Looking for Advice on Upgrading from Infinity Primus Setup

[bowtieman81]

Hello all,

I am finally ready (and able) to upgrade my current home theater, which consists of:
Denon AVR-1712 receiver
2 Infinity P363 tower speakers as the L/R
1 Infinity PC251 as the center channel
2 Infinity P150 bookshelf speakers as the rear surrounds
1 HSU VTF-3 MK3 for the subwoofer
Sony Blu Ray player (don't use it much any more)
Apple TV 4K for our streaming device

It is worth noting that currently I am running a 3.1 setup as we do not have the ability to run wires to the surrounds in our current house (rental home).

My listening is approximately 80% movie and TV, and the rest is music. We use the system for all TV/movie watching because our TV speakers are terrible. As for music a majority of it is digital (such as iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, etc), but we do have a few CDs that we listen to sometimes as well. The current setup has served its purpose well, but is now going on 10 years old. One of our primary complaints is that the center channel is muddy and difficult to clearly hear dialogue. I have turned the center up individually to try and compensate, but we still are not happy with dialogue reproduction.

For the purpose of this upgrade I am focused on the L/R main speakers and the center channel. I would like to eventually add an additional sub and purchase surrounds, but that does not have to be completed right now. At the end of this year I am planning to get a newer Denon AVR that will support dual subs. We move around every 2 years, so setting up a good 7.1/7.2 system will be challenging. For now I am focused on getting a really good 3.1 setup, with the addition of a sub and two surrounds (5.2) later this year or next year.

I have been reading quite a few threads and it seems like the following brands come up as popular:
Ascend Acoustics - CMT 340 seems popular, but the Sierra line might be a better target? The horizon center seems well-liked.
Chane - The A series towers and center are priced well, but without experience I don't know if they are truly an upgrade. The L series is very appealing, especially if available in B-stock to save money.
SVS - The prime towers/center would be my target, but open to other ideas. SVS is risk free with their returns policy.
Emotiva - C2 center seems highly recommended, not sure about matching towers or bookshelves.
Power Sound Audio - Maybe noticeably higher than my budget, but I don't mind piecing together items if needed over time.

I am open to any other brands/models too. Also, I would definitely consider a set of bookshelf speakers instead of towers if that is a better route.

My budget is roughly $1,800, but there is some room to go up a bit if justified. I am a value shopper, in that I don't mind adjusting the budget a bit to obtain notably better quality gear. However, I am not to the level where only the best of everything will do. Basically I just want a good system that is a worthwhile upgrade, and will last another 8-10 years. I want to make sure that I am actually getting an upgrade in gear for the money spent. It seems not worthwhile to spend $1500 on speakers if they are mostly the same performance (lateral move), but if I can save a bit more and spend $2500 to truly get an upgrade then I prefer that route.

I would appreciate any recommendations for L/R main and center speakers. I would also like your thoughts on subwoofer(s) to keep in mind for next year.

Thanks for your time,
Pete

 

[lovinthehd]

My first impression is that you're looking more at lateral moves and think to really change you need a bit more budget....(altho maybe Sierra towers with Horizon center could be a consideration)

Subs I'd look generally at Hsu, SVS, Rythmik, Monolith, diy....

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

There's was a recent discussion regarding best value speakers and these are the candidates
Monoprice Encore Monilith T6
Flatulence Signature 3-way towers
Other professional monitors mentioned in James's post are unfortunately not compatible with your AVR.
For a bit more money recently a very well-reviewed Heco Aurora 1000 plus Aurora Center 30.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

My first impression is that you're looking more at lateral moves and think to really change you need a bit more budget....(altho maybe Sierra towers with Horizon center could be a consideration)

Subs I'd look generally at Hsu, SVS, Rythmik, Monolith, diy....

see highlight line blow ;-)

I am finally ready (and able) to upgrade my current home theater, which consists of:
Denon AVR-1712 receiver
...
1 HSU VTF-3 MK3 for the subwoofer

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

One more option is Revel Concerta F35+C25
Revel Concerta2 F35 (High Gloss Black) Floor-standing speaker at Crutchfield
Revel Concerta2 C25 (High Gloss Black) Center channel speaker at Crutchfield

Revel Concerta2 C25 Review (Center Speaker) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Revel F35 Speaker Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum

Amir dislikes these as not a great fit as a horizontally placed speaker for larger theaters, but I'd imagine in an apartment you'd be sitting most of the time right within +/- 15 degrees, so the issues he's talking about aren't very relevant for you. In larger theaters, you could probably put the speaker vertically to get the best possible performance out of it. To be fair this would be the same issue for most if not all MTM horizontal centers.

 

[shadyJ]

Hello all,

I am finally ready (and able) to upgrade my current home theater, which consists of:
Denon AVR-1712 receiver
2 Infinity P363 tower speakers as the L/R
1 Infinity PC251 as the center channel
2 Infinity P150 bookshelf speakers as the rear surrounds
1 HSU VTF-3 MK3 for the subwoofer
Sony Blu Ray player (don't use it much any more)
Apple TV 4K for our streaming device

It is worth noting that currently I am running a 3.1 setup as we do not have the ability to run wires to the surrounds in our current house (rental home).

My listening is approximately 80% movie and TV, and the rest is music. We use the system for all TV/movie watching because our TV speakers are terrible. As for music a majority of it is digital (such as iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, etc), but we do have a few CDs that we listen to sometimes as well. The current setup has served its purpose well, but is now going on 10 years old. One of our primary complaints is that the center channel is muddy and difficult to clearly hear dialogue. I have turned the center up individually to try and compensate, but we still are not happy with dialogue reproduction.

For the purpose of this upgrade I am focused on the L/R main speakers and the center channel. I would like to eventually add an additional sub and purchase surrounds, but that does not have to be completed right now. At the end of this year I am planning to get a newer Denon AVR that will support dual subs. We move around every 2 years, so setting up a good 7.1/7.2 system will be challenging. For now I am focused on getting a really good 3.1 setup, with the addition of a sub and two surrounds (5.2) later this year or next year.

I have been reading quite a few threads and it seems like the following brands come up as popular:
Ascend Acoustics - CMT 340 seems popular, but the Sierra line might be a better target? The horizon center seems well-liked.
Chane - The A series towers and center are priced well, but without experience I don't know if they are truly an upgrade. The L series is very appealing, especially if available in B-stock to save money.
SVS - The prime towers/center would be my target, but open to other ideas. SVS is risk free with their returns policy.
Emotiva - C2 center seems highly recommended, not sure about matching towers or bookshelves.
Power Sound Audio - Maybe noticeably higher than my budget, but I don't mind piecing together items if needed over time.

I am open to any other brands/models too.

My budget is roughly $1,800, but there is some room to go up a bit if justified. I am a value shopper, in that I don't mind adjusting the budget a bit to obtain notably better quality gear. However, I am not to the level where only the best of everything will do. Basically I just want a good system that is a worthwhile upgrade, and will last another 8-10 years. I want to make sure that I am actually getting an upgrade in gear for the money spent. It seems not worthwhile to spend $1500 on speakers if they are mostly the same performance (lateral move), but if I can save a bit more and spend $2500 to truly get an upgrade then I prefer that route.

I would appreciate any recommendations for L/R main and center speakers. I would also like your thoughts on subwoofer(s) to keep in mind for next year.

Thanks for your time,
Pete

I used to have almost your exact same setup including the VTF-3 mk3 except I had the Primus 351 center instead of the 251. It's a good setup and will not be topped very cheaply. If I were you, I would be looking at a good 3-way center speaker, but that will not be cheap. Some of my favs are the Paradigm Premier 500C or the Polk Legend L400. The Monoprice Monolith center is very good and not very expensive. KEF has some decent 3-way centers. The Hsu CCB-8 is an interesting 2-way center that doesn't have traditional 2-way problems.

 

[bowtieman81]

Thank you all for the advice so far.

I should have said in my post that I am not firmly set on having tower speakers as the mains. I am not opposed to a bookshelf set if that makes sense (seeing as the sub will handle lowest frequencies).

Also, we have a place with an open concept. The "living room" is roughly 15 feet by 15 feet, but it is open to the decent size dining room and kitchen area.

 

[bowtieman81]

There's was a recent discussion regarding best value speakers and these are the candidates
Monoprice Encore Monilith T6
Flatulence Signature 3-way towers
Other professional monitors mentioned in James's post are unfortunately not compatible with your AVR.
For a bit more money recently a very well-reviewed Heco Aurora 1000 plus Aurora Center 30.

I appreciate the suggestions, but I am not sure about those Flatulence brand speakers? I am not sure my wife would appreciate the sounds they emit.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I appreciate the suggestions, but I am not sure about those Flatulence brand speakers? I am not sure my wife would appreciate the sounds they emit.

The actual company name is Fluance, but the way I refer to them is due to older massive inconsistencies in manufacturing specifications for the same speaker and lacking Quality control.
They might have improved since then, and James who actually (unlike me) listened and measured them - has a positive opinion about them.

 

[ryanosaur]

 

[Alex2507]

One of our primary complaints is that the center channel is muddy and difficult to clearly hear dialogue.

I had the Primus 351 center instead of the 251.

I've had them both. The 351 never sounded right UNTIL you hit a certain volume. I thought the 251 worked better.

I would try a crossover point upwards of 80 - 100 Hz and play with placement and isolation pads for the Infinity center. I did like the 2 way better but somehow never compared the 2-way directly to the 3-way.

Anyway, Salk SongTowers and a SongCenter from the used market did the trick for me. $1600. That's around 50% off of retail and an incredible deal. It's been nearly 10 years now and SWMBO has made it clear that she doesn't want me getting rid of these speakers.