[rigger]

I'm looking for input on purchasing Essence for left-center-right vs. Protege. Room is about 15 x 26. Will be purchasing a Maestro sub and probably Emerald On-walls for the sides and rears for a 7.1 setup. We won't play at ear-splitting levels but will certainly crank it a bit for concert DVDs etc. I'm wondering what I'lll gain by putting out the extra bucks for the Essence vs the Protege.

[thedeskE]

rigger

The P is a good speaker, but the Essence has higher quality drivers. Big difference with music IMO. My reference was the 2 centers. I found the midrange and up to be a vast improvement with the Essence, but I could tell the P would be easy to live with if it fit my space and power requirements. The SappXL might be an interesting choice if Mike gets the center going soon. Everybody loves the XL mains.

Good Luck

E

[rigger]

Thanks E!  I'm planning on always running the sub so the extra range of the Sapphires isn't a consideration for me. So I've narrowed down to the Protege or Essence. If I could save the $$ by going Protege it would be great, but I don't want to come up second best.

Anybody else?

[Harry P]

I haven't heard the Essence, but I do love my Protege. I wrote a review up and you can see it in the owner's review thread if you're interested. Knowing the Protege, I'm sure the Essence are awesome as well.

[kylekalivoda]

I have an Essence center channel and I love it. Both for multi channel music and HT applications. I have recently purchased a new TV and had to move the Essence from above the TV to below the TV inside the TV stand. It's sitting on top of a glass shelf and I noticed that it was not sounding as good as it did when I had it on top of my old TV. The sound seemed to be week and not as tight as it once sounded. I know the perfect way to place this speaker would be on a good stand but I don't have the room to do that yet. What I did do was purchase a 4' black shelf that's about 18" deep along with some thin rubber padding used to keep things from moving around on shelves. I placed the rubber padding over the glass shelve, the 4' wood shelve on top of the rubber padding and the speaker on top of that. It was like hearing a totally different speaker. The low end jumps at me and I feel it down in the floor. Still don't know if what I've done is the best thing to do with my situation but it was an improvement.

[thedeskE]

Sounds like the Essence was coupling with the stand. The rubber and wood shelf
helped. You're right, a stand would be even better.

E