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Which is the better speaker value, Infinity Primus P363 or JBL ES80?

post #1 of 12
7/4/12 at 9:26am
Thread Starter 
I purchased a pair of Infinity Primus P363 speakers just a little over a month ago when Fry's had them for $99.00 each. While I am happy with the sound, I have to admit that the Audioholics review of them (http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/primus-p363) has me concerned in regards to the impedance of the speakers. I am powering them with a Denon AVR-1712.

Then I noticed that Fry's has the JBL ES80's for $277.00 per pair right now, and it made me wonder which was a better value.

There seems to be a lot of praise for the Infinity's being a really good value for the money, ,but many have mentioned the issue with the real-world impedance of them.

I haven't found as much information on the JBL's, but from what I have found, they seem to be pretty highly rated as well, and they are a more expensive speaker (not that that matters a whole lot). I do see several mentions of them being "dark" and "boxy-sounding", which doesn't bode well. I haven't seen anything in regards to their real-world impedance, though.

I am just beyond the 30 day window from the purchase date, and I don't even know whether I could persuade Fry's to allow me to return and exchange them, so it may be irrelevant, but I am still curious as to what you folks think.
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post #2 of 12
7/4/12 at 4:24pm
don't believe the article the infinity web site say they are 8 ohm and you should be o.k to go.for $100 i think they are a steal inthis class of speakers just sorry theres no frys around me or i would of picked up a pair for myself although i don't need anymore speakers ran out of rooms to put them in just ask my wife and friends:)
Edited by smasher50 - 7/4/12 at 4:29pm
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post #3 of 12
7/6/12 at 10:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by smasher50 View Post

don't believe the article the infinity web site say they are 8 ohm and you should be o.k to go.for $100 i think they are a steal inthis class of speakers just sorry theres no frys around me or i would of picked up a pair for myself although i don't need anymore speakers ran out of rooms to put them in just ask my wife and friends:)

You are free to not believe the measurements in my review but these speakers are in fact 4 ohm NOT 8 ohm. The folks at Harman peer reviewed my review and acknowledged my findings. I encourage you to look closely at the impedance measurements and note even by IEC standards, these speakers would be classified as 4 ohm. Also, they are 3dB less efficient than Harman claims.

That being said, they are still a nice speaker for $4-600/pair and a midline Denon should have no problem running them.
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post #4 of 12
7/6/12 at 11:08am
You already own them and were previously satisfied until you started reading more about them, just keep them and save yourself the hassle. If nothing broke by now, you receiver should be fine; I think there would be a lot more backlash on these speakers if they were actually destroying everyones receivers.

Most importantly, remember that even if you buy speakers that are $10k a piece, there will be people who say there are things wrong with them and you should have gotten something else, and then call you an idiot (particularly on the internet). Relax and enjoy some music.
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post #5 of 12
7/6/12 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kach22 View Post

You already own them and were previously satisfied until you started reading more about them, just keep them and save yourself the hassle. If nothing broke by now, you receiver should be fine

The Denon 1712 is rated for 6 to 16 ohm. If you frequently run the receiver hard, I would be concerned about the long term effects of having a set of 4 ohm speakers on it because a receiver will often run hotter with a lower impedance ohm load.

Since Infinity's impedance rating has been shown to be incorrect, that's ammunition for requesting a Fry's return. Just tell them the truth about your receiver not being rated for 4 ohm if this worries you.
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post #6 of 12
7/6/12 at 12:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiwatt357 View Post

I haven't found as much information on the JBL's, but from what I have found, they seem to be pretty highly rated as well, and they are a more expensive speaker (not that that matters a whole lot). I do see several mentions of them being "dark" and "boxy-sounding", which doesn't bode well. I haven't seen anything in regards to their real-world impedance, though.
I am just beyond the 30 day window from the purchase date, and I don't even know whether I could persuade Fry's to allow me to return and exchange them, so it may be irrelevant, but I am still curious as to what you folks think.

Denon is not real concerned about 4 ohms - and your speakers have been working for you.
http://denon.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/58/~/4-ohm-speakers-with-denon-a%2Fv-receivers-or-power-amps

"In general, you’ll find that Denon products are designed to function with a wide variety of loudspeakers and have power supplies and output circuitry more than able to meet the current demands of low impedance loads. If using 4 ohm rated speakers, common sense should always be taken as to the volume level setting, as it is easier to overdrive or "clip" an amplifier with 4 ohm speakers than with speakers with a rating of 6~16 ohms."
Edited by zieglj01 - 7/6/12 at 1:10pm
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post #7 of 12
7/6/12 at 1:17pm
For what it's worth, I was thinking about buying those JBL speakers, so I went to Fry's on Wednesday to check them out in person. I absolutely hated them. They sounded very dark, muddy, low, and overflowing with base. This was with the receiver set to several different modes, including passing the sound through directly. I compared them to the Klipsch Reference Series speakers next to them, but there really wasn't any comparison as the Klipsch was balanced and clear. I suppose I should not have been surprised, as JBL is known for bass.

I haven't heard the Infinitys, so I can't comment on those. I have to imagine they sound much better, though.
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post #8 of 12
7/6/12 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zieglj01 View Post

Denon is not real concerned about 4 ohms. . . "If using 4 ohm rated speakers, common sense should always be taken as to the volume level setting, as it is easier to overdrive or "clip" an amplifier with 4 ohm speakers than with speakers with a rating of 6~16 ohms."

Yeah, but Denon doesn't want to rate their AVRs at 4 ohms in their owner's manuals for some reason. Could just be the THD is higher (distortion often goes up when running at lower impedance load); could be that some 4 ohm rated speakers trip the protection circuitry. And it likely will cause the receiver to run much hotter. Thus, I would still caution that if you are someone who likes to run the receiver hard, probably not the best idea to use 4 ohm speakers.
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post #9 of 12
7/7/12 at 5:59am
i'm just surprised that harman has not publicly announced that these are 4ohm rated speakers or some kind of recall letter to those who own them warning of over heating and damaging of some not so suitable avrs or recievers
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post #10 of 12
7/18/12 at 5:29am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all of the responses and comments. I wasn't on here for a little while due to work, vacation, work and surgery.

I decided not to get the JBL's for various reasons, primarily because I had read more than one case similar to nirvanayoda's experience with the speakers sounding "muddy". I haven't noticed the Denon AVR-1712 running particularly hot, but then again, I haven't really cranked it. The volume usually stays at -20db or so, and I haven't had a chance to view a full Blu-Ray movie with them yet. I will keep an eye on them, though, and hope that the circuit protection will kick in should there be an issue.

Thanks once again for all of the replies!
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post #11 of 12
3/1/13 at 6:24pm
I know it's way past the time for returns but wanted to through my 2 cents in. The only hitch with the JBL es-80s is they need proper power to open up. Did a lot of digging online and found that people who give these at least 100 watts each are extremely satisfied with the performance on every level. I bought a set and power them with a Pioneer receiver at 100 watts per channel in 5.1 with Polk Monitor series on everything but the JBL fronts and watching bluray these crumble the walls. I can easily tell that they need more power though. $297. pair out the door at Frys and am extremely satisfied with my home theater. My experience extremely positive and theye're not at all fugly looking as someone had said in regards to the Infinity speakers.
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post #12 of 12
3/15/13 at 5:50pm
Kind of curious - any opinions on the JBL ES 80s?
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AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Speakers › Which is the better speaker value, Infinity Primus P363 or JBL ES80?