Need Advice on "Entry-to-Audiophile" Grade Floorstanders for 2-Channel System

[j_garcia]

The PSBs you have listed as mass market Entry Level should me move up to ENTRY-TO-AUDIOPHILE . They are better then the Ascends, Martin Logan, Paradigms, and B&W 684 that you have listed. You should check them out.

Yes, that's been covered

Also, the Paradigm Monitor 7s should be moved down a notch. I wouldn't consider them "entry audiophile"; that would be the Studios IMHO.

 

[ahblaza]

I was waiting for a budget.

Kind of hard to recommend without one. But oh well.

I think the best deal is to call Onecall or Vanns and see if they would sell a pair of KEF Q900 (msrp $1800) for about $1200/pr, which they have done in the past.

It's all about compromises. So the lower the price, the more compromises. The Q900 has been reviewed & measured very favorably by both Home Theater Magazine and Stereophile.

ADTG, I totally agree with the OneCall Kef's, make your offer and they will respond quickly with a counter offer, good call on OneCall
I really don't think the OP has a designated budget yet, you may be able to enlighten him with your take on the P363's which he seems to have an interest in, you're the speaker man

 

[zieglj01]

ADTG, I totally agree with the OneCall Kef's, make your offer and they will respond quickly with a counter offer, good call on OneCall
I really don't think the OP has a designated budget yet,

Unless it has changed, the budget is hanging around $1500
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/901207-post33.html

Onecall, will also work with you on NHT
http://www.onecall.com/product/NHT/Absolute-Tower-Black-Ea/Speaker/_/R-103248

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

ADTG, I totally agree with the OneCall Kef's, make your offer and they will respond quickly with a counter offer, good call on OneCall
I really don't think the OP has a designated budget yet, you may be able to enlighten him with your take on the P363's which he seems to have an interest in, you're the speaker man

Unless it has changed, the budget is hanging around $1500

That's why I wasn't sure about recommendations.

If the budget is $500, I'd recommend P362.

If $1500, I'd recommend Q900 or Revel F12.

 

[HorizonRidge]

A lot of great speakers in that range would benefit from more amp than your receiver can provide. Magnaplanars come to mind, and a pair 1.7's will leave you with about 2 grand to get an amp that could drive them.

Thank you Mark...

The 8555 will have to do for amplification duties; we recently purchased this receiver (just before it was discontinued for the likes of the 8050 networking model) and are VERY happy with it -- in fact, to us, it sounds like a good integrated or even power amp (I have experience with both) with a tuner built in.

 

[HorizonRidge]

Thank you everyone, so far, for contributing; I will revise my lists per recommendations to narrow the options down further and we can discuss from there...

 

[HorizonRidge]

Stereophile had this to say about the Infinity Primus 360 in a review by Rob Reina, within the opening paragraph :

When I reviewed Infinity's Primus 150 loudspeaker in the April 2004 Stereophile, I was very impressed with its overall performance. To this day, I continue to be amazed at the level of realism this $198/pair loudspeaker can reproduce, and I've kept the review pair to serve as a benchmark for an entry-level audiophile speaker. When I'd completed that review, my first thought was: Now—what can Infinity do within the affordable Primus series for more money? So I requested a review sample of the Primus series' flagship, the three-way Primus 360 floorstanding speaker. After all, how could I resist listening to a speaker that claims 38Hz bass extension for only $658/pair?

I found this review when I stumbled upon our own AcuDefTechGuy's post over on AVS which links to that review, in which AcuDef said:

Best $500/pr towers are the Infinity P363.

They have been measured and REVIEWED.

They have excellent on-axis and off-axis frequency responses. In a double-blinded study, people preferred the P362 over speakers costing 4 times their price.

Not only do they measure very well, they sound very good. Most speakers that cost more don't even measure as well!

I have these speakers myself. No doubt in my mind they are the best $500/pr speakers (if buying brand new).

However, he claims the 363's had been reviewed and then links to the Stereophile article, but in that review, the reference is to the Primus 360, not the 363 so I was a bit confused...

Does anyone have any thoughts on Reina's referral of these speakers of "entry level audiophile"? I ask because that is precisely what I was shooting for with this search...

 

[zieglj01]

Stereophile had this to say about the Infinity Primus 360 in a review by Rob Reina, within the opening paragraph :

Does anyone have any thoughts on Reina's referral of these speakers of "entry level audiophile"? I ask because that is precisely what I was shooting for with this search...

However, he claims the 363's had been reviewed and then links to the Stereophile article, but in that review, the reference is to the Primus 360, not the 363 so I was a bit confused...

I do not put a lot of weight in magazine or online reviews - I only
look at them for some insight.

You seem to have a strong desire for Infinity - so the best thing may
be, to try them out.

For around $400 and above, I prefer other options for music only.
A lot of people are happy with the Primus - and you could be one
of them.

When reading Stereophile, did you also read Audioholics review?
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/primus-p363

 

[HorizonRidge]

I do not put a lot of weight in magazine or online reviews - I only
look at them for some insight.

You seem to have a strong desire for Infinity - so the best thing may
be, to try them out.

For around $400 and above, I prefer other options for music only.
A lot of people are happy with the Primus - and you could be one
of them.

When reading Stereophile, did you also read Audioholics review?
Infinity Primus P363 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Yes, I read Gene's review.

 

[ousooner2]

Not sure where you're located, but I'm about to put up my Energy C-500's, C-C100, and C-100's w/ stands.

I'm also looking at the KEF Q's as they seem to be getting great reviews online and forums for the price.

 

[HorizonRidge]

Not sure where you're located, but I'm about to put up my Energy C-500's, C-C100, and C-100's w/ stands.

I'm also looking at the KEF Q's as they seem to be getting great reviews online and forums for the price.

I am not looking for bookshelves; are these Energys floor-standing models?

 

[3db]

You should really look at these PSB Imagine T2


Slideshow: Best Products of CES 2012 - PSB T2 Loudspeaker - CE Pro


or their cheaper bretheren

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/psb-imagine-t

 

[HorizonRidge]

Thanks a lot, 3dB...I will definitely put the PSB's on my list of "entry to audiophile" brands.

I am going to update this thread in a little while with a new one, possibly, so we can get to summarizing and narrowing down this playing field...

 

[ahblaza]

Thanks a lot, 3dB...I will definitely put the PSB's on my list of "entry to audiophile" brands.

I am going to update this thread in a little while with a new one, possibly, so we can get to summarizing and narrowing down this playing field...

That would be good.

 

[T-Biskit]

I see that you want to stick to new equipment only. Audiogon is the obvious choice for used stuff, but you can also find great deals on new stuff on that site. You just have to look for it. Helping you out is hard without an estimate of budget. Even a ballpark figure would go a long way. It would also be great if you can give an idea of what kind of music you listen to mostly and what sound characteristics are most important to you. I own a pair of the PSB Imagine T's and they are the perfect speaker for me in my budget range. They are extremely accurate and have excellent staging. They are the type of speaker that will never fatigue your ears. When you first hear them they don't jump out as something special. It's only with a little time listening to them that you realize they do everything really well with proper textures to sounds and accurate reproduction of every instrument and voice type. The PSB's are not a balls to the wall rock and roll speaker. They do great with pop, r&b, and surprisingly, some hip-hop. They excel at jazz, latin, and most classical. You also mentioned you like the LSi's from Polk. Those are now on Amazon at half the original retail price. I have owned the B&W CM9's and liked them for the most part. They had great tweeters, but the different drivers didn't ever seem to come together in a unified sound. Staging was all over the place. I replaced those with the PSB's. I heard the 684's and 683's in the store and liked their sound as well. The 683's are probably better in a larger room. They seemed to have good tweeters as well, but I didn't listen to them long enough to comment on how the overall sound came together. It's also hard to get a real good sense of a speakers sound in most showrooms. I hope I helped at least a little bit. Good luck!

 

[HorizonRidge]

^^^

Biskit, please see my new thread in which I updated criteria and choice analysis; thank you for your reply!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So........ummm......why does the OP have all those red chicklets?

 

[ahblaza]

So........ummm......why does the OP have all those red chicklets?

Someone must be bashing him unfairly, I don't know
I prefer the red chicklets for taste but the green are more appealing!!!!

 

[freezeincanada]

PBS realism

Not biggest expert out there but I love my PSB T5's. Incredible precision and diversity for every situation. Auditioned several speakers in the 800-1500 range and found these to be best value and sound. Take music with you with crisp sound. I used an Eagles unplugged DVD and you really notice the difference quickly.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the PSB synchrony 1 was put in the entry level category...

$5,500 entry level high-end speakers.