Anyone have experience with.....

[SteveB]

Infinity Primus P362? I'm looking for new HT speakers and came across these at a reasonable price. Reviews are all good just hoping someone on here has heard these.

[Sonnie]

I heard the first models of these, I believe the P360 or maybe the P361, and was rather surprised at how well they sounded. I installed them in my wife's boss's house. He was very pleased with them running off of a Denon 2805 receiver.

[SteveB]

Found these on sale for $249 each with free shipping. Might have to give these a try.

I just found the infinity web site and through links there found out that Infinity is under the umbrella with HK and JBL. They actually show JBL and Infinity speakers on the same page. Makes me wonder what if any parts are interchangeable.

[jackfish]

From my auditions, the Infinity Primus line are probably the best value in loudspeakers in their price range, especially the P362 and P162. Brandnamez has the P362 new Grade A for $220.36 each shipped, an unbelievable deal.

The Infinity MMD drivers are not the same as found in any JBL loudspeaker.

[SteveB]

Jackfish,
Have you heard the Infinity Beta 50? Looks like it's one step up the ladder from the P362. Only $30 more each. Some specs:
Freq range: 35Hz_20kHz
Sensitivity: 91dB
Crossover: 600Hz, 18dB/octave; 3.3 khz, 12 dB/octave
Low freq Drivers: Dual 8" CMMD
Mid freq Driver: 5"
High freq Driver: 1"

These look good on paper and I like the appearance better too.I could get two of these and the 3 way center for about $700. Use my current sub and move my current speakers and use as side and rear speakers.

[jackfish]

Steve, I do think the Beta 50 is a step up. It has better low bass than the P362 and although both speakers have nice midrange qualities, the Beta 50 midrange sounds fuller, more lifelike on vocals.

[avaserfi]

Sonnie wrote:

I heard the first models of these, I believe the P360 or maybe the P361, and was rather surprised at how well they sounded. I installed them in my wife's boss's house. He was very pleased with them running off of a Denon 2805 receiver.

It is important to note that the midrange used in in Primus 360 is absolutely superb in terms off axis response and the tweeter is fairly capable for its price range, but I am unaware of how it [the tweeter] compares to the 362 in terms of measurement. The newer XX2 models use lower quality drivers (all of them) in the attempt to save money.

Personally I would forgo the 362 and see if you can find some 360s, but this might be hard as they have been out of production for a while.

[SteveB]

I'm getting the feeling from you guys that the Infinity is a so-so speaker. Am I correct? Can you think of anything else in the sub $800 price range for a center and L/R set-up?
I did a search for the 360 and apparently they are all gone, there may be some used ones out there but I'm not big on used.

[avaserfi]

SteveB wrote:

I'm getting the feeling from you guys that the Infinity is a so-so speaker. Am I correct? Can you think of anything else in the sub $800 price range for a center and L/R set-up?
I did a search for the 360 and apparently they are all gone, there may be some used ones out there but I'm not big one used.

Yeah the 360s are pretty tough to find used right now let alone new. With 800 bucks to spend on a stereo pair I would personally buy one of two set ups from ascend acoustics. Either the Sierra-1 or the CBM-170 now here is where it gets iffy. From all the measurements I have seen the CBM-170 has higher quality crossovers and drivers than the Sierra-1, but because of the cabinets used the Sierra-1 will produce a more neutral sound [due to a less resonance] and likely be preferred by most sonically.

The reason I still recommend the CBM as a possibility is because a pair of these coupled with stereo subs and a quality digital crossover would give you a more full range sound than possible with just the Sierra-1 alone. If you are willing to make future purchases towards this set up I would recommend the Sierra-1 for now and eventual stereo subs with a digital crossover for 'perfect' integration.

Edit: An example of a quality crossover unit is the Behringer DCX2496.

[Sonnie]

I think there are several Infinity owners out there who are extremely happy with their 360's, 361's and 362's.

This thread will give you a user review on the Ascend speakers and Boston Acoustics, which you could get a setup from either of those for around your budget... depending on the models. I personally owned the Bostons but I also owned the JBL Northridge series and thought they sounded as good if not better than the Bostons. The JBL's are going to be very similar to the Infinity 362 line.

[SteveB]

OK, here I go again. I went to Fry's this afternoon to try to listen to The Infinity speakers. All they had to listen to was the 362. I couldn't find anyone to help me and I couldn't figure out how to get them to play. I walked into the next little room and they had some JBL and Polk. I was able to get the speakers to change in there and listened to the Polk Lsi15. WOW, I really liked the sound of those speakers.Apparently they are discontinued and reduced in price. I also listened to a Csi3 center and Rti4 bookshelf speakers.
Here's a link to the Lsi15 speaker, Check that price, too:
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/lsi15/

I guess because these are discontinued they are reduced more than I can believe and they only have one set of the Lsi NIB in stock. Ready? $238 each !! The Csi center for $199 and the Rh4 bookshelf for $149 A PAIR!! If these would have fit in my car I probably would have brought them home with me. I could get a whole new speaker set-up for $824 plus tax. Or, just get the fronts and center for $675 plus tax. More options that I have to consider. Anyone here know these speakers? Reviews that I've found are positive with one comment that I read several times. These speakers need power. Makes me wonder if my 65 watts per channel will be enough.

Sonnie, that link doesn't work for me.

[Sonnie]

I've always heard good things about the Lsi line of Polk. Never heard them.

If fixed that link.

[jackfish]

For that price the Polk LSi15 is definitely worth it. However, make sure you can get a matched set of right and left towers. Unfortunately, the Polk CSi3 is a big step down from the LSi15 which has the LSiC as a companion. I'm not thrilled by the CSi3 or the RTi4s. I like the Infinity Primus PC350 and P152s better. But if you listened to the Polks together and liked it, then that's all that matters. The price on the pair of RTi4s is also a good one, but you should be able to find that center for $150.

The real problem with the Polk LSi15 as you mentioned is power. They operate at 4 Ohms and have an 88dB sensitivity both of which suggests to me at least 100 watts RMS @ 8 Ohms of clean power per channel. What receiver do you have?

[SteveB]

Jackfish,
The Polk set-up did sound good to me in the store and the room they were in was nothing special. The bad thing was, even though I was able to listen to all the speakers at one time they were so close together it was difficult to hear the speakers separately.
My receiver is the HK AVR 435, rated at 65 watts in surround mode. Probably not enough, huh?

[jackfish]

How big is your room? If its not real big the HK should do OK with the LSi15s. Lucky for you your receiver has 7.1 preamp outputs. This means you could live with this until you could afford a power amp to drive just your mains. A power amp would better handle the Polk LSi15's 4 Ohm load. A Tapco Juice J800 with 300 wpc @ 4 Ohms is $230.

[Sonnie]

Make sure your HK is rated to handle a 4ohm load... the power is probably more if it does handle 4ohms.

[SteveB]

The room is about 30X12 but because of the way it's laid out and the way the speakers are placed it isn't that big. OK, I need to explain that, the living area is about 18X12 and that's where the speakers would be placed. I give up, I've drawn the layout of my room using two different programs I have but can't upload either one to photobucket. My living area is between the dining area and a sun room. The living area has a vaulted ceiling while the others do not. The surrounds are placed on the columns that separate the three areas.
I'm leaving now to go look at the Lsi15s now.

[SteveB]

Here's the only thing I could find in the owner's manual:

Front L&R channels:
65 Watts per channel
@ <0.07% THD, 20Hz–20kHz into 8 ohms
Center channel:
65 Watts @ <0.07% THD, 20Hz–20kHz into 8 ohms
Surround (L & R Side, L & R back) channels:
65 Watts per channel
@ <0.07% THD, 20Hz–20kHz into 8 ohms

Here's a link to the manual, maybe I'm not looking in the right place:
http://manuals.harman.com/HK/HOM/Own...AL%20(web).pdf

is that a No it doesn't do 4ohms?

[Sonnie]

Hmmm... I don't see where it is rated to 4ohms, so it may not be too safe and/or it may not treat your speakers fairly. Then again, you may never have a minutes trouble and all be well. It might be best before you try it to contact HK and see if their tech support can advise you.... unless someone else has knowledge of it and tells us.

[SteveB]

I just called a friend of mine who is pretty knowledgeable and he thinks the 435 will handle 4ohms with no problem.
Other than sound quality, what could happen? Blow the speakers?

[salvasol]

Sonnie wrote:

Hmmm... I don't see where it is rated to 4ohms, so it may not be too safe and/or it may not treat your speakers fairly. Then again, you may never have a minutes trouble and all be well. It might be best before you try it to contact HK and see if their tech support can advise you.... unless someone else has knowledge of it and tells us.

I agree with Sonnie ... looking at the manual it doesn't say anything about 4 ohms, and the back picture shows 8ohms load (printed on the speaker connector) ... I use to have a Sony that showed 8-16 ohms, but didn't want to take a chance if I ever use a 4ohm load, so I changed for a receiver that shows in their specifications that is capable of handling 4ohms

[jackfish]

You are correct about the HK AVR 435 being able to handle 4 Ohm loads. However, it will show some strain at high volumes and can overheat and trip its overload protection. Make sure its well ventilated to minimize overheating. I would look into a power amp for the Polk LSi15s as soon as you can.

The Tapco Juice J800 amp with 300 wpc @ 4 Ohms for $230 or the Behringer EP2500 with 600 wpc @ 4 Ohms for $250.

[SteveB]

Well, this whole conversation appears to be moot. I went to Fry's to buy the speakers and the same guy that told me yesterday that the speakers were on hand, even took me to where they were and showed me the boxes. As it ends up there were two different models and both of them were left side speakers. After I had decided to get these speakers you can imagine my disappointment. So we, girlfriend and I, looked at some other, new model, Polk bookshelf speakers and decided on something else. Pick out a pair that weren't too much more money and asked about stands for them. Guess what, they were out of those too. After probing more I got the guy to check other stores that might have the original choice. The other store in town doesn't have them but it ends up that a store in Indiana has the one we need. So it's being sent here, should be here Monday at the latest.
Now about the 4 ohm question, I sent HK an e-mail before I left and got an answer already:
Thank you for the inquiry. 4ohm speakers are not recommended for use only due to the varying impedance curves you'll find from speaker to speaker. It is recommended use 8 ohm speakers as it is a safe bet that the speaker's effective resistance will never drop too low for the AVR 435 to handle. With a 4ohm speaker, there is no guaranteeing that.
No I didn't edit that, that's the way it came to be. So, I guess if I do get the Polk speakers I should get a amp to be careful. I'll check out the ones listed above.
Thanks for all the help guys. I'll let you know how this ends up.

[Sonnie]

Check out the EP2500 thread... a steal right now. You could use it to drive your two main speakers regardless of their rating... then use the HK to run the rest.

[SteveB]

So it would be OK to use The HK on 4 ohm center and 8 ohm surrounds? I've looked around some for 5 or 6 channel amps, geez, those things are expensive. I've never had a power amp like this before, the amp goes between the receiver and the speakers, right?