Infinity Primus 150 Vs. Paradigm Atoms (1 Viewer)

[NickSo]

Hello all...

So im in the market for an entry level bookshelf speaker. The two main contenders are the Primus 150's and the Atoms.

First of all, the prices.
The infinity primus are $250, no haggling.
The Atoms' regular price is $240, but at the same store, a salesperson quoted me of $170 i believe.

This is going to be used for 2ch system, mainly music, coupled to a Vintage Kenwood amp. However, in the future I will be adding to these speakers, eventually having a 5.1 home theater system.

I have had the chance to audition the Atoms in a good listening environment. The Primus however, i have not (the store that sells them has them hooked up to a low-end JVC reciever playing RADIO... ugh), but I will be bringing in my CD player soon to give them a test drive. Even still, the listening environment is far less than optimal.

So, anybody had experiences with the two? How do they compare? I have read the stereophile review for both, and they have praised the Primus 150's as to be as good as the Atoms.

Sooo, i need your guys' input, how do these two compare?

 

[Yung]

I haven't heard the Infinity Primus 150, so I can't comment on that speaker. I think they carry it at stores like Best Buy and CompUSA. I'm not sure if these stores are in Vancouver.

I just got back from listening to the Atom again, an it still sounds great. I also listened to the NHT SB-1 and Mini-Monitor. I think the speakers were being driven by a Denon 2805. These 3 speakers all sounded great, but each about $100 more expensive than the next. To me the Atom, sounded like it had more bass than the NHT while the NHT sounded slightly more forward.

Here is a review I came upon in another post about the Infinity. It also mentions the Atom in the review.

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeak...s/404infinity/

Hope this helps.

 

[Andrew:S]

Did I just get a good deal since I got a set of titans for $200?

 

[NickSo]

Yeah sounds like it. $200 USD = $263 CAD... the Atoms go for $240 CAD

 

[Wayne Ernst]

$200 for the Titans is a good price. We bought a pair for my nephew about 2 months ago and the retailer quoted me a price of $185 - so with tax, I was still under $200 for the pair.


Also, for the others reading this thread, keep in mind that Nick is from Canada - so the prices he posted of $240 for the Atoms are in Canadian $$.

 

[John Garcia]

I got my v3 shielded Titans for $189 US.


The NHT is a sealed speaker, and sounds like it has less bass, but in fact it is about the same. Overall, the NHTs are more forward than the Paradigm bookshelf speakers, but they sound more musical to my ears, and they will take more power, due to being sealed which contributes to their lower sensitivity.

If shipping and duties won't kill you, I would recommend these. They are a bit more than your budget, but they easily best the Atoms, Titans and even the Minis, all of which I have owned.

The Atoms are very good speakers for the price, but they must have a sub. I was never happy with them in my 2ch setup without a sub. I replaced them with 902s, the predecessor to the 912, and I am very impressed with them. For your upgrade path though, especially if you already have a sub, you could use the Atoms for now and move them to the rear when upgrade time comes around.

 

[NickSo]

Thanks for the info so far guys... I think i'd be comfortable with whichever speaker i can get cheaper, after reading the stereophile review for the 150's.

From what i've gathered the atoms can reproduce lower frequencies fairly well, but the 150's have very good detail esp in the higher frequencies.

Does anybody have any other suggestions for decent bookshelf speakers around the $180USD ($250 CAD) range?

 

[Brad_See]

Have you checked out the JBL Northridge series? I think those sound great and I've ordered a pair of E30's for the fronts and E10's for the backs. E30's were $159.99 shipped and the E10's were $99.50 shipped from www.bhphotovideo.com. That's about hald the price you'll get them for at Best Buy...but a big shout-out to Best Buy for setting them up so I could audition them.

All prices USD.

brad cook

 

[NickSo]

I have listened to the E20's (the E10's weren't available locally).

The E20's are bit over my price range ($299.99), but i still didn't really like them when in direct comparison to the Polk Audio R15's (which the store i went to also carried, and sold for $199.99). I found the polk's to have better detail in the highs, and less boomy bass. This was a few months ago, I may have to go back and re-audition them.

I also checked out the Athena's (my friend bought these a few years back, really enjoys them), found them to be a bit bright/harsh in the higher frequencies.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

i'll just mention that at best buy langley we have the primus set up. not an ideal listening room (it's not enclosed) but they are hooked up to a decent quality yamaha reciever and you can play you choice of jazz, rock, pop, classical and also demo them as movie speakers. It's nice becauise with thje push of a button you can swtich to the 250s, 160, 260s, 140s, and compare.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Jonathan, that sounds essentially like the listening area for my Best Buy. I was able to hear the Athena speakers with a variety of music and movie soundtracks. The only issue that I'll note is that the Yamaha receiver used was one that appeared to be a few years old. The newer Yamaha receivers have a more neutral sound to them and it would have been great to hear the Athena speakers with one of the newer Yamaha receivers.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

yeah, i belive we are using the 5790's for our demo stations.

Of course, best buy canada does not carry athena (sister company future shop does). We carry the Infintiy Primus (drool), JBL Northridge series (almost as much drool, but they are rear ported for the most part which limits their usefulness as surrounds if you need to wall mount, for my money the Primus sounds better). We also carry Yamaha speakers which are surprisingly decent, and sony's which are at least cheap.

And then we have bose and precision acoustics. Same crap, different prices.

 

[ernie.bin]

nick,

just sent you a PM.

 

[Gau]

Nick
I myself went to a audio store to buy the atoms and after auditioning them decided to audition the mini-monitors (
$380 US)
Bad idea, the mini-monitors blew away the atoms and me and my fiance were more than happy to get them.
the best you can do is listen to a wide range of speakers and get the ones you like.

 

[Brad_See]

Jonathan,

Only the E20's are rear-ported. The E10's, E30's and E50's are all front-ported.


NickSO,

See above, I thought the E30's were much better sounding than the E20's. They are larger and front-ported. I think they are closer to the equivalent of the Primus 150's. You mention that they cost too much...can't you purchase over the net after auditioning them somewhere else? As I said I got a pair of E30's and a pair of E10's for a total of $259 US shipped.

brad cook

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

Brad can come down to Best Buy and check out both the E30's and the 150s side by side, since we have both. Simialr prices....

Personally I prefered the 150's. We also have the 160s which are even nicer, but if you are going to use them with a sub you may as well save money and fo for the 150s as they sound the same once the recievers crossover does it's magic.

 

[Brad_See]

Jonathan,

I actually would have done that at Best Buy but the local Best Buy doesn't have Infinity. I did listen to the 150's over at Circuit City and they sounded great. The only reason I didn't seriously consider them is that buying four of them didn't really fit my budget and I wasn't seeing anything in the Primus line that was comparably priced for the rears (compared to $99.50 shipped for the E10's). 2 E30's and 2 E10's was the limit on my current budget.

It was hard to say which sounded better though since I couldn't hear them side-by-side.



Oh sorry, you said that the JBL Northridge series "are rear-ported for the most part" so I thought you meant most of the Northridge speakers are rear-ported. Your statement about the E20's doesn't really make sense to me though...I would think that with people who know anything about speakers the E20's would be least likely to be wall mounted as surrounds due to the availablity of the E10's and the fact that the E20's are the only ones in the E series that are rear-ported. Then again the majority of your home audio customers are people who probably don't know all that much about speakers.

brad cook

 

[NickSo]

Doing some online searching, i found etronics.com (with borderfree), i could get the JBL E20's for $212 to my door, which seems like the cheapest route thus far... I haven't really had a serious audition with them, I guess I will now.

How do the E20's compare to the Atoms then?

 

[Brad_See]

I wasn't wild about the E20's but I've never heard the atoms. I've been listening to my E30's all day though and I love them. Between the Infinity 150's and the E20's I'd take the 150's. Between the 150's and the E30's it'd be tought decision.

brad cook

 

[NickSo]

Well, i was in the area of the Paradigm dealer today, and got some more 'official' numbers (canadian).

Atoms $197
Titan $222

For $25 more, Ill probably spring for the Titans. I think these are going to be the best bang for the bucks i can find locally. The 150's doesnt look like its going to be found for cheaper than regular price unfortunately.

So, i guess im back to square one, but ill most likely be staying there