Infinity vs. Polk

I've been kinda shopping around for my HT Speaker System. Was gonna try the Axiom's but just about decided not to go through with the whole auditioning thing and have to face the possibe hassle of returning them. I've narrowed it down to Polks vs. Infinity - not much local to listen to here in Tallahassee. Should I spend the extra money on Polk (about $1,000 w/no sub, will get that later). I'm looking at the M40's bookshelf , CS2 center, and FXi3 surrounds. Or.....should I pick up the Infinity set for a good deal (now till 2/17 at Cruthfield.com). The Infinities I'm looking at are the Primus 160's for front and surrounds, the P. C25 center and the PS10 sub. All this w/sub would run me about $869.

Thoughts?

I read this review about Polk speakers....

"These surrounds, as with all the Polk speakrs, are power hungry. I need to update my 110x5 watt receiver because it's just not enough. I have no idea why the db rating is so low on these (88-89 db)....but I do like the smoothness and character of the line.
Power hungry. db rating is only 88-89, which doubles the power needed to drive them as compared with speakers rated at 93."

I have a Denon AVR 1804 (6x90w)....is this going to be enough to push these speakers good?

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Originally Posted by jamison162

I've been kinda shopping around for my HT Speaker System. Was gonna try the Axiom's but just about decided not to go through with the whole auditioning thing and have to face the possibe hassle of returning them. I've narrowed it down to Polks vs. Infinity - not much local to listen to here in Tallahassee. Should I spend the extra money on Polk (about $1,000 w/no sub, will get that later). I'm looking at the M40's bookshelf , CS2 center, and FXi3 surrounds. Or.....should I pick up the Infinity set for a good deal (now till 2/17 at Cruthfield.com). The Infinities I'm looking at are the Primus 160's for front and surrounds, the P. C25 center and the PS10 sub. All this w/sub would run me about $869.

Thoughts?

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I use to have that infinity setup connected to a Yamaha 650VX. It was a fantastic setup for the price. I have moved on to the Infinity BETA series but it was the Primus series that got me hooked on Infinity in the 1st place. I cannot speak for Polk since there bass is a little too loose for my taste. Go for the Infinity.

If you go with the Polk, buy the monitor series or the RTi series. I find that these are fantastic speakers for the price. I have actually found that the monitors are fairly efficient speakers and run fairly well with even Onkyo's entry level TXSR502 reciever (75W x 6 - high current and descrete too).

I have Infinity (older series fronts mixed with an Interlude series center and sub) and Polk in-walls for surrounds. Tonal matching hasn't been an issue since its 90% for HT use rather than music. They both sound great and worthy of your debate. Obviously audition, yes get back out there again, to see which suits your tastes best. For value and speaker efficiency, I'd go with the Infinity set. That's a fairly new Denon and I wouldn't upgrade it so soon. But that's just me being frugal. I would also be tempted to re-allocate funds to pay for bigger front speakers for a better sound stage (b/c I prefer HT over music).

I have the older Polk RT16's still a great speaker. Listening to them right now, Arena Rock channel on Satellite. They sound great..... had them for as long as they have been out. Agree the newer series RTi or LSi would be the way to go. The RT series is cheap. I liked Infinity when they had the Kappa series around those sounded great...
Honestly a great sounding and looking speaker is the Yamaha's they sell at Best Buy. They have the laquer finish and from what I heard of the sound good.

between the Primus 150 vs Primus 160. The difference between them was obvious (to my ears)
Pros
150 is more detailed and precise
150 is smaller and therefore easier to place
150 is cheaper

160 has a larger woofer

i would purchase the 150s and use the money saved to possiblely buy the larger PS 12 subwoofer which extends lower. Matter of fact, you may consider buying 4 or 5 of the 150s. Use a 150 for the center speaker and surround speakers. Talk about timbre match!

the Primus 150 is a wonderful speaker. I bought a pair about nine months ago for my deck and loved them so much i moved the in (winter) and now use them in my bedroom.