# Feedback Infinity P363



## buzzmyster

Like lots of folks I'm new to putting together a HTS. I just purchased the Denon AVR 591 and now I want to replace my not-so-great speakers. 

I've been trying to find some professional reviews on the Infinity P363's but to no avail. Does anyone have some experience with these speakers that they'd like to share. They are on sale at BB for $299 (CDN) and based on web pricing that seems like a good deal. I also plan on purchasing the PC251 for the center. Down the road I'll add the PS38 sub and P153 rears. 

Any advise thoughts would be appreciated....

I'd also welcome some input on the Boston Acoutic CS226...it's in the same ball park price wise and BB has a deal on a 5.1 system with these towers.


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## Jungle Jack

buzzmyster said:


> Like lots of folks I'm new to putting together a HTS. I just purchased the Denon AVR 591 and now I want to replace my not-so-great speakers.
> 
> I've been trying to find some professional reviews on the Infinity P363's but to no avail. Does anyone have some experience with these speakers that they'd like to share. They are on sale at BB for $299 (CDN) and based on web pricing that seems like a good deal. I also plan on purchasing the PC251 for the center. Down the road I'll add the PS38 sub and P153 rears.
> 
> Any advise thoughts would be appreciated....
> 
> I'd also welcome some input on the Boston Acoutic CS226...it's in the same ball park price wise and BB has a deal on a 5.1 system with these towers.


Hello,
The Infinity's are quite good for the money and I have listened to them many times. I am also very fond of Paradigm and PSB a d since they are Canadian, perhaps their pricing reflects that. If so, I could not recommend them enough.

I have not listened to any Boston Acoustics models in years so cannot offer much in that respect. I definitely think it is essential to audition as many speakers as possible. Also, I would also expand your search to used speakers as it will allow you many more choices.
Cheers,
JJ


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## TypeA

In august I bought a pair of 362s, a pc350, and 8 162s. These are last years model and from what Ive heard there is no difference between the 362 and 363 besides the front of the speaker is now black rather than the grey color, performance-wise theyre the same speaker as what youre considering. Originally I was using the 362s as my front left and right speaker, but have since moved those to zone 3 where they are stand-alone for music. They were replaced with two 162s and another pair of 162s for height, plus another pair for the surround channels. Since they are backed-up with dual subs in zone 1 I think they are just as good for home theater as the towers were, but then I have great low freq coverage in my zone 1 with good quality dual subs.

My opinion? Well, you kinda need to take it with a grain of salt as Ive modified all mine. Within a month of ownership I completely voided any warranty I had and I lined the inside of the speaker cabinets (all 11 speakers) with a couple of layers of a rubbery material and then a half inch of sound absorbent material, this made a BIG difference and created a much tighter speaker almost devoid of any reverberation within the cabinet (and substantially reduced the cabinet vibration Im sure). So from MY (modified) perspective $177 each for the 362s, $200 for the 350 and $77 each for the 162s was money VERY well spent (brand new and factory authorized btw)! The imaging is amazing for even just a pair of 162s, they create a sound field coming exactly from the center of the screen, I think its their biggest plus and even months after use they continue to impress me in this way. Freq response is weak and muddy on the LOW end if you ask too much of them (but I suspect thats the case for all speakers), since youre going with a sub they should do great to 80hz. Un modified I found the high freqs a little fatiguing, my mods all but eliminated that fatigue (which was an unexpected benefit). That having been said, these are a great value even unmodified. The primus line is one of the most recommended for the budget minded, and with good reason, theyre good speakers at a good price.

Heres a audioholics review of the 162 to give you an idea of the performance, also see the link in my signature and backtrack to page one for the pics of the mods I did. I highly recommend the mods if you have a desire to make a good speaker great, it was cheap and not real hard...Otherwise you should be perfectly happy with unmodified verses thrilled with modified.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/bookshelf/infinity-primus-p162


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## jackfish

The Infinity Primus 360, P362 and P363 are essentially the same loudspeakers with the same drivers. The 360 and P362 have very good drivers and barely adequate cabinets. Supposedly, the cabinets are better in the P363.

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/605infinity


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
Wow. Though efficient, at least with the 360's, I would not partner an Entry Level AVR with the Speakers as they both drop below 4 Ohms and have a tough Capacitive Phase Angle. Worse still, they occur in the Midbass where a great deal of Source Material lies. Fantastic Measurements, but I would be afraid of AVR Shutdowns if running near Reference Level with a modest AVR.
Cheers,
JJ


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## chashint

The US website for BB does not list either speaker so I don't know if the price you posted was for a pair of speakers or for one speaker.
As someone else said its the same as last years model and Fry's has ththe P362 for $149 each.
http://www.frys.com/product/5223687...hZPTLAryQ__.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
I just heard these speakers in a friend's home and for the price I don't think it can be beat.
I would not be concerned about problems with the AVR, you are at the entry level of home theater equipment.
This will be a very noticable improvement over a HTIB.


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## tweb321

Jungle Jack, I am wondering if you could clarify your comment about pairing 360's with an entry level avr. Currently I have two p162's and a sub connected to a pioneer vsx 820. 

Eventually I would like to upgrade to a full 5.1 setup and the p362's/pc350 were my initial choice. Should I focus on other more efficient options?

Also one last question, what is the best nominal impedance number for a speaker to match with entry level avr? Basically is 8 ohms better than 6 ohms or vice versa. 

Thank you.


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## Jungle Jack

tweb321 said:


> Jungle Jack, I am wondering if you could clarify your comment about pairing 360's with an entry level avr. Currently I have two p162's and a sub connected to a pioneer vsx 820.
> 
> Eventually I would like to upgrade to a full 5.1 setup and the p362's/pc350 were my initial choice. Should I focus on other more efficient options?
> 
> Also one last question, what is the best nominal impedance number for a speaker to match with entry level avr? Basically is 8 ohms better than 6 ohms or vice versa.
> 
> Thank you.


Hello,
After reading Stereophile's Bench Test of the P360, I came away quite surprised that a Speaker sold for such a reasonable price would end up being a fairly difficult amplifier load. Otherwise, the Measurements are fantastic. And yes with an Entry Level AVR, an efficient 8 Ohm speaker would be ideal. It is why I often recommend Klipschs for such applications.

That is most reasonably priced speakers are designed with the expectation that an Entry Level AVR would be used whereas these Speakers really do need an AVR that can handle 4 Ohm loads to sound their best. And the 4 Ohm Setting on Onkyo's and many other Brands drastically reduces output power to avoid thermal overloads and to get UL Certification. With a more powerful AVR, you would want to keep it at the default 6 Ohm Setting to get full power.

The thing is the P360 dips below 4 Ohms in the Midbass where so much Source Material is. For a 300 Dollar AVR, this really might be more than it can handle. There are variables like the size of the Room and preferred listening levels, but if using an Entry Level AVR I would definitely want a Return Policy before purchasing.

Granted using a Subwoofer will relieve some of the strain, but I just do not like the idea of having to set the Crossover above 80hz just to keep the AVR from going into Protection when the speaker can comfortably be crossed over at 80hz.

I am not sure about the other P Series as I have not read any other Bench Tests, but with the P360 a 4 Ohm Rated AVR is highly recommended. I highly recommend reading the Stereophile Review including the Bench Test.

Here is the excerpt that caused me concern: ". However, with an impedance magnitude that drops below 4 ohms in the lower midrange and high treble and an electrical phase angle that is extreme in the upper bass (fig.1), the speaker needs to be partnered with an amplifier or receiver that can drive low impedances with aplomb. (The combination of 5.2 ohms and –45º phase angle at 93Hz will tax amplifiers rated at 8 ohms.)"
Cheers,
JJ


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## tweb321

Thanks for the reply JJ. Much appreciated.

I just assumed the p362's and my AVR would work fine since they are both entry level; should have done a little more research. Oh well, I got the AVR on sale for $200 bucks so I can't complain.


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## Jungle Jack

tweb321 said:


> Thanks for the reply JJ. Much appreciated.
> 
> I just assumed the p362's and my AVR would work fine since they are both entry level; should have done a little more research. Oh well, I got the AVR on sale for $200 bucks so I can't complain.


Hello,
I would guess the smaller models would be an easier load so I would not give up hope just yet. The Monitor sized Models coupled with a Subwoofer would give you excellent results. Also, I would try it and see if there are issues before giving up as they are really nice speakers.
Cheers,
JJ


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## GranteedEV

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> After reading Stereophile's Bench Test of the P360, I came away quite surprised that a Speaker sold for such a reasonable price would end up being a fairly difficult amplifier load. Otherwise, the Measurements are fantastic. And yes with an Entry Level AVR, an efficient 8 Ohm speaker would be ideal. It is why I often recommend Klipschs for such applications.
> 
> That is most reasonably priced speakers are designed with the expectation that an Entry Level AVR would be used whereas these Speakers really do need an AVR that can handle 4 Ohm loads to sound their best. And the 4 Ohm Setting on Onkyo's and many other Brands drastically reduces output power to avoid thermal overloads and to get UL Certification. With a more powerful AVR, you would want to keep it at the default 6 Ohm Setting to get full power.
> 
> The thing is the P360 dips below 4 Ohms in the Midbass where so much Source Material is. For a 300 Dollar AVR, this really might be more than it can handle. There are variables like the size of the Room and preferred listening levels, but if using an Entry Level AVR I would definitely want a Return Policy before purchasing.


It's a very average impedance graph and you would be surprised how many speakers "get by" like this all the time. Then when people get sufficient amplification they subjectively think that all amps sound "audibly different". That dip/angle you noticed is something I feel I notice with many speakers in many price ranges including the entry level! I think the Primus is an example of the fundamental concept that good on-and-off axis frequency response yields a good speaker, plain an simple. I wouldn't mind owning a pair at all. 

I agree with you that an "entry level receiver" won't drive those speakers "optimally" but I also think "entry level receivers" are so barebones that they're not a worthwhile purchase anyways. There's no free pass out there IMO. If you've got a good passive tower speaker you're likely going to have some low impedance in the critical mid bass regions. Robust solid state amplification is overlooked far too often. THe Primus is a 3-way passive loudspeaker and its impedance profile exemplifies the fact that companies need to make the switch to truly active loudspeakers, especially towers with crossovers as low as 350hz! Put the amps in the speakers, not in the receivers, and you take away a lot of issues.

With that said, even average amplification should still manage with the Primus' load in the average family room. The Marantz SR5004 B-Stocks (100wpc) you would find on Accessories4less for around 400 dollars or so will drive the Infinities very well IMO without breaking the bank.


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
Grant, I think we are on the same page. As I said, they really look like nice Speakers. I would just want a Return Period if using them with an Entry Level AVR. Moreover, so few Speakers that are the price of the Primus are Bench Tested that perhaps it is not that esoteric that they both drop fairly low and have a somewhat difficult capacitive phase angle.
Cheers,
JJ


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## GranteedEV

Jungle Jack said:


> Grant, I think we are on the same page. As I said, they really look like nice Speakers. I would just want a Return Period if using them with an Entry Level AVR. Moreover, so few Speakers that are the price of the Primus are Bench Tested that perhaps it is not that esoteric that they both drop fairly low and have a somewhat difficult capacitive phase angle.


Yeah. I agree with you completely. With that said, even with the possible reduced fidelity that may occur from the entry level amplification I think the end result would be a satisfying one if someone is coming from lesser things, all things considered.

Without bringing DIY in, I can't think of many other tower speakers in the Primus' price range that I'd rather have. Maybe the EMP e5Ti, and the new stuff from Pioneer which I'm not very familiar with but have heard great things about. For bookshelves there's a few more options but they won't likely have nearly the dynamics of a 3-way tower, even if they're technically an easier load.


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## lsiberian

The Infinity Primus is engineered for living room use with excellent off-axis response. The cabinet can certainly be improved, and the midrange and bass drivers are among the best out there. You can't go wrong with infinity they spend a fortune on perceptual research.


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