Does anyone know if there's a difference is between EMIM's (originals, not the High-Energy) with and without the felt behind the back of the diaphragms? Is that the only difference? Or is there something else as well?
Thanks.

geoff,
There are three variants; the brass 3/16 type terminal for the RS 4.5/2.5 which have a case which is a tad chunkier looking than the later model, because of the attaching bolts, then the later model felt variant and non-felt variant. No sonic difference and all interchangeable.

Vito

I have the HE EMIMs, and they are dual Neo magnet, aluminum casing, foam tension diaphragms, with a FR of 500hz to 3Khz. I' m not sure about the original EMIMs, but i hear they are plastic casing ceramic magnet, non felt tension diaphragms?

Thanks guys.

geoff,
There are three variants; the brass 3/16 type terminal for the RS 4.5/2.5 which have a case which is a tad chunkier looking than the later model, because of the attaching bolts, then the later model felt variant and non-felt variant. No sonic difference and all interchangeable.

Vito

Vito,
How about ones with the + and - terminals close together? There are 3 on the 'bay right now. On the site for Orange Counry Speaker repair, it shows the EMIM diaphragm and lists several different EMIM revisions that this diaphragm will (or did) fit. Is there any good way to tell the difference between the 'revisions'?

Thanks,
Geoff

Vito,
How about ones with the + and - terminals close together?


I get it now. Those are the ones with the brass nuts and internal wires.

Geoff,
I apologize for the tardy reply. I can not see those on EBAY that you refer to, however, I can see 6 of them. Perhaps those are the ones that you refer to. Here are some views of the different styles;

The brass 3/16 type:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMBrassTypeFront.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMBrassTypeBack.jpg

Felt backed variant:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMFeltFront.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMFeltBack.jpg

No felt back variant:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMNoFeltFront.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh313/Vitopanch/EMIMNoFeltBack.jpg


Vito

Thanks Vito,
I think I'm getting all the iterations finally straightened out. This is the one I picked up that I was referring to on ebay last week, with the close +/- terminals and internal wires from those terminals to the diaphragm. And, the one I picked up from Kathleen is just perfect. I can tell it's a later one, with the off-gray center mylar strips.

I bought the RS2.5's only about 2 or 3 months ago, but I've already had to replace every EMIM on them. Thankfully, they have 4 good ones now. So, it's time to build an adequate spares inventory, which is almost turning into a cost-no-object venture in and of itself. But, the longevity of these speakers is of great importance to me right now, so I guess I'll do what I have to do!

Thanks,
Geoff

I bought the RS2.5's only about 2 or 3 months ago, but I've already had to replace every EMIM on them. Thankfully, they have 4 good ones now. So, it's time to build an adequate spares inventory, which is almost turning into a cost-no-object venture in and of itself. But, the longevity of these speakers is of great importance to me right now, so I guess I'll do what I have to do!

Thanks,
Geoff

Were the EMIM's working when you got the 2.5's and then went out? I'm curious because I recently aquired a pair myself which at the moment are fully functional and am wondering if I should be concerned. I am giving them plenty of high current amp and so should not have any worries on that score.

Having also been following the listings in eBay for spares I am rather shocked at the prices the EMIM's have been garnering. I played for a bit on a couple of them but it didn't take long before they went out of range for me.

Coastsider,

The EMIM's that the speakers had are all 'functional', mostly. They all play, but on certain piano passages, they crackle and distort- even with the volume control set very low. I was told by someone at Orange County Speakers who had lots of experience with EMIM's that this was a classic symptom of "diaphragm fatigue". He was also unaware of any way to resurrect the diaphragm. And, since new diaphragms haven't been made for a while, we're confined to the used driver market. And I agree, these prices aren't getting any better. I'm going to try to get about 3 or 4 more good EMIM's, and then probably call it quits. It's too bad that we all don't have an insider trading group that we can all swap parts among.

I've read posts about trying to heat the diaphragm with hot air to help out the 'crackling' sound. After disassembling one of my old ones and trying this, I'm actually wondering if the stretch incurred during cooling is what is actually happening. On the one I disassembled, the mylar had quite a few ridges, kind of like this one from the infinity classics website. http://www.infinity-classics.de/infinity/technik/reparatur/Images/emimraupen-b.jpg
I tried manually flattening the ridges with a soft toothpick, while keeping the diaphragm backed by a hard surface so I didn't poke a hole in it. I did get it mostly flattened out, but it looks ugly. It does seem to play fine, but the piano problem still isn't totally fixed. I think I will attempt some further surgery on this one, to see if I can get it back up to snuff. Or I may just be on a fool's errand here. I might try to run down some appropriate mylar, doing some precision cuts, and manually removing and re-laying the vertical mylar strips, joining them to the existing strips at the tops and bottoms. But....this sure is a lot of work to go through. Probably for a dubious cause; it might make no difference at all. Let's keep in touch, though. I'm anxious to see how yours turn out, especially with the outriggers.

I suppose if all else failed, MagicMarksy might be able to give some good advice on replacing the original EMIM's with the Monsoon drivers. However, I don't know if those are in huge supply, either.

Thanks Vito,
I think I'm getting all the iterations finally straightened out. This is the one I picked up that I was referring to on ebay last week, with the close +/- terminals and internal wires from those terminals to the diaphragm. And, the one I picked up from Kathleen is just perfect. I can tell it's a later one, with the off-gray center mylar strips.

I bought the RS2.5's only about 2 or 3 months ago, but I've already had to replace every EMIM on them. Thankfully, they have 4 good ones now. So, it's time to build an adequate spares inventory, which is almost turning into a cost-no-object venture in and of itself. But, the longevity of these speakers is of great importance to me right now, so I guess I'll do what I have to do!

Thanks,
Geoff

That is great Geoff. That was the last one of the lot that I was parting with. I was fortunate enough to obtain a full batch of NIB spares, along with an extra NIB Active Crossover Network, with the RS 4.5's that I bought and have been holding onto them for awhile. Then I obtained two other lots, one from a RS 1b and one from a RS 2A that were unfortunately being parted out. I decided to keep just four spares and offload the rest. I keep my eyes peeled for these ongoing and if I bump into any at a low price I will keep you in mind.

Were the EMIM's working when you got the 2.5's and then went out? I'm curious because I recently aquired a pair myself which at the moment are fully functional and am wondering if I should be concerned. I am giving them plenty of high current amp and so should not have any worries on that score.

Having also been following the listings in eBay for spares I am rather shocked at the prices the EMIM's have been garnering. I played for a bit on a couple of them but it didn't take long before they went out of range for me.

Coastrider, No they do not fail often. I have not lost one ever. The problem is that we are buying used loudspeakers that in some cases were misused. Monkeying around with the passive crossover networks, changing values and crossover points, running big infinities with low current gear clipping the yahoo out of them and the there are the equalizer lads who boost things up out of sight, that wreck these. With high current amplifiers and zero clipping they will last indefinitely.

Yes, the prices are rising steadily and many are going to Germany and Australia, the citizens of which are ravenous for spare parts. In general, they prize their Hi-fi gear as priceless instruments and therefore it lasts longer. Spares are rarer over there, hence, the hunt for them over here.

Vito

I'll say prices are climbing quickly. I picked up a set of spares for my RS-IIbs about six months ago, and the average sale price on those that sold most recently has jumped by more than $100 since then.

Thanks Vito,
I think I'm getting all the iterations finally straightened out. This is the one I picked up that I was referring to on ebay last week, with the close +/- terminals and internal wires from those terminals to the diaphragm. And, the one I picked up from Kathleen is just perfect. I can tell it's a later one, with the off-gray center mylar strips.

I bought the RS2.5's only about 2 or 3 months ago, but I've already had to replace every EMIM on them. Thankfully, they have 4 good ones now. So, it's time to build an adequate spares inventory, which is almost turning into a cost-no-object venture in and of itself. But, the longevity of these speakers is of great importance to me right now, so I guess I'll do what I have to do!

Thanks,
Geoff

What was wrong with the original EMIM's ?

What was wrong with the original EMIM's ?

It's in post #10.

I keep my eyes peeled for these ongoing and if I bump into any at a low price I will keep you in mind.

Thanks, Vito. I really am looking forward to not having to buy any more. Spending so much time on ebay is not nearly so preferable as listening to music! By the way, did your 4.5's come from Ethan here in Seattle? He had a pair for sale a few months ago. He offered them to me, but with space constraints (and cash flow at the time), I passed on them and decided to keep looking for something smaller (which, obviously, I found). He said that someone back east bought them, who is a member of this forum.

Coastsider,

The EMIM's that the speakers had are all 'functional', mostly. They all play, but on certain piano passages, they crackle and distort- even with the volume control set very low. I was told by someone at Orange County Speakers who had lots of experience with EMIM's that this was a classic symptom of "diaphragm fatigue". He was also unaware of any way to resurrect the diaphragm. And, since new diaphragms haven't been made for a while, we're confined to the used driver market. And I agree, these prices aren't getting any better. I'm going to try to get about 3 or 4 more good EMIM's, and then probably call it quits. It's too bad that we all don't have an insider trading group that we can all swap parts among.

Let's keep in touch, though. I'm anxious to see how yours turn out, especially with the outriggers.

Well so far so good with mine, which have been in service now for a bit over a week and both sound and look great. I got the outriggers and have them installed and they are a great success and now have the 2.5's in their new home integrated into my A/V system. I think your idea of mounting the outriggers might be the more attractive alternative as mine didn't turn out visually quite as I had imagined but they are good enough for now and the speakers are ROCK solid. The Soundcraftsmen MA5002 amp I got seems up to the job of driving the 2.5's although I really would like to bi-amp them and might see what else is out there that is a bit smaller that would do the job because if I piled another MA5002 on top of the existing one I might be in serious trouble. I've been holding off taking photos until I get the "toppers" we had been discussing finished, which will hopefully be this weekend.

I have a pair of spare EMITS and would sure like to have at least one spare EMIM but not at the current prices. It's tough to pay half of what I paid for the pair of 2.5's for just one driver.

I have a pair of spare EMITS and would sure like to have at least one spare EMIM but not at the current prices. It's tough to pay half of what I paid for the pair of 2.5's for just one driver.
Well, they almost surely are not going to get any cheaper, plus they are getting rarer, so the time may be now if you ever hope to get any spares.

Well, they almost surely are not going to get any cheaper, plus they are getting rarer, so the time may be now if you ever hope to get any spares.

That may very well be the case and I'm curious to see how it goes with the current batch on eBay, even though they are not the exact match for the RS 2.5's.

Well, they almost surely are not going to get any cheaper, plus they are getting rarer, so the time may be now if you ever hope to get any spares.


The trouble is, not every Infinity fan knows every other fan, so we all just end up driving up the price for one another.

For me, I think I'm going to try to get 3 or 4 more, then voluntarily remove myself from this particular market.

Keep in touch with that seller as well, if this batch does not work out. He is a cannibal that scours California for Infinities to part out. It is not something that I support, however, if the deed is going to be done at least we end up with spares for ours.

Vito

Keep in touch with that seller as well, if this batch does not work out. He is a cannibal that scours California for Infinities to part out. It is not something that I support, however, if the deed is going to be done at least we end up with spares for ours.

Vito

It's a real push/pull, that's for sure. I'm just starting to enjoy my RS2.5's and would really hate it if a driver for which I had no spare went out so I guess I'll stay in the hunt for now but really dislike the idea that I'm driving the price up for other AKers as well as myself to the benefit of such a seller.