Infinity RS II vs Polk SRS 3.1 TL thoughts?

[GTIanz]

Updates and a question:

I picked up a pair of RS4000 with the emit k tweeters the other day for my bedroom system. Paired up with my vintage onkyo 8500mkII they sound pretty sweet and quite good given the room limitations.

I also removed the subs from my main system. They simply aren't needed with the RSII's.

Question:
Does anyone have experience or thoughts on trading out my Emotiva XPA2 amp for a Parasound 2250v2?

Think this would be more of a sidegrade rather than an upgrade?

I find the emotiva to be a little hot and clinical on the top end (clarity and power is good). I was hoping the parasound might bring out a little more warmth with music. And, I am using parasound p5 preamp - thought it might make for a better marriage with a parasound amp.

Edit:
There is a Mcintosh 7270 somewhat local to me. I'd absolutely love to step up to that level. But it's out of my current price range. (Unless I managed to sell a bunch of extra gear that I have sitting around.....hmm)

 

[GTIanz]

Maybe a better question.

What amps pair well with the big infinity speakers?

 

[Bkphoto]

my B&K sounds nice...

 

[Seppo]

Maybe a better question.

What amps pair well with the big infinity speakers?

I was on the market for an amp for my RS-II's last fall, and ended up getting Emotiva SA-250. I decided to get a new amp since I did not want to deal with having to fix anything, and moreover, I was worried about the lack of DC protection in many older amps. I have been very happy with the Emo.

The problem with RS-II's is that they are not built to be bi-amped, while on the other hand are rated up to 250 wpc, and are nominally 3 Ohm speakers, dipping down to 2 Ohm, and have low sensitivity. So you need gobs of raw power and headroom down to 2 Ohms from one single amp (while the successors, RS-IIa and IIb are built to be bi-amped). Per my own experience and what I have read other people reporting, it sounds like one needs clean 400+ wpc at 4 Ohm and good headroom for good results.


Anyways, below my quick notes regarding various options people suggested at that time. Please note that we are not talking about big a$$ Krells etc here (which are the obvious choice if your budget allows that), but something on the budget that would still drive RS-II's well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(The quotes are (mostly) from people recommending these amps)

* Hafler XL-280
** 145W wpc at 8 Ohm (FTC)
** 200W wpc at 4 Ohm (FTC)
** I've had great results powering mine with a Hafler XL-280, which produces 280 watts at 4 ohms, 360 at 2 ohms, and 325 at 1 ohm (but it WILL heat up).
** Beware of flickering lights

* Adcom GFA 555
** 200 W per channel at 8 Ohms
** 325 W per channel at 4 Ohms (fan option required)
** They can be had cheap but check for leaky caps!

* Adcom 5800
** 250 wpc at 8 Ohm
** 400 wpc at 4 Ohm
** has speaker protection circuit

* Aragon 4004 MKii
** can drive 2 Ohm loads

* Yamaha M series

* Parasound Halo A21
** 250 wpc at 8 Ohm
** 400 wpc at 4 Ohm
** 60 A peak per channel, 100,000 microF!!
** In fact, I sent an email off to Parasound inquiring on the A21 ability to drive a 2 0hm load. I was surprised when the owner of Parasound answered my email and stated the A21 can drive a 2 ohm load all day without breaking a sweat.

* Acurus A250
** power output 8 ohm – 250 wattsx2
** power output 4 ohm – 350 wattsx2
** If you are buying one on ebay buy one with separate cord, it is later model and one that power switch does not blink. replacement switches used to be available from Mondial designs, for about $30

* Perreaux PMF2150B
** 400 W at 4 Ohms
** Me: The previous owner of my RS-II's used 2150 to drive them, and he was very happy with the results.

* Threshold S\200
** two needed
**
* Threshold S\300
** single (300 wpc at 4 Ohm)
* Threshold S\500
** 250W per channel at 8 Ohms

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hope this helps...

 

[Belvedere2]

Maybe a better question.

What amps pair well with the big infinity speakers?

Threshold

 

[2011etec]

wow .beautiful speakers and so cheaply had .wow!

 

[Jygesq]

nice listing of amps, I am a big fan of the acurus . mine has separate cord and does not yet blink , since 1997 when I bought it new

 

[GTIanz]

The problem with RS-II's is that they are not built to be bi-amped, while on the other hand are rated up to 250 wpc, and are nominally 3 Ohm speakers, dipping down to 2 Ohm, and have low sensitivity. So you need gobs of raw power and headroom down to 2 Ohms from one single amp (while the successors, RS-IIa and IIb are built to be bi-amped). Per my own experience and what I have read other people reporting, it sounds like one needs clean 400+ wpc at 4 Ohm and good headroom for good results.

* Parasound Halo A21
** 250 wpc at 8 Ohm
** 400 wpc at 4 Ohm
** 60 A peak per channel, 100,000 microF!!
** In fact, I sent an email off to Parasound inquiring on the A21 ability to drive a 2 0hm load. I was surprised when the owner of Parasound answered my email and stated the A21 can drive a 2 ohm load all day without breaking a sweat.

Hope this helps...

Thank you for such a thorough response.

While it may not be the equivalent of a Plinius, Mark Levinson, or some of the other "true" audiophile amps. I think that I will just sell off some of my gear and buy a brand new A21. It should pair well with the P5 preamp and has plenty of favorable reviews.

In addition it appears that the A21 has been out for about 10 years and I can't find any used ones for sale (1 on ebay). I think this speaks quite favorably to the quality/satisfaction/reliability of an amp.

 

[GTIanz]

Picked up the Parasound Halo A21 today and spent the past 4 or so hours listening.

There is no comparison. It is a night and day difference. I was actually very skeptical that there would be a noticeable difference between the emotiva and the parasound. I didn't want to be yet another person who sounds like they are justifying their most recent purchase.
But, I could use every audio cliche in the books at this point. Bottom line it sounds cleaner, fuller, and more precise.

I never noticed any "noise" from the emotiva but, the first thing I noticed from the parasound is the emptiness within the music. There is nothing added to or behind the instruments. All instruments sound so distinct and separate from each other. Vocals sound precise and clear. I have never heard anything quite like this from any of my previous systems.

Is this what reviewers mean when they talk about separation?

I truly believe that there is a tremendous difference in sound quality between these two amps.

And is it true that amps "break in" with time just like speakers?

Now I just need to figure out how to improve and get the most out of my listening space.

 

[Seppo]

Picked up the Parasound Halo A21 today and spent the past 4 or so hours listening.

There is no comparison. It is a night and day difference. I was actually very skeptical that there would be a noticeable difference between the emotiva and the parasound. I didn't want to be yet another person who sounds like they are justifying their most recent purchase.
But, I could use every audio cliche in the books at this point. Bottom line it sounds cleaner, fuller, and more precise.

I never noticed any "noise" from the emotiva but, the first thing I noticed from the parasound is the emptiness within the music. There is nothing added to or behind the instruments. All instruments sound so distinct and separate from each other. Vocals sound precise and clear. I have never heard anything quite like this from any of my previous systems.

Is this what reviewers mean when they talk about separation?

I truly believe that there is a tremendous difference in sound quality between these two amps.

And is it true that amps "break in" with time just like speakers?

Now I just need to figure out how to improve and get the most out of my listening space.

Great, good to hear.

I am very happy with my SA-250. Emotiva states that is their best sounding amp at the moment, so it should be an improvement over XPA-2. But I am getting very curious about A21...

 

[Seppo]

LOL - how about a Denon - POA-2200 200 WPC into 8 ohms, 450 WPC into 4 ohms and can drive a 2 ohm load (600 WPC into 2 ohms). I know someone who was biamping a large pair of SDA's with 2 of these Denon amps.

Not really impressed with any of the above specs the above poster quoted. I guess I would have to hear them first. Parasounds are decent but grainy.

All the power specs I quoted above are manufacturer's rated (FTC) wpc all across the frequency spectrum. Not the 1 kHz dynamic power numbers.

Denon seems to only list the above for 8 Ohm loads, and the numbers you quote above for lower impednace loads are the dynamic 1 kHz only numbers:
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/681746/Denon-Poa-2200.html?page=2#manual

One of the criteria I had when shopping for an amp for the nominal 3 Ohm RS-IIs was that I wanted an amp for which the manufacturer was comfortable enough to publish full FTC ratings for both 8 and 4 Ohm loads. And then see nice near doubling of power, indicating good headroom.

 

[crwilli]

Threshold

I have S/200s connected to my RSIIa's and they work very well together.

For the Betas, I use McIntosh amps and they sound sublime. The Thresholds didn't work as well on the Betas upper panels as the higher powered Mc Amp does. I think the Thresholds worked okay on the Beta's bass panels but not as well as the McAmp.

 

[GTIanz]

Parasounds are decent but grainy.

I don't have much experience listening to high end gear but, of all the adjectives that came to mind during my listening session "grainy" wasn't one of them.

When Adele was screaming at me I did get a very unpleasant nails on a chalkboard sensation from the piercing power of her voice; had me quickly reaching for the volume button. But, she didn't sound grainy at all.

 

[Bkphoto]

preamp has more influence on the sound than the power amp does...

 

[Seppo]

A on serial number seems to indicate modifications including foam

Indeed. I checked closely the rear grills on my RS-II's, there is no sign of any foam there.

And the serial numbers are without (A): mine are 9005839, and 9005840

 

[GTIanz]

The midrange foams at the back of my speakers was in very good condition. I just experimented with having it off vs having them in place.

Midrange quality is dramatically improved with the foam in place.

I will do some more experimentation. I think everyone running 2's withought the foam might be missing out. It definitely sounds better with the foam in place. It can't be that difficult or expensive to get some high density foam and cut it up to replicate the factory foam. I have a sheet of black hole 5.... I might try to see what effect that would have vs the factory foam.

Update from this previous post.

When I first bought these speakers they were placed quite close to the rear wall and I was a short distance (~8 ft.) from the speakers with a wall right behind the listening position.

I have long ago re-arranged my room lengthwise (25' deep x 15' width) with my listening position about 10' from the speakers. The speakers are now placed a proper distance (3 feet) from the back wall.

After the change I had left the foam in the rear grills until tonight. Well, with the speakers positioned properly they sound much better without the foam. It opens up the mids and the sound stage immensely.

I will fiddle with the foam some more. But, my previous assessment may actually reflect the true intention of the foam. If one can't place the speakers the proper distance from the back wall then using the foam may actually improve the sound quality as RSII's are essentially open baffle speakers.

 

[70'sMusic]

Beautiful! Congratulations, and for only $300. Wow!

 

[70'sMusic]

I managed to be the first to reply to the listing on CL. Answered about 30 min after they were posted with no photos or anything. I was figuring they were going to be beat to hell and have rotten surrounds/missing grills.

Boy was I wrong!

They are in beautiful shape and the woofers were replaced by the original owner with Watkins woofers from infinity.

Pictures or it didn't happen:
View attachment 578034

I'm super late to this thread but wanted to say congratulations, what a find!

 

[70'sMusic]

please ignore the dust. eeek!

I'm super late to this thread but wanted to say congratulations on a great setup. Would love to hear it. Very nice.

 

[goodolpg]

Infinity did a modification in production

P
I believe foam for rears of mids was added to speakers with (A) added before serial numbers, which BTW are consecutive .I am original owner of (A)
pair bought from a dealer who sold Infinity , I bought them in 1981! Had them ever since, reformed all four woofers at Simply Speakers. One tweeter blew I believe as for a while they were powered with Yamaha cr 1020 receiver . In 1997 , I switched to Acurus A250 with Yamaha cx-2. Preamp. 350 watts @ 4 ohms, all the clean low impedance power I will ever need.

My RSII's have the "A" prefix, they do not have the rear foams.
However, I have no idea what they experienced in the 30-35 years before I purchased them and have no idea if they had the rear foams as originally produced.

Speaking of amps, since I purchased them in 2016 I've powered them with a Crown XLS 2000. Worked great, never a problem.
Over the weekend I decided to change amps so I hooked up a Rotel RB-990BX that has seen hardly any use since I bought it in late 2014.
Have run the Rotel for several hours/day at moderate volume the last three days, have yet to let it really stretch its legs.
Using an NAD 1700 preamp/tuner that has been paired with the RSII's since I got them.
If I decide to make another change (took me a long time to decide and then actually swap the amps) I have a Carver CT-17 preamp/tuner here that has also seen very little use since I bought it shortly after buying the Rotel amp.