'll point out that rear speakers usually don't do nearly as much work
as the front speakers; the rear speakers usually just provide an
ambiance effect. So you may be able to use different, smaller speakers
for rear speakers. The fact that they aren't identical to the front
speakers may not be noticeable when you listen.

In fact, many speaker makers make special rear speakers that are
intentionally different from the front speakers, because the rear
speakers have a different function than the front speakers.

The only negative to having different rear speakers is that they'll
look different, which may or may not bother you.

Some examples:

http://www.energy-speakers.com/surro...kers_RVSS.html

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/s...y=spk_surround

The other day my wife says, "You should go ahead and get another pair to
match the main speakers," and of course I was delighted...

If only all of us guys had wives who made suggestions that we buy more
more A/V gear! ;-)

until I
discovered that none of the audio shops in my area carry Energy speakers
anymore and I can't even find a good used pair on eBay!

If there's no Energy dealer in your area, Energy may be able to
suggest a mail-order/web dealer, or you could call the dealers
suggested at the following:

http://www.energy-speakers.com/deale...r_locator.html

I suggest that via Google.com, you search the web and newsgroups every
week or so. Eventually, you'll probably find the Energy speakers again
and an Energy dealer who sells via the web or catalog.

Make sure to look at the following newsgroup:

rec.audio.marketplace

I'd also do a search of eBay.com, save your search, and check that
every week or so. Eventually, I'll bet you'll find the speakers on
eBay.

Or you could think about switching to a different Energy model,
assuming you like that brand. Here's an example from eBay from what I
assume is an Energy dealer:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

Also, I'd call Energy and ask for advice. You could also e-mail, but
big companies get so much e-mail that they often can't answer it, so a
phone call may work better.

This might be a useful place to ask for advice:

http://www.energy-speakers.com/owner.../guestbook.php

I got to thinking about my original purchase and remembered it had been
a really close toss-up between the Energy's and a pair of B&W 601's
(which I thought sounded very similar but a bit more expensive).

So today I went into a pro audio shop and listened to the Series 3
version of the 601's, but they sounded different (maybe warmer???).

(N) wrote in message . com...
Jeremy Schwanebeck wrote in message ...
I'm looking for a pair of speakers to match my Energy Pro 3.5's but the
stores in my area (all of Iowa!) quit carrying Energy's. Can anyone
recommend a good match?

A few more thoughts:

* Go to eBay.com and look in the "Home Audio" section for speakers,
then look on the left side of the page for the "Rear Speakers"
section. Click that and you'll see a few hundred rear speakers listed.

* Energy has several sister brands, including Athena (sold at Best
Buys stores) and Mirage (an older brand). Maybe there are some Mirage
speakers that would be a good match? I know that for at least one
speaker, it's been made under both the Energy and Mirage brands.
Anyway, you could look around at:

www.miragespeakers.com

I see some Mirage surround speakers on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

You might find this useful:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/art...age_numbe r=1

(snip)

I have been in hi-fi for decades and HT for a few decades but this is the
first system I have where everything "matches" and I no longer have the
problem of stuff changing pitch when it moves from speaker to speaker.
I'm a B&W evangelist so I am a little biased but maybe you should put the
energies to work as a second room set of speakers, after all, they are 9
years old.
But if you're determined to keep them look to speakers with titanium
tweeters, as I beleive thats what the energies have. Bass wont make much
difference
Titanium tweeters is why I dont buy a lot of speakers, these buggers burn
right into your skull after awhile, and I'm a marathon music listener, so I
prefer tweeters with cloth or aluminum , thats why the B&W's sounded "warm"
to you, thats the soft dome aluminum tweeter talking
"Jeremy Schwanebeck" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a pair of speakers to match my Energy Pro 3.5's but the
stores in my area (all of Iowa!) quit carrying Energy's. Can anyone
recommend a good match?

For those who are interested, here's a longer version of my problem.


About 9 years ago I bought a pair of Energy Pro 3.5 for the main
speakers of my home theater. I've been very happy with them, but have
never had a comparable set of speakers for the rear channel.

The other day my wife says, "You should go ahead and get another pair to
match the main speakers," and of course I was delighted... until I
discovered that none of the audio shops in my area carry Energy speakers
anymore and I can't even find a good used pair on eBay!

I got to thinking about my original purchase and remembered it had been
a really close toss-up between the Energy's and a pair of B&W 601's
(which I thought sounded very similar but a bit more expensive).

So today I went into a pro audio shop and listened to the Series 3
version of the 601's, but they sounded different (maybe warmer???).

I have been in hi-fi for decades and HT for a few decades but this is the
first system I have where everything "matches" and I no longer have the
problem of stuff changing pitch when it moves from speaker to speaker.

another tidbit - using the receiver's built in test noises is a good way to
see how much everything really timbre matches (btw pitch stays the
same...random frequencies). Very very few systems I've heard approach that
ideal, and one of the main reasons is that few manufacturers even account
for the surround speakers coming at you from a different angle.