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Review on πŸ”Š Experience Powerful Audio with Energy RC-70 Tower Speaker - Black (Each) by Bobby Posner

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great for music and movies: Energy RC70 + LCR + RCR + RC10

I've been an audiophile for about 4 decades. Over the years I have used better quality speakers from AR, JBL, Ohm. I finally settled on a Carver ALS-3+ over 15 years ago and have been very happy with it without even thinking about replacing it. I've owned a home cinema system since the early days of surround sound. Speakers in this system included Advent, Boston Acoustic, Jamo, Mirage, Polk Audio, and Yamaha. I've never paid much attention to Energy speakers because they're not a very household name in the US and I never had a chance to see or hear them in the showrooms of hi-fi shops before they became practically extinct. About 5 years ago I came across the RC50's on sale for a modest amount and thought I should take a chance and order a pair. It was immediately clear that it was better than any front speaker my HT system had ever had. This prompted me to purchase 5 more RC speakers to overhaul all my HT speakers except the subwoofer: 2 RC-Rs for the rear, an LCR for the front center and an RC10 for the front surround. All had some kind of discount, probably because the company was sold to Klipsch and released several new models. I later came across the Veritas V5.2c Center, which was supposed to be the reincarnation of LCR. I bought one to see how it compares. The woodwork of the Veritas was excellent, but the old LCR clearly underperformed in terms of sound. After playing Veritas long enough to be sure it wasn't a hack, I returned it for a refund, which I rarely do. I knew the RC70 was the flagship of the line, but it wasn't available at the time. A few months later, the official retailer's website indicated that supplies would be coming soon. I pre-ordered a pair without hesitation and received them as a replacement for the RC50 a few months later. This completes the upgrade. What sets RC speakers apart is the lack of coloration and distortion, ie the tonal balance is very neutral, voices and instruments sound even, natural and clear. Sound quality is the same across the line, much better than other companies. The diminutive RC10 sounds very similar to the big RC70, except for a little shy bass, but it's enough for many to marvel at just how powerful its bass sounded. The installation of grilles slightly dampens the high frequencies. They are attached with magnets and can be easily removed or reattached at will without worrying about mechanical clips breaking. Appearance also changes when the grille is removed. Drivers coated with natural silver and black veneers create an aggressive Robocop look. This is very useful if the driver ever needs to be replaced. Only a few screws have to be loosened and the driver can be removed from the front. I really had to do it once. Energy sent me a 6.5" driver and the exchange took only a few minutes. Without the 5-year warranty, the cost would be around $60, the minimum amount for a Hi-Fi repair. The company lives on, no need to worry the RC speaker will ever die. I don't think I'll ever have to think about "upgrading" this HT 7 speaker system. unlike carvers. Both are sleek and neutral. I've found myself using the RC system more and more for listening to music as the number of live DVDs and multi-channel music recordings (SACD, BluRay Audio, DVD Audio, etc.) available grows. .) The RC70 has enough bass for most pieces of music. The spec drops to 31Hz, but that's at -10dB. It could benefit from a subwoofer. I use a Mirage BPS-150i, my first and last subwoofer, which works great with the RC70 for both music and movies. Many owners of radio controlled speakers have found them to be incredibly profitable. They seem to have a small random stock that pops up all of a sudden and then sells out quickly. In recent years they have been offered at a fraction of their original suggested retail price, so nothing else can match this value for money. Klipsch bought the company but didn't actually sell orphaned products to meet demand. The RC70, RC-10 and RC-LCR continue to be listed as current products on the company's website. I think they really were removed and brought back from the grave for a few years. This is very rare, except for specific products that have real fans. I suspect that if Klipsch sells the RCs properly and makes them widely available, they could take a lot of sales away from other more profitable speakers.

Pros
  • Acceptable
Cons
  • Hard to remember but it was