Polk Audio Monitor 30 Series II or Infinity Primus P153

[Bors]

Hello all.

Which is better for L/R fronts the Polk Monitor 30 Series II (rear-ported) or the Primus P153 (front-ported)? They would go inside a box shelf on either side of my LCD t.v. Which of them would sound better, port wise, in an enclosed space? Has anyone ever had any experience with this? Or, shall I knock down the back panel of the shelves to let sound escape in the back? Thanks.

Yamaha RX-V465 Receiver
Polk Audio CS10 Center
Polk Audio T15s (front-ported)
Polk Audio PSW111 Sub

 

[GranteedEV]

Which is better for L/R fronts the Polk Monitor 30 Series II (rear-ported) or the Primus P153 (front-ported)?

What is the size of the room?

They would go inside a box shelf on either side of my LCD t.v.

Either, or, this won't be optimal.

Which of them would sound better, port wise, in an enclosed space?

Well, rear ports in enclosed spaces are a big no-no, but even a front ported, typical speaker won't likely sound great just plopped into something like this. Most speakers radiate sound in the bass, upper bass, and lower midrange, not only forward, but backwards. If you re-enforce this sound radiating in all directions, the lower midrange, upper bass, and bass will dominate the response leading to a dull and bottom heavy presentation.

All the above said, I would rather own Infinity speakers than Polk, personally.

Or, shall I knock down the back panel of the shelves to let sound escape in the back?

There's a lot of things you can do to make the setup more optimal. Depends how far you're willing to go! We can guide you but ideally I'd suggest stand mounting or using floorstanders, a good 3+ feet away from the wall!

 

[zieglj01]

For the fun of it, knock down the back panel anyway.
The Infinity sounds better than the weak Polk - how
ever, you will compromise the Infinity sound quality
inside a box shelf. When one is going to compromise
sound quality, then keep the budget low.

 

[Bors]

What is the size of the room?

Either, or, this won't be optimal.

Well, rear ports in enclosed spaces are a big no-no, but even a front ported, typical speaker won't likely sound great just plopped into something like this. Most speakers radiate sound in the bass, upper bass, and lower midrange, not only forward, but backwards. If you re-enforce this sound radiating in all directions, the lower midrange, upper bass, and bass will dominate the response leading to a dull and bottom heavy presentation.

All the above said, I would rather own Infinity speakers than Polk, personally.

There's a lot of things you can do to make the setup more optimal. Depends how far you're willing to go! We can guide you but ideally I'd suggest stand mounting or using floorstanders, a good 3+ feet away from the wall!

It's a small room mainly for watching movies, 11 ft. wide (front & back wall) x 17 ft. length, slanted ceiling (right side height is 9 ft., left side height is 14 ft.). Everything upfront is housed inside an entertainment center -- 2 large bookshelves on either side of the 55" LCD TV. Not much wiggle room there for speaker stands so that leaves me no option. Currently, I'm just satisfied with the quality of the sound I'm getting from the T15s inside the shelves. If these were rear-ported, I probably couldn't say the same in light of what you just said. Even though both types won't be optimal in semi-enclosed space, I'd rather settle for the much lesser evil one (which is the front-ported). Why would you rather own Infinities than Polks? Enlighten me.

BTW, here are the key specs of both speakers:

Monitor 30 Series II
freq. range = 55 - 25kHz and 89db sensitivity
price = $79.99/pair & free shipping at Newegg

whereas the

Primus P153
freq. range = 58 - 20kHz and 88db sensitivity
price = $99.98/pair + $20 shipping at Fry's

Spec wise, looks like the Polks are better especially in sensitivity which I'd rather prefer to match with the T15s.

Thanks.

 

[Bors]

For the fun of it, knock down the back panel anyway.
The Infinity sounds better than the weak Polk - how
ever, you will compromise the Infinity sound quality
inside a box shelf. When one is going to compromise
sound quality, then keep the budget low.

Well said. Thank you.

Even with better specs Polks are still weak?

 

[zieglj01]

Even with better specs Polks are still weak?

To me, the Infinity is smoother sounding - with more detail and
better imaging - the Infinity is more transparent, while the Polk
is somewhat muddy and artificial sounding. I learned a long time
ago, to not pay much attention to specs. Your choice, good luck!

 

[GranteedEV]

Monitor 30 Series II
freq. range = 55 - 25kHz and 89db sensitivity
price = $79.99/pair & free shipping at Newegg

whereas the

Primus P153
freq. range = 58 - 20kHz and 88db sensitivity
price = $99.98/pair + $20 shipping at Fry's

Spec wise, looks like the Polks are better especially in sensitivity which I'd rather prefer to match with the T15s.

Thanks.

1db of sensitivity is meaningless.

The specs you SHOULD be talking about are linearity of listening window response, power compression linearity, off-axis frequency response @ 30, 45, 60, 75 deg.

You know, the stuff you won't get ;P

 

[GeneC]

If it's not too late, since you already have a Polk center speaker you really should get the Polk Monitor 30's even though I also like the Infinity 153's better. If the rear ports turn out to be a problem just stick a sock in them and set the crossover a notch or two higher.

 

[afterlife2]

Primus and Outlaw M8 Woofer. I have this budget combo and it's AWESOME!