Infinity Alpha 50 v Primus 360

[JJNab]

Following hawke's suggestion, I recently got a free pair of Infinity Primus 150's from Crutchfield on an order that included a (heavily discounted) Alpha 37c center and a PS12 sub. For budgetary reasons, I'm building my HT piece by piece, and for now, I hooked the 150's up to my old Yamaha stereo receiver. I'm pretty impressed with them, and I'm now thinking of getting another free pair by purchasing some floor-standing Infinity speakers. That way, I'll be set with speakers for when I can buy a 7.1 receiver. The Alpha 50's (which of course would match the center) have had a $400 price drop, and are now priced the same as the Primus 360's. I have read plhart's informative posts, pointing out that the Alpha line did not go through the rigorous double-blind testing that the Primus line went through, and am wondering whether the (budget, I guess) Primus 360's would be a better purchase than the Alpha 50's, even at the same price. I would very much appreciate any advice. Thanks, John

 

[JJNab]

My bad, I think the Primus deal was actually brought to my attention in a post by Rob Babcock.

 

[Leprkon]

Infinity Alpha's

I recently picked up a set of Alpha 50's to go with a 37C center and Primus 150 rears. I can't talk for the 360's but everything I've seen posted here on the Alpha's has proven to be true.

They are a very flat speaker, extremely accurate and solid. They also took about a week of on-and-off time to break in, having been a little hissy (I guess a true audiophile would say sibilant). Once they loosened up, they started sounding great.

I've been very impressed with them for everything from the Moody Blues to Meatloaf to Martina McBride to the Fifth Element to Fox football in 5.1.

I drive them with a Sony STRDA-995 and use Axiom Audio 12 gage wire.

The price is great, as is the free delivery. Is it worth the extra $ 400 to get the Kappa series, probably not since you've got a decent sub.

http://ww3.onecall.com/PID_22955.htm

Happy listening

 

[plhart]

John-

Choosing between the European designed double 8" 3-way Alpha and the American designed (by my buddy Bill) Primus 360 6.5" three-way is a tough call. The Primus will be the more accurate and refined of the designs but it can't put the woofer piston area of the Alpha's to work into a bigger room as effectively. And what sound do you really want? Only you can make that decision. If, however, you're doing it by remote control by ordering a system without ever comparing the two, I might be inclined to pick a system which had the greatest likelihood of timbrally matching the center channel.

Hope this helps.

 

[JJNab]

Thanks very much for the advice, guys. I went ahead and ordered the Alphas. With the big discounts on them, and on the 37c, plus four free Primus 150s, it's a heck of a bargain for what I hope will be a pretty solid 7.1 system!