Quote:
Originally Posted by
calnbs 
Sound is subjective
I hear what you're saying, but I have a different way of putting it: people's
preferences in speakers is subjective, but that's because they do sighted comparisons. When done double-blind, people's preferences are remarkably similar. So, yeah, some people like over-emphasize their bass (think overactive subwoofer) or sizzly high-end (turn up the treble). But when presented the options in a controlled, research situation where they are free to choose, Toole and Olive's research shows the following:
"viewed in the broad perspective, good sound quality is not a matter of individual taste. When dealing with loudspeakers
that are similarly good, there will be small biases in the results attributable to the music itself (as it is able to reveal the problems) and listeners (as they reveal their individual tolerances to the problems they hear in the musical selections)."
Here's a great summary of their work:
http://www.tmworld.com/index.asp?lay...cleid=CA475937
ousooner2 had asked " Also, how do these compare to the BIC Acoustech line??"
It's possible that BIC Acoustech line may be the biggest bargain in audio history. Possible, but highly unlikely. When you read the article from TMM world, you learn that the team that puts together Infinity (or any Harman) speakers has some of the finest speaker building resources on planet earth and has the most innovative subjective testing out there. It's then logical to wonder if the BIC speaker has even a small fraction of the sophistication, refinement and passion (
read the white papers on Infinity's site to pick up on Floyd Toole's love for good sound) that is put into every audio product that comes out of that place. I find it amazing to think that most speakers are tested in pseudo-anechoic conditions and with sighted listening tests, while Harman products are tested in full-sized 4 pi anechoic environments then subjected to double-blind, head-to-head tests against leading competitors. There's a big difference between developing speakers with one speaker guru and a listening room versus Harman's cadre of music-loving Ph D's and batteries of DBT's in their multi-million dollar multi channel listening lab.
If the Primus 362's were veneered with decent looking wood (think Quad or Proac) they could sell them for $1500. The P360's embarrassed my Monitor Audio RS8's, which cost $1500.
Hopefully this encourages you to shop hard for some Primus's, ousooner! It will be worth the wait.
