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| Model: | Primus 150 |
| Category: | Speakers |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $199/pr |
| Description: | Small stand mount speaker |
| Manufacturer URL: | Infinity Systems |
| Model Picture: | View |
| Review by jonbee (A) on May 26, 2005 at 12:15:34 IP Address: 65.219.140.66 | Add Your Review for the Primus 150 |
The re-do of my home office system began when I replaced my work office speakers, Triangle Titus 202, with Monitor Audio GR10, which was a big step up, IMO. I still liked the Triangle, and had used them for over a year, but when I put them in my home office, paired with a Panny XR25 receiver, the top end emphasis of the Triangle was so over the top I couldn't listen to them. I replaced the Panny with a vintage NAD 7020 recvr., which was much smoother but still didn't quite work for me sonically. I decided to give the little Infinities a try, at $108 plus shipping per pair!
Here's what Robert Reina wrote in Stereophile last year (http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity/)to sum these up: "The Primus 150 has achieved a standard of performance at the $200-or-under price point that I didn't think was possible."
Tha's the way I see it, too. The review is quite accurate, IMO. The sound is very smooth and easy, with quite good detail overall and low coloration. They won't play louder than 95 db or so, and have no real bass. I prefer them in my home office to the 3x the price Titus: the Titus is even more open, dimensional, detailed, and goes a little deeper in the bass, but the smoother, sweeter presentation of the 150s is just easier to listen to in the small room. The Titus needs a better quality front end to work well; but the forgiving nature of the Infinities makes them a better choice with less costly gear.
Inner orchestral detail is clearly delineated with the 150s, unimpeded by major colorations, and there is a small emphasis in the lower mids that adds a little extra body in that range, but not enough to obscure the detail. They also sound a little polite dynamically, but they are not quite broken in, so that may improve.
I prefer these to the Axiom M22 and Epos ELS3, both of which I've tried in this room and found wanting. The 150s have a smoother, morer refined sound than the Epos, and the tweeter is at least as detailed as the Axiom, but smooth and without the peakiness that the Axiom tweeter displayed.
In short, I found the 150 to be just what I wanted in my office, a musical, easy to listen to low cost system. They won't quite compete with the $1000 and up competiton, and are limited in bass and output, but within their limits are truly amazing. I'm thinking about replacing xover parts and wiring already to see how much more can be gotten from them.
Stereophile has a current review of the 360 model, which can be bought online for under $400 a pair. I suspect for those wanting a budget floorstander should take a serious look at them, as well.
| Product Weakness: | No low bass; limited volume ability. A bit polite dynamically; slight lower mid emphasis. |
| Product Strengths: | Smooth, low coloration, balanced presentation. Very Musical and easy to listen to. |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | NAD 7020 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | none |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | NAD 5330 CDP |
| Speakers: | see rev. |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Mapleshade golden helix |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | lots |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 12 x 10 x 8 |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Counterpoint AC filter |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
And taken much flack, because the Primus 360 destroys those awful Athena Floorstanders in the same price range.Floyd Toole and his design team spent a lot of time on the Primus 360 and 150.
And, it shows.
According to Sean Olive, head of subjective testing at Harman International, the Primus 360 has "The Curve"
What is the "Curve" ??
Evidently "The Curve" is tailored frequency response that fits within a plus/minus 3 db window that they have identified as being most pleasing to a double blind listening panel.
Sean told me speakers with this curve usually win in blind listening tests.
Its not BBC dip either.
I guess its something they learned at the NRC ?
Whatever, nice review Jonbee!
I had a pair of those Athena's that Sam or someone at Stereophool said were great and you are right they were aweful. I would love to hear the 360's in my house but I have no where to put them that the wife wouldn't notice. My 150's sound very nice.
Saw this on the Infinity web site:Get a FREE pair of Infinity Primus® 150 bookshelf speakers with a purchase of $398 or more of select Infinity® speakers.
Dealer participation and qualifying models may vary by dealer
Free speakers provided by dealer
Offer ends June 30, 2005
All Infinity Total Solutions® models excluded from promotion
Limit one free pair of Primus 150 speakers per customer/household/group
I had problems with Intermezzo 2.6 speakers, and Harman's service department sent me a free pair of 160's while I was waiting for the repair to be completed. I now have the best system in the IMERYS Technology Center (Sony CD boombox, Marantz MA-500 and Infinity Primus 160).
Or is it one of those deals where shipping is $60 which negates the low purchase price?
here's the seller's ebay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/Gear-4-Less_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm
there's at least 10 pair available from them now, @$108 buy it now + $30 shipping.
Nice review Jon. Do you Still have the JM Lab Chorus 706s I sold you?Check out this excellent thread/review on avs Forum. This is one in the most well written reviews I've read anywhere. The Infinty's held themselves up very well against some very tough competition.
Dennis
I liked the JMs, but they lacked some dynamic sparkle in the upper mids compared to the Titus and the Infinity. They might be preferable to the 150s in a larger room, though.
That's a pretty impressive review on AVS. I've not heard many of the competition, but I'd have to agree with his findings.
Thats exactly the reason I sold them. Other than at high volume levels they sounded rather flat and dry. I hope you broke even at least.
I agree. I bought a pair long before the current buzz. I actually bought them because I needed a short term, small, cheap speaker to use while I was saving up for a "good" pair. Went to Circuit City, saw the size, saw the price and left with a pair without even hearing them. Got them home, hooked them up to a Jolida tube amp and proceeded to pick my jaw up off the floor. In my opinion, the '150 has raised the bar in budget speakers. It doesn't just sound good for the price. It flat out just sounds good. On the minus side, I find them kind of ugly but for under $200 a pair, nothing else can touch them.
I would have to agree. These speakers really surprised me when I heard them with decent gear. As I've posted here before, I haven't liked an Infinity speaker ( other than the Intermezzo ) since the RS-2000s I bought in '88...but these are an outstanding value and very good sounding independent of the price. I consider the 150s to be very clean, neutral and coherent sounding versus something like an Epos ELS-3 which is basically a punchier and more detailed Paradigm Atom...similar warmth.
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