The wife gave me new option she'll ok along with/or the kef 3005 - she saw the Infinity Beta 40 Series (Qty 4) with Beta 360 for Center and the PS212 Sub...

...So what you guys think - stay with the kef 3005 or go to the floor standing Infinity?

Here is the link (http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=BETA40BK&ser=BET&Language=ENG&Region=USA&Country=US) to the Infinity

These are small enough and all one piece is her thoughts, hence they got the green light.

I have NOT heard the Infinity Beta 40 - will they sound much better or not?

thanks...

(below is my orginal post is all)


What you all think is better way to go? KEF 3005 or Infinity TSS-1200?

Listen to everything, Movies & Music - will be hooking them up to the Onkyo TXSR805 Receiver - the room is about 20' x 25'.

concerned about filling the room with sound, kef has smaller sub and less power handling to the sats, however the infinity have smaller sized sats (although higher power rating).


all comments and thoughts please...

thanks

UPDATED BELOW (also posted below in post, sorry...):

I just popped into cc store that was to have had kef 3005 in stock (more than the display) - sales rep tried hard to say the entire Bose and Polk line is much better, pushed the Bose 321 as system to blow these out of the water, bose 16 so much better can not compare...

only thing hooked up to the kef was x-box, and that did not work - cc said kef is lowest end they carry - gets even better, said was looking at the Infinity TSS-1200's, rep played off as much better why get the kefs attitude.

thought all here would love to hear about this one... any good online places to buy the kef 3005's?

If I can't find a better place to get the kefs online, I'll simply go for the TSS-1200 and live with them, cc no interest me in giving any business their direction, even if the rep was right, still would feel the same way.

Add to that, the store heard them at early today (kef 3005) - they also said don't get them, they had none in stock although to sell, interesting 2 cc stores saying no to kefs for some reason...

After listening to both of these speaker sets they both sound incredible for music, however the KEF sound much better for movies. They give a very crisp, clean sound and have a larger sweet spot which is very nice for larger seating areas.

you hit on something I was not thinking of - the room is about 20' x 25' - sweet spot bigger the better...

concerned about filling the room with sound, kef has smaller sub and less power handling to the sats, however the infinity have smaller sized sats (although higher power rating) .

The KEF 3005s will murder most satellite systems in terms of sound and build quality.

What you all think is better way to go? KEF 3005 or Infinity TSS-1200?

Listen to everything, Movies & Music - will be hooking them up to the Onkyo TXSR805 Receiver - the room is about 20' x 25'.

concerned about filling the room with sound, kef has smaller sub and less power handling to the sats, however the infinity have smaller sized sats (although higher power rating).


all comments and thoughts please...

thanks

I have an Infinity TSS-4000(silver) system for sale minus the subwoofer.
I've had them since Feb. and I upgraded to Def. Tech. Mythos speakers.

The speakers sound great but you will need a sub for the low frequencies.

2 - Front speakers w/stands
1 - Center speaker
2 - Rear speakers

PM me if your interested.

KEF all the way. I prefer them pretty much over anything else at the price point. The KEF's arn't very visually appealing to my eye, and I'm not much of a fan of the HTIB approach but I think you'll have good luck with them.

What's the going price for the set?

KEF all the way. I prefer them pretty much over anything else at the price point. The KEF's arn't very visually appealing to my eye, and I'm not much of a fan of the HTIB approach but I think you'll have good luck with them.

What's the going price for the set?


Its hard to find a great pair of speakers the wife approves of (smaller) and sounds good, I'm actually replacing larger set of speakers (2 way JBL's) which adds the feeling of losing out or giving up some sound...

...not sure on the cost yet, working on that one, msrp is still $1500 although.

I've been told can spend up to $1900ish and they must be small and look modern or give up the theater system - so it came down to these 2 sets I guess.

kef in one way i love the way they look, in another i see exactly what you mean, the tss-1200 seem to look much better, but i'll for-go the looks for some better sound (as long as they are wife approved)...

I know what you mean. I just bought a 7.1 set of KEF IQue series speakers, love em and dang are they pretty!

For your price point I think you're doing well. Esp considering your size restrictions. Although Boston makes a pretty small set for the same price point, but it's not nearly as modern looking. In a way they look like the old KLH outdoor speakers.

One thing about the KEFs; If you plan on getting speaker stands, you'll have to use KEF's 3005 stands. They retail for $200 a pair.

One thing about the KEFs; If you plan on getting speaker stands, you'll have to use KEF's 3005 stands. They retail for $200 a pair.


Going to wall mount all 5 speakers actually is my thought... actaully need to ceiling mount the back set - the infinity look as they would ceiling mount bit more easy.

Has anyone ceiling mounted the kef 3005? the mount that comes with it should work correct?

Going to wall mount all 5 speakers actually is my thought... actaully need to ceiling mount the back set - the infinity look as they would ceiling mount bit more easy.

Has anyone ceiling mounted the kef 3005? the mount that comes with it should work correct?

The included mounts pivot, but I couldn't tell you if they pivot enough to be ceiling-mounted. The speakers do have two different points where you can attach the mounts (one on the bottom, one on the back), however. I'd dig my mounts out and test it for you, but I'm in class at the moment.

thanks... think with the bottom mount they should mount good then.

guess its hands down kef 3005...

I'd dig my mounts out and test it for you, but I'm in class at the moment.

Great to see you're studying hard! lol. :D

Great to see you're studying hard! lol. :D

Shhh. Don't tell the professor.

I'm back from class and I messed with the speakers. You'd have to mount them to the ceiling by the bottom of the speaker.

Another satellite system I looked at was the B&W MT-20. It was nice looking and as clear-sounding as the KEFs, but it lacked some of the KEF's punch with dialogue. That lack of punch was my complaint with most satellite systems. I think the reason the KEFs have nice, full, clear dialogue is the fact that the KEFs have an honest to goodness center speaker, not just a satellite turned on its side like most 5.1 systems do. However, if you didn't want huge, egg-shaped speakers on your ceiling, you could get almost the same sound from the B&Ws for roughly the same price.

Another option is in-ceiling speakers.

Another option is in-ceiling speakers.

I really like the idea of wall mount, lots less work and movable in the end...
Have thought about that since would be able to have gotten bigger speaker making it easier to adjust to something like the kefs coming from my larger JBL N-28 speakers... just no option in the end.

Shhh. Don't tell the professor.

I'm back from class and I messed with the speakers. You'd have to mount them to the ceiling by the bottom of the speaker.

Another satellite system I looked at was the B&W MT-20. It was nice looking and as clear-sounding as the KEFs, but it lacked some of the KEF's punch with dialogue. That lack of punch was my complaint with most satellite systems. I think the reason the KEFs have nice, full, clear dialogue is the fact that the KEFs have an honest to goodness center speaker, not just a satellite turned on its side like most 5.1 systems do. However, if you didn't want huge, egg-shaped speakers on your ceiling, you could get almost the same sound from the B&Ws for roughly the same price.


thanks so much for the mount info - the more you say makes me feel more and more like the kefs are the one. Punch is something I'm worried about losing already since having to give up my bigger 2 way speakers and 3 way center...

...just heard the kefs in store, at the store I think they actually sounded better than my JBL's do at home - :)

Wife actually likes the eggs more than the tss-1200 look in the end, still have not heard them although myself...

No problem. :) When paired with the sub, I find the KEFs to sound like full-sized speakers. It's pretty cool.

I expect a full review when you've got them hooked up. My bedroom might be needing new speakers soon. ;)

I expect a full review when you've got them hooked up. My bedroom might be needing new speakers soon. ;)

Trying now to pick either the Onkyo TX-SR805 or the 875 - not sure what the difference is other than 10watts channel...

I will post my thoughts, I'm no expert, however I am very fussy when it comes to audio and I like lots of punch and power at times... I'll be very honest on what I think about the kefs...

Oh, if it matters, I'm using a Denon 987 receiver (same as the 2807) to power these speakers.

I just popped into cc store that was to have had kef 3005 in stock (more than the display) - sales rep tried hard to say the entire Bose and Polk line is much better, pushed the Bose 321 as system to blow these out of the water, bose 16 so much better can not compare...

only thing hooked up to the kef was x-box, and that did not work - cc said kef is lowest end they carry - gets even better, said was looking at the Infinity TSS-1200's, rep played off as much better why get the kefs attitude.

thought all here would love to hear about this one... any good online places to buy the kef 3005's?

If I can't find a better place to get the kefs online, I'll simply go for the TSS-1200 and live with them, cc no interest me in giving any business their direction, even if the rep was right, still would feel the same way.

Add to that, the store heard them at early today (kef 3005) - they also said don't get them, they had none in stock although to sell, interesting 2 cc stores saying no to kefs for some reason...

WOW, that's all I can say. Bose is better than KEF? That's a big Wisky Tango Fox right there. Bose are some of the muddiest sounding speakers I've ever heard. I'd sooner have Yamaha.

That being said, sounds like your sales rep was uneducated. I can see how in a big - open store - enviroment Polk might sound better than KEF because the acoustics in there are no where near what you need to appreciate them. The tweeters are very subtle and not loud and brash like a Klipsh would be. This is also the same kind of enviroment where they consider FM radio to be a valid "audio quality test".

I'm not disparaging CC, BB, or any other brick and morter mega-store. They are what they are. They deliver a cheaper product at a better price. You get what you pay for. Thats both in product and labor. I wouldn't expect a $8 an hour Circuit City employee to know what a professional who makes $50K-$100K a year in the business knows.

You make no mention of what town you live in so I can't give you recommendations on local vendors although I do encourage you to check out the KEF (http://www.kef.com) website and see if they have a local vendor in your area.

I just popped into cc store that was to have had kef 3005 in stock (more than the display) - sales rep tried hard to say the entire Bose and Polk line is much better, pushed the Bose 321 as system to blow these out of the water, bose 16 so much better can not compare...

only thing hooked up to the kef was x-box, and that did not work - cc said kef is lowest end they carry - gets even better, said was looking at the Infinity TSS-1200's, rep played off as much better why get the kefs attitude.

thought all here would love to hear about this one... any good online places to buy the kef 3005's?

If I can't find a better place to get the kefs online, I'll simply go for the TSS-1200 and live with them, cc no interest me in giving any business their direction, even if the rep was right, still would feel the same way.

Add to that, the store heard them at early today (kef 3005) - they also said don't get them, they had none in stock although to sell, interesting 2 cc stores saying no to kefs for some reason...

I'm utterly speechless. The Polks I listened to (and there were a few different ones) were terribly muddy and garbled. I'm not even touching the Bose recommendation. KEF low end? Jesus... I stopped going to CC because their knowledge about electronics ranged from iffy to abysmal. Screw giving them a commission.

1call and vanns both carry the 3005s and are authorized dealers. A plus side to buying these online is the fact you don't pay sales tax or deal with uninformed asshats.

EDIT: Plus those two places I mentioned have free 3 day shipping.

The wife gave me new option she'll ok along with/or the kef 3005 - she saw the Infinity Beta 40 Series (Qty 4) with Beta 360 for Center and the PS212 Sub...

...So what you guys think - stay with the kef 3005 or go to the floor standing Infinity?

Here is the link (http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=BETA40BK&ser=BET&Language=ENG&Region=USA&Country=US) to the Infinity

These are small enough and all one piece is her thoughts, hence they got the green light.

I have NOT heard the Infinity Beta 40 - will they sound much better or not?

thanks...

Benniator - love to hear your thoughts on this too, thanks again for all your comments and help with this, thank everyone too...

Links are better when they're in the post. ;)

Infinity is good. Once again, GO LISTEN TO THEM. I'm certian there has to be an Infinity dealer in your area. They're definatly a good looking speaker and I imagine the bass response will be nice. I wonder about the sweet spot. But i guess if you toe them correctly you should be good to go. I'm supprised your wife went from the eggs to the full floor standing speakers like this.

The wife gave me new option she'll ok along with/or the kef 3005 - she saw the Infinity Beta 40 Series (Qty 4) with Beta 360 for Center and the PS212 Sub...

...So what you guys think - stay with the kef 3005 or go to the floor standing Infinity?

Here is the link to the Infinity

These are small enough and all one piece is her thoughts, hence they got the green light.

I have NOT heard the Infinity Beta 40 - will they sound much better or not?

thanks...

Benniator - love to hear your thoughts on this too, thanks again for all your comments and help with this, thank everyone too...

You're welcome.:)

I did a quick search on the net and the general impression of the Betas is that they have nice highs but lack lows (sub will help). Some people will probably tell you to go with another subwoofer than the Infinity you listed, but I can't comment on that because I'm clueless when it comes to subs. The 40's have good frequency range, but I don't know how that translates into their sound since I've never heard them. Search for the Infinity owner's thread on this board and ask them.


Links are better when they're in the post. ;)

Infinity is good. Once again, GO LISTEN TO THEM. I'm certian there has to be an Infinity dealer in your area. They're definatly a good looking speaker and I imagine the bass response will be nice. I wonder about the sweet spot. But i guess if you toe them correctly you should be good to go. I'm supprised your wife went from the eggs to the full floor standing speakers like this.

What he said. Go listen to them if you can. Also, are you going to have wires running along your floor now?

The wife gave me new option she'll ok along with/or the kef 3005 - she saw the Infinity Beta 40 Series (Qty 4) with Beta 360 for Center and the PS212 Sub...

...So what you guys think - stay with the kef 3005 or go to the floor standing Infinity?

Here is the link (http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=BETA40BK&ser=BET&Language=ENG&Region=USA&Country=US) to the Infinity

These are small enough and all one piece is her thoughts, hence they got the green light.

I have NOT heard the Infinity Beta 40 - will they sound much better or not?

thanks...

Benniator - love to hear your thoughts on this too, thanks again for all your comments and help with this, thank everyone too...


Sorry guys, fixed the link... (yes was very lucky to get wife green light, dealer close by does not have hooked up is how we saw them, no hear though).

Talked to someone who has them, thinks much fuller than the kef 3005 however still need the sub (which of course I would add anyways).


Wires, we have basement, so thought pop up right behind the speakers...

Sweet spot - hummm good questions, wonder too how floor standing would do compared, companies selling them push the fact they think they often do better - kef 3005 hard to beat in this area it would seem.

Am I missing other good points like this?

Should add, can get the Infinity Floor stand setup for about $50 less than the kefs.

Sorry guys, fixed the link... (yes was very lucky to get wife green light, dealer close by does not have hooked up is how we saw them, no hear though).

Talked to someone who has them, thinks much fuller than the kef 3005 however still need the sub (which of course I would add anyways).


Wires, we have basement, so thought pop up right behind the speakers...

Sweet spot - hummm good questions, wonder too how floor standing would do compared, companies selling them push the fact they think they often do better - kef 3005 hard to beat in this area it would seem.

Am I missing other good points like this?

Should add, can get the Infinity Floor stand setup for about $50 less than the kefs.

Don't think you're missing anything. Just bug that person who has the Betas to let you listen to them. If I had the space I probably would have gotten full-sized speakers, too.

Well a larger cabinet almost always equals greater fidelity if it's engineered right. There's just more air to work with. How was the pricing at your local store, you mentioned it was cheaper than the KEF's but not if it was cheaper to buy in town than on-line. If it is, tell the sales rep you're not buying anything without hearing it first.

Also, and this is key, make sure you're listening to the SAME music on both sets of speakers before you buy. Bring your own CD's. CD's, not MP3 CD's or CD's made from MP3's. I recommend an accoustic recording, a female vocal recording, a techno/trace CD, and some rock CD. My personal choices for those are:

Accoustic: Anything by Peter Noonan (Pianist) (http://www.amazon.com/s******nb_ss_m/104-3318824-3453503?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=Peter+Noonan)
Female Vocal: En Vogue's Funky Diva's (http://www.amazon.com/Funky-Divas-En-Vogue/dp/B000002JP6******pd_bbs_sr_2/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128279&sr=1-2) or Kristy Hawkshaw's Meta-Message (http://www.amazon.com/Meta-Message-Kirsty-Hawkshaw/dp/B000AR9YJG******pd_bbs_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128350&sr=1-1)
Techno/Trance: BT's "ESCM" (http://www.amazon.com/ESCM-BT/dp/B000005WLN******pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128388&sr=1-1). The rain at the beginning is astounding.
Rock: Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" (http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Mindcrime-Queensr%C3%BFche/dp/B0000931QA******pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128154&sr=1-1)

This will give you an idea of where the speakers timbers and tones are diffrent.

Well a larger cabinet almost always equals greater fidelity if it's engineered right. There's just more air to work with. How was the pricing at your local store, you mentioned it was cheaper than the KEF's but not if it was cheaper to buy in town than on-line. If it is, tell the sales rep you're not buying anything without hearing it first.

Also, and this is key, make sure you're listening to the SAME music on both sets of speakers before you buy. Bring your own CD's. CD's, not MP3 CD's or CD's made from MP3's. I recommend an accoustic recording, a female vocal recording, a techno/trace CD, and some rock CD. My personal choices for those are:

Accoustic: Anything by Peter Noonan (Pianist) (http://www.amazon.com/s******nb_ss_m/104-3318824-3453503?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=Peter+Noonan)
Female Vocal: En Vogue's Funky Diva's (http://www.amazon.com/Funky-Divas-En-Vogue/dp/B000002JP6******pd_bbs_sr_2/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128279&sr=1-2) or Kristy Hawkshaw's Meta-Message (http://www.amazon.com/Meta-Message-Kirsty-Hawkshaw/dp/B000AR9YJG******pd_bbs_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128350&sr=1-1)
Techno/Trance: BT's "ESCM" (http://www.amazon.com/ESCM-BT/dp/B000005WLN******pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128388&sr=1-1). The rain at the beginning is astounding.
Rock: Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" (http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Mindcrime-Queensr%C3%BFche/dp/B0000931QA******pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3318824-3453503?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190128154&sr=1-1)

This will give you an idea of where the speakers timbers and tones are diffrent.

very good points - thank you...

found the good pricing online, gettting everything all new including the TV, found place that had everything, they are willing to hit good pricing - however they do not sell the kefs, so thats also in part why I kept looking and trying to win the wife debate that floorstanding/one piece not that bad...

I'm in area that has so many super stores and not so many retail others - few there are get so much business that often they take little time with people, so in the end not much better than the super stores.

...ok, just buy online - you guys are so much help really makes things so much easier to decide.

Nothing like having people telling you the good and bad straight up, at least for me....

Kinda what the internet was originally created for. I cruise a lot of web forums for that very reason. In a marketing centric society like we live in it's hard finding the straight dope. Seems the only way to get it is to learn from others mistakes and sites like this are useful for that.