Infinity Beta Home Cinema Speaker System Vs. JBL Balboa Cine Pack

[cobwebber]

Hello all,

Reading through your posts, I wish I had the budget to buy the top range speakers posted here... However, I am after a 5.1 system, I am on a tight budget (got to build a home and change my car) and I loath the tiny satellite things on the market here.

I found 2 decent systems, and I wish someone could enlighten me as to which could do better. I live in Romania, and niche products available in the US are simply impossible to find here, they are not even shippable if bought online and most people - except "conaisseurs" are blown away by floorstanding Sonys.

The Infinity Beta pack comes at around EURO 610, and the JBL Balboa @ EURO 771. Now the Balboas look bigger and more trustworthy, but JBL has been building somewhat of a bad reputation, and the cellulose cones do not inspire me much. Infinities, on the other hand, look tiny, if the CMMD-made speakers give me plenty of confidence regarding sound quality. I am a 50% movie watcher (love to hear them gun blasts pumping hard in the speakers) and 50% music listener (I love hearing distinctively different instruments playing in the speakers).

The room is about 4 X 6 m, and I also plan on using my speakers once I move to the bigger home... but then again, who knows - I could go broke till I build my house and have to sell everything to pay back the bank

Anyone, any suggestion? And please, do not recommend Athena or MK or Polk, these things are not to be found here

C.

 

[gmichael]

Sorry, but I have not heard the models you are looking at. But JBL and Infinity are owned by the same company now, Harmon Kardon. Both have similar quality, but I have noticed in the past that; JBL's tend to have a little more base and a little less midrange, while the Infinity's tend to have more mids and less of a boomy base.

Please keep in mind that I have not heard the models you are looking at. Hopefully someone with first hand knowledge will chime in soon.

 

[cobwebber]

Bigger JBL 5.1 vs. Cheaper Infinity 5.1

Thanks for the prompt reply. I assumed they were less known... probably this is why they market them over here in Central & Eastern Europe:

Below are the links to the 2 sets (the JBL page is in Romanian, but the specs are in English):

JBL:
http://www.aoy.ro/customer/product.php?productid=18663&cat=293&page=7&PHPSESSID=67f4ccb8c895f5058cdefe8eca9424e4


Infinity:
http://ecom.dbsystems.ro/product_info.php/manufacturers_id/12/products_id/632?osCsid=4ba6b6510a6f4883ea2787e84ba0c8b8 - no specs for this one... could it be a hoax? I couldn't find it on infinitysystems.com

Thanks

C.

 

[AVRat]

You can get the Infinity Beta HCS specs here: http://international.infinitysystems.com/homeaudio/products/category/betahcs_series.asp?language=ENGLISH#

I think you’ll get more bang for the euro with the JBLs.

 

[JoeE SP9]

Some of the speakers JBL and Infinity market in Europe are different or not sold here in the US. I have been told that even when the same models are being marketed in both areas they are voiced slightly different for the two different markets.