Energy RC-50's vs. Infinity Primus P363's

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think the Infinity P360-seriess may just be the most interesting speakers of all - it's the one loudspeaker that we all seem to OWN.

The rest of our speakers may be different like day and night, but we have one thing in common - the Infinity P360-series.

 

[PENG]

I think the Infinity P360-seriess may just be the most interesting speakers of all - it's the one loudspeaker that we all seem to OWN.

The rest of our speakers may be different like day and night, but we have one thing in common - the Infinity P360-series.

Good point, and I am keeping them. I do want to find a way to cover the bottom 7 inches of silver gray color that doesn't hurt my ears but is eye soring.

 

[Melee]

Well, I have decided to go 2.1 for now. I will keep the Sub near-field so that I don't have to turn it up loud and it will be Sealed so hopefully it won't cause too much of a disturbance. I think I will be much happier going this route with something that can truly handle the lower frequencies instead of something that will be "good enough". Would it be better to put it near the closet (a wall that ISN'T shared by me and my upstairs neighbors) and directly beside the Recliner or to put it in front of the TV on the floor?

I'm thinking that the Emotiva Ultra Subs are my best bet. I would love to have an Epik Legend, but I can't find any used for sale and they are almost $600 new w/ Shipping. I can get the Ultra 12 for around $300 used and the Ultra 10 for $100 cheaper. Which do you guys think would be the best bet?

So, that leaves me around $500 for the Front Speakers. I'm trying to figure out whether it would be better to stick with the Infinity P363's or to go with a nice pair of Bookshelves?

If I have a Sub, are the Towers still going to have an advantage or will I be able to find nicer Bookshelves in that price range?

Thanks!

 

[Melee]

What do you guys think is the better option? I can either get the Infinity's for around $350 Shipped + Sub and upgrade it to a 5.1 when I can or go with an ID Company's Bookshelves for $600 or less w/ 30-Day Trial + Sub. From your experience, what is the best choice?

Does anyone know or is there a list of all of the Internet Direct Companies that offer 30-Day In-Home Trials? I'm thinking this is my only option of really seeing what's out there and finding something that makes me truly happy.

These are the ones that I know of:

(Please add any that I have forgotten or help me to eliminate any that aren't worth trying or that don't fit my taste. I will try to research the remaining ones after the list is trimmed down.)

Ascend Acoustics
Axiom Audio
Aperion Audio
Elemental Designs
Emptek
Fluance
HSU Research
NHT
Orb Audio
Outlaw Audio
SVS

 

[Melee]

I also want to throw ERA D5's into the mix. I can't get an in-home trial for them, but I can get them for less than $500 on Audiogon and whenever I search Google for "best bookshelf speakers under $1000" (yes, I'm resorting to googling for speakers. lol) they are always in the conversation.

 

[PENG]

Well, I have decided to go 2.1 for now. I will keep the Sub near-field so that I don't have to turn it up loud and it will be Sealed so hopefully it won't cause too much of a disturbance. I think I will be much happier going this route with something that can truly handle the lower frequencies instead of something that will be "good enough". Would it be better to put it near the closet (a wall that ISN'T shared by me and my upstairs neighbors) and directly beside the Recliner or to put it in front of the TV on the floor?

I'm thinking that the Emotiva Ultra Subs are my best bet. I would love to have an Epik Legend, but I can't find any used for sale and they are almost $600 new w/ Shipping. I can get the Ultra 12 for around $300 used and the Ultra 10 for $100 cheaper. Which do you guys think would be the best bet?

So, that leaves me around $500 for the Front Speakers. I'm trying to figure out whether it would be better to stick with the Infinity P363's or to go with a nice pair of Bookshelves?

If I have a Sub, are the Towers still going to have an advantage or will I be able to find nicer Bookshelves in that price range?

Thanks!

I don't remember the dimensions of your room but if it is say less than 2000 cu ft rectangular shape the 363 will do fine without a sub. That will save you $300 for something that contribute more to sound quality. It may not be what you want just an option to consider. What price can you get the 363 for again? They get discounted at Best Buy now and then. Some people got them at very low prices.

 

[Melee]

I don't remember the dimensions of your room but if it is say less than 2000 cu ft rectangular shape the 363 will do fine without a sub. That will save you $300 for something that contribute more to sound quality. It may not be what you want just an option to consider. What price can you get the 363 for again? They get discounted at Best Buy now and then. Some people got them at very low prices.

My room is 13 x 13 x 7 which is 1183 cu ft.

It's not that I want a Sub because it would be much simpler if I didn't have one. I am just trying to find the best system I can within my price range....I just figured that I could find better sound quality with $500-$600 bookshelf speakers plus $300 sub than I could with $800 towers. The ID companies towers are also out of my price range to audition for the most part.

I found the P363's for $157 each + Shipping. My local Best Buys don't carry Infinity's. They only have Klipsch, Polk, and Pioneer.

I am sorry for being so indecisive. I trust you guys 100% on the Infinity. I am just new to this so it scares me that I might be overlooking a better option with my inexperience. I am just trying to make the best decision possible to make me happy with no regrets.

 

[PENG]

My room is 13 x 13 x 7 which is 1183 cu ft.

It's not that I want a Sub because it would be much simpler if I didn't have one. I am just trying to find the best system I can within my price range....I just figured that I could find better sound quality with $500-$600 bookshelf speakers plus $300 sub than I could with $800 towers. The ID companies towers are also out of my price range to audition for the most part.

I prefer tower than bookshelf plus sub for stereo music listening. The 363 is so affordable, I really don't know of anything comparable even at twice their price. If it turns out to be a mistake (not likely) for you it is no great loss because you should be able to get most of your money back selling them.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Good point, and I am keeping them. I do want to find a way to cover the bottom 7 inches of silver gray color that doesn't hurt my ears but is eye soring.

And here I am thinking I was pickier than you about aesthetics!

I don't find anything displeasing about that bottom silver color.

I like it just fine.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I prefer tower than bookshelf plus sub for stereo music listening. The 363 is so affordable, I really don't know of anything comparable even at twice their price. If it turns out to be a mistake (not likely) for you it is no great loss because you should be able to get most of your money back selling them.

Yeah, I think the P363s retail for around $650/pr?

So I think they will hold the value nicely.

But I think everyone will be happy with the P363s.

You won't see me giving up my P362s, although I have gone through a ton of changes to my system over the years.

Even when I have the Linkwitz Orion ($9,000/pr) in 2 weeks, and even if I were to also own a pair of KEF 207/2 ($20,000/pr) a few months later, I would still be proud of the P362s!

I can't wait to do my own study on my relatives to see which one they actually prefer - P362 vs Linkwitz Orion vs KEF 207/2 when I volume match all three using my digital Galaxy SPL meter.

I already know that on my P362s, a volume of -10dB on my Denon 391 = 85dBA Max Vol on "Hotel California" & "Superman".

 

[PENG]

And here I am thinking I was pickier than you about aesthetics!

I don't find anything displeasing about that bottom silver color.

I like it just fine.

Since I put my old carbon grey laser player on the top shelf and the silver Byrston on the lower shelf, the Infinity now blend in better, at least that's my theory.

 

[KEW]

Since I put my old carbon grey laser player on the top shelf and the silver Byrston on the lower shelf, the Infinity now blend in better, at least that's my theory.

Just make sure you keep telling yourself that - at least 25 times a day!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Since I put my old carbon grey laser player on the top shelf and the silver Byrston on the lower shelf, the Infinity now blend in better, at least that's my theory.

Oh, yeah, that will do nicely.

The silver color of the Bryston should match pretty well with the silver of the P362, especially with the lights dimmed just a touch.

 

[billy p]

Hey guy's stop derailing this thread...if you wanna keep talking about your speakers..start a Infinity owners thread or something..........jk.

 

[GranteedEV]

Yeah, enough talking about Infinity Primus P363s in a thread about Infinity P363s and Energy RC50s. Has anyone heard MBLs?

http://www.mbl-usa.com/View.aspx/2154/mbl-101-X-treme

 

[jostenmeat]

Yeah, enough talking about Infinity Primus P363s in a thread about Infinity P363s and Energy RC50s. Has anyone heard MBLs?

http://www.mbl-usa.com/View.aspx/2154/mbl-101-X-treme

OT here we come, no I haven't heard them, but someone I got friendly with at another forum did listen to some, and his remarks were superlative.

Josten, on the MBL's...good lord...

that room is exactly why you should have gone to CES. Where to begin, I listened in great detail to both the Noble line and the Reference line. The Nobles look a little like the robot from Lost in Space with an MSRP of 35,000 per pair. Each speaker was driven by it's own 2200w amplifier (not included in the 35,000 price..lol). You know what, they were pretty good....lol. As set up, the sound stage was about 12 feet wide but honestly, not very deep. When I closed my eyes, I could place the instruments well from left to right but not well at all from front to back. Given the price I'm going to define adequate sound as, with my eyes closed, could I tell the recording from an actual orchestra 6 feet in front of me. I can honestly say that with regard to vocals, horns, and cymbals, I would not have been able to tell the difference. In those areas, these speakers were the best I've ever heard. With regard to bass and drums, not as good. Honestly, I was disappointed in the bass. Earlier in the day, I listened to the much more intimidating in appearence Swanns. I would say that they were also perfect with regard to the horn section but not nearly as accurate as these speakers with vocals. The Swans were aided by two giant subs so bass conmparison wouldn't have been fair.

On the Reference, how exactly would you descibe the look. I wonder if you rub that thing in the middle if a genie will come out? For the 60,000 per pair MSRP, I'd definately need one to. There were no flaws whatsoever in these speakers. Each one was driven by it's own 5,000w amplifier...lol. Once again, not included. In the case of these speakers, the bass was awesome. I listened to a new Paradigm 7.1 set up with 4 subs that couldn't have matched the way these two speakers filled up the room. It was incredible. In the case of these speakers, I would never have been able to tell you the difference in live and recorded. in addition, I could picture where every instrument was located on the stage perfectly. i don't know how a speaker could get any better than these. Total equipment involved, MBL 1621a CD transport, MBL 1611F D/A converter, MBL 6010D pre-amp, 2 MBL 9011/9008 amps, MBL 101e Radialstrahler. Cost, more than a McDonalds franchise.

In summery, I'd say what's another 25 grand? You'll want to go with the References.

 

[Melee]

I'm going to go ahead and snag the P363's because, like you said PENG, I should be able to get my money back if I decide to sell them.

The only question I have now is should I pick up the PC351 with them since I can get it for $130? It is normally $270 so it's more than half off.

Thanks to whoever gave me the "Time's Up" Negative Rep this morning, also. Extremely mature.

Thanks Guys! Hopefully I'll have this finished soon. At the very least, everything posted throughout the thread should helps others in the same position as me, I hope, with finding the great options that are out there.

 

[PENG]

The only question I have now is should I pick up the PC351 with them since I can get it for $130? It is normally $270 so it's more than half off.

As long as you are willing to wait for the right moment you can get that for $130 in the future. For your relatively small room I think the center speaker is not necessary. Assuming the 363 is as good or better than the 362, two of them should be able to fool you to believe you have a center speaker. If not then you can spend the extra $130.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm actually listening and watching movies exclusively in 2.0 DIRECT the last few days, and I like it just fine.

The dialogues are clear as ever, just like in music 2.0.

The bass is great.^_^

I don't even miss the surrounds.

I'm not saying I will never go back to 5.1.

But I'm sticking with 2.0 for both movies and music for a while.

 

[PENG]

By the way are we sure the 363 is the same as the 362/360 except the cosmetics?