Review!
Infinity Primus 150s vs. Energy Connoisseur C-1
BATTLE OF THE 5 INCH BOOKSHELF’S
Hello again, welcome to a very average, poorly conducted shootout.
The contenders in this shoot out are the famous Infinity Primus 150s and the Energy C-1s. I have access to the 150s for a couple of days so I am going to compare them to my main speakers and see if the 99 dollar (39 in the states) speakers can outperform other speakers from their retail price point.
Yes, I understand the 150s can be had for MUCH below retail, but I have to take into account those who cannot get them for that price. The retail and specs of each speaker is stated below.
Energy C-1: Retail - $250
System Type: Magnetically Shielded, 2-way Bass Reflex, Front Vented
Recommended Amplifier Power: Up to 100 watts
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms; Minimum Impedance: 4 ohms
Frequency Response (+/- 3db): 53-23Khz
Usable Bass Response (-10db Anechoic): 46 Hz
Sensitivity anechoic: 89dB
(2 speakers in a typical room): 92dB
Crossover Point: 2.2 kHz
Components:
Chambered 1" Aluminum Dome,
1 - 5.5" Injection Molded Homopolymer
woofer w/ NBR/SBR surround
Overall Dimensions:
W - 6.5"/16.5cm,
H - 13.7"/34.8cm,
D - 9.8"/24.9cm
Cabinet Finishes:
Canadian Maple/
Black Ash
Approx. Shipping Weight:
24.7 lbs/11.2kg
(2 speakers)
Included Accessories:
Rubber Bumpers,
Matching cloth grills
Infinity Primus 150: Retail - $299
Frequency Response (±3dB): 58Hz - 20kHz
Recommended Power Amplifier Range: 10 - 100 watts
Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1m): 88dB
Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms
Crossover Frequency: 3,300Hz; 24dB/octave
Low-Frequency Driver: 5-1/4" (130mm) MMD™
High-Frequency Driver: 3/4" (19mm) MMD™
Dimensions
(H x W x D): 12-3/4" x 7-3/8" x 10-1/2" (322mm x 187mm x 267mm)
Weight: 13.5 lb (6kg)
Finish: Black Wood-Grain Enclosure
Black Grille Cloth
As you can see, they are fairly close matched. The Energy’s have a larger Tweeter and woofer, but power handling is the same. In overall size, the Primus 150s have a wider cabinet, but the Energy’s are a bit taller. Lastly, the Energy’s have a far more pleasing appearance then the Infinity Primus 150s. The 150s have exposed screws, the port is not flush mounted, and the front baffle and sides have an indentation where they meet. The Energy’s also have nicer Binding posts that are insulated, versus the plain gold plated binding post of the 150s. Both speakers utilize front ports but the Energy one appears to be much larger, and flared more. The Infinity port isn’t flared at all inside, and it appears to have very little polyfill. Now I could go on and on about specs and build, but that would hog up precious time where I COULD be going on about sound. So without further ado, Listening Evaluation.
Listening Evaluation:
For the listening evaluation I will only be using music. Movies take much longer to switch, and you need a full set of similar speakers to hear the full potential of even 2 speakers.
First up is some Death Cab for Cutie. I selected a couple tracks that highlight midrange, treble, and sound stage performance off the album “Plans”. Starting with “Brothers on a Hotel Bed”, you immediately get a sense of the midrange performance for each bookshelf speaker. On the 150s, the piano intro lacked a little detail. Both speakers had the necessary bass extension to give the piano a nice full sound. Tweeter performance was also very similar. The Infinity tweeter didn’t like to disappear as much as the Energy one, but neither showed signs of beaming or harshness. Skipping to track 2 “Soul Meets Body”, I was looking for sound stage. Both speakers were able to convince me my center channel was playing. This is something you really need to experience if you haven’t. However, one speaker showed a little flaw on this track. The 150s didn’t have the same snare drum detail that the C-1s showed. This was the first little quirk of the shoot out.
Switching gears, I pumped in City and Color – Sometimes (By the way, I HIGHLY recommend this “band”. Dallas Green has an amazing voice, and can really make a guitar sing…. /plug). This is Dallas Green’s solo efforts outside of Alexisonfire. Purely acoustic guitar, the subwoofer barely made a sound throughout the whole listening session. However, the speakers REALLY shined with this material. Choosing the hit single “Save your Scissors” I was immersed in big full sound from puny speakers. The little guitar riffs at the beginning really came across in full detail and accuracy. Both speakers performed flawlessly with this task.
Next up is Johnny Truant. This is a harder… well; much harder band then the previous 2. While quite unknown, their recordings seem to be of fairly good quality, which is uncommon among hardcore musicians (unfortunately). However, the treble in this CD is quite beamy, so I will not pin either speaker with faults if they sound harsh. What I am looking at is mid bass performance. Now I now there’s a subwoofer playing, but this mid bass is in the guitar region at the beginning of the track curiously titled, “The Bloodening”. Both speakers could reach the notes required to play this, but the 150s didn’t have the same detail or finesse that the C-1s showed.
Lastly for fun, I decided to throw on Norma Jean. For those of you who don’t know (which I’m going to assume is a lot), Norma Jean’s last record “O’God, The Aftermath” had probably the worst recording to date. With static pops and VERY weak bass, it has to be the biggest travesty in hardcore. An awesome CD that is completely un-listenable. I broke down 30 seconds after hitting play on track 3 “Bayonetwork”. It was worse then anything I could imagine. Harsh, Beaming treble, NO bass whatsoever, and midrange that could cut diamond! It was like listening to Klipsch speakers…. Ok, sorry, it wasn’t THAT bad.
Test Tones - Bass response:
This is to determine the usable bass output these speaker provide, to help you choose crossover points for sub/sat configurations.
Energy C-1: 50Hz, 45hz lowest audible point.
Infinity 150: 75hz, 60Hz lowest audible point.
Conclusion:
After partying hard with these speakers, I can safely safe neither will disappoint. When you consider the fact that the Infinity Primus 150s sell for below $100 (CAD) they are an unbeatable gem. However, this sale happens once every 5 thousand years, and usually, you end up getting dicked around with, or the store doesn’t have stock. The C-1s retail for less then the Infinity’s, and in my opinion, outperform them in certain areas.
However, I strongly urge you to listen to these speakers yourself, and not take some review you saw on the internet to heart.
Review Practices:
Yamaha RXV440: Stereo
Speakers hooked up to A and B front inputs. A mark on speaker stands insures exact placement.
Speakers set to large
Tone controls: Bass: 0dB Treble: -4dB (personal preference, both speakers subjected to it)
Subwoofer: Velodyne DPS-12
SheepStar
