Looking for advice: B&W vs Focal vs Intimus vs EMP

[gchucky]

So I'm currently in the market for two floorstanding speakers for an 11x15 room. It's kinda cliched, but they're going to get roughly equal use for TV, video games, movies and music. And I want to do this for less than $1000. I've already picked the Onkyo TX-SR607 as my receiver, for what it's worth.

The speakers I'm currently contemplating are the B&W 684s, Focal Chorus 714V, Aperion Intimus 4T (or maybe 5T) and EMP Tek E5Ti (or maybe the E55Ti). I was able to demo the first two here in NYC; the B&Ws sounded okay to me, but the guy at the store where I demoed the Focals said that he preferred the Focals because they had more of a warm sound. Without trying them out in the same store I couldn't really definitively say, though. Either way, I haven't seen any info about the Focals, so I'm not really sure about them.

I know the range of prices jumps around; the B&Ws and Focals are each about $1000, whereas the 4Ts and the E5Tis are $650 and $500 respectively. Right now the EMP Teks are all on super backorder, which kinda blows.

So I guess my questions are these:

1. Is it worth waiting for the EMP Teks to come back into stock?
2. I've read some threads here that said the 4Ts kinda lack in the lows. Is that true, and if so, should I skip the 4Ts and go to the 5Ts?
3. Does anyone have an opinion on the Focals vs B&Ws? Is it worth spending more on either of those over the Internet-only ones?
4. If you were me, what would you get?
5. Does anyone have recommendations for demo places in NYC? I've been to Lyric and Sound by Singer; I'd like to avoid AV Salon and I think I got priced out of some other places.

Sorry this post is kinda lame, but I do appreciate the help. The threads here so far have been pretty helpful in terms of narrowing down my results. Anyway, thanks!

 

[sterryo]

So I'm currently in the market for two floorstanding speakers for an 11x15 room. It's kinda cliched, but they're going to get roughly equal use for TV, video games, movies and music. And I want to do this for less than $1000. I've already picked the Onkyo TX-SR607 as my receiver, for what it's worth.

The speakers I'm currently contemplating are the B&W 684s, Focal Chorus 714V, Aperion Intimus 4T (or maybe 5T) and EMP Tek E5Ti (or maybe the E55Ti). I was able to demo the first two here in NYC; the B&Ws sounded okay to me, but the guy at the store where I demoed the Focals said that he preferred the Focals because they had more of a warm sound. Without trying them out in the same store I couldn't really definitively say, though. Either way, I haven't seen any info about the Focals, so I'm not really sure about them.

I know the range of prices jumps around; the B&Ws and Focals are each about $1000, whereas the 4Ts and the E5Tis are $650 and $500 respectively. Right now the EMP Teks are all on super backorder, which kinda blows.

So I guess my questions are these:

1. Is it worth waiting for the EMP Teks to come back into stock?
2. I've read some threads here that said the 4Ts kinda lack in the lows. Is that true, and if so, should I skip the 4Ts and go to the 5Ts?
3. Does anyone have an opinion on the Focals vs B&Ws? Is it worth spending more on either of those over the Internet-only ones?
4. If you were me, what would you get?
5. Does anyone have recommendations for demo places in NYC? I've been to Lyric and Sound by Singer; I'd like to avoid AV Salon and I think I got priced out of some other places.

Sorry this post is kinda lame, but I do appreciate the help. The threads here so far have been pretty helpful in terms of narrowing down my results. Anyway, thanks!

EMP Teks e5ti and e55ti are both available at emptek.com (manufaturers web site) both have free shipping and 30 day trial.

that said they really do sound special, i demoed both at Emp Tek in Layton UT. and took home a pair of e55ti's, i use an Emotiva xpa-3 amp which puts out 250 watts into 6ohms so i went e555ti's (to me they sounded better also)
i have them set-up downstairs in my HT( i also picked up the matching center channel to timbre match the front soundstage). I am impressed with how they sound in my home as compared to their demo room ( to be honest their demo is just a large room with speakers all over and no apparent sound treatments). they demoed both using the hybrid mini tube amp with 40watts per channel and neither speaker had any problems

 

[Flyinace2000]

I am in Hoboken if you want to come hear my e55t setup.

 

[Matt34]

I would take Flyinace2000 up on his offer. I guess the EMP's really impressed the group at the Oregon Audioholics meetup last year.

 

[gchucky]

I would take Flyinace2000 up on his offer. I guess the EMP's really impressed the group at the Oregon Audioholics meetup last year.

I know that the E55Tis are excellent speakers, but I called EMP this morning and they said they oversold the speakers and don't expect them back in stock for at least two months. Seems like it's worth waiting, but... I don't know. I'm considering the Aperion Intimus 5Ts a bit harder.

 

[Matt34]

I know that the E55Tis are excellent speakers, but I called EMP this morning and they said they oversold the speakers and don't expect them back in stock for at least two months. Seems like it's worth waiting, but... I don't know. I'm considering the Aperion Intimus 5Ts a bit harder.

Well that stinks. You may also try and get your ears on the Infinity Primus 362, not nearly as pretty as the EMP but they do sound very good. Also look into NHT and there classic 3 or if your set on floorstanders the classic 4's but they are a bit more expensive.

 

[gchucky]

Well that stinks. You may also try and get your ears on the Infinity Primus 362, not nearly as pretty as the EMP but they do sound very good. Also look into NHT and there classic 3 or if your set on floorstanders the classic 4's but they are a bit more expensive.

The P362s were on my list as well, but they seem, well, absurdly cheap. B&H lists one at $170, so it'd be $340 for the pair. Are they really better than the other speakers on my list? I also had the Energy CF-30s or CF-50s on my list. Do the Primus really outrank them? I could possibly go to B&H (when they reopen in a week) but I'm not really sure they have speakers out for demoing.

 

[Matt34]

The P362s were on my list as well, but they seem, well, absurdly cheap. B&H lists one at $170, so it'd be $340 for the pair. Are they really better than the other speakers on my list? I also had the Energy CF-30s or CF-50s on my list. Do the Primus really outrank them? I could possibly go to B&H (when they reopen in a week) but I'm not really sure they have speakers out for demoing.

Like I said they aren't the prettiest speaker around if looks are important but they are a very good sounding speaker regardless of price.

Have a look at what this user member has to say about them, hint: it's Dr. Sean Olive (the guy that occasionally hangs around Dr. Toole and they do a little research on stuff).

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/member.php?u=35258

The $500 speaker he is referring to in the link below is the Infinity Primus 362.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=699218&postcount=128

 

[sterryo]

Well that stinks. You may also try and get your ears on the Infinity Primus 362, not nearly as pretty as the EMP but they do sound very good. Also look into NHT and there classic 3 or if your set on floorstanders the classic 4's but they are a bit more expensive.

just to qualify the EMP backorder is for the black ash only, both e5 & e55's are available in red burl mahogany, i know it is personal preference but i prefer the red over the black, also the e5ti BLACK ASH is available for $400 in the blems, their blems are generally not noticeable unless under close examination and you save $100.

another thing to note, yesterday my e55's started to bloom, the soundstage opened up quite nicely and the bass is much more noticeable. the soundstage now rivals my eD w6-6tc's (i'm loving it)

 

[gchucky]

Like I said they aren't the prettiest speaker around if looks are important but they are a very good sounding speaker regardless of price.

Have a look at what this user member has to say about them, hint: it's Dr. Sean Olive (the guy that occasionally hangs around Dr. Toole and they do a little research on stuff).

That's pretty absurd. I called some local places that are supposed to have the P362s, but none of them are demoing the P362s. I can buy them, but if I don't like them for whatever reason I'll end up paying nearly the full price to return them. Kinda sucks, but it leaves me wondering if there's a noticeable difference in the quality between them and the Intimus 5Ts, which are around three times the price.

I have half a mind to take Aperion up on their free 30 day trial and try both speakers in my apartment..

 

[gchucky]

Just as a follow-up, we ended up going with the Primus P362s. I was able to get them at $170 each, which is ridiculous. Gonna pick them up in a few days; hopefully they're as awesome as everyone says they are. Thanks for the help, everyone.

 

[manlystanley]

The speakers I'm currently contemplating are the B&W 684s, Focal Chorus 714V, Aperion Intimus 4T (or maybe 5T) and EMP Tek E5Ti (or maybe the E55Ti).

I owned a pair of B&W 684's for about a year or so. Very nice speaker. You need to have the right amp with it though. The amp it's paired with should be warm sounding as the B&W's in general are bright speakers.

Best Regards,
Stan

 

[WmAx]

Just as a follow-up, we ended up going with the Primus P362s. I was able to get them at $170 each, which is ridiculous. Gonna pick them up in a few days; hopefully they're as awesome as everyone says they are. Thanks for the help, everyone.

The SQ of the 362 is perhaps exaggerated a bit, at least in pure stock form. But it is a very high value speaker. You can get a significant increase in SQ by simply placing a highly effective acoustic damping material inside the main cabinet space. It actually has no effective material inside the main cabinet volume from the factory. What material is in there has no appreciable effect in the bandwidth in which the mid-bass drivers operate. The correct material to use for ideal properties is Owens Corning 703 or 705 or Roxul #4 - #8(4-8 lb./ft^3 density rockwool). Place 2" on sidewalls and topwall. 4" on backwall. 6" on bottom. You can wrap the material in cloth if you are afraid the fibers will find their way out of the port.

-Chris

 

[gchucky]

The SQ of the 362 is perhaps exaggerated a bit, at least in pure stock form. But it is a very high value speaker. You can get a significant increase in SQ by simply placing a highly effective acoustic damping material inside the main cabinet space. It actually has no effective material inside the main cabinet volume from the factory. What material is in there has no appreciable effect in the bandwidth in which the mid-bass drivers operate. The correct material to use for ideal properties is Owens Corning 703 or 705 or Roxul #4 - #8(4-8 lb./ft^3 density rockwool). Place 2" on sidewalls and topwall. 4" on backwall. 6" on bottom. You can wrap the material in cloth if you are afraid the fibers will find their way out of the port.

Um.. I'm pretty new when it comes to dismantling speakers. Got any writeups on this I can read? And when you say 2" and 4" and so on, is that the depth of the piece of damping? Seems like they only sell this stuff in 1" or 2" thicknesses, so I'd have to double up. Is that right?

 

[WmAx]

Um.. I'm pretty new when it comes to dismantling speakers. Got any writeups on this I can read? And when you say 2" and 4" and so on, is that the depth of the piece of damping? Seems like they only sell this stuff in 1" or 2" thicknesses, so I'd have to double up. Is that right?

It's easy. Just remove the two woofers. You will need a size T-20 Torx bit and a standard phillips screwdriver bit plus pliers. You use the T-20 bit to remove the decoration rings over the woofers. Use the phillips bit to remove the woofer screws. Use pliers to gently loosen and remove the slide on wire connectors that attach the woofers to the xover.

Remove the stock absorption material. Stack 3 layers of 2" on the bottom of cabinet to achieve a 6" thick layer. Use 2" thick on side walls and top. Use 2 x 2" layers on the back wall for total 4" thickness. You can cut the insulation so it fits tightly and holds in via friction. I recommend buying an inexpensive serrated kitchen knife to cut the material to desired shape.

Be certain that no insulation is more than 3" near the inside of port opening. Cut away blocks of insulation to make for clearance if you must.

It would not hurt to remove the mid-range driver and add some of this material into the mid-range cavity. There should be a low density poly fill in the mid-range chamber. At least make sure this is present on both mid-range cups. There have been cases where owners have discovered no fill in this cup. It should be stuffed full. If already stuffed with the OEM material, then realize, changing this out with the high performance material will not have the dramatic improvement brought about by adding it to the main cabinet volume.

You can leave this as is, or replace with the high performance material. If there was no stuffing in the 1st place, then you must go ahead and install the high performance material.

To install the new material: Discard the stock material. Cut two round pieces of the insulation, both 2" thick, and put in back of the cup to have 4" thick in back. Now, take a piece of the 2" thick material and use a knife to split it, so you have a 1" thick piece. Use this and wrap around the inside of the mid-range cup walls. Be careful re-installing the mid-range. The motor is huge, and is a tight fit, and might dislodge and push the side wrapped insulation back into the back of mid-range cavity cup when you install the mid-range. Be certain this does not occur.

-Chris