Matt's mini speaker shootout

[Matt34]

Completely subjective comparison

So I told Mike I was going to eventually do this so here it is.

Contestants:

Bic Acoustech HT-75 ($279.99)

AV 123 X-SLS Classics--No longer in production ($499 retail. Current B-Stock price is $299)

Infinity Primus 362 ($500 but can be found for significantly less if your patient i.e. Fry's.)

Equipment Used:
HK AVR 330
PS3 digital out to receiver
Emotiva BPA-1 mono to L/R channels
Gotchaforce custom cables http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=17963&highlight=gotchaforce+cables
Radio Shack Digital SPL meter


Media used:
Lord of the Rings- The Return of the King Soundtrack
Track 5. The Steward of Gondor

Chris Brown- Exclusive
Track 11. I Wanna Be

Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Track 7. Orion

30 Seconds to Mars
Track 2 Edge of the Earth

Staind- The Illusion of Progess
Track 3 Believe
Track 5 All I Want

 

[Matt34]

Saved.......

BIC Acoustechs:

I'll be blunt, they made it through the first two songs and I retired them from the comparison. They sounded hollow in the mids which became very apparent when I hooked up the X-SLS. I also found them to be a bit harsh on the top end during the LOTR track. I picked this particular Chris Brown track to see how the speakers handled the deep bass. None of them where able to produce the lowest frequencies that I know are in the song and the BIC's dropped off the soonest, unable to match the XLS or 362. The BIC's were my first experience in becoming an Audioholic but I can truly say my tastes have matured.

AV123 X-SLS Classics:

Before I start the actually listening review, I'm going to comment on the looks. My B-stock set have developed some nasty fissures in the veneer that wasn't visual apparent when I got them. I could feel the rises where it had crack but now they are very noticeable. These are/were gorgeous looking speakers, regardless of price. I can't be too upset as I paid significantly less for this set ($139) than retail.

During the listening evaluations it was very difficult to find anything bad about these speakers. Only swapping between the other two speakers was I able to notice some slight imperfections. First off, the bass extension is phenomenal for two-way loudspeaker, I would be perfectly happy without a sub for music playback. The highs are impressive and in no way bright or fatiguing but I sometimes felt as if they tapered off in some instants. The mids are pleasant and I really got into the music during the Metallica cover Orion. I highly recommend Rodrigo Y Gabriela if you want to experience some incredible guitarmenship http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CsLefLisE

Infinity Primus 362:

I really tried to keep an open mind in all this, as I've already invested in each of these brands and really had nothing to lose/gain with my decisions(losers will just get sold off or placed in the living room for T.V viewing). It took me awhile of switching the cables back and forth between the Primus and the X-SLS to figure out which one was doing the most for my ears. At first I thought the bass wasn't as deep as the X-SLS but the more I listened I realized the 362 was producing a cleaner response while the X-SLS was coloring the bass somewhat. I wouldn't have noticed it in the X-SLS if not for the comparison however.

The mids were exceptional, especially when Gabriela was hitting the side of the gutiar, it sounded so life like. The highs were neither harsh nor reserved, they did the best at reproducing the sound as it was intended.

The 362 has an ace in the hole and that is it's 4" driver. This, I believe, was what really separated it from the other two floorstanders. From Aaron Lewis' voice to the piano on the Chris Brown track it added that separation that was lacking with the others. If only they all looked as nice as the X-SLS.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So on a generic ten point scale this is how I would rate them with ten being the winner.
Infinity Primus 362: 10
AV123 X-SLS: 8
BIC Acoustech HT-75: 5

I really wished I had a speaker selector box and a bigger room. Swapping floor standers in a small room is like musical chairs, thankfully I had banana plugs to make swapping the cables easier. The Infinity's will be staying in the theater room for the foreseeable future, at least until my WmaX modified 362 show up.



* I didn't comment on imaging because of the size of my room and the fact I had to place the unused speakers in the middle effecting proper imaging.

 

[mike c]

Saved.......

wth! what a tease!

where's the listening impressions?

 

[Matt34]

wth! what a tease!

where's the listening impressions?

I'll get it finished tonight, gotta head in for work for a little bit. Check back in 4-5 hours.

 

[Stripes]

I'll get it finished tonight, gotta head in for work for a little bit. Check back in 4-5 hours.

Cant wait to hear about your listening comparisons....

 

[mazersteven]

Mazer's predictions

1)Infinity Primus 362
2)AV123 X-SLS Classics
3)Bic Acoustech HT-75

 

[majorloser]

I'll get it finished tonight, gotta head in for work for a little bit. Check back in 4-5 hours.

Work???
What, you got stuck with kennel duties or a patrol?

 

[Adam]

Oh, man. When I first saw the thread title, I thought that this was going to be an invite to a mini GTG. I was all excited.

Yeah, yeah...can't wait to hear your impressions...whatever.

J/K. Looking forward to it, Matt! It'll be great to read what you think of those.

 

[Alex2507]

where's the listening impressions?

Yeah, yeah...can't wait to hear your impressions...whatever.

The crowd turns ugly ...
I'm looking forward to this as well but am pretty amused by the anticipation. Leaving us like this is wrong but hilarious. Well done.

 

[PSWii60]

Drum Roll..............................................................OK my arms are tired. Hurry up!

 

[Matt34]

Alright, got the rest of it posted.

 

[Davemcc]

I've never heard any of the speakers here. I find it interesting to see you've picked the Infinity over the X-SLS. The AV-123 have been often recommended here as a value speaker, sounding as good or better than commercially available big box speaker but for much less money due to the lower overhead of ID companies. The result here would suggest that a buyer is better off going to Best Buy and making their best deal on a set of Infinity for the same money (retail) and better sound quality than the AV-123 model. In a way, it disproves the viral marketing hype of the ID brands that show up on the various audio forums. I'd like to hear your comments on this Matt, since you've invested your own money on both types of products already and gone through the trouble to compare and share your findings.

 

[mike c]

In a way, it disproves the viral marketing hype of the ID brands that show up on the various audio forums. I'd like to hear your comments on this Matt, since you've invested your own money on both types of products already and gone through the trouble to compare and share your findings.

i agree. always consider the source of the internet hype. always ask what other speakers they've heard/compared. (assuming they're believable in the first place)

things like "this is the best thing i've ever heard" is useless if they don't enumerate what other speakers they've heard. (most of the time those people come from HTIB's)

 

[Matt34]

I've never heard any of the speakers here. I find it interesting to see you've picked the Infinity over the X-SLS. The AV-123 have been often recommended here as a value speaker, sounding as good or better than commercially available big box speaker but for much less money due to the lower overhead of ID companies. The result here would suggest that a buyer is better off going to Best Buy and making their best deal on a set of Infinity for the same money (retail) and better sound quality than the AV-123 model. In a way, it disproves the viral marketing hype of the ID brands that show up on the various audio forums. I'd like to hear your comments on this Matt, since you've invested your own money on both types of products already and gone through the trouble to compare and share your findings.

I still think there is value to be had with the ID brands but just like the brick and mortar manufactures, it varies from brand to brand. The Primus 362 is just an exceptional speaker for it's price point and probably the best deal going at $99 each when available at Fry's.

Hype is not unique when it comes to A/V unfourtanetly, I see the same thing in the auto aftermarket industry and about every other hobby of mine. Good thing I'm too poor to buy into it.

 

[mike c]

a/b comparisons really are the only way to go

thanks to Matt for that

 

[Sheep]

i agree. always consider the source of the internet hype. always ask what other speakers they've heard/compared. (assuming they're believable in the first place)

things like "this is the best thing i've ever heard" is useless if they don't enumerate what other speakers they've heard. (most of the time those people come from HTIB's)

I hate the "I own this, so you should buy it too" people.

They are counter productive.

SheepStar

 

[Seth=L]

AV123 has always been about looks and hype (as is Emotiva IMO). I'm sure they sound decent and all, but probably no better than the Polks on my desk. Infinity can make, and often makes good speakers with a some research behind them. They always use quality drivers, but just like all manufacturers their cabinets aren't as good as we would all like.

 

[Seth=L]

I hate the "I own this, so you should buy it too" people.

They are counter productive.

SheepStar

I have a Teac CR-H225, you should buy one as well.

 

[WmAx]

I've never heard any of the speakers here. I find it interesting to see you've picked the Infinity over the X-SLS. The AV-123 have been often recommended here as a value speaker, sounding as good or better than commercially available big box speaker but for much less money due to the lower overhead of ID companies. The result here would suggest that a buyer is better off going to Best Buy and making their best deal on a set of Infinity for the same money (retail) and better sound quality than the AV-123 model. In a way, it disproves the viral marketing hype of the ID brands that show up on the various audio forums. I'd like to hear your comments on this Matt, since you've invested your own money on both types of products already and gone through the trouble to compare and share your findings.

To be fair, Infinity has some every unique things going on in the Primus line for the price point, compared to 99% of other things in the same price range.

The Infinity is one of the best in this price point in regards to designing strictly according to the perceptual texts, at least as closely as the price point allowed them.

They also happen to use an extraordinary quality mid-range on this unit. The mid on here would be perfectly at home on $30K speaker set, except for the fact is uses a steel frame instead of a aluminum one, which would look a bit out of place on a $30K speaker system. But so far as measured performance of that mid, while not the best, it's excellent and can be a perfectly transparent mid(really) if used properly within it's optimal bandwidth. Now, the mid never reaches near it's potential on the Primus, of course. It is used in a highly resonant cabinet system and the amount of acoustical dampening material is not even sufficient, nor do the other drivers in the system quite match it's performance, though the mid-basses would be fine if not used for lower bass; thus limited to higher bass over 80Hz only, thus limiting excursion and keeping distortion into a more ideal range. I intend to prove the quality of these midrange and mid-basses, at least for Matt, in his extreme re-engineered Primus 362 system, which I am requesting that he attempt to compare to very high end speaker systems if available in his area. Yes, sighted time lagging comparison are not nearly as useful/reliable/accurate as blinded instant compare tests-- but I don't think Matt has any way to set up such a comparison.

-Chris

 

[Matt34]

Yes, sighted time lagging comparison are not nearly as useful/reliable/accurate as blinded instant compare tests-- but I don't think Matt has any way to set up such a comparison.

-Chris

I found this out for myself today with this comparison. I could switch out speaker positions and cables in just over a minute but it was still very hard to compare accurately based off memory. A switch box will be purchased before I attempt something like this again and i'll have to get Adam down here to do any unsighted tests.