Hi Gang,

Some of you may recall that I bought a pair of Infinity Column II speakers last weekend. All four of the 10" woofers needed foam. I ordered new surrounds from HBF Electronics. They came yesterday.

This morning I got the job finished and put the speakers back together for a first listen. Interesting.

I have them on the Home Theater set up downstairs. They may work well there. They have a lot of bass. To my ears, it's loose and sloppy though. It has some of that "one note" quality. The mids are pretty nice, and the highs better than I expected from the two pizos in each cabinet. A little bright though.

They almost sound like the Loudness Compensation is on when it's not. I can't help but think some kid would love these speakers. Listening to my Dynaco A 25s as I write this, the difference is huge.

The Dynaco's sound even more open and musical after listening to the Infinitys. I may keep them for a while and see what I think after listening to them for a while. Or I may put them back on craigslist. Now that they're repaired, I think someone might really like them more than me.

Take care,

Ed

turn down the bass, if you source has the control, and see what happens. i got 6 remastered Moody Blues CD's and they all sounded the same way. i turned the bass back to 10 o'clock and it sounds like its supposed to. i only have to do this with these 6 CD's though. another thing could be break-in. after some hours of use you may notice the bass tighten up and start to sound right.

turn down the bass, if you source has the control, and see what happens. i got 6 remastered Moody Blues CD's and they all sounded the same way. i turned the bass back to 10 o'clock and it sounds like its supposed to. i only have to do this with these 6 CD's though. another thing could be break-in. after some hours of use you may notice the bass tighten up and start to sound right.

I did experiment with the bass control and it helps. I turned down the L Pad on the tweeters and that helped too. My wife and I were just listening and decided I was being too hard on them. They're pretty nice.

Just for grins though I turned on the Rap audio program from my Sat. service. Cranked her up REAL loud. I have to say, they sound a lot better loud, and they are the best speakers I have for Rap. Too bad I hate Rap.

Wonder what the neighbors are thinking right about now.

Take care,

Ed

I did experiment with the bass control and it helps. I turned down the L Pad on the tweeters and that helped too. My wife and I were just listening and decided I was being too hard on them. They're pretty nice.

thats good to hear.


Just for grins though I turned on the Rap audio program from my Sat. service. Cranked her up REAL loud. I have to say, they sound a lot better loud, and they are the best speakers I have for Rap. Too bad I hate Rap.

Wonder what the neighbors are thinking right about now.

i think thats the most entertaining thing i've ever heard from rap.

Ok, here's a question. These speakers have pretty elaborite cross overs, and there is a fairly large transformer in there. Now, I've never seen a transformer in a speaker, but there it is. The signal for the woofers runs through it. So, is that amplifying the bass? If so, they might be alot nicer if I bypass that.

Thanks,

Ed

That transformer is slmost certainly being used as an inductor, possibly a multi tap one. I would guess you'd have to be very well versed in crossover design to be able to improve on the original design.
I think you would be better served by putting all the controls on the amp to flat, positioning the speakers for even bass and then bringing up the mids til they sound right, and then bringing up the tweeters till they sound right, and then living with them for a while. Little adjustments can have a large affect on the sound.
Messing with crossovers is pretty much the same as going for open heart surgery before you try a cough drop...

That transformer is slmost certainly being used as an inductor, possibly a multi tap one. I would guess you'd have to be very well versed in crossover design to be able to improve on the original design.
I think you would be better served by putting all the controls on the amp to flat, positioning the speakers for even bass and then bringing up the mids til they sound right, and then bringing up the tweeters till they sound right, and then living with them for a while. Little adjustments can have a large affect on the sound.
Messing with crossovers is pretty much the same as going for open heart surgery before you try a cough drop...


I should take some pictures. There are definately coil chokes on the crossover board. After the crossover, the low pass goes to this transformer. As for improving the original design, there's a bit of room here for improvement. I have the L Pad for the mids up all the way. I have the L Pad for the tweeters down a lot. I have my bass control all the way down and my trebble control down quite a bit. It's better like that, but obviously all that correction isn't leaving me with anything resembling a flat responce. Humm.

Ed

The transformer could be being used for impedence matching. The primary side would present a certain impedence to the amplifier and you can load up speakers on the secondary side without hurting the amplifier.

My family just watched Star Wars on the H/T set up using the Infinitiys for the mains, a Polk RTi 28 for Center Channel and a pair of Polk S8s for surrounds. I Don't have a sub on this set up. It's a Pioneer 5.1 reciever.

Well, I have to hand it to the Infinitys in this aplication. They really laid down the sound. The deep bass effects were stunning. This may be the perfect aplication for these speakers. We had a great time. It really sounded like a movie theater. Pretty cool.

Still would like to figure out how to make them sound more musical, but maybe I'm chasing the wrong idea here. I have a great 2 channel set up with my Kenwood KR 7400 and the Dynaco A 25s. I set the bedroom up today with a Technics Pre-amp/Tuner and Amp with the Large Advents. That sounds really good, but the cheap Technics from the thrift store isn't the best amp. Little too bright. Still, I have some really nice sound in this house right now and the Infinitys are playing thier roll pretty well. If I find something better I might sell them, but for now the H/T is sounding pretty nice.

Take care,

Ed

i would still be open to giving them a little more time to adjust the the new surrounds. as for being more musical, try them alone, out of an HT setup. maybe that Kenwood would work well with them?

It's possible of course that they're sounding exactly the way they were designed to sound...

Like most manufacturers, Infinity surely turned our its share of dogs in their day, maybe even very expensive, complicated ones. Maybe it's just me, but the combination of a big, complex crossover with level controls, and piezo tweeters doesn't fill me with hope. I'm not trying to diss your new finds, merely suggesting that they might not be what you're really looking for...

I'd play with positioning in your room to see if get them to sound the way you want with all the controls set flat, and if not, unload 'em. As with most ger in this crazy hobby, there's going to be someone out there just dying for a set of these exactly as they are!

It's possible of course that they're sounding exactly the way they were designed to sound...

Like most manufacturers, Infinity surely turned our its share of dogs in their day, maybe even very expensive, complicated ones. Maybe it's just me, but the combination of a big, complex crossover with level controls, and piezo tweeters doesn't fill me with hope. I'm not trying to diss your new finds, merely suggesting that they might not be what you're really looking for...

I'd play with positioning in your room to see if get them to sound the way you want with all the controls set flat, and if not, unload 'em. As with most ger in this crazy hobby, there's going to be someone out there just dying for a set of these exactly as they are!


Yeah, you're saying what I'm kinda thinking. These might be best off with a kid who's into Hip Hop and can't get enough bass. At this point I have about $100 in them. I bet I could get a lot more out of them. Someone would be impressed with this sound. I would have been at 20. Pushing 40 I like something a little different. They are big and cool looking!

Take care,

Ed

Wow, was I ever rough on these speakers. As you might have seen in another thread, the room I had these in has turned out to be a real problem. The floor is pretty flmsey and resonates. The 10" woofer firing down in these seems to accentuate the problem.

I hauled them upstairs today. Hokey Smoke Bat Man, what a difference! These are pretty nice speakers! I listed them on my local craigslist last week for $200. Kinda glad no one took me up on it! Though I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these speakers.

Anyhow, I felt I owed it to posterity to post an update to this thread. I'd hate for someone to pass up a good deal on a pair of these based on my lame brained condemnation. I'll have to listen longer to really weigh in on what I think of them overall, but I can tell you they're actually very nice speakers.

Take care,

Ed

Ed, so what are you going to use for your HT set up? I have a pair of S8's and a pair of speakers to be named later I will trade for your 25's. :yes:

cubdog

Ed, so what are you going to use for your HT set up? I have a pair of S8's and a pair of speakers to be named later I will trade for your 25's. :yes:

cubdog

See, that's the tough part isn't it. Getting rid of ANYTHING! Now I want to keep the only pair of speakers I had that I thought I didn't like!

I have wondered what 4 S8s and a sub woofer would sound like down there. The S8s being a little bass shy are a good thing down there and a powered sub would give me more placement control. The closet down there actually has a cement floor.

Right now I have the Advents down there sitting on top of the S8s which are on their sides acting as stands. Oh yeah, my wife loves the look. RTi 28 is the center channel and no surrounds right now.

Take care,

Ed

having too many speakers is a nice problem to have. also, nice to hear the Infinity's are good performers.

I know this is a little late and you seemed to have figured out the problem, but maybe there is something you don't know.

I have had a pair of Infinity Column IIs for years. My uncle bought them new back in the late 70s or early 80s for a hefty amount of cash and later went to surround and gave me his GOOD speakers.

They are anything but bass heavy speakers. My first bet would be that the amp which is bass heavy and sloppy and not the speakers (or perhaps it's just a combination with the speakers!).

For years I have had an old 60 watt Philips receiver (that was probably 10 watts RMS and put out 60 for a millisecond every 10 years), and it did not have enough power for the Column IIs. The speakers would pop and make funny noises as well as sounding bad (but the amp sounds bad through anything too), but they had more low end with that amp still than with any other amps I have heard them with.

So being as I have been a poor college student for years and did not want to have to buy another amp, I let my father use them with his amp that did have the power for them and I used his Boston Acoustics, which worked fine for me.

His amp at the time was an old Yamaha CA-1010 he boguht new in 1977. When that died and nobody could seem to fix it, he boguht a Denon DRA-685. Neither of them were low heavy by any means. The lows were a little sloppy with the Yamaha but not bad, but I liked that amp better than the Denon because the mids and highs were more clearly defined.

Today I got a mint Mcintosh 1900 receiver in. My first hi-fi amp and I have played it all day long mostly through the Infinitys. It is still quite underpowered for the speakers, but the definition on this thing is incredible, especially in the bass. Instead of hearing the initial string hit, I can hear the note ring out until the next one and it is very clear. The only problem is that as the volume goes up the lows start to get lost in the mix (which is a typical underpowering problem).

The bass is still not particularly loud (perhaps a tad on the quiet side), but the bass notes are perfectly clear and ring out which they did not with the Denon. The Yamaha which I prefered over the Denon for its midrange and high frequency imaging also did not have bass definition like the MAC :)

I just listened to a NAD C372 at a local store. It also had real good all around definition with similiar bass definition and it's affordable, and the wattage would definitely not be underpowering the speakers. The cheaper C352 should do nicely too.

Also placement is important. I just found out today that I absolutely have to keep them away from the walls a little bit, about 6 inches or so is enough. Moving them out of a corner may not hurt either. Being rear ported (I think?) with rear and front tweeters is not very real estate friendly. The room I have them in is the second largest room in a large house but when I hit the sweet spot, I am nearly at the far wall going the long way. There is a larger room but I do not want to put them there because there is a rug where this room is a wood floor.

The Column IIs are the fussiest speakers I have ever owned. I can hear flaws in recordings, in my amplifiers and in my placement (in a different way) with them. But they are hands down the best set of speakers in the house, and are one of the best I have ever heard - of course I never even bother to listen to anything that is out of my "maybe someday" price range.

Also I am curious to ask, what do you do with the midrange and tweeter controls? My knobs have all became re-placed so I am not sure where flat is supposed to be, but I put them on so all the way down is around 10 oclock to 10:30, and I run them at about 1:30 (where the flat line is)... basically a 90 degree turn.

You should also give that a try if you are still unconvinced of the great sound of these speakers!

Today I got a mint Mcintosh 1900 receiver in.

Sorry for hijacking, but did you happen to buy that Mac 1900 from an Agoner?

Sorry for hijacking, but did you happen to buy that Mac 1900 from an Agoner?
Not that I know of - I got it off audiogon. Could have been for all I know though.

I got it off audiogon

That's actually what I just asked you :) What was the fellow's name? It may have been the gentleman who wanted to trade it for my 700C preamp. Just curious.

Oh, Ezekiel... not Agoner.

I've owned a set of Column II's for fifteen years and I've yet to hear anything better except maybe some B&W 802's. They had a cleaner source so it's hard to tell. Once the infinity's were tuned and position right, they just sound fantastic, but I've only used them for music.

Wes

Let's start a Column II clan :)

I cant find any information about them online even. I found one pair that sold for something like $850 and another guy said he bought some for $250 and either reconed the speakers or got replacements.

I am just waiting to move mine into this room - I figure my PC has to be my best CD player - I have a good sound card in it plus the room is like 8x9 or something like that, and where they are now the only speaker wire I have that long is real junk so I bet I am losing a lot with that too.

Let's start a Column II clan :)

I cant find any information about them online even. I found one pair that sold for something like $850 and another guy said he bought some for $250 and either reconed the speakers or got replacements.
Ask and ye shall receive (http://www.infinity-classics.de/infinity/models/other-models-series-before-1980/Column-2/body_column_2.html).

How 'bout just forming a vintage Infinity clan here at the AK? I see that there's a "Group Memberships" section under the profile; be fun to get that option going and have Clan Infinity or Clan Tannoy or better yet, Clan Design Acoustics. :thmbsp:

- JP, owner of Infinity Quantum 2s, Infinity Reference Studio Monitors, and soon Infinity ES-1 with ME-10D electrostatic headphones.

Hmm mine look taller, is that possible? The back hookups are also not the push buttons but are screws, the fuse is a screw in fuse like on many amps and instead of min max on the midrange and tweeter drivers, I just have a line that says "flat" around 1 oclock.

Mine are from the late 70s or early 80s sometime, Maybe those are older?

It wouldn't surprise me if yours are a little different. Back then, Infinity had a habit of changing designs during production. For example, my Quantum 2s should have been mirror-imaged with full bi-amp capability. Instead, the tweeters are on the same side and there's just one connection. I've seen pictures of other models that had other fairly minor, but still there, changes from the original design. I'd think the cabinet size, though, should be the same. The numbers on that page could be off as Infinity Classics (http://www.infinity-classics.de) mostly relies upon information provided by owners and even they lack a lot of information.

- JP

Yeah Id think the cabinet size should be the same and maybe it is, it is hard to tell from the picture but those do look shorter too.
They also say "Infinity Column II" instead of "Infinity Col. II." I think the serial # sticker is the same though.

My friend is buying the old Philips off me tomorrow, so tomorrow I will move the Column IIs and the Mcintosh into my room and see how that sounds.

How far off the wall and corners should I put them. I've hear with floor standers they like space but don't need it in a smaller room? This will be the first time I got to hear them in a smaller room as the room they are in now is fairly large and the room next to it is mostly open too.

How far off the wall and corners should I put them. I've hear with floor standers they like space but don't need it in a smaller room? This will be the first time I got to hear them in a smaller room as the room they are in now is fairly large and the room next to it is mostly open too.

I should say, I have sold my Column IIs, however, when I played with them, I got better results with them away from the walls- both the back wall and the side walls.

Ed

Welcome to "west coast sound" . Haven't you heard that phrase before?
Don't touch the crossover transformer. At the least it is a low pass filter for the woofer. My guess is that you have a Watkin's Dual Drive crossover (if the woofers have 4 terminals instead of 2 it's for sure). Watkins woofers have flat impedance at resonance.

I just finished moving my Column IIs into the end room (about 8x9 or 8x10 in size). Put the speakers in the corners... the only place I could fit them and moved them in as much as I could.....

Wow!!!!!!!! The sound is just amazing! Whether the old room was just too big or the old speaker wire was too thin and too long or a little bit of both.... now these things have excellent lows! :)

Update: After playing them for the past hour and then some, I think my home setup may very well be the best I have heard. And wes_tulsa, I just played some B&W 803s the other day and at the time I liked them better, but right now I think I am liking the Column IIs more - it sounds like I am in the room with the band much more so.

Messing with crossovers is pretty much the same as going for open heart surgery before you try a cough drop...

That.... is a "quotable" quote....if there ever was one.

:worthless

:worthless
Sorry I don't have a digital camera... or a camera at all for that matter. Which makes me think if I turn up missing, my family would be giving the police the newest picture they have of me, a 10 year old picture of me and the police would be giving the picture to a sketch artist to try to sketch me now... I wonder what they would draw me like? :P

:worthless
Just take a gander at this very optimistic auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/Infinity-Column-II-2-Floorstanding-Speakers-MINT-RARE_W0QQitemZ5831793238QQcategoryZ50597QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) for some pictures. It sounds like these are pretty good speakers, but there's no way they're the best Infinity ever created.

http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/79/79/63_3.JPG

http://i13.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/79/75/be_3.JPG
- JP

Just take a gander at this very optimistic auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/Infinity-Column-II-2-Floorstanding-Speakers-MINT-RARE_W0QQitemZ5831793238QQcategoryZ50597QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) for some pictures. It sounds like these are pretty good speakers, but there's no way they're the best Infinity ever created.
- JP

I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'm not the only guy in Colorado who agrees with this assessment. They're fine speakers, but nothing to write home about. I'd be shocked if he got this kind of money for them. I know I didn't.

Ed

I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'm not the only guy in Colorado who agrees with this assessment. They're fine speakers, but nothing to write home about. I'd be shocked if he got this kind of money for them. I know I didn't.

Ed
All the pair of Column IIs I have ever seen for sale have sold for $750-850 a pair in pretty good shape. I have heard of them selling for $250 with speakers that needed reconing badly. Thing is they are an older, less common model that most people forgot exist, so that does not help selling them when push comes to shove. They are no IRS Betas (not to mention IRS-Vs) nor in the same class even.

I think they're worth it if they work :) Problem I am having is lack of floor space as they are sort of omni directionals with the tweeters in the back so they want room I do not have (2 feet from walls and corners). I put them at an angle in corners of a small room pointing in about 30 degrees and I think I got the tweeter and midrange controls set to perfection.

That is how Infinity and Column II are written on mine, except I have screw connectors and my tone controls have a flat around one oclock.

I sold mine on e bay for something in the $250 range if I recall correctly. I had just re-foamed all four woofers and they were in very good condition with nice grilles and the glass tops in tact. I'm not complaining, that was a good deal more than I had in them, but I don't know about $700 to $800. I saw a pair sit forever at $400. I haven't followed them on e bay since I sold mine though. None come up on completed auctions right now. It will be interesting to see if these sell.

Take care,

Ed

All the pair of Column IIs I have ever seen for sale have sold for $750-850 a pair in pretty good shape.
That is very surprising. The Quantum series qualifies as one of the superior speakers and yet the smaller versions on par with the Column II, but with the better Watkins woofer and EMIT tweeters go for 2/3s of that on a good day. Same for models like Army's RS 2.5s and the like, which have EMITs and EMIMs along with the Watkins. Then again, people have paid upwards of $400-600 for a pair of small Infinitesimals, so reason doesn't reign supreme on eBay.

- JP

I sold mine on e bay for something in the $250 range if I recall correctly. I had just re-foamed all four woofers and they were in very good condition with nice grilles and the glass tops in tact. I'm not complaining, that was a good deal more than I had in them, but I don't know about $700 to $800. I saw a pair sit forever at $400. I haven't followed them on e bay since I sold mine though. None come up on completed auctions right now. It will be interesting to see if these sell.

Take care,

Ed

This is actually the first pair I have seen on ebay. If I was trying to get that much for them I would put them on audiogon first.

Hello all,
I have a pair of Inifinty Column II's that I am looking to sell to someone that can really appreciate them. All 4 of the 10" drivers have been replaced with all new drivers by the Inifinity rep here in Florida. They are in great working condition and apperance. I have the original boxes, but do not want to ship them. I need to replace them with something small that will fit into my entertainment center because my toddler is now in the crawling stage and I would hate for her to have one fo these things tip over on her. Any guidance you can provide relative to an avenue to sell them other than eBay would be greatly appreicated. Of course, if you are interested I can send digital photos.

Parmand

parmand, you can't outright sell you're stuff in the forums, you have to place an ad

Bolly - Understood. Selling them via this forum was not really my intent. I was looking for guidance on where to post if for sale. Should I presume you are suggesting I place an ad on this site as one of the best locations to sell equipment such as these Column II's? Again, I appreciate the guidance.

it's a good place to start. ;)

Every once and a while, I start another search on the Infinty Column II's to see what new information has popped up. This is a great thread for that!

That said, my Dad purchased these speakers brand new and they are immaculate. Well, with the exception of a couple of dings in the cabinets due to careless handling by the guys who refoamed them in Saint Paul. Argh. Anyhow. Get these back _away_ from the walls and listen to cymbals. I love it.

Oh, also - I'm going back to the old homestead this coming week, so I'll try to remember to take a bunch of good pictures of them (can't do the crossovers, sorry!) with the trusty old 300D. Some pictures would make the discussion even more interesting.

Here are some recent photos of the pair I have. Notice that the 10" drivers are not original. They were upgraded when they needed to be refoamed by the Infinity rep. out of South Florida just prior to me purchasing them a little less than 2 years ago. They sound fantastic with or without my Klipsch powered sub and the highs are superb.

Okay, not sure why the photos I uploaded did not post. Stay tuned.

turn down the bass, if you source has the control, and see what happens. i got 6 remastered Moody Blues CD's and they all sounded the same way. i turned the bass back to 10 o'clock and it sounds like its supposed to.

This is an interesting observation. I just got the SRV Coundn't Stand the Weather from Japan. It has too much bass. Gobs more than the american pressing CD of the same title.

It makes me wonder who mastered it.

I too am a proud owner of these pre 1976 vintage Infinity speakers!:D Mine have had the front Piezo tweeters replaced with Emit tweeters, and the down firing woofers replaced with Qa woofers. I was told by the guy that I purchased them from, "I did this to them to bring them up to speed, the newer, nicer, Emit sound." I'm not sure this is a good idea, considering the crossovers are still original. I would like to hear a pair with the original configuration to judge for myself on the Piezo/Emit swap.:scratch2: I also wonder if the Piezo, and the Emit are the same impedance. As far as the Qa woofer put in the place of the original down firing woofer....... I am definately looking for the originals to put back in place! Impedance is probably not correct at the moment as a result of this modification.:no: I also am looking for the original smoked glass tops, but might just have these made. Below are some pics I snapped of them. Yeah, the Emits could have been installed cleaner, but that's an easy fix! If anyone has any parts, please don't hesitate to PM me.:thmbsp: Thanks audiodreamin

I have a pair with the original tweeters, but the downward and forward sub have been replaced with non-originals. I also have the original smoked glass tops (see pictures attached). Email me if you are interested: parmand@cfl.rr.com I am sure we can work something out, but selling via this sight is prohibited.

I too am a proud owner of these pre 1976 vintage Infinity speakers!:D Mine have had the front Piezo tweeters replaced with Emit tweeters, and the down firing woofers replaced with Qa woofers. I was told by the guy that I purchased them from, "I did this to them to bring them up to speed, the newer, nicer, Emit sound." I'm not sure this is a good idea, considering the crossovers are still original. I would like to hear a pair with the original configuration to judge for myself on the Piezo/Emit swap.:scratch2: I also wonder if the Piezo, and the Emit are the same impedance. As far as the Qa woofer put in the place of the original down firing woofer....... I am definately looking for the originals to put back in place! Impedance is probably not correct at the moment as a result of this modification.:no: I also am looking for the original smoked glass tops, but might just have these made. Below are some pics I snapped of them. Yeah, the Emits could have been installed cleaner, but that's an easy fix! If anyone has any parts, please don't hesitate to PM me.:thmbsp: Thanks audiodreamin