Energy CB-5 Bookshelf Speakers $ $74.99 per Pair SHIPPED at Newegg

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bmwme

Senior member
May 10, 2001
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I've been looking for a cheap little bookshelf speaker to get some music into my office. The new NHT Super Zeros are out now and are only $199 a pair for great sounding small speakers, but I didn't want to spend that much (in the world of high-end anything under $500 is CHEAP...so I'm REALLY cheap! haha). But I did find a pair of Energy CB-5 speakers at Newegg a couple weeks ago for $79.99 shipped on sale from $179.99 but I didn't bite. Well I got an email this morning they they had a 25% off coupon on Mirage and Energy speakers.

The CB-5 is up a little to $99.99 but with 25% off you're still getting them for less ($74.99 shipped). I can't wait to hear how these sound and if they aren't quite my taste I'm sure I can get most of my money back in the used market.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-007-_-Product

Use coupon code: EMCKHHE24
 
ericlp

ericlp

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
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I've tried to Like Energy... I don't know what it is. A lot of people like them. Good Deal but... Some people can't stand the aluminum tweets. I'm one of those people ... It's too tinny of a sound or too bright / fatiguing maybe. I dunno... Give me a silk dome driver any day! But I hope you like them!
 
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bmwme

Senior member
May 10, 2001
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I love a warm sounding system. My main system (Rotel and Snell) and my theater system (Onkyo and Monitor Audio) are both on the warm side. Metal tweets are not always bright and tinny, but I agree, more often than not a soft dome tweeter is more appealing.

I saw all sorts of reviews on these and some said they were too bright and some said they were too dull. Go figure. Everyone hears different. For the money it isn't a big risk. These may end up in the garage where sound quality doesn't matter at all...we'll see.

This coupon is good for any Mirage or Energy speaker...the deal on the CB-5 just seemed like a hot deal to me.
 
gevorg

gevorg

Diamond Member
Nov 3, 2004
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Nice deal for speakers that are a big step from crap like Bose, built-in, most HTIB sets, etc.

If they're too bright in your system, consider slightly lowering the treble a bit or use "warm" receivers like Marantz and some Onkyo models. At this price point, don't expect a high quality speaker. At best, it will be either a little bright or a little muddy, so pick your poison and enjoy. :)
 
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bmwme

Senior member
May 10, 2001
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Doesn't have to be. Remember these are $179.99 msrp. For $199 the NHT's are an amazing sounding speaker. You just have to stay in the range they are designed for. Don't expect them to get overly loud and stay clean or produce bass cleanly below 100hz.

Like I said, we'll see. I'll report back once these are broken in. I'll give them a good chance and listen to them in the room with the Rotel gear. Nothing like listening to $79 speakers on $2400 worth of gear! :)
 
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the DRIZZLE

Platinum Member
Sep 6, 2007
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Any thoughts on these paired with a cheap tripath amp from ebay for use as computer speakers?
 
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sunilx

Senior member
Apr 6, 2005
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@the Drizzle. Great idea. Those Tri-path amps are great for undemanding listening. You wouldn't call them "High-End", but compared to crap like MP3 docks and such they're brilliant
 
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magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
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can someone briefly explain what equipment i'd need to get it hooked up to a PC (tripamp?) I have a slew of audio connections on my p67p8 motherboard and wouldn't mind hooking up something more than a 3.5mm jack (unless I'm wasting my time and there would be no improvement with audio quality unless i get a dedicated sound card and much more expensive speakers)

FWIW, i'm using dell speakers from around 10 years ago :\


edit:

so after some research i have a better idea.....are those cheap 20 ebay ones okay? i just don't want to buy one and then realize it was a total waste. just looking for something comparable to the quality of the speakers to plug these into. no point in buying a super expensive amplifier if i won't get a benefit, and no point in buying total trash if it won't utilize the speakers
 
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magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
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wirednuts said:
some tripath amps are better then others. dont waste money on shitty ebay ones (there are good ones on ebay though).

check these out. 41hz audio AMP6 Basic kits. preassembled or buy as a kit. http://shop.41hz.com/shop/item.asp?catid=13&itemid=43

very high quality audio. would be perfect for these speakers. extremely power efficient too.
Click to expand...

lol well I guess I shouldn't cheap out. i just feel odd, b/c with PCs i'm comfortable is matching two levels of quality and knowing the price....with this its all blind for me. I'm assuming though that a 70 dollar amplifier pairs well with 75 dollar speakers =)

trying to decide to assemble it myself or buy it pre assembled....figure this will end up costing quite a bit,e specially since i don't want random PCB laying around that is soldered so I'll have to order parts from mouser
 
ericlp

ericlp

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
6,137
225
106
http://www.parts-express.com/1/3/tripath-t-amp

you could try the 2024. To be honest I hesitate to recommend the tripath from parts express. I don't think your going to get that good of build quality. IMO.

Ebay is a joke. Almost ALL t-amps are coming from China, Even Hilly, Topping, etc...etc.. I mean, China is the scam of all scam. You may think your getting a "REAL" amp, but what your really getting is a knock off case with some cheap amp in it.

So, if your gonna shop from ebay... Check out this guy. Arjen Helder... He's legit.

I heard china is trying to copy his design and sell knock offs. Even tho they are made in China ... You just NEVER know.

But as far as I'm concerned nothing beats the TA2020 chip yet. Try that out first. See how ya like it. Then buy a real amp from 41htz or DIY paradise. Tho half the battle is getting clean power to your amp. I suggest a 12Volt SLA scooter battery.

I'm on a waiting list from Helder form some tripath 100watt Mono blocks.

Good Luck!
 
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magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
ericlp said:
http://www.parts-express.com/1/3/tripath-t-amp

you could try the 2024. To be honest I hesitate to recommend the tripath from parts express. I don't think your going to get that good of build quality. IMO.

Ebay is a joke. Almost ALL t-amps are coming from China, Even Hilly, Topping, etc...etc.. I mean, China is the scam of all scam. You may think your getting a "REAL" amp, but what your really getting is a knock off case with some cheap amp in it.

So, if your gonna shop from ebay... Check out this guy. Arjen Helder... He's legit.

I heard china is trying to copy his design and sell knock offs. Even tho they are made in China ... You just NEVER know.

But as far as I'm concerned nothing beats the TA2020 chip yet. Try that out first. See how ya like it. Then buy a real amp from 41htz or DIY paradise. Tho half the battle is getting clean power to your amp. I suggest a 12Volt SLA scooter battery.

I'm on a waiting list from Helder form some tripath 100watt Mono blocks.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

You can't just draw power from the wall? Have to nightly recharge a battery??? What???!? Lol....

I'll just wait for the basic6 assembled kit to come back into stock...looks fun to do myself, but i just don't have the time. I'm just hoping some something preassembled that i don't have to build myself...get it, plug in speakers, plug in 3.5mmjack, plug in some kind of power connection...and go!
 
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ericlp

ericlp

Diamond Member
Dec 24, 2000
6,137
225
106
You can't just draw power from the wall? Have to nightly recharge a battery??? What???!? Lol....

These amps are HIGHLY efficient ... So you don't have to spend a lot of time charging.

The key is to buy 2 amps!!! And why not they are cheap enough. One for everyday listening... And another hooked up to a battery for more critical listening.

If you must plug it into the wall, at least get a P/S that is rated at 2-4amps. The higher the better.

Have fun!
 
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magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
ericlp said:
You can't just draw power from the wall? Have to nightly recharge a battery??? What???!? Lol....

These amps are HIGHLY efficient ... So you don't have to spend a lot of time charging.

The key is to buy 2 amps!!! And why not they are cheap enough. One for everyday listening... And another hooked up to a battery for more critical listening.

If you must plug it into the wall, at least get a P/S that is rated at 2-4amps. The higher the better.

Have fun!
Click to expand...
i got a few PSs from work....so old they don't want to recal them, but they look good enough for me lol. I figure i'll just use some alligator clips and call it a day. I'm sure the juice should be good enough; 10-12Vs at whatever is needed should be okay.

Never done any 'key listening' at all....the last 3 years has been on a Dell A215 http://www.techfuels.com/attachment...mputer-speaker-dell-a215-computer-speaker.jpg

And prior to that I had some nicer speakers but they broke somewhere somehow....but they were still just PC speakers so things sucked balls. "Nicer" is relative to modern day PC speakers

And exactly why the second? The fluctating voltage/current will wear the first down, so you want a backup that is rarely used? I noticed that tripath went out of business and their assessts were purhcased by cirrus logic, so any tripath parts (of which there are a LOT) that are still out there are simply from existing stock
 
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bmwme

Senior member
May 10, 2001
345
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Let's get this ship back on track... ;)

So not broken in yet but I did get the CB-5's hooked up. I'm running them with a Sonos ZP-120 powered zone player. 55wpc of fairly "highend" power. They aren't end all be all but for a standalone wireless music system it is very good. I listened to some Jayson Mraz (320 kbs MP3).

I was very surprised with how they sound out of the box. Warm speakers so far. The treble is not in your face at low to medium listening levels. Bass isn't really there and the mid bass is somewhat bloated, but the upper bass and mid range are actually quite nice. I was tapping my foot by the middle of the first song I played. Voices are there and realistic, and imaging seems to be somewhat there. I was 3 feet away with the speakers 3 feet apart so until I get them on stands I won't know for sure.

So very happy with the first 15 minutes.
 
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BTA

Senior member
Jun 7, 2005
862
0
71
I've been using the Sonic Impact and Dayton Audio T-amps from www.partsexpress.com for a while now, including on my main PC.

Work great and I recommend to anyone who wants a nice cheap way to use some quality speakers on their PC. I use a set of older Monitor Audio Gold series bookshelf speakers...but have used with a variety of self-built speakers as well. It's really handy having an easy to access spot to plug new speakers in for testing :)

As far as the Energy speakers go, my buddy bought a whole set for his home theater and they actually sound pretty decent considering the price. The tweeters are a little harsh but you can EQ it out a bit. Their bigger floor standing speakers can be muddy in the lower midbass but those come with plugs for the ports in the back, which actually do help out quite a bit.

Honestly these are made to sound good to the most common listener's tastes...which is a big U shaped response...lows and highs are louder than the midrange. So they will sound great for most people, and can be made to sound decent enough for the majority of others.

Can't beat the price as they are decidedly better than "white-van" types of speakers.
 
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