Energy 22 Reference Connoisseur Speakers
- Thread starter braxus
- Start date
charles 1973
Super Member
Before I bought my Energy RC-30 towers for my HT system, I called Energy speakers and talked to a technition there, and asked him how the RC towers would compare with my Pro 22 monitors from 29 years ago (they have similer performance to the Ref. Cons. use the same drivers and 95% of the x-Over I believe, just don't look as nice). He suggested the pro 22's would sound better and if I wanted that sound now to with their Veritas series. Well after doing much listing to both on my HT system and my Bryston Stereo system, my conclusion is the Pro 22's sound much better on the bryston, Amazing actually, I had no Idea how good these speakers are! On my HT System in simple A/B tests the difference is much less, except for the fatigueing, blotted bass from the RC-30 which by using a tongue of sound insulation in their ports (not the plugs, they stop too much bass) can be relieved. Its realy too bad because I'm sure if they tuned the RC-30's to make a clean 55hz of bass, instead of a muddy 40 hrz, they could have been a very good stereo speaker, the midrange and HF is realy quite good.
For home theater, if you get these on sale, they make fine speakers, especialy the RC LCR Center channel and the realy cool RC-R Variable soundfield Bi-pole/Di-pole rear surround.
A friend of mine has the Def Tech ST's, the big ones with the 300w subs, he realy enjoyed the RC-30's with the Bryston amp commenting they made as much bass as his ST's. So its all subjective.
For home theater, if you get these on sale, they make fine speakers, especialy the RC LCR Center channel and the realy cool RC-R Variable soundfield Bi-pole/Di-pole rear surround.
A friend of mine has the Def Tech ST's, the big ones with the 300w subs, he realy enjoyed the RC-30's with the Bryston amp commenting they made as much bass as his ST's. So its all subjective.
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shortcuttomo
Active Member
Yes, I have used the Ref Cons with a couple larger SS amps (Parasound Halo A23 and a NAD) and there was definitely more grip and control. Eventually I'd like to use them as my rears in a HT setup, powered by a 150wpc hybrid amp (and Gallo 3.5s as my mains). Eventually.
greg
greg
charles 1973
Super Member
ooo
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Karl
New Member
This is mostly true of entry-level offerings from both manufacturers. Which is unfortunate because low-end BW's are usually not as good a value as Energy models at a similar price range. One has to keep in mind that entry-level European speakers sell for half as much on their home market which is not the case for Canadian speakers.
However when it comes to top-of-the-line models both B&W and Energy can fetch a lot of money on the used market, at least here in the Northeast where Energy are easy to come by. It may be different on the west coast though.
Well, this morning I picked up a matched pair of RC 22's off of Craigslist for $75, a good price I felt. One sounds beautiful, the left side however needs and tweeter rebuild(both need them really) and at some point, the woofer was replaced with a JBL unit(but not the PO). Unfortunately, the idiot also crudely enlarged the woofer hole. So, I need to source a woofer. I was blown away with the good speaker though, my god, the bass! How can a single 7 do that?
I am also powering them with a Marantz 2275, 75wpc. Looking for an amp with some more balls for these.
I am also powering them with a Marantz 2275, 75wpc. Looking for an amp with some more balls for these.
mikeybc
Listener
There's a woofer up on eBay (not mine) and I think marc_mc hoards them.
Pretty impressive what that little unassuming woofer can do huh? BTW nice find for 75 bucks !
SoundOfSound
Super Member
The price on these seems to be all over the map of late. I stopped bidding on a nice condition local pair on ebay couple months ago at $457. I have had such bad experiences of late with shipping damage on larger speakers (have a pair of Heil ESS AMT1b's with a shattered base waiting on Fedex claim--curious how these will sound compared to the 22's) that a premium seemed worth it for a pair 15 minutes away. The deals seem to be on ones with blown tweeters--just scored a pair with one bad tweeter (and dented dust caps--how do people do that??--hope it is an easy fix) for under 250 bucks including shipping--jury out on if they arrive in the same condition.
These Ref Conns continue to amaze and please. I am running a pair with no sub in a small room home theater rig and still marvel at the low end grunt coming from a modest size 2-way with a small woofer.
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gusgranite
let the words flow
Came across this really interesting '94 interview in Sterophile with Energy's John Tchilinguirian: http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/552/index.html
It's a good read - but was especially interested in what he had to say about the 22 Connies:
"A long time ago—way back with the Energy 22 Connoisseur—one of the things that made that speaker special was its spaciousness, transparency, and soundstaging. We used that speaker as a stepping stone to learn a lot of things. It was quite a speaker for its time; it still is for an 8" two-way.
We learned a lot from that speaker. One of the main things was diffraction of the cabinet. Any diffraction not only caused ripples in the on-axis response, but also degraded the off-axis performance."
It's a good read - but was especially interested in what he had to say about the 22 Connies:
"A long time ago—way back with the Energy 22 Connoisseur—one of the things that made that speaker special was its spaciousness, transparency, and soundstaging. We used that speaker as a stepping stone to learn a lot of things. It was quite a speaker for its time; it still is for an 8" two-way.
We learned a lot from that speaker. One of the main things was diffraction of the cabinet. Any diffraction not only caused ripples in the on-axis response, but also degraded the off-axis performance."
I recently scored a pair of ref conns with crushed woofer dust caps that would not return to original form after removal and attempt to reshape--will the original dust cap be OK as is if dimpled and irregular after reshaping?
Best option would probably be to replace them--has anyone found a proper replacement dust cap for the 22 woofers?
These appear to be a fine screen style cap (?) with a 2 1/8" overall diameter consisting of a 1/8" flat mounting lip and 1 7/8" diameter "cup".
The closest replacement cap I could find is a 2 1/4" screen style from Simply Speakers:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-dust-cap-mesh-screen-dc-2.25s.html
Has anyone successfully used this one or found another proper replacement dust cap? How critical is the size of the replacement dust cap given a 2 1/8" does not seem to exist? Is it OK to substitute the more common paper cap?
Best option would probably be to replace them--has anyone found a proper replacement dust cap for the 22 woofers?
These appear to be a fine screen style cap (?) with a 2 1/8" overall diameter consisting of a 1/8" flat mounting lip and 1 7/8" diameter "cup".
The closest replacement cap I could find is a 2 1/4" screen style from Simply Speakers:
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/speaker-dust-cap-mesh-screen-dc-2.25s.html
Has anyone successfully used this one or found another proper replacement dust cap? How critical is the size of the replacement dust cap given a 2 1/8" does not seem to exist? Is it OK to substitute the more common paper cap?
Checked with Simply Speakers, and they said these are the exact ones they use for Energy 22 woofers--seems I answered my own question:
Hello,
Thanks! Yes, these will work perfectly and we have used them for your model on repairs. The 2.25” is the overall diameter. It is nice to have them a bit larger. This makes for a cleaner looking repair too.
Please give us a call or e-mail if you need more information.
We will be happy to help you.
Regards,
Sean Ryan and the crew at Simply Speakers
winstoncheop
Member
I know this is an old thread but does anyone have the original stands for the Reference 22? I just got a pair of 22's and want to make stands but don't know the dimensions. Also need the angle of the top as well. Thanks in advance.
Not sure if I should start a new thread of just add to this one.
Has anyone bi-amped this speaker? I asked because I am having someone recap the crossover and he suggested bi-amping (maybe because I have matching amp recapped). My guy is replacing the 47uf cap with a much larger piece and was wondering if there would be enough room.
Does anyone have photo of the interior of the Ref Conns, especially showing where the crossover board is mounted?
Has anyone bi-amped this speaker? I asked because I am having someone recap the crossover and he suggested bi-amping (maybe because I have matching amp recapped). My guy is replacing the 47uf cap with a much larger piece and was wondering if there would be enough room.
Does anyone have photo of the interior of the Ref Conns, especially showing where the crossover board is mounted?
mikeybc
Listener
Hi, haven't heard of anyone biamping these yet...only binding post upgrades and moved to the rear panel. The crossover board is mounted on the rear wall behind the woofer, I replaced the 47uf cap with a 400v Solen Metalized Polypropylene fastcap...its pretty darn big and found room for it. Though in hindsight I should've ordered the 250v version. I left the rest of the crossover alone, mylar caps are used everywhere else.
Hey Mikeybc, where did you get these attachments. I sent them to the guy re-capping my Ref Conn crossovers and he said that the crossovers that I sent him do not match the documents/attachments. Are they related to Ref Conn crossovers?
mikeybc
Listener
I probably should've posted these instead of the other diagrams a while back....for anyone else that can use it here it is. They are up on the Reference Connoisseur restoration thread at DIY Audio.
Hi guys,
Great information on this thread. Just got mine pro 22 ones couple of months ago and enjoying the sound so far. One thing I learned from this discussion is that I should be placing them tweeter inside, will do that but I have one more question about placement. Right now I have them toed in towards listening position. Is it correct way or they should be placed straight?
Thanks for your help.
Great information on this thread. Just got mine pro 22 ones couple of months ago and enjoying the sound so far. One thing I learned from this discussion is that I should be placing them tweeter inside, will do that but I have one more question about placement. Right now I have them toed in towards listening position. Is it correct way or they should be placed straight?
Thanks for your help.