Hey, I've got the Impressions and I've been really happy with them (although I'm using a 12IN Velodyne sub instead of the 10IN that came with them, just because I wanted more impact than it seemed capable of, although it is pretty musical).
Anyhow, here's a copy of a review I wrote a few days after getting them. I have now put the whole 5.1 system together and I have to say it's even more impressive in this role than 2 channel playback (not to say I didn't enjoy in this capacity as well).
REVIEW FROM PRIOR POST***********************************
Well, FedEx delivered my new 5.1 set of EMP Impressions yesterday, in Red Burl. I know there are several people waiting to hear more while they can still act and get the introductory price. I am by no means a professional reviewer but will attempt to follow their format as best as I can.
Arrival/Appearance - the speakers came VERY well packaged and were in perfect condition upon unboxing. In fact, each speaker was wrapped in a heavy cotton type bag, almost like a pillow case. I won't go into a lengthy description as they look just like they do in pictures.
Setup - I am in the process of building a dedicated home theater but won't have it finished for another 2 weeks or so. In the mean time I have set the towers in my upstairs hallway which is approximately 9ft wide, behind the towers is a two story foyer and a very open banister. The ceiling above the speakers is probably 8ft. I am powering the towers with a new Pioneer Elite Receiver (SC-25), it's 140 watts, AIR Studio certified (for those familiar with this rare? certification). It's also THX 2 Select, if I remember correctly. I have not had anything else other than some older PSB Alpha's, setting on a desk top, hooked up to this receiver so I won't try to give comparisons between these speakers and other speakers but rather, thoughts on their sound in and of themselves. I am using an old Sony CD changer, connected via RCA cables as I couldn't put my hands on a toslink optical cable yesterday (I'm sure I have one around here somewhere but in my excitement to get these speakers going I couldn't find it).
I have played several distinctly different types of music through these speakers yesterday and today. Including; John Cougar (Freedom Road) - I had no intention of listening to the entire CD but became so entranced with the voicing of the various guitars and other instruments I couldn't turn it off. The impressions have a very smooth midrange and top end that revealed a lot of details on this recording. The soundstage was awesome with a lot of depth that clearly gave me the illusion of various musicians in different locations (not only left to right but with rear depth as well). Part of this may been due to the fact I don't have them sitting against a wall, EMP recommends at least 15in and I would agree. In my permanent home theater setting I will definitely try to adhere to this recommendation. Next I listened to The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Dirty Boogie) - this CD has some wonderful horn section parts that are handled quite nicely by these towers, I never felt like the horns sounded harsh or annoying (a lot of speakers make horns too bright, especially at higher volumes, at least to me). The bass (in general, on all recordings) seems to be under control and easily play deep enough to reach the subwoofers' domain. You could get by without a sub and probably be perfectly happy but in a home theater application you would lack that "feel" that is so important to movie special effects (i.e. explosions, train wrecks, etc...). Next I listened to Gretchen Wilson (On Of The Boys) - This is a great CD and again, I found myself listening to the entire thing - soft instruments such as the plucking of the mandolin never got lost in the volume of guitars, drums, and vocals - they were always clear and distinct. These speakers also conveyed a lot of detail and emotion in Gretchen's voice with her sassy lyrical style. I also listened to The Batman Suite on a Cincinnati Pops Orchestra CD (led by Eric Kunzel); this is a great classical type recording with a lot of volume swells and soft passages. The string section sounded detailed and the french horns sounded very distant and far back in the sound stage. On this recording I hooked up the subwoofer which reproduced the booming tympanies with ease. I want to go into more details about the sub. I typically use a 12IN Velodyne sub which is not only bigger but also more powerful than this sub. In addition, I probably have it too loud for most people. The EMP sub never called attention to itself but definitely improved the low end - this is probably and audiophile success. At this time, I'm unclear which sub is going in my hometheater (it is approximately 12 x 17 and has high ceiling so I may opt for the Velodyne because I can "feel" it more). I just need to tweak it more so it doesn't call so much attention to itself. I also played a Sting CD through the system with the sub in place - it sounded really great with it's unusual rhythms and instruments - I'm not a big Sting fan but set for quite awhile listening at all of the different sounds.
Surrounds/Center - this evening I swapped out my Celestion speakers in my living room set up with the EMP (I have no surround speakers and I'm using the previously mentioned Velodyne Subwoofer). This system is powered by an Onkyo 8XX something receiver. Unlike the towers I was mildly disappointed with these speakers. HOWEVER, in my temporary set up I have all three speakers on a mantle and only a few inches from the wall. I felt like these speakers sounded somewhat boxy; maybe placing the center speaker on a stand 15in or so from the wall will improve it's imaging. The surround speakers will be mounted on a wall but should be OK in that capacity. The center speaker seemed to do a good job of playing all that was asked for it with a lot of detail (we watched Spiderman 2 on DVD). I believe with better positioning and being set between the two towers the final 5.1 system will be awesome! If I would have bought these three speakers hoping to replace my Celestions on the mantel I would not be happy (the Celestions have no ports to worry about so they seem to have better imaging near a wall).
Final thoughts - at it's introductory price I have no idea how you could do better than the 5.1 system. Even at it's ongoing price it performs VERY well although there is certainly more competition once you near the $2k price point. The towers are great sounding speakers without any compromises that I can find. The sub is musical but probably won't rattle the pictures off your wall. The surround speakers should provide good surround effects and blend well with the rest of the system due to their like driver configuration. The Center Channel speaker sounds good but I would keep it from being against the wall (or any other surface for that matter) if you can avoid it.
Oh yeah, my wife loves the way they look too (big plus).
