Energy 22 Reference monitors in the house

jojo0416

jojo0416

aka Karipas
I learned a co-worker of mine used to work with a company that makes Energy speakers back in the days, he used to work with the Engineering team and I told him I am saving for a Paradigm studio 40's for my new home. He said he has the first production run and a well selected pair of Energy 22 Ref Connoiseur which he uses in his main system.

...And guess what! He said he has the same well selected and in good shape pair of Energy 22 Reference monitors (front ported) including stands,...he offered that I can borrow it as long as I like since it is only in storage. I have not heard these speakers but with mirage and the paradigms in mind I was sure they are good.:thmbsp:

I got these 2 days ago, I liked the drivers stiched and glued to the surrounds without signs of rot, he was also happy of the condition even if has been in storage for years now. The housing is oak finish, it would have been nice if it was black to match my space...but I am not complaining. :D :thmbsp:

Now hooked up with my Sansui AU alpha707 and PS3 BD player, my first impression is that the bass is very sharp or is 'fast' the correct term, and sound can go deep but not boomy which I like. The mids are clear enough and the highs are not fatiguing. It sounded similar I think to small Paradigm atoms but definitely a lot better in many ways.

Anyone can share their opinions and listening experience with these lovely speakers? :music::music::music:

Here they are:

 
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I have a pair of rear ported Pro 22's and 22 Reference Connoisseurs and while the Pro's do play very deep I find the bass a tad on the muddy side but this could be placement related too as i didn't experiment with them and I only have them hooked to a low powered Luxman receiver at the moment (for background music only). A good quality strong amp would have a tighter grip on the woofers.

The better the equipment the better they sound., The tweeters are famous for suddenly deciding not to work but fortunately they can be completely rebuilt to factory spec with new diaphragms and voice coils by ABI Tech for 320 bucks a pair plus shipping to Halifax NS.

I see you have the rare veneered versions (designer series), most Pro and Reference 22's were vinyl wrapped with black fronts. Maybe you could ask your friend if he knows what serial number they started with on the first runs...was it 0 or 1000 ? My Pros are a early pair but not sure how early.

Anyway, enjoy them !
 
Hi Mike, the bass coming out from these ones are not muddy probably because I am using 110wpc amp, I tested it's capability last Saturday...and I made friends with my new townhouse neighbor when I heard loud banging sounds on the walls and my friend eventually left me a note on my doors :D:D:D. Good to know there's still someone out there that can still rebuild the tweeters should anything advertent happen.

My friend is not sure what's the serial numbers they have released to mass pro, but his are pre-production run that is why there are no specs at the back of these, he mentioned the ones I have are 6 Ohms min compared to the ones that are 8 Ohms published.
 
Very nice. You may not want to give those back!

Yes watch your volume level and those tweeters. AFAIK, the 2 main issues with those tweeters are 1) powering them with crap equipment that clips at higher levels and 2) drying-out / lost ferrofluid so that the self cooling properties of the tweeters is significantly reduced. I suppose also you could add failing / out-of-spec capacitors on the crossovers to the list as well. None of these really uncommon to near 30-year old equipment, but these tweeters in particular are fragile. Mind-you your Sansui should drive those real nicely!

By the way, Winslow Burhoe, of EPI fame, was the tweeter designer.

If you want to keep your eye out for something similar with more conventional tweeters (and probably easier to find both speaker and replacement tweeter!), there are the Energy ESM models or Paisley Research Reference series models or some of the Mirage models from the same period (e.g. M-460 .... which have a very similar stitched surround on the woofer, but a vifa tweeter - see here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=307818
The Sound Dynamics with their silver horn tweeter are also nice.

All from Audio Product International (API). Here also is some background info:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=338559
 
Thank you Mike and Van Isle, now you gave me an idea I will watch for those speakers you mentioned.

My Sui surely is doing justice to the speakers at they sound very good,...but I thought there was still a bit of imaging missing, and true enough upon closer listening you guys are correct, I noticed that one of the tweets is not working. Since my friend did me a good favor saving me from an upgrade from the time being :D and he mentioned it will be a long while before he takes these back, I intend to take care of these as if it's my own, my question are, can I send only 1 pc for repair to ABI Tech?

Is there a Vifa drop in replacement for these tweeters? Is this a good idea? before I talk my friend into it. If not, then it will be for repair then.

Thanks.
 
You can send 1 back but you might as well get both done and be over with it so both tweeters are a exact match, the other tweeter is probably gonna go on you someday anyway. Using a drop in replacement is not a good long term plan because the crossover point is so low, 1500 Hz, most dome tweeters cant handle playing that low.

Email Chris at ABI tech
http://www.abitech.ca/
 
I've heard it's a fabulous tweet and burhoe was plenty happy with it....I think it's interesting that it has such a low xover point, similar to the genesis speaker that he consulted on towards the end, they had to change the xover because they were blowing too many tweets..or something like this if memory serves correct.
 
I agree that these are fabulous tweets, I will not notice one is not working on casual listening.

Mikey, thanks for the advise, it makes sense. I have visited ABI Tech website, I appreciate the instructions on the tweeter removal specially not to worry on damaging the foam covers.
 
Yeah, the replacement foam he uses is thicker than the stock foam so you don't see the ugly bumps over the voice coil leads like in your pictures, had 2 rebuilt and am very happy with the sound and service... I used a couple quick sprays of 3m spray glue to put the foam on.
 
Wow. I just wandered into my favourite thrift store this AM (with a donation for them of 4 working cartridges) .... and came out with a pair of Energy Pro 22's for $20 !!! With working tweeters!
 
Van_Isle said:
Wow. I just wandered into my favourite thrift store this AM (with a donation for them of 4 working cartridges) .... and came out with a pair of Energy Pro 22's for $20 !!! With working tweeters!
Click to expand...

I would like to borrow that horseshoe, if you are finished with it!
 
rushfan said:
I would like to borrow that horseshoe, if you are finished with it!
Click to expand...

I will think positive thoughts .... that's about as good as I can do.

They will need a bit of work - there is a big chunk out of the enclosure on the top edge of one of the speakers. I'm thnking a wood veneer job. Also one of the speaker grills has an ESM-2 logo on it rather than Energy - I suspect the previous owner had to replace a grill at some point. Have to keep my eyes open for a logo. Serial numbers are sequential so that's a good thing.
 
I told my friend the issue on the tweeters, he said he's been keeping an extra NOS matched pair of tweeters that we can use, as he knows the ferros can run dry, I hope the pair are still working :D
 
These are great speakers. I bought a pair of Pro 22's not too long ago for $75. One works and other had a blown tweeter. The one that works is real sweet. It matches well with my Technics SU-v10x (120 wpc). I've been trying to reach chris @abitech to send them in for repair, and have only had sporadic luck getting a reply. Anyone know what is going on with Chris? Is he still repairing these?
 
yes,chris@abitech is still rebuilding pro 22 tweeters & other speakers of that breed he's the man, no one else in the World has the gear or know how. I got my tweeters done in April of 2017 outstanding sound to my old ears $416.00 for the pair well worth it
 
I have a pair of energy pro 22 monitors I am making a pair of stands for them they call for a tilt for them to dispersal of the sound if [ anyone out there] has the original stands could you please post the side dimensions
 
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