Infinity Entra Point Five HTS review: Infinity Entra Point Five HTS

Infinity's highest-end speaker, the Prelude MTS, was introduced a few years ago to rave reviews in all of the audiophile and home-theater magazines. That speaker boasted cutting-edge components and radical design innovations befitting its $8,000 price tag. Incredibly enough, Infinity invested a large helping of that high-tech magic on its newest and most affordable home-theater speaker package, the Entra Point Five HTS. The family resemblance was evident in our listening tests. Infinity's highest-end speaker, the Prelude MTS, was introduced a few years ago to rave reviews in all of the audiophile and home-theater magazines. That speaker boasted cutting-edge components and radical design innovations befitting its $8,000 price tag. Incredibly enough, Infinity invested a large helping of that high-tech magic on its newest and most affordable home-theater speaker package, the Entra Point Five HTS. The family resemblance was evident in our listening tests.

Point by point
Infinity's trickle-down technology was first apparent when we popped off the speakers' grilles. The four Point Five sats, the Entra Center, and the Entra Sub are outfitted with Infinity's amazing ceramic-metal-matrix-diaphragm (CMMD) drivers, just like their upmarket brothers. These pewter-colored drivers are ultrarigid--many times stiffer than conventional paper, plastic, or metal drivers--and deliver low-distortion sound. The sats and center speaker are equipped with 4-inch woofers and 0.75-inch tweeters.

This Entra's look is understated, though closer inspection reveals subtly curved and chamfered front baffles. The black, vinyl-wrapped cabinetry feels unusually solid, and the sats incorporate keyhole slots for easy wall mounting. The center speaker has a rear-mounted port, so hanging it on a wall would have a detrimental effect on its performance; it's better to leave it atop your TV.

The Entra Sub is fairly large--15 by 14 by 17 inches--and like the center speaker, it needs a little breathing room to sound its best. The front-mounted, 10-inch, CMMD woofer is coupled to a 150-watt amp. Connectivity options are routine, though we were happy to see that Infinity included a direct line-level input that bypasses the 50Hz to 150Hz low-pass crossover. This direct connection makes it easy to smooth out the sub/sat blend when the kit is connected to a 5.1 receiver. We wish that more subs had this feature.

Pointed performance
The Entra Point Five system can deliver both home-theater and music satisfaction. We rocked out with Ryan Adams's first solo CD, Heartbreaker, had a swinging good time through Duke Ellington's classic, Blues in Orbit, and were amazed by Glenn Gould's virtuosity on Bach's Goldberg Variations. So yes, this is a music lover's home-theater package. The 7-inch-tall sats are incredible performers.

The Entra Sub put in major overtime on the Training Day DVD, and it sure didn't miss a beat pounding out the heavy-duty bombast on Saving Private Ryan. And the sub is no boombox: its bass is fairly articulate and profoundly deep. Yes, the Entra system can pummel your eardrums, but it has a softer side, too. We were so engrossed by Focus, an odd yet disturbing film about anti-Semitism, that we forgot all about sound. The Entra Point Fives just disappeared, largely because they sound more open and relaxed than most really small sats. Those high-tech drivers really work.

We compared the Infinity ensemble with Energy Loudspeakers' highly regarded Take 5.2 system and were surprised by the almost equal sonic signatures of the two kits' sats. Switching back and forth, we eventually decided the Infinity's sats sounded a tad more natural. In addition, the Entra Sub was more powerful and went deeper than the Energy's more compact sub.

We love the $999 Entra Point Five HTS for its full-sized sound, but it can't match the lively dynamics of the or the purity of the .