The best value in small bookshelf speakers - ideal in a sub/sat setup

A little over a year ago, I was looking to replace my monster-sized SPL Monitors (Canadian speakers from the late '80s that were great for the time and for their price, but which ate up half my apartment) with a sub/sat combination, preferably with satellites in white.

I went to Cambridge Soundworks and looked at their systems, but left extremely disappointed. Although their powered systems for computer use sound great (and are a solid value – I own one), their conventional sub/sat systems leave a lot to be desired, even given their fairly reasonable sale prices. About the only inexpensive speaker there that I cared for was their small bookshelf model. Although it colored the sound pretty drastically, at least it was a generally pleasant coloration, and the imaging was top notch. Cabinet resonances were horrible though, so I moved on.

Next on my list to audition were NHT's Super Zero and Super One, at a local audiophile shop. They sounded nice, but weren't remotely worth the asking price.

Scratching another store off my list, I headed to The Bad Guys to listen to their selection of bookshelf speakers. Boston had a decent unit, with a sort of deco-styled cabinet, for around $600 a pair. They didn't blow me away – and at that price for a bookshelf speaker, they needed to. There were several Klipsch bookshelf speakers on display – their horn-based designs still sound like a PA system to my ears. The Energy Encore sub/center/satellite system they had sounded great, but was far too expensive for my budget even on markdown (around $1,500), although I think if you're willing to spend the money it represents an excellent value. I was however very impressed with Energy's two bookshelf models, the eXL 15 and its big brother the 16. Although I thought the 16's sounded a little better in the bass and lower midrange, the 15's actually surprised me by having superior imaging, probably due to their smaller size, and a cleaner upper midrange. Female vocals that didn't quite come across on the 16's were flawlessly reproduced by the 15's. Since I listen to a lot of female vocalists (Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Bjork, Kate Bush) this final factor was the dealmaker. The 15's were also substantially cheaper, and unlike the 16's they're available in white, which I thought would look better in their planned position, mounted to frames of my bay window. I thought it over for a few days, then picked up a pair of returns that looked to be in ideal condition at a substantial discount.

After having lived with them for over a year, I'm still impressed. They have pretty amazing bass extension for a speaker this size, although they're essentially all port below about 80Hz, and the distortion at those frequencies seems significant to my ears. But once I picked up a subwoofer with a crossover centered at around 100Hz (ironically, a Klipsch 12" subwoofer - a great value which does *not* sound anything like a PA system, I might add), that problem went away. Relieved of having to reproduce any low bass, the eXL-15's sound very clean indeed, and can be driven to eviction-inducing levels in my apartment without eliciting any concern for their safety. Only mine.

Cabinet resonances aren't much of an issue with a speaker this small, and while the eXL-15's don't have the most rigid cabinets I've ever encountered at this size, they're exceptional for the price. They certainly don't have that hollow plastic (or particle board) box sound that so many inexpensive speakers possess (particularly Japanese speakers). Build quality and finish are impeccable, and while some don't care for their looks, I think they look great.

Energy's mounting hardware is outrageously overpriced though – well over $40 a speaker. I've picked up some third-party hardware at around $20 a speaker that can barely handle their weight. It's not an optimal solution – the speakers sag a bit – but it'll do for now. In fact, the angle they sag at works out almost perfectly in my cramped studio apartment, but wouldn't be appropriate under most circumstances.

In combination with the subwoofer, they're a fine replacement for my space-hogging antiques. Their sound is musical and quite flat, with little coloration and impressive bass, considering their diminutive size, although as mentioned the low bass they produce is not particularly accurate (a forgivable sin – most speakers this size don't produce any low bass). Vocals are natural and balanced, and their presence is enhanced by fine imaging, at least in the "sweet spot" (off-axis performance isn't quite so impressive, but it's not bad). I've accidentally switched off my center channel speaker from time to time and not noticed it for days. My receiver redirects the center signal to the eXL-15's, and they do such a good job reproducing the soundstage you'd swear what you're hearing is coming from directly in front of you, not from either side. Symphonic material does sound somewhat constrained on them to me, but I seldom listen to classical music so that's not really an issue. If you're a fan of the symphony though, you might want to audition them thoroughly first before buying. Smaller ensembles sound great however, and they're perfect for home theater, as they're able to handle far more power and reproduce a far wider range of frequencies than your typical tiny-cube satellite.

I eventually picked up a new receiver – the Harman/Kardon AVR210 – that allowed me to make better use of the eXL's. The H/K comes with a great faux surround mode, which effectively solves the sweet spot issue for casual listening when I'm away from my center chair by driving all 5 speakers simultaneously with amazingly well-simulated surround sound (it's by far the best such system I've ever heard, mostly because it's subtle, unlike the echo-chamber effects produced by most attempts at faux surround sound). I also picked up Energy's eXL-C center channel speaker, which I'm enjoying a great deal. Its tweeter is the same as the one used in the larger eXL-16, but it blends surprisingly well with the 15's. Interestingly, the eXL-C seems to share the smaller eXL-15's strengths and character in the upper midrange. It's a bit brighter and more forward in the treble, but that's probably an advantage in a center channel speaker. The H/K receiver also has a digital crossover, one that allows me to feed the bass below a certain frequency only to the subwoofer. Since the sub has its own internal amp, this takes a huge load off the H/K receiver. It's a feature you might want to look for if you're currently in the market for a surround receiver.

I've continued to audition other bookshelf speakers and sub/satellite systems since purchasing the eXL-15's and my Klipsch subwoofer, but have yet to encounter another combination that even comes close to matching their performance in this price class. I'd highly recommend this speaker to anyone looking to fill a small or medium-sized room with accurately reproduced music or home theater audio, particularly those who are short on space and plan on coupling these speakers with a sub. I plan on buying another pair within the next year myself, to replace a pair of rudimentary Cambridge Soundworks cubes I'm using as rear channel speakers.