[wrayman]

Hi all....

Picked up a pair of Energy Pro22 speakers last week. I am amazed at how good these are, I knew nothing about them, just saw them in the local paper for a good price. They are from around 1980, and IMO are competitive, or better than many current high priced monitors.
I've owned Harbeth 7's, and 30's, both excellent speakers, and the Pro22 is in the same league, although that Harbeth M30 is KILLER  

I'm going to give more attention to vintage gear, the bang for the buck is incredible  

Happy listening,
Mike

[Bemopti123]

I believe these series of speakers ended with the release of their Energy 22 Connoiseur line, around 1987-1990.  These speakers, especially the large standmount ones, which needed short stands compare themselves very well with what I remember to the the Infinity Kappa 7-9 series.

The higher end of the Energy 22 Connoiseur line was occupied with the same two way design, but with integrated stands, made with better finishes.

They are no slouch, especially due to their tweeter, which was supposedly very expensive to research and develop.  I do not know how the newer Connoiseurs stack up, but those models will always have fond memories to me.  One of the better secrets of high end audio.

[oracle309]

I have had a little experience with these speakers personally.

The Pro 22's were one of a few loudspeakers researched at the National Research Centre in Ottawa. At the time the director of NRC's acoustics lab was Floyde E Toole. Almost every Canadian loudspeaker of good of repute benefited from the research done at NRC. Energy (API), PSB, Mirage,(API), Paisley (now part of API), Axiom, Athena (API) etc..

A few links for you...

http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/about/history.php
http://www.soundstagelive.com/factorytours/psbnrc/
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/content/info/1117830000072/1?v_c=MartRCP
http://www.axiomaudio.com/archives/NRC.html


In the mid 1980's I auditioned a pair over the course of 4 or 5 days. Initial impressions were spectacular but wore off soon as the sound became tiring. I had and still have no issues with the quality or the sound if matched carefully. I have listened to my nephew's Athenas (ASB1?)but in my system at that time they simply sounded busy.  The problem was off course my euipment at the time , calling it mid-fi would be chartitable. A friend bought the Connys and still has them, but again the system he has is wahat I would call long in the tooth, an certainly not top drawer by anyone's description.

I really think that if someone had good euqipment in the 1980's then the impression would be completely different. I also think that listened to in context of some of today's gear they would impress. Energy also had a lower priced offering called ASM (2 or 3 models of I recall).

I recently missed a chance on a pair of Mirrage 750i speakers, that were incredible for the time as well, so much stuff, so little time and money...

[Rocket]

Hi Oracle,

I had much the same opinion as you with the energy pro22.  I had this speaker in my system for about 5 years.  At the time though i had a cheap cdp and used nad pre/power.  It would be interesting to hear the speakers in a better system.  The nad stuff imo didn't sound that good.

Regards

Rod

ps good luck with the purchase.

[wrayman]

Thanks folks for the replies and thanks Oracle for the links. Still enjoying the 22's, and consider the tweet to be of the highest quality. Recently owned a set of Von Schweikert VR2's, and the Pro 22 is a better loudspeaker.  
Just gives me a kick to get this kinda result for a couple hundred bucks Canadian..

Regards guys, and happy listening  
Mike

[Phil]

Wrayman,

The Energy Pro22s are great -- very musical.  A few years ago I decided to replace mine.  I listened to many, many speakers before I found one that sounded better to me.  Basically, I made the switch from two-way to three-way.  The musicality of a good 2-way is hard to beat.  (I still have my 22s although I'm not sure what to do with them.)  The tweeter is wonderful, especially for digital, since it doesn't highlight digital faults.

phil

[wrayman]

Phil,

Yes, they are a musical speaker, IMO too. I've heard comments about the bass being on the generous side, but don't find that to be a problem for me. Two ways seem to be the ticket in my case, every three way speaker I've tried hasn't done as good a job as the good two ways.
If you are at a loss on what to do about your 22's, you could always send 'em to me up here in Canada....

Regards,
Mike

[Phil]

Mike,

I'm sure that is where the 22s would like to be -- back home in Canada.  If you ever want to set up 2 more, let me know.

I don't think the bass is too much, in fact they don't really go very low (in comparison to 3-ways anyway) but they do simulate deep bass very well.  At any rate, I'm sure you have  found the secret to enjoying gear is never listening to everyone with an opinion (that means everyone).  So enjoy your enjoyment!

Phil

[Chris A]

Note that Energy have finally listed a Pro 22 brochure on their classic-lines page: http://www.energy-speakers.com/v2/products/classic-lines.php 

And Pro 22's regularly offered for sale on eBay: http://electronics.search.ebay.com/Energy-Speakers_Consumer-Electronics_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8QQsacatZ293

Have a review on the Energy 22 line from Ace International Perfection Vol. 2. No.1 - if interested can e-mail by return.

My surround includes pairs of Energy 3.1e & Pro 2.5 plus an original ECC-1 center. Have a pair of Energy 22.2's in a Bryston 2B-LP powered stereo setup.

[Rocket]

Hi,

Just read my post from last year and i think one of the reasons i didn't like the enery pro 22's or my monitor audio 352's was because of the poor electronics i was using in those days.  I'm sure they would sound better in my current system.  Cdp's sounded awful in the 1980's and early 1990's.

Regards

Rod

[Chris A]

Hi Rod:

Found that the slew rate and the damping factor of the Bryston amplifier makes the Energy's compliant (an understatement). Ref CD tracks are "Babylon Sisters" (Steely Dan) and "Hills of Morning" (Bruce Cockburn) - references we used at Manta Sound in Toronto.  We used a 1/4" master dupe of "Hills of Morning" prior to the CD issue - the Cockburn early albums were recorded/mastered at Manta Sound.  From memory of our studio main monitors/Bryston amps performance, the Energy tweeter really stands up!

[westlake]

I owned a pair from 1984 till 1986 and was sorry I sold them.

I currently use a pair of Westlake HR1 4-way designed monitors that use a custom made HRX active crossover. I would have never dreamed I would own a pair of these. They are driven with 4 Boulder amps.

A simply amazing sounding system. For those of you not familiar with Westlake Audio, they have been around since the sixties. Unfortunately they don't get much attention from the consumer side of the audio industry. www.westlakeaudio.com

http://kpachkowsky.photosite.com/Album1/IMG_0731.html

Ken

[Chris A]

Energy are really just consumer high end as the tweeter dispersion would drive you crazy if you tried to mix on them - just great for listening in a typical reflective home setup. There are yet another pair offered this week on eBay - am looking for a pair of the 22 Reference Connoisseur.

Your Westlakes' very similar to the Manta Sound custom-mains (MEG's) used in 3 of the 5 rooms - dual 15" JBL woofers, a wide horn midrange? and an Electrovoice horn tweeter.  Bi-amped with Bryston 4B and 2B-LP. We had guys that would mix all day in the 107spl range! Retained a pair of the junior MEG's used in the other 2 rooms: single 15" JBL, a 6" mid (European?) and Electrovoice horn tweeter, custom passive crossover as the horn only draws 7 watts - drive with a single Bryston 4B, very accurate, and perform superbly into the low to mid 90's spl.

We demo'd the MEG Jr's at an AES show in New York (1988?) and Westlake had a demo room with 3 or 4 pairs of monitors set up - looked like a Hi-Fi demo comparison room.  Had to ask which pair were accurate? 'Smartass' they asked me to leave!  My problem always with demo rooms set up to help you decide 'what you like?'

Watch you hearing - got too close to the stage at a Phish concert in 1999 and when they kicked into a Led Zeppelin cover, estimate the Bass level at over 135spl!  Have suffered left ear tinnitus ever since.

[westlake]

My HR1's use:

JBL 2235H 15's
Gauss 3184B
JBL 2441 with Berylium Diaphragms
JBL 2426 "    "     "      "     "

Each one is over 430 lbs not including the lower rack cabinet.

A pair of these with the HRX Crossover currently sells for just under 100k. I don't listen to them at anything over 90 - 100 db. Pretty much a jazz fan. The picture shows them in a temporary setup as we are building a new house. They will be soffit mounted in the new sound room.

Ken

Ken

[Chris A]

Hi Ken:

The big MEG's were in the 400lb region and all MEG's used the JBL 2235H's - is the voice coil still marked polar to the industry standard?  Frustrating until we twigged. Did like the Electrovoice horns, so smooth, and 'horns' probably the reference for Energy engineers who came up with the Dual Hyperdome tweeter?  Will soffit my MEG Jr's as a retirement project - they are only 200lbs each.

$100K, wow, not much air for retail in that space!  Our BOM for the big MEG's was around $6K and Jr.s $3K - sold a bunch to local studios in the Toronto GTA as engineers liked working rooms with MEG's, and also sold 3 pairs of MEG jr's to Fanshawe College here in London, ON - Jack Richardson* taught at Fanshawe, recently retired. * produced 'The Guess Who', Seger's 'Night Moves' and some Rod Stewart among his many credits on the MEG's.

No picture came with your post?  Or maybe I'm just challenged?  Enjoy, and watch out for the 1812 on CD (guns dynamic +20dB above program on early releases, because they could not do it on tape/disc!).  The Cockburn will exercise your 2235's also.

Regards, Chris A

[Chris A]

Some real Energy 22 deals on eBay over the last couple of months: http://electronics.search.ebay.com/Energy-Speakers_Consumer-Electronics_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8QQsacatZ293

A pair of Energy 22 Reference went for $300, then pairs of Energy 22 Pro Monitor's went for: $245, $125, $127 and $185 respectively!  Bottom seems to have dropped out of this market, for the interim: http://www.energy-speakers.com/source/Pro%2022%20brochure.pdf

Still looking for a pair of the Energy 22 Reference Connoisseur in Bird's Eye Maple!

[anal.log]

I bought my original pair of 22's around 1983 or so. Not much out there in terms of new speakers that
I would trade them for.
I actually recently bought another pair locally for $80. The cabinets are in rough shape
but sound as good as new.

 

[Chris A]

Paid $85 for my Energy 3.1e's used, great as surround fronts. and CD$150 for my Energy 22.2's, a 1993 version of the Energy 22 right down to the stitched rubber surround on the 7" woofer - both pairs sound very good indeed. Have to agree, very little compares in the retail space to early Energy.

[a1greatdane]

My HR1's use:

JBL 2235H 15's
Gauss 3184B
JBL 2441 with Berylium Diaphragms
JBL 2426 "    "     "      "     "


Ken

Hi Ken, could one please ask where You have managed to get hold of 2441 compatible Beryllium diaphragms? Have they got diamond surrounds or maybe even Mylar?

Hopeful regards
Sven