Infinity Primus P363 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

[sholling]

It definitly is in my opinion. Of course, it depends on how loud you listen.
I believe this is what Gene mentioned as bass bloom.
Performing the mods Alex linked would be an economical solution to having an amazing pair of speakers with little investment.
If you are very concerned with cabinet resonance, I think the best remedy is bookshelves (aside from the mods) if you need to stay around this pricepoint. I'd suggest the Beringer B2031p, which is a larger, but solidly made bookshelf speaker. If you plan to mate with a sub, get the 2030p, which has a smaller woofer. Not many other options in the ~$300 range.

I don't disagree but keep in mind that B2030Ps suffer from lots of cabinet resonance as well and that's why they get modded. The B2031s I can't speak to.

 

[shadyJ]

It definitly is in my opinion. Of course, it depends on how loud you listen.
I believe this is what Gene mentioned as bass bloom.
Performing the mods Alex linked would be an economical solution to having an amazing pair of speakers with little investment.
If you are very concerned with cabinet resonance, I think the best remedy is bookshelves (aside from the mods) if you need to stay around this pricepoint. I'd suggest the Beringer B2031p, which is a larger, but solidly made bookshelf speaker. If you plan to mate with a sub, get the 2030p, which has a smaller woofer. Not many other options in the ~$300 range.

lol, I already have a pair of 2031p monitors. I'm not looking for new speakers, I am just curious what cabinet resonance is supposed to sound like. I am quite happy with my Infinity speakers.

 

[KEW]

lol, I already have a pair of 2031p monitors. I'm not looking for new speakers, I am just curious what cabinet resonance is supposed to sound like. I am quite happy with my Infinity speakers.

LOL, Do you also have the Primus towers and B2031p's?

If you ever get by Atlanta, let me know. I can set them up level-matched for instant switching between and it will be quite obvious!

I'll do my best to describe it to you so you might "capture" the effect.

First off, a knuckle rap test will tell you enough between these two speakers (the Behringer has a 0.80" baffle). But the generalization I would state is that the bass of the P362 starts to get muddy when it is cranked up.

The next part is how I evaluate mid-low frequency articulation. I believe this effect is caused by is a combination of driver quality and cabinet resonance.

The places I am familiar with, where this difference is most obvious, are:
1) Yes - Fragile - "Heart of the Sunrise" - Chris Squire did some custom tuning of his bass that gives it a unique sound (unique back then).
2) Aggressively played trombone in the lower register.
3) Steely Dan - Aja - "Black Cow" - In the intro, there is a place where it sounds like a Jew's Harp is being played along with the bass line. I suspect this is a synthesizer set to a "saw wave" form.

All three of these sounds have an certain edge to them. You will likely hear that edge on about any speaker, but it will be better defined and extend into higher frequencies (in the case of the trombone or bass) on a speaker with better articulation (which is lost when the cabinet starts to resonate).

The P362 does a pretty good job at lower volume, but loses it at higher levels.

I can't say that the Behringer exhibits none of this, but I can say that it is a shortcoming that stands out when I compare the P362 to better speakers. The Behringer has never attracted my attention to this. With the Behringers, I have to be looking for it.

 

[KEW]

I don't disagree but keep in mind that B2030Ps suffer from lots of cabinet resonance as well and that's why they get modded. The B2031s I can't speak to.

I guess it is all relative. I don't listen to music at over 90dB very often, so maybe that is why, but I simply haven't had much issue with the 2031's on this count while the P362 is a different story.

But let's keep it in perspective. Unless you just finished listening to a better pair of speakers or you are very intimate with the sound of a trombone (from nearby), I'm not sure how problematic the resonance would be. The Infinity's are definitely overachievers!

 

[shadyJ]

lol, I doubt Ill be in Atlanta anytime soon, but thanks for the offer. I can level match them here anyway, and I have done back-to-back comparisons, but I didn't find glaring flaws in the sound of either speaker. From the way you described it, it doesn't seem like its a big deal, so I am not worried about it.

 

[Alex2507]

I guess it is all relative. I don't listen to music at over 90dB very often, so maybe that is why, but I simply haven't had much issue with the 2031's on this count while the P362 is a different story.

But let's keep it in perspective. Unless you just finished listening to a better pair of speakers or you are very intimate with the sound of a trombone (from nearby), I'm not sure how problematic the resonance would be. The Infinity's are definitely overachievers!

The FR of the Behringers might not go low enough for them to get into trouble with those particular notes but bookshelves are inherently less prone to resonance issues anyway. The 2030P's don't like being played at high SPL's but under say 85db or so they're very nice sounding.

I'm not sure if what frequency you notice the 360's falter with but I had a chance to observe one speaker with dampening material in the bottom of the cabinet and one without for at least a month. Periodically I would hear something amiss with the undamped speaker. That's a pretty easy fix. I've heard plenty of speakers in the $1,000 neighborhood that didn't measure up to the Infinities in anything other than looks. But that shouldn't matter 'cause we're men ... right?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The P362 does a pretty good job at lower volume, but loses it at higher levels.

Higher volume than 92dB?

I've listened with my SPL on. The P362 sounded pretty good at 92dB.

I think most people find that pretty loud.

But some people do listen at higher volumes.

Maybe Audioholics could compare the P363 & EMP to some SHO-10 or eD-c12 @ 100dB or something.

 

[Alex2507]

I've listened with my SPL on. The P362 sounded pretty good at 92dB.

There are qualifiers with that like distance from speaker and room size but I'm sure your room is 'pretty big' and your SPL meter wasn't 'too close'. Still, the H/K predicted listener preference of the 363 over way more expensive speakers would IMO change once you got up to that volume especially in bigger rooms with greater distance between the listener and the speaker.

BTW, I appreciate your input on these speakers considering what ever else it is you got going on gear wise. It just makes me really happy to have them at least until I can afford to spend about 100 grand on gear. I really need to get mine amp'ed up again but that kind of gear lust just leads to sleeping on the couch. Ask ADK.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

There are qualifiers with that like distance from speaker and room size but I'm sure your room is 'pretty big' and your SPL meter wasn't 'too close'. Still, the H/K predicted listener preference of the 363 over way more expensive speakers would IMO change once you got up to that volume especially in bigger rooms with greater distance between the listener and the speaker.

BTW, I appreciate your input on these speakers considering what ever else it is you got going on gear wise. It just makes me really happy to have them at least until I can afford to spend about 100 grand on gear. I really need to get mine amp'ed up again but that kind of gear lust just leads to sleeping on the couch. Ask ADK.

The family room is 18' x 20'. If only my HT room were at least this size. I could fit more speakers then.

I usually sit 10 ft back. Sometimes 15 ft back.

I do have the luck of being able to listen to the Salon2, Orion, KEF 201/2, & Phil3 any time.

And after listening to them, I still think "point of diminishing returns" when listening to the P362, especially when the original recording music is high quality.

 

[gene]

The family room is 18' x 20'. If only my HT room were at least this size. I could fit more speakers then.

I usually sit 10 ft back. Sometimes 15 ft back.

I do have the luck of being able to listen to the Salon2, Orion, KEF 201/2, & Phil3 any time.

And after listening to them, I still think "point of diminishing returns" when listening to the P362, especially when the original recording music is high quality.

The Infinity P363 is a good floorstander for $400/pair but its not even close to the "point of diminishing returns" unless they are put in such a bad room, played with the worse electronics and worse source material that better speakers would not benefit the listening experience. If you've found the Salon2s to only be marginally better than the P362's then something is either really wrong with the Salon2s or the listening conditions in which they are being compared too.

 

[tomd51]

Fry's has these on sale today (7/6, I'll also add to the 'Hot Deals' section) for $99 each. For that price, they're practically giving them away.

Hard to beat the price for performance factor on these... -TD

 

[capricious]

These are excellent speakers. If you are looking for a sub $600 floor standers, i don't think there is anything that can sound as good. I am sure that the cabinet can be made more non-resonant. There are some posts here and on AVS about people adding more stuffing along with some roofing material stuck to the inner walls of the cabinet (p362 and p360 though)
I'm looking for some pics and measurements to see if the changes really made any real difference.

 

[monsterman]

This sucks that there are no Fry's near me or I would order a set. I wish I could call them right now and beg to ship. I'm in the market for a nice set of budget towers.
Unless someone is willing to do me a favor

 

[KEW]

Unless someone is willing to do me a favor

Where are you?

 

[KEW]

Fry's has these on sale today (7/6, I'll also add to the 'Hot Deals' section) for $99 each. For that price, they're practically giving them away.

Hard to beat the price for performance factor on these... -TD

Yeah! With this kind of discount, B&M easily competes with ID. Now if I could only find some Salon2's at 1/8 of their retail price!

 

[monsterman]

I'm in Washington DC

 

[BM1]

I love my P363s. I've had them for a couple years now. People are always impressed with my 2.1 setup when I demo it (P363s & PS312BK sub in a relatively small living room).

 

[setexascustoms]

P363 vs Boston VR20

I live about two blocks from Fry's, and I already have a pair of these scheduled for pick up this afternoon for my father. I am currently running an old (but still in very good shape) pair of Boston VR20 floor standing speakers. I will compare them for myself tonight, but I'd still like to get some opinions. Would it these be a worthy upgrade, with the intention of getting a matching center; or would I be better off tracking down a VR10 or VR12 center channel to go with the VR20's I already have?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[jm78]

What improvement would you get going to a revel f12 instead of a p363?

I wish I could hear a side-by-side comparison to see if the revel f12 is worth the extra dough.

 

[PENG]

What improvement would you get going to a revel f12 instead of a p363?

I wish I could hear a side-by-side comparison to see if the revel f12 is worth the extra dough.

I bet the f12 will sound far superior. The 363 has the same specs and price as the 362. While the 362 has some nice graphs and sounds good at their price point, I really won't use them for serious music listening.