Ascends vs. Infinity Primus 360s

In the June issue of Stereophile, Robert Reina praises the Infinity Primus 360s. He writes: "Infinity's Primus 360 presents levels of dynamic drama [whatever that means] and effortlessness [?] that are unheard of at its price [$600/pair]." The cover of that issue touts the Infinities as an "extraordinary speaker value." As the owner of Ascends (340Ms, 340C, and 170s) I had to find out which speakers were better.

In my judgment, the only way to compare speakers is to actually compare them--in the same setting. So, I acquired the Infinities via Crutchfield, which has a 30-day, money-back, no-questions-asked return policy.

Using my A and B speaker outputs on a higher-end Yamaha receiver, I switched back and forth between the Ascends (340s) and the Infinities. Here are my observations.

The Infinities, while providing an extended bass (down to 38Hz, unusual for a speaker in this price range; the Ascends reach approx. 50Hz), do not, in my opinion, yield nearly as accurate sound in both the mid- and upper-ranges as do the Ascends. Moreover, the Infinities' bass reproduction suffers from a rumble, what the Stereophile reviewer calls "an overall warmth or ripeness" [again, ?]. "Warmth," I gather, is not a good thing. I concur.

After a couple of days of side-by-side comparison, I packed up the Infinities and returned them to Crutchfield (they also came with free pairs of Primus 150s, which Stereophile also loved).

By the way, I have a Hsu subwoofer (VTF-2), which I dial down to minimum output levels. Too much bass, in my opinion, detracts from the music.

A further note: I will stick my neck out to assert that the Ascends hold their own against my son's Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20s, which are $3,000/pair. I can't perform a side-by-side comparison, to be sure. But I can't see that my son receives six times the benefit, either.

Stereopile is not a publication that I put any stock into. They make their money through advertising and their reviews reflect that. I'm not against that. I just think that it should be known by the readership.
I haven't heard the Infinity's but I would have fallen off my bar stool if they could compete with our 340's. Nothing in B&M comes close until lots more money gets involved.
Thanks for taking the time and expense to compare the speakers. We live for this stuff. ;)

David

Well that's really nice to hear.
I too went by Robert Reina's recommendation, but of the PSB Image B25's. He gave them a glowing recommendation and said: "I can't think of a single other speaker for less than $500/pair that outperforms the PSB Image B25."

How could I go wrong with a statement like that? I bought a pair and compared them to the 340's and 170's.

The PSB's are good speakers. They might even be great speakers... especially for the money (if you don't include the Ascends). However, the most immediate impression of these speakers was that they were far from neutral. They were coloured to the warm side in an extreme way. They also produced a midrange that sounded as though it was being sent through a tube down a very long corridor. There were times when vocals (Ella, Diana, Nora... etc) actually hurt. These set up a resonant frequency that was at times painful. Really.:(

I wonder if Mr. Reina has ever heard the Ascends. If so, I can not imagine how he can make the statements he does, nor can I imagine how he can consider the speakers he reviews as being superior to them. To my ears the 340's and 170's were miles above the Image B25's. To give you an idea of just how superior the Ascends are... my wife noticed and commented on the difference and was able to pick the Ascends out (either set) in a blind test. She not only noticed the vast difference between them, she also remarked on how much cleaner and more clear the Ascends were. She noticed the imaging of the 340's as well as the enhanced soundstage! My wife said this! (she didn't use the words 'imaging' or 'soundstage', but you get the idea). The neutrality of the Ascends is downright startling... even moreso when you compare them to the extreme warmth and tubular sound of the PSB's.

David... I would really hate to think that you are correct in believing that advertisement $$'s have an undue influence on Stereophile's opinions and reviews. I have been a long-time subscriber to that rag (as well as about 10 others in this category), and they have always been singular in purpose... to review the most esoteric, anachronistic and expensive equipment available, for the extreme .05% of the audiophile world. Perhaps they just don't understand 'value' speaker systems. Perhaps they never heard the Ascends. I was in full agreement with them on their assessment of the Paradigm Studio 20's. Their review expressed my feeling exactly and I had assumed that the rest of their reviews would follow... apparently not the case. I don't remember who reviewed the Paradigms, but if it were Reina, I'd be very surprised. Maybe he's just Ton-Def and should find employment elsewhere. :D

Chee-ahs!

shane