The Boston SoundWare XS 5.1 (left), Energy Take Classic 5.1 (center), Pioneer SP-PK21BS (right), not proven in scale.
Just how much room-trembling home entertainment energy are you able to expect five minispeakers along with a pipsqueak subwoofer to provide Technological advances have certainly transformed my thinking about this matter, but my listening tests demonstrated speaker size still matters after i in comparison the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1, Energy Take Classic 5.1, and Pioneer SP-PK21BS subwoofer-satellite packages.
The Boston SoundWare XS cube satellites are really small, just 4.43 inches wide, 4.25 inches high, and 4.43 deep. Each one of these weighs in at just 1 pound. The speaker's rear is faceted, so rather than as being a six-on the sides cube, the SoundWare XS satellite is really a polyhedron. Its 10 sides allow it to be simpler to squeeze the wee loudspeakers into corners. Should you put it on the shelf the speaker could be tilted up or fire straight ahead. The matching baby Boston subwoofer is really a rather plainly finished dark grey box, though its rounded edges soften the appearance. We have an 8-inch woofer and port installed on its bottom panel.
When looking at tiny loudspeakers It's my job to go easy in it in the beginning, after which lightly nudge the amount up. Using the "Master and Commander" Blu-ray the SoundWare XS was really pretty adept with home entertainment bombast, as well as the cannonballs crashes with the sides from the wooden ships did not lead to overt distortion. You will find definite limits to how noisy little loudspeakers and subs can enjoy, however the SoundWare XS did a more satisfactory job with this particular Blu-ray than I been told by the Klipsch HD Theater 500. The Boston's subwoofer-satellite blend am smooth I never heard the sub like a separate seem source (this is a positive thing). If you actually need the littlest possible home entertainment speakers, this is actually the someone to get for approximately $500.
Great, however for around $400 you will get substantially better seem in the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system. The Take Classic is really a six-piece system with four bigger satellites the power sats are 6.8x4.1x4.1 inches. The middle speaker measures 4.1x10.25x4.1 inches and weighs in at 3.2 pounds. The 200-watt subwoofer comes with an 8-inch woofer it is a 12.6-inch cube.
I loved the seem of the system. It features a full balance that you simply only get having a perfectly matched up satellite and subwoofer system. The "Wayne Shorter Live at Montreux 1996" fusion jazz concert DVD may be the kind of disc that discloses weak points of little loudspeakers, however in our testing Shorter's saxophone were built with a large, wealthy seem while Rodney Holmes's drum solos were punchy and solid. It is a very dynamic performance, which urged me to show in the volume, and also the Take Classic did not appear in your thoughts. It simply seemed better and when i took in towards the high-energy music. Home entertainment bombast also rocked my world. The small Energy product is a champion.
The Take Classic is actually good, but it is no match for that Pioneer SP-PK21BS, that also costs $400! This time around the very best-sounding system is not probably the most costly, and it is offered direct from Pioneer with free freight. The SP-PK21BS system was created by Andrew Johnson, a title recognized to audiophiles for his work with high-finish speaker the likes of KEF and Infinity, as well as on Pioneer's ultrahigh-finish TAD Reference loudspeakers. Jones' designs have consistently gained rave reviews within the audiophile press. There's one catch: the SP-PK21BS is completely huge in comparison with the competing systems.
How large could it be The SP-BS21-LR shelf loudspeakers are 12.6 inches high, 7.2 " wide, and 8.1 inches deep and also the SP-C21 center speaker is a great deal larger, at 7.9x19.9x8.7 inches. The SW-8 8-inch subwoofer is average in dimensions for any budget system, being 14.3x12.4x12.4 inches. If you are searching for a "lifestyle"-oriented speakers, the SP-PK21BS will not constitute interest.
However the SP-PK21BS is, undoubtedly, the very best-sounding $400 speaker package I have heard up to now. 5 speakers' dynamic, effective, and tonally balanced seem doesn't seem possible to copy with more compact loudspeakers. The "Black Hawk Lower" Blu-ray's greatest battleground explosions and also the helicopter crash's dynamic-range demands were handled effortlessly. The machine could play even louder without producing overt distortion than any equally listed small system. The SW-8 subwoofer's bass was well controlled, but was somewhat missing in really low-frequency extension the Bose Acoustimass 6 Series III's much bigger sub had a bit more oomph lower there.
The Power Take Classic wasn't embarrassed with a direct comparison using the mighty Pioneer. The main difference in seem quality at quiet or moderate volume wasn't everything significant, however the SP-PK21BS still won when it comes to clearness, and dialogue seemed natural. After I nudged the amount up, the SP-PK21BS drawn decisively ahead its superior bass definition, dynamic clout, and easy energy designed for an even more realistic presentation compared to Take Classic could muster. If you want to experience movies noisy, or your living space is larger than 300 sq ft, choose the SP-PK21BS.
Should you care much more about seem than style, as well as your speaker budget tops out at $400, the SP-PK21BS may be the someone to get. It's not only amazing for $400. I'd be just like passionate if Pioneer were charging $500 or $600 for that SP-PK21BS, it's so good.
For any more in depth analysis of those three systems see my complete CNET reviews, linked above.
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