Infinity Speakers crap or cool

If you look up the word "Flagship" in the dictionary that's the photo you'll see.

 

I restored a pair of Quantum 3's about 15 years ago. Found them on the curb on trash day!
They sounded stunning driven but my Adcom GFA-1. The Watkins dual-coil woofer was spectacular.
The tinsel leads on the mids were a nightmare and failed frequently in our dry climate.

A local collector who wanted to own the whole Quantum line made me an offer I couldn't refuse.... Had a pair of Quantum Junior too that I acquired when stocking up parts for the Q3's, also sounded very good. He took those too.

 

A speaker brand that went from audiophile/high-end (that mind-boggling IRS system that Harry Pearson had), through competitive affordable gear (loved those 2- and 3-way 'Q' designs with the EMIT tweeter!), all the way to mass-market mediocrity. I don't think the Infinity that exists today has anything to do with the company that Arnie Nudell made famous in the Seventies. Similar thing happened to Polk, I think.

 

Here's a little video of Paul McGowan's listening room at PS Audio:

 

The Primus line was universally applauded in numerous publications in the early 2000s, although not for everybody, they are far from crap. The Polycell tweeter from the late 80s into the 90s didn't do Infinity any favors, but sound improved substantially with Harmon eventually taking over. However, the Achilles heal of most Infinity lines (Interlude, Beta, Alpha) has been the overly warm mid-bass, which at times come across bloated and slow. The Primus line, although a budget line and made overseas, really improved upon this weakness. However, the signature soft highs (metal dome) and open midrange remain, with a driving bass that has a great realism and dimension to it. They remind me, at least in my mind, of what a hi end retro 70s speaker should have sounded like. Fwiw, I was profoundly disappointed with the acclaimed Triangle Titus: overly ripe mid-bass that produced a very unbalanced sound. I sold those very quickly.

 

Wow, you bumped a post of mine from 12 years ago. Thanks!

The Primus line was okay, although they didn't sound much different than similarly priced JBL models. They probably WERE JBL models with different cosmetics. Not sure what Infinity is doing in the home space now. As for Triangles, my Titus/Sextant/Aliote/Sub Espace models are still sounding great after 15 years. They have assumed HT duties in my living room system now, while I use Gallo Strada 2's and an REL T-5 as my speakers/sub in my main music system.

 

One could do a lot worse than Infinity on the used market for high quality at a great price. The older the better maybe. And if one knows speaker reconditioning than it's a good bet.

 

Primus line were more than okay: Stereophile Recommended Componet, Soundstage Budget Product/Speaker of the year, to name a few accolades. I toured the facility. Completely different design teams for each line: Revel, Infinity, etc. Although I believe Revel engineers had a hand in the Primus line. They are a lot more refined and laid-back than the JBL Studio series of the same vintage: early 2000s. Apples and oranges really. In many ways they are more of a European speaker: relaxed highs, open midrange, however the bass has more impact/realism than the somewhat lean sound of say classic British monitors. The combination of state-of the-art design with low overseas production costs was a blueprint many so followed.

 

only you can answer the question you asked, no one else.

and if you are wondering why i say that, it is because they are your ears.

 

Thread started in 2005 - Yikes! I was so young then...

#61 May 16, 2015 Infinity Speakers crap or cool

 

Yes, Arnie Nudell era Infinity Systems loudspeakers are very different from the Harman era Infinity speakers (now Samsung)

 

My experience with the brand is limited to a pair of SM floorstanders with 15" woofers. Overall response unimpressive to say the least. Dull upper mids and treble and weak bass.

 

Stereophile Infinity Primus 360 loudspeaker

 

I had a 60 WPC Kenwood and went through the same thing. What their deal was, you were allowed to burn out one set of EMITS for free. After that, you had to pay for them. And what they did was, when they put in a replacement, they drilled a tiny hole in the back to indicate that it was a replacement. So if you brought back tweeters with holes, you were out of luck.

 

Back when I was getting ready to buy a decent system, Infinities were the speakers of choice in the 1980s. I considered getting a pair, but went with Cizeks instead.

 

Looks fine to me, and this is later model too! I'd like four of them, one for each corner, and deal with center channel later.

 

I have Infinity Entra's minis as my surround's and back rear surround, awesome sound and sound great with my def tech's.. i think these were designed from the guy that came from Energy at that time.. amzing tweeter on these IMO .. also have an old SM110 that was gifted to me a long time ago in the closet