Energy RC-Micro 5.1

Pros: Well-balanced sound stage from tiny form factor. Elegant, Piano-black, glossy finish. No shame in this 8" subwoofer. Pairs well with existing receiver (Onkyo, in my case). Chose over Bose. High-end sound at entry-level price.

Cons: Energy doesn't sell Micro speakers separately (e.g. 6.1, 7.1 or bookshelf). Subwoofer doesn't shake the house.

Summary: I had Polk Audio RTi8s w/ CS10. They looked cool and shattered windows, but required high volume to achieve optimal performance. I was skeptical that great sound can be had without large speakers, refused to pay Bose prices and wanted to preserve previous investments in my receiver and Blu-ray player.

Most importantly, I needed to balance sound quality, with a 23x26 living room, with high WAF rating and rambunctious toddlers. I should also say that I'm both a technical person (high-tech consulting) and musician, so I like to study feature/function and appreciate good sound.

Cnet has a great review of this product, so I won't spend much time here. What I will say is that I have been very happy with these speakers with regards to my goals stated above. The speakers are small, so people wanting to blow out windows or vibrate with inaudible subwoofer pounding should look elsewhere. That said, these speakers sound and feel much bigger than what meets the eye.

We listen to music, play Wii and watch TV and movies. These speakers are paired with an Onkyo TX-SR800 receiver, Samsung Blu-ray, Vizio SV472XVT and Comcast Cable. All but the sub are enclosed in a mission-style armoire that can be closed when we don't want our entertainment system to be the center of attention.

I've cranked these speakers as far as is comfortable with no audible distortion. They performed well with a roomful of adults and screaming children during the Super Bowl. In reality, though, these speakers do their best at low, subtle volumes, when the kids are asleep upstairs but I still want a full sound stage.

I paid $600 for these from www.vanns.com.