Opinion on Infinity Primus Speaker Line (1 Viewer)

I'm currently using a Sony HTiB setup, with the following components:
- STR-K7100 Receiver (900w Max; 140w per Channel; 10% THD)
- SS-CNP900 Center Channel Speaker
- SS-MSP7000 Front Channel Speakers
- SS-SRP7000 Rear Channel Speakers

I was looking for an "affordable" speaker upgrade, and wondered what everyone's opinion was on the Infinity Primus line.

Not sure if this makes a difference, but the current Sony speakers are at 6ohms, while the Infinity Primus speakers are at 8ohms.

Outside of that, the 6 1/4" bookshelves look like they can handle the 140w per channel from the AVR, and seem relatively inexpensive.

Thoughts?

Your best budget speaker out there right now IMHO are these:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/328282-pioneer-andrew-jones-51-speaker-system-review/

Comparing the P163 to the BS22LR bookshelf in my own systems, the Pioneers were better in nearly all categories. I currently own the towers and they're also better than the P363s to my ears. The minor downside is the Pioneer's kind of plain appearance, but the sound quality definitely makes up for it.

Wattage rating on speakers is basically meaningless as it tells you nothing about the speaker except at what point it will fry. It is neither a requirement nor will most people likely provide them with that level of power. I ran the BS22s and P163s on a 200W amp and both were fine because you aren't using 100% of output power to drive them at normal listening levels.

RajCaj said:

I'm currently using a Sony HTiB setup, with the following components:
- STR-K7100 Receiver (900w Max; 140w per Channel; 10% THD)

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Don't be fooled by Sony's number games there; reporting the amp's 10% THD rating is ridiculous and done only to make the ouput sound much higher than it is. You want to know the rating at something more like 1% @ 20-20K. That said, I've driven the Pioneer towers with a 30W "executive" shelf system, so they should not be a problem for pretty much any receiver.

Great feedback John. I actually read the forum post you linked just a little while ago, and most reviews I've seen on those speakers are positive.

The only downside is that my living room configuration would make using tower speakers tough. When I moved into my home, wires were already ran for ceiling speaker mounts (not recessed in ceiling). I leveraged the existing infrastructure and used directional speaker mounts to attach my bookshelfs. I could potentially put the towers on either side of my 50" TV, but I'm not sure if that would put enough distance between the two for optimal sound delivery. If I were to put the towers directly below where my ceiling mounted speakers are, they would get in the way of walk-ways, and involve some tricky behind the sheetrock speaker wire routing.

Would I be able to purchase another pair of the rear speakers you referenced, and use those as my front left & front right?

I was going to mention that all of the speakers are available separate, so you can just pick and choose the ones you want. The best part is, the bookshelf speakers go on sale a lot more often than the towers and IIRC. Just checked Amazon and they are not currently on sale - they were just $86 a few days ago. Check around: Tigerdirect.com , bhphoto.com , Frys and even Best Buy have them and the center on sale frequently.

The one thing I'd probably skip from that package is the sub. The reviews say it is adequate, but you can do better even on a budget IMO.

John Garcia said:

I was going to mention that all of the speakers are available separate, so you can just pick and choose the ones you want. The best part is, the bookshelf speakers go on sale a lot more often than the towers and IIRC. Just checked Amazon and they are not currently on sale - they were just $86 a few days ago. Check around: Tigerdirect.com , bhphoto.com , Frys and even Best Buy have them and the center on sale frequently.

The one thing I'd probably skip from that package is the sub. The reviews say it is adequate, but you can do better even on a budget IMO.

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Perfect! Thanks again John!

John Garcia said:

I was going to mention that all of the speakers are available separate, so you can just pick and choose the ones you want. The best part is, the bookshelf speakers go on sale a lot more often than the towers and IIRC. Just checked Amazon and they are not currently on sale - they were just $86 a few days ago. Check around: Tigerdirect.com , bhphoto.com , Frys and even Best Buy have them and the center on sale frequently.

The one thing I'd probably skip from that package is the sub. The reviews say it is adequate, but you can do better even on a budget IMO.

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Actually, one more question regarding subs...

I've been doing some reading and some folks are saying that it's worth it to save up $300-$500 for a good sub...even to the point of skimping on the surrounds if you can use the savings to go for the better subwoofer.

What makes a $500 sub better than the one that comes with the referenced Pioneer set? Seems like the sub serves a pretty limited function, at hitting the low frequency sounds, and isn't responsible for delivering the full range of sounds the surrounds are.

Are the more expensive subs better at delivering more precise lows?

Bass requires the most power to reproduce so offloading that to the sub's dedicated amp can help out quite a bit, since that's work your receiver doesn't have to do. A sub can be designed to properly handle those frequencies as well, as most towers don't extend into the low 20s (bottom octave) where the "heavy lifting" occurs.

I agree with going with a better sub as well, and that's why I mentioned it. Right around $500 is the "sweet spot" where you start getting good subs and the difference often as simple as 25Hz capability vs 20Hz capability, but will generally also show up in sound quality as well. Sounds minor but it isn't, though it depends on what you're after as well. Good 25Hz performance is often good enough and will handle nearly all music and movies, but a better sub can definitely add more to the experience, BOTH movies and music IMO. The one from that package is only good to about 30Hz, and is 8" so won't move a lot of air.

The BS22LRs have surprisingly good bass for such a small speaker, but a sub is necessary for movies with them in my book.

The HSU Research STF-2 is a sub $400, 25Hz capable sub and that's what I'd recommend on a budget. At about $500 (less if you check their b-stock), the SVS PB-1000 or SB-1000 get my vote.

What's your budget for this project? Affordable can be very different from one person to another. The AJ speakers are nice but there are other options depending in budget and taste. Sounds like you might need some smaller speakers for your particular install. I will warn you that the AJ bookshelves are not small. Just be sure to check out the size before you buy them.

ArmSC said:

What's your budget for this project? Affordable can be very different from one person to another. The AJ speakers are nice but there are other options depending in budget and taste. Sounds like you might need some smaller speakers for your particular install. I will warn you that the AJ bookshelves are not small. Just be sure to check out the size before you buy them.

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The BS22LRs are about 40% smaller than the Infinity P163 and are probably closer to the P153. They are not sattelite speaker small, but as bookshelf speakers go, they are fairly average size. The center is actually smaller than the Infinity as well.

ArmSC said:

What's your budget for this project? Affordable can be very different from one person to another. The AJ speakers are nice but there are other options depending in budget and taste. Sounds like you might need some smaller speakers for your particular install. I will warn you that the AJ bookshelves are not small. Just be sure to check out the size before you buy them.

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Yes, I dropped by my local Best Buy and was fortunate enough to be able to see / listen to them in person. Unfortunately, they are larger (and heavier) than I thought.

Both the Pioneers & the Infinity Primus bookshelves are between 13-16lbs I think, while my current speakers are closer to 3-4lbs. The mounting brackets I used are only rated for 8lbs max.

On top of that, there are no mounting positions on the Pioneers....they are true bookshelves, requiring some flat surface to sit them on.

That would mean I'd have to drop speaker wire behind the sheet rock to discreately connect new front & rear speakers...which may be more trouble than my DIY skill level can handle.

The sales associate at Best Buy said that any sort of meaningful speaker upgrade would likely include a speaker of similar size & weight as the Pioneers.....so I may have to stick with what I have until I move into another home.

That said, i did upgrade my receiver to the Yamaha RX-V675 and I have noticed a considerable increase in performance, so there is that. ha-ha

Thanks again for all your help!

Yeah, 8lb limit isn't going to carry much.However, try the BIC DV 52.

Could also consider upgrading the brackets, or an on-wall option. The Pioneer center doesn't really lend itself to easy mounting though IMO.

Another option might be these:

http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Audio-Sonata-S20-B-Speakers/dp/B002YKFPI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397079922&sr=8-1&keywords=cambridge+audio+s20

I think they have them incorrectly listed at 9lbs as the larger S30 is only 8.3lbs and these are smaller than those.

Congrats on the new AVR I'm sure that it does sound much better. I'm glad that you went and checked speakers before spending money on them. If you're still in the market to upgrade here are some that you might consider.

-Micca MB42x and Center Micca MB42x-c I have a set of these for my computer and they sound very good.

-BIC DV32 and the Center BIC DV32CLR Again pretty good ratings and small in size. I have them as surrounds and they do a good job in that roll. They don't go as low as the miccas so you might need to put your xover up a bit on the sub to catch where these leave off.

-Polk OWM 3 with CS10 Center.

-There is also the all in one sets like the Polk TL250 that you can get with or without the sub.

Just add your sub of choice and give it a go. If you looking for something small you can get an upgrade it's just what you want to spend and how you want to do it.