Monoprice 5.1 Home Speaker System $160 + ~$40 Shipping (similar if not same as Energy Take Classic 5.1)
 

There was a similar post with these for ~$250 + shipping a few weeks ago, and people didn't find it all that interesting, but they are now $160 after coupon, making this a much better deal.

According to several reviews and such, these are supposed to be the same as the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system that was posted a few weeks back for $299, and was decently popular.

http://slickdeals.net/f/5807710-E...lus-tax-FS

Price: $160 + Shipping

LINK [monoprice.com]

Code: INCENTIVE (20% off)

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

Seems to be some confusion in the thread, Monoprice sells two different 5.1 home theater speaker sets. The $84.10 one is product ID 8247. The one mentioned in this thread is product ID 9774.

Product ID 9774 is VERY similar to the Energy Take Classic 5.1, it's even been mentioned that the documentation says "CONNECTING YOUR ENERGY SUBWOOFER".

This post can be edited by most users to provide up-to-date information about developments of this thread based on user responses, and user findings. Feel free to add, change or remove information shown here as it becomes available. This includes new coupons, rebates, ideas, thread summary, and similar items.

Once a Thread Wiki is added to a thread, "Create Wiki" button will disappear. If you would like to learn more about Thread Wiki feature, click here.

*** The Directions do indeed say "CONNECTING YOUR ENERGY SUBWOOFER"... but keep in mind this is from a no name Chinese knockoff company, many people have speculated that this a poor translation of "Connecting your POWERED Subwoofer." From what I hear from folks who have heard both, that's probably the case. FYI ***

wasnt this like $60 not too long ago?

Damn. I've got a set arriving tomorrow. I wonder if they will price adjust.

I seriously doubt it. Monoprice does sell a cheaper home theater setup that looks similar to this, it could easily have gone for $60. This is a fantastic deal on what is basically the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system, already one of the best sounding setups you can get for the money.

Excellent deal....highly reviewed speakers.....From what I can tell they are pretty much the same as the Energy Classic 5.1's

Code appears to be invalid - " We're sorry, the coupon code that you entered does not appear to be valid. Please check the name or contact customer service for assistance. "

badddddd

Works for me...

Congratulations! A discount has been applied to your order. You saved $39.79 today!

Can anyone recommend a receiver to go with this?

code invalid for me as well, said I had to login so it could check if code was valid. Created an account, logged in, and it was denied. So I'm guessing it might be only for those whom already had an account.

if these are the same as the take 5.1 (weird) then it is a very good deal.

I just registered and applied the code, so it's not only for whose with an existing account.

The deal looks dead now.

It's at $198.97 now.

care to elaborate on this insightful post as to why you thumbed this down??

search slickdeals to see that the price has been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper in the past, this price is terrible..

By the way, not to hijack the thread, but there is also a deal on the cheaper model
http://www.monoprice.com/products...1&format=2
for ~$88 including shipping, which was pretty popular last year
http://slickdeals.net/f/4953070-M...8-shipping

WRONG.

This is the new set, which is the high end model number 9774 which just came out and has been around $250:

http://www.monoprice.com/products...1&format=2

THIS is the system you've been thinking about, model 8247 which is fantastic for the price, but has indeed been cheaper in the past, but only slightly:

http://www.monoprice.com/products...1&format=2

With the "INCENTIVE" code, the 9774 for around $200 shipped is an excellent deal. Even better if you can pick up in Cali.

monoprice also give 1% cash back

Was 248.71 a few days ago plus shipping 41.52 so even at 198.97 still not bad if you can add the 20 percent off would be out the door for 200.70 for me. With energy takes at 299.99 when on sale at newegg that helps pay for the wire and bananna clips.

so instead of saying that in your first post and not taking the time to research the product you just thumbed it down and called it baddd? nice work

by the way, your keyboard is having problems. looks like the keys stick sometime and you get too many D and A characters. paaaathetic reeeally

Coupon works for me.

Updated the wiki. This is product ID 9774.

You have to be signed in to apply the "INCENTIVE" 20% off coupon. Details state it ends on 2/28/2013. There is also another coupon out there that works, "CATALOG12" for 10% off not stackable.

If your looking for 5.1: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-li...ition=used

Obviously suggesting the Amazon used one. I bought a used Denon AVR 2113 CI from Amazon Warehouse a few months ago for a smoking price and I have nothing but good to say about Amazon Warehouse (so I am biased).

The Denons have some really nice features for the price, but the AVR series apparently has severe QC issues. I bought a factory refurb, and it turned out that (as shipped from the factory) the entire digital output stage didn't work; the decoder was fine, but no audio was getting to the amplifier. When I took it to the warranty service center, the technician told me that he was seeing major failure rates of 10-20% on those receivers, and when I got it back, it still wouldn't work. I replaced it with a Pioneer and have been quite happy since.

Would one really want 200W in a sub for home theater? I have no idea what the sensitivity of a subwoofer generally is and they don't list it in the specs. The sub in Item ID 8247 cranks out 60W (RMS?) although I'm disappointed that it doesn't respond to frequencies under 50hz like the one in this thread...

FYI, though, the incentive code works on ID 8247, bringing it to around $92 shipped for me! Hmmm....

Not the same model as the cheaper 5.1 sold last summer. I didn't look at specs, but it looks like that set is still available as people have said above.

That's an awesome price for the 9774

Incorrect. You're thinking of the cheaper set that Monoprice sells. Read the wiki please. There are 2 sets that Monoprice sells, and this one is a much more expensive one than the one you're talking about. It's a new model, so it's not really possible that you bought it last summer, since it's only been available since the end of last year.

That depends very much on how big a setup you have and your home circumstances (e.g., you probably wouldn't want to use a giant subwoofer in an apartment). Home theater subwoofers go all the way up to 1500W, but 200W should be good for most reasonably-sized setups that aren't trying to shake large media rooms.

I'm new to the Audio world. Why is this thing so similar to Energy Takes? Any history behind it? Is the similarity only cosmetic or does it sound similar as well?

I was more inclined to the Energy RC Micro 5.0 ($130) + some decent Sub like pioneer SW 8MK2 ($90).

Any suggestions from experts, which one to choose?

If it is the same as the Take Classics, then the sub is only 50watts RMS. The 200 watt number is peak power.

The 8247, while good for its price, is inferior to this system in almost every aspect, you can't really compare the two.

Speakers are often just rebranded and sold, this isn't an uncommon thing.

If the sub is identical to the sub from the Take Classic system, then it is pretty much the same as the SW-8, which makes it also similar to the SW-8MK2. The SW-8 has a very similar enclosure and the same amplifier as the Take Classic sub, only the driver looks different.

Does anyone know with CERTAINTY that these are, indeed, "THE SAME" as the Energys? Anecdotal real-world feedback from someone who has or has had both would be invaluable, TIA...

Whenever I give reps to people who helped me out. and check my profile it says "You gave 0 reputation points to XXXUSER in a thread:" :confused:

Once you post more and receive more reps you'll be giving out 2 reps, then 4 reps.

Thanks, I think I will go with RC Micro + SW-8MK2 for just $20 more

shipping is $50 for me...bummer

Any free shipping codes?

any proof it is the same as the energys? never heard of this brand.

So, if you checked out the link I gave for a suggestion for a decent, low-priced, receiver option, you would have noticed it was for a Yamaha. I was just referencing my Denon purchase from Amazon Warehouse as an example of a purchasing experience from them. Thanks for your expert insight, however, even though I highly doubt that Denon AVR's have a failure rate of 10-20%. Maybe your thinking Onkyo?

I have five 250w subs in my setup. One would be adequate for an apartment.

No proof, but many of the reviewers mention same dimensions and same specs. Also, the pictures look identical. Of course, there is no way to know if it's exactly the same or just a Chinese knock-off.

The Takes are made in China :lol:

DOH! DOUBLE ...Knock Offs!

No proof but if you compare the specification between these two sets you will see that they are exactly identical even the dimension of the speakers and subwoofer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6882269024

http://www.monoprice.com/products...cification

can you please share the links for micro 5.0 speakers and pioneer sub.


Thanks,
g1

Energy RC Micro on TigerDirect, Sub on Newegg/TigerDirect

Products are often copied, without the same internals. Unless somebody has something to back it up - it's really misleading to claim they are the same speakers.

That's clearly not the same sub.

And unless you have the same drivers (tweeter, etc) and crossovers design and components, it means nothing.

For example - There was an amp produced in China a few years ago by a quality company. Apparently the factory ripped off the design and sold cheap copies that a lot of people had problems with.

thanks, how is this polk sub woofer compared to pioneer, Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer

not my field of expertise :)

I've owned both these subs and got to listen to them side by side in an A/B comparison recently (albeit, not in the most ideal listening situation.... Fry's showroom)
In a nutshell the Polk is bigger and boomier, the Pioneer is smaller and tighter. To me, this translates to generally better music quality for the Pioneer and the Polk would do a little better for movies and rap music. There are those that claim really bad port "chuffing" on the Polk, but I wouldn't worry about it unless you constantly like to listen to you music or watch your movies at extremely loud levels or if you're in a big room that requires you to turn up the gain really high.... and in both those cases, you probably wouldn't want either one of these subs anyways.

The sound quality on both are good for the price of $70-$80, you can't expect that much out of a low end sub. So the main thing to consider is, do you like the boomier bass or the tighter punchier bass? Just my .02

I hate to break the bad news, but for $200 don't bother. Sure this may be an entire 6 piece speaker set but the quality is sure to be bad, its a chinese knockoff, that is to be expected. Make your own judgement, but I've bought systems for $150 without subs that i KNOW blow these away, both were tower speaker setups.

Simplicity of the deal B+
Likely value C-

$40 shipping kills this deal

thanks for all the nice info, i will use it for movies mostly.polk seems to be 10 inch while pioneer is 8 inch.polk seems to be # 1 seller at amazon.

Just because it is $200 for the complete system doesn't mean it is crap. There have been plenty of reviews (including on cnet's audiophiliac blog) of Monoprice speakers and the surprisingly good quality of the speaker and the sound, notwithstanding the lower price. Taking into account the price, then it is even better.

OP this is not a home theater system, it is a home theater SPEAKER system

Probably a good deal but I thought it included the receiver because of the title

Sorry, fixed.

This review [neckbeard.ca] seems to shed some more light...Again, not a proof, anyone can copy a manual...

I own the energy take classic 5.1 system. A few things I notice just from the pictures of the monoprice system is that the feet on the sub are different, the port on the sub is different and also missing the blue light that the energy sub has. The grills on these cubes are also different, the energy's are rounded on top and extend above the speaker cabinet, energy grills also don't extend all the way to the bottom of the cabinet like these. Could they be identical inside? Sure...are they identical to the take classic 5.1? No. Got mine for $299 on amazon, they go on sale there and newegg every once in a while.

These subs do have a little LED toward the bottom, right above the monoprice logo. This makes it look more similar to the Pioneer SW-8 than the Energy sub (which is the ESW-8 BTW)

Anyone know if these come with speaker wire and everything else that is needed? Just starting building a home entertainment system. Was thinking of grabbing these and then seeing what I can do for a decent receiver. If I do need other things (mounts, wires, etc.) then I might as well throw them in this order from monoprice if I get it. Also what is the difference/utility of banana plugs? Should one be grabbing a few of them as well?

Thanks

I have some Monoprice over ear eadphones that are supposed to be a rebadged pair of higher ends and they sound like it. im sure these speakers are similar and if so worth much more than they sell for

"INCENTIVE" coupon for 20% off is good site wide. If you're looking for a mechanical keyboard, I'd recommend this one

http://www.monoprice.com/products...1&format=2

It's a basic no frills mechanical with the clicky cherry mx blue switches that are used in Das Keyboard. I ordered one of these for work and Das Keyboard for home, Das has a new manufacturer that makes terrible products, I sent back the Das and ordered a second one of these.

What generally happens here is that a company looking for cost out chooses a supplier in China to build there products to their specifications to improve profit margins. The company that builds them then recognizes discounts in quantity and just makes more with a few modifications (name, color, etc.) selling more of these and making same cost to mfg. yes! sometimes they use cheaper parts, but you must understand the that lowers the quantity/number of the parts that they purchase and neglects the savings they might get along with the confusion of changing mfg. process. now some could also just buy the external case and then use their own internal parts but you would assume that the specs would be different and why reinvent the wheel. TV's use alot of the same screens from brand to brand and then the internals and case are different like Vizio. I remember finding out that the bread I bought at the store was the exact same bread as their store brand and was cheaper! Some though are just copycats. So this could easily be the exact same speakers to a T and the price difference is just that ENERGY knows they came get the higher price and the off brand can't and doesn't need to. It is not like USA where they would consider it a conflict of interest and the Chinese company probably would sign an exclusivity contract or even abide by it if they did!

doubt they come with anything other than the speakers.

you'll need:
speaker wire (14-16 gauge) length depends on your setup...I just did a 5.1 system and ran 100 feet in my smallish (12x20) living room.
a subwoofer rca cable length depends on how far you plan to place the sub from the receiver.
mounts depend on your setup...you can get on wall mounts, speaker stands, or just sit them on shelves/furniture you already have
banana plugs are optional, but make it easier to connect the speaker wire to the speakers and receiver (after you wire the plugs) you'll need 4 plugs per speaker (if you wire them at both the speaker and receiver ends.

True dat. I just purchased these a week or so ago (at a higher price) and you just get the speakers. You need to supply your own connections.

+1. Right on. Question is, are these made by the same plant that makes the Energy, or are they true knock offs. Owners please chime in.

On another note, my local BB just dropped the old Klipsch Quintet 5.0 system to $136 from I guess $436/$236/$164. Add a Pioneer SW8 and you'd be right around $200. . .for anybody not willing to gamble on monoprice.

Line In Option
 

Does anyone know if these can be connected straight from the TV via the line-in red/white on the sub? I know there are only 2 speaker connections from the sub so you'd be limited to just the 2 speakers plus the sub.

Side question: Anyone know if it would work to run 2 splitters on an input (red white) so 2 audio sources can be output at the same time on my receiver? I'm trying to have audio from the TV & a Karaoke Mixer output at the same time on 1 receiver. I don't know how to do it other than splitting the or getting a 2nd receiver. I do have an A/B option on my Onkyo but I don't think they work simultaneously.

Thanks & reps to come!

no...you need to connect to a receiver...

The speaker connections on the sub are for high-level input/output. They provide no amplification. Only the sub is amplified, you still need an amp/receiver to run the other five speakers.

You're going to need a mixer of some kind. You can't just hard-wire two audio sources into one output and have it mix the audio for you.

Thanks guys. Repped. Any ideas about my sub question with splitting the inputs? Don't know how much it would affect the audio quality. Thx.

Thanks for the input (no pun intended). I was trying to bypass the mixer on the TV feed so i wouldn't need to turn on the mixer for TV audio. I was assuming the amp would simply handle it and amplify both sources but I guess not.

Thanks OP
 

Thank you very much OP! Purchased and the 20% off worked fine. Total with shipping $195 with 1% cb at one of the cb sites should make it $193. Looking forward to checking these out.

Actually you can (assuming I'm understanding the question correctly) run two outputs into a single input. It's not ideal, and you might have a problem matching levels of the two outputs, but it should work.

Thanks square_one and BigArce for the info!

How do these compare to the Onkyo SKS-HT540?

I have those in my living room and they're okay (sub is hella weak), but I want to upgrade. If I can get away with an incremental upgrade for $160, I'd absolutely be down (I was going to spend around a grand on some Polk Audio stuff).

Thoughts?

I would spend a rack on any box system. What receiver are you going to be pushing these with? so I can compare it to the Onkyo system

Denon 1712

I bought a pair of these last week, they sound pretty nice. I'm pretty new to the audio world, but I had an old Kenwood HTiB system that I thoroughly enjoyed and thought sounded fine. This new set has considerably more base (makes all the pictures on my walls rattle) and I think the speakers sound wonderful. For the price, I am absolutely happy. I would definitely recommend the set to anyone. Don't look half bad, either.

incentive coupon code
 

Did the coupon code, incentive, work for you?...It was working for me, but not now.

The coupon is one time only per account. I ordered some stuff with the 20% coupon few days back and decided to order the speakers set today and couldn't. it showed an error that it is one time use per account. I did not bother to try creating another.

I've received mine and have started the break in period. They sound great; amazingly so at their diminutive size. Fantastic value.

(There is a slight issue: something is loose and rolling/shaking around inside of one of the speakers. Monoprice's customer support is on top of it.)

Receiver: Onkyo TX616 with latest firmware update (no issues)
Other bigger speakers: Dahlquist DQ20, DQ10, and Pioneer Andrew Jones series.

i ordered them few minitues ago. hoping they are just like the energys! thanks OP

Anyone receive theirs yet? How is it?

Got mine a few days ago. Not much to compare with, but the Monoprice speakers replaced my existing Bose Acoustimass 7 w/redline double cubes and 8" Pioneer S-W20 subwoofer (HTIB type generic 8" sub).

The Monoprice subwoofer and speakers are clearly better sounding than the old Bose/Pioneer sub. The Monoprice subwoofer is far better (IMO) sounding. With the large room it is in, a 12" or even 10" supplemental would be better (considering finding a good larger one to add), but for an 8" it sounds really clean.

Speakers have a great sound (noticably better than the double cube with the goofy acoustimass passive 6" speaker thingy). Receiver is an old Pioneer VSX D409 (came with the Pioneer 8" sub and Pioneer speakers in an average HTIB). I know comparing any speakers to most HTIB is not fair, but these Monoprice speakers literally blow away the HTIB ones that came with the VSX D409 which I had before the Bose (which btw, the Bose was not really a noticeable improvement if any at all over the original Pioneer speakers).

It seems the Monoprice speaker set needs a better receiver to give them justice and for the large room these are in atm, a supplemental 12" sub.

So far, very happy w/purchase.

What size is your room? I was looking at this for a 15' x 19' room. Would the sub be too small?

It's too bad they don't offer this set with the 12" subwoofer that they sell. Maybe the JAMO set on Amazon would be a better choice since I think it's the Energy speakers without the sub.

Cnet did a review on these speakers. 5 out of 5 stars which is pretty rare.

http://m.cnet.com/reviews/monopri...s/35512507

I guess they won't be putting these on sale anytime soon after that article

Yeah the deal appears to be dead, guess that's what I get for waiting.

I did say that a supplemental 12" would make it sound better in a large room, but meant in conjunction WITH an 8" sub. The crossover would have the 8" catch the lows small speakers can't and the 12" catch lows the 8" can't reach. I'm no audio expert, but it seems this 8" sub is a very good size with small cube speakers. It seems a 12" sub alone would be fine if you had larger speakers that could handle the mid lows better.

BTW, have listened to them more and it is almost criminal to have bought these for under $195 shipped with everthing including taxes.

Once again thank you very much OP!

The coupon code INCENTIVE (20% off) still works. The sale price is gone though. I live close enough to pick them up to avoid shipping costs. Total with tax was ~ $215.

The coupon wouldn't work for me on their website. So, I opened a chat window with their customer service. They have great customer service.

I'm excited to pick them up this week!.

works for me. slick price.

the INCENTIVE code does not work for me and did not even at 6pm last nite....the only code I was able to use was the 10% off one.....what am I doing wrong?

So often do these go on sale?

Subwoofer aside, how do these compare to this JAMO [amazon.com] set? Camel [urlhasbeenblocked]
Someone on SD said these are made by Energy as well.

A bit of trouble w/ RMA
 

Monoprice hasn't provided a pre-paid return label for the defective return. (Center channel has something inside rattling around. They wouldn't ship just the center channel, just the whole set.) Now they seem reluctant to pay return shipping. Arg.

The replacement has a center channel that is quiet. I'll update on the return.

That's a bummer. I hope mine doesn't come in like that. I paid $248 and 20% off. Still a steal since I missed the $160 deal. Doubt it will hit that price again with the CNET review :bounce:

Let us know how the RMA goes

Just went on monoprice, the 20% off wouldnt work, but I did that chat talk to the customer service rep and they said just place the order and they will refund me 20% once I give them the order number. I think I'm going to do this deal but not intrigued about the Sears 5.0 set for $150 and buying a sub. When i goto sears.com though it shows $299 is this a deal just a some local sear stores?

I ended up just buying this deal off monoprice. After adding the 20% after through the chat it came out to $222.50 with over night shipping. They say my card will be refunded the 20% off in 3-5 days. I cant wait to hook them up. Repped