Infinity Primus, Onix Rockets, or a Combo??? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Michael J. Sykes
02-13-2005, 04:12 AM
I am shopping for my first surround sound speaker system and I think I've identified a couple of good value choices. I would appreciate help in choosing one.

1) I can purchase four Infinity Primus 150 satellites (2-way with one 5-1/4" woofer) and a matching Primus C25 center channel speaker (2-way with dual 5-1/4" woofers).

2) A somewhat higher cost option would be to purchase six Onix Rocket ELT LRS satellites (2-way with one 5-1/4" woofer) and use one of them for the center channel (and have one as a spare). Do these speakers have the necessary magnetic shielding and acoustic properties to be a good center channel choice?

3) I can purchase four Onix Rocket ELT LRS satellites and the Infinity Primus C25 center channel speaker for slightly less money than six rockets. Is this a bad idea? Is it likely that combining speaker brands in this manner would degrade surround sound effects or overall sound quality?

The Onix Rocket satellites would cost 25% more than the Infinity Primus 150's (based on the sale prices I found). The rockets are prettier and a bit smaller, but do they sound significantly better?

Regards,

MJS

bargainseeker
02-13-2005, 07:11 AM
1) I can purchase four Infinity Primus 150 satellites (2-way with one 5-1/4" woofer) and a matching Primus C25 center channel speaker (2-way with dual 5-1/4" woofers).

2) A somewhat higher cost option would be to purchase six Onix Rocket ELT LRS satellites (2-way with one 5-1/4" woofer) and use one of them for the center channel (and have one as a spare). Do these speakers have the necessary magnetic shielding and acoustic properties to be a good center channel choice?

3) I can purchase four Onix Rocket ELT LRS satellites and the Infinity Primus C25 center channel speaker for slightly less money than six rockets. Is this a bad idea? Is it likely that combining speaker brands in this manner would degrade surround sound effects or overall sound quality?

The Onix Rocket satellites would cost 25% more than the Infinity Primus 150's (based on the sale prices I found). The rockets are prettier and a bit smaller, but do they sound significantly better?I agree that you have identified two excellent choices for a value priced home theater speaker system. Both choices are considered excellent values at their normal retail prices ($249/pair for ELT LRS and $198/pair for Primus 150). Both choices require a subwoofer for full range sound reproduction and for home theater use.

The Onix Rocket ELT LRS speakers are magnetically shielded. There is no reason whatsoever not to use a shielded satellite speaker as a center speaker. In fact, timbre matching between all of the speakers in a home theater system is best in this configuration. Most woofer-tweeter-woofer center channel speakers have serious lobing in their horizontal polar response. They are designed the way that they are to please consumers looking for a short but wide speaker to put on the telly and not because this layout is a good idea acoustically. I do not recommend mixing the Infinity and the Rocket speakers because you want all of the speakers to be timbre matched so that as sound within a movie pans from speaker to speaker, the sound quality does not change. Timbre matching becomes even more important for multi-channel audio such as SACD and DVD-A.

To aid in your decision process, you can read reviews of the Rocket ELT LRS speakers here (http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/rocket_elt.htm), here (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_1/onix-rocket-elt-1-speakers-3-2004.html) and here (http://www.audioreview.com/Home+Theater+Speaker+Systems/ONIX/PRD_300015_4282crx.aspx) and reviews of the Infinity Primus 150 speakers here (http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity/) and here (http://www.audioreview.com/Bookshelf+Speakers/Infinity+Systems/PRD_172114_4290crx.aspx).

Ultimately, you are the best judge of which of these speakers sound best to you with your equipment in your home. The Rocket ELT LRS speakers are not heavy and are not expensive to ship. I recommend that you order them under the terms of AV123's 30 day return policy (http://www.av123.com/support_warranties.php) before AV123 runs out of them. Then, I suggest you compare them to the Infinity Primus 150 speakers in your own home. Keep the speakers you like the best and return the other ones for a refund.

P.S. I am assuming that the deal you have found on the Infinity Primus 150 speakers is from a local dealer. If it is from an online dealer, then I recommend that you double check that the dealer is authorized by Infinity and has a 30 day return policy. Buying speakers online based on price alone is usually a bad idea.

Michael J. Sykes
02-13-2005, 07:34 PM
Thank you for your helpful advice! The reviews lead me to believe that the Infinity and Onix satellites have similar strengths and weaknesses...both described as being a bit on the bright side (which I like). I suspect I would have to audition both speakers simultaneously with a switching mechanism to recognize any small difference in their sound. I may just go with the Infinity speakers because they are cheaper and I think their front-ported design may allow more flexibility in placement than the Rocket's rear-ported design? The 150's also have "keyhole mounts to facilitate wall-mounting" which I might use.

Perhaps I'll purchase an extra pair of 150s instead of a C25 center speaker. I sure would hate to have a lobing problem; my ears already look kinda funny! :D

I will be using these speakers with my old dbx 15" subwoofer (db-SW15) and dedicated dbx 150 watt amplifier. I'm not sure about its musical quality, but it can still produce plenty of sound and also serves as a large end table.

Regards,

MJS

Michael J. Sykes
02-13-2005, 10:37 PM
I have one question regarding using one of these bookshelf speakers for the center channel. Would there be any problem with lying the speaker on its side? Is there much difference between the vertical and horizontal dispersion of speakers like these?

-MJS

bargainseeker
02-14-2005, 07:34 AM
Thank you for your helpful advice! The reviews lead me to believe that the Infinity and Onix satellites have similar strengths and weaknesses...both described as being a bit on the bright side (which I like). I suspect I would have to audition both speakers simultaneously with a switching mechanism to recognize any small difference in their sound. I may just go with the Infinity speakers because they are cheaper and I think their front-ported design may allow more flexibility in placement than the Rocket's rear-ported design? The 150's also have "keyhole mounts to facilitate wall-mounting" which I might use.After studying the measurements of the Infinity Primus 150 speakers (http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity/index4.html), I do not believe that I would classify these speakers as bright sounding. Instead, I would consider them to be neutral sounding (accurate) up to 15KHz with a significant drop off in output at the highest audible frequencies. The measurements show that the Primus 150 speakers do exhibit a large peak in output in the near ultrasonic (typical of many metal dome tweeters). Those people who are particularly sensitive to very high frequencies may perceive this peak as brightness or harshness.

Appearance and build quality are areas in which I feel that the Onix Rocket ELT speakers are clearly superior to the Infinity Primus speakers. Sound Art China (SAC), the manufacturer of the Onix Rocket speakers, does beautiful cabinet work with real wood veneers. SAC is owned by the same person (Mark Schifter) who also owns AV123.




Perhaps I'll purchase an extra pair of 150s instead of a C25 center speaker. I sure would hate to have a lobing problem; my ears already look kinda funny! :D

I have one question regarding using one of these bookshelf speakers for the center channel. Would there be any problem with lying the speaker on its side? Is there much difference between the vertical and horizontal dispersion of speakers like these?The vertical dispersion measurements of the Infinity Primus 150 speakers (see Fig.5 (http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity/index4.html)), show that these speakers have poor vertical dispersion, but probably no worse than the horizontal dispersion of the Infinity Primus center. The hump-dip-hump-dip-hump-dip-hump pattern in the vertical response graph is the lobing I was talking about in my earlier post.

I have not seen vertical response measurements of the Onix Rocket ELT LRS speaker, but it is small enough that it could probably be used in whatever orientation sounds best.