Energy 2.2 bookshelf speakers: For true audiophiles
Written: Oct 08 '01
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Pros: wonderful imaging, accurate sound, tight, full mid-bass, play loud
Cons: don't reproduce the absolute bottom octave
The Bottom Line: The Energy Veritas 2.2s are true audiophile speakers, among the best I have heard at any price.
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| Horswispr's Full Review: Energy Veritas V2.2 Bookshelf Speakers |
There are many speakers out there that do a decent job of reproducing music. But there are very few that make you stop what you're doing and really listen. Such speakers draw you into the music and make it hard to do anything else. The Energy Veritas 2.2 bookshelf speakers are that kind of speaker.
Strictly speaking, these are not bookshelf speakers. Because they are true audiophile speakers, they will sound best when mounted on dedicated stands. The speakers themselves retail for about $1500. The dedicated stands add another $450 to the price, meaning that you're spending nearly $2000 to bring these home and set them up right.
But it is worth it.
The Energy Veritas 2.2 uses a high quality woofer, nominally a 6 1/2 incher, with a useful radiating area of about 5 1/2 inches. Driver complement also includes a dome midrange and a dome tweeter. Details about crossover frequencies, driver materials, etc., can be found at www.energy-speakers.com. The claimed -3dB point in the bass is 40 hz.
The Energy Veritas 2.2 comes with two pairs of extremely high quality gold-plated binding posts. You can bi-wire or bi-amplify these speakers should you so choose.
The styling of these speakers is somewhat "avante-garde" (notwithstanding Sparkospunky's definition thereof), with attractive wood veneer sides and a solid-feeling dark-colored laminate top of some sort. I would prefer a more conservative presentation, but most people find the speakers to be quite attractive.
What's important is the sound, and MAN, DO THESE SPEAKERS SOUND GOOD!
Imaging and soundstaging are AWESOME, with the speakers throwing a huge and realistic soundstage. Instruments are layered within the soundstage, and the speakers' ability to capture subtle cues about the room in which the music was played is absolutely uncanny. Instruments and voices sound round and full, not like cardboard cutouts. The sense of musicians in the room with you is truly amazing. I actually had to check the back of the speakers twice to be sure they weren't dipole radiators.
The frequency response sounds utterly flat; I could discern no peaks or valleys which could thrust certain instruments or notes in your face or make them recede into the background. On classical, jazz, and rock, instruments sounded incredibly realistic. Massed vocals sounded wonderful. Solo cello sounded amazing, with ample bite but no artificial edge. Male vocals sounded full and realistic, with great presence. And female vocals, about which I am extremely picky, sounded warm and real.
Bass was tight and STRONG to about 40 hz. With many speakers (including some I like), there is powerful bass, but it does not seem to be coming from any particular instrument. With the 2.2s, the bass was immensely powerful, but you could tell exactly where it was coming from. It was not the disembodied sense of "wow, that's deep bass!" you get from some bombastic home theater systems. It was deep, tight, dynamic, and realistic. Plucked acoustic basses sounded particularly good.
So these are audiophile speakers. But can they ROCK?
Absolutely! The 2.2s handled rock with the same sense of ease with which the handled large scale classical and jazz. The musicians were spread across the stage, and there was a real sense of SLAM to the music. Dynamics were outstanding. These speakers will also play LOUD if you ask them to. But they don't sound loud in the sense that they're starting to distort. They remain in control even at high volumes.
Are these speakers perfect?
If there is a fault, it is that I don't see how the laws of physics could allow these speakers to play the lowest octave (20 to 40 hz) at realistic levels. They are small speakers using a single small woofer. But they clearly made it to 40 hz with no problem.
In conclusion, these are among the best speakers I have had the pleasure of listening to at any price. At about $2000, including stands, I consider them fully competitive with speakers in the same price range from Joseph Audio, Thiel, and Triangle.
Very highly recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1500/pair
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