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I have Accu Linear speakers and I am thinking of upgrading my system to newer speakers with Onkyo TX504B with CX310, and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or reviews of Infinity or Polk Fluance speakers.

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Originally Posted by Cybermerlin

I have Accu Linear speakers and I am thinking of upgrading my system to newer speakers with Onkyo TX504B with CX310, and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or reviews of Infinity or Polk Fluance speakers.

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Sounds like you might be using the Crutchfield catalog as a guide. Nothing wrong with Crutchfield or Polk/Infinity for that matter but if you plan on keeping your speakers for a while, it's best to spend a little time shopping around. Other brands to consider and only a drop in the bucket, are KEF (a personal favorite), Paradigm, Energy, Mirage and B&W. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you should be able to find a dealer. You might also consider some of the online brands. SVS became known for their subs but recently started with speakers. The one review I read was positive and the prices seem good. Same with HSU. Both have good return policies. I'm barely scratching the surface. There are countless choices. I'd spend some time doing some research.

I'm only familiar with Polk and Infinity and I prefer Polk. I brought a pair of $400.00 Infinity bookshelf speakers in to listen to a couple years back. I wish I could remember the model. I played them for several hours driven by an Adcom 5400 to break in. I ended up sending them back. They were terribly unbalanced frequency response, the tweeter all but drowned out the woofer. They had inputs to be bi-wired, maybe that's what they needed. I've never had Polk in my home but hear them a lot in stores, I've always thought they sounded pretty good for the circumstances they were in. I do agree with Bubba that you should take a listen around to see if anything else strikes your fancy. I'd like to hear what Paradigm would sound like with Onkyo, I've heard both but not together. My guess is they would mate well.

Accu Linear??? I've never even heard of 'em. Damn, this living in a cave thing just isn't working out for me. I'm curious. Are they particularly old, or obscure?

Jeff

Bubbagump's recommendations are right on the money. For my tastes, there have been few Polks or Infinities that I've liked over the past decades. What you end up buying will be strongly influenced by what you can afford. If you can handle the tariffs from KEF, Paradigm, Energy, Mirage or B&W, go for it.

However, if your budget is more modest, definitely consider the BIC America Venturi DV-62si's (very accurate and close in performance to Paradigm's Mini-Monitors) or one of the tower models from Fluance. The BICs are designed in the US and made in China. I believe -- because I don't have any confirmation -- that the Fluances, despite being sold by a Canadian company, are designed and manufactured in China, too. Both brands are made well for the prices, but they are not extravagantly finished.

The proof is in the sound quality, though. My listening room stereo-only system uses a pair of mint condition ESS amt 1Bs and the main HT system uses Paradigm Mini-Monitors. Needless to say, I'm spoiled. However, the little HT system in the bedroom uses the BICs and my home office stereo has Fluance AV-F3s. While there are subtle differences between these four systems, the two with the inexpensive speakers have never disappointed. They are both terrific in absolute terms, and even more so when one considers the the price tags.