Infinity RS II vs Polk SRS 3.1 TL thoughts?

i-BX5rjwj-X2.jpg

please ignore the dust. eeek!

Nice setup. You may want to put them on super sliders so you can move them out into the room and move them back when done listening. They will be far better if you can get them a couple feet (or more) from the rear wall.

Looks like you're a Sade fan. Me too.
Jim
 
take that to the polk forum and send us a link...

please...

I am a member over there. There are some nice and very helpful people on the polk forums and I bet a bunch of them visit here too.
There are also some die hard polk fans there so ultimately I'd be crucified!.... They'd probably hunt me down and confiscate my speakers.

Nice setup. You may want to put them on super sliders so you can move them out into the room and move them back when done listening. They will be far better if you can get them a couple feet (or more) from the rear wall.

Looks like you're a Sade fan. Me too.
Jim

The woofer cabinets are sealed so the space is needed for reflection patterns from the rear of the speakers? Will the distance from the rear wall improve spatial effects? Just googled a setup guide for the IIb's. Should be roughly the same guidelines for placement.

My listening space is somewhat small @ 12'x15' effectively. I probably won't be able to get the most out of these speakers until I can buy a bigger house :D
 
Last edited:
I am a member over there. There are some nice and very helpful people on the polk forums and I bet a bunch of them visit here too.
There are also some die hard polk fans there so ultimately I'd be crucified!.... They'd probably hunt me down and confiscate my speakers.

hahaha, i know I spent a lot of time on that site...

it would be funny to see though....
 
Beautiful setup and speakers. Congrats on the fantastic deal.

In my experience the bass is less boomy when I move the speakers away from the corner. I move my speakers (on sliders) to the middle of the room for proper listening sessions. Imaging and bass get much improved.

Your speaker cable looks a bit thin? I got some non-brand generic gauge #10 cable so that at least will not be a bottleneck. These are low-impedance, low sensitivity speakers, so you will be pumping a lot of power and current at higher listening volumes.

Did you check the link I posted above? In addition to the specs and review article I linked to above, this 4 page brochure has good info on the physics behind the design:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=8516799#post8516799
 
Beautiful setup and speakers. Congrats on the fantastic deal.

In my experience the bass is less boomy when I move the speakers away from the corner. I move my speakers (on sliders) to the middle of the room for proper listening sessions. Imaging and bass get much improved.

Your speaker cable looks a bit thin? I got some non-brand generic gauge #10 cable so that at least will not be a bottleneck. These are low-impedance, low sensitivity speakers, so you will be pumping a lot of power and current at higher listening volumes.

Did you check the link I posted above? In addition to the specs and review article I linked to above, this 4 page brochure has good info on the physics behind the design:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=8516799#post8516799

Thank you for the link. The guy I bought them from was the original owner of the speakers and he actually gave me that exact brochure in perfect condition.

In my photo you can't actually see my speaker cable's. I have decent speaker wire with banana plug terminations. I think it is #12 guage though.
www.knukonceptz.com/
 
I have a line on a pair of Infinity RS II (not a or b according to the listing) for $300 in good condition according to the seller. Would this be a score for a pair in good condition?

My mains are a pair of polk SRS 3.1tl that are in perfect condition and pretty heavily modified (everything but the crossovers at this point). I also have a pair of dahlquist dq10's that im mirror imaging and redoing the crossovers on.

Not looking for arguments here. I have heard some of the bigger infinity RSIIIb and kappa 9's and was always impressed with them. What are your thoughts?

Specifications for the two speakers are very comparable.

My components are Parasound p5 preamp and emotiva xpa2 amp.

Nice grab man! I saw that add on craigslist, messaged the guy about 2 hours after the post and you beat me to it! haha Congrats! I already own a pair of RS IIb's and they sound amazing! I LOVE vintage Infinity speakers! I see you have the Parasound P5 Pre Amp? How does that sound? I'm looking to purchase one for myself. Do you use the analog or digital inputs? Once again, congrats! :thmbsp:
 
Nice grab man! I saw that add on craigslist, messaged the guy about 2 hours after the post and you beat me to it! haha Congrats! I already own a pair of RS IIb's and they sound amazing! I LOVE vintage Infinity speakers! I see you have the Parasound P5 Pre Amp? How does that sound? I'm looking to purchase one for myself. Do you use the analog or digital inputs? Once again, congrats! :thmbsp:

Thank you! I got so lucky looking at it now. I've been looking for some small infinity's with emits (bookshelf'ish sized) for a very long time. I check craigslist almost daily. When I saw this add I replied immediately not realizing what exactly i was asking to buy.

Playing with the speaker placement these things are amazing. My polk's have definitely been replaced!

To answer your question about the parasound preamp. I don't have much high end components experience to compare it with. I use it almost exclusively with the digital inputs. Optical (TV) and USB (computer). Im sure some of that is sacrilage here but I have no patience for turntables.

It is the clearest and most neutral source I have used. To me it sounds like i get a flat output with no coloration. Compared to the old parasound receiver i was using this preamp gets out of the way of the music.
 
Last edited:
Thank you! I got so lucky looking at it now. I've been looking for some small infinity's with emits (bookshelf'ish sized) with emit tweeters for a very long time. I check craigslist almost daily. When I saw this add I replied immediately not realizing what exactly i was asking to buy.

Playing with the speaker placement these things are amazing. My polk's have definitely been replaced!

To answer your question about the parasound preamp. I don't have much high end components experience to compare it with. I use it almost exclusively with the digital inputs. Optical (TV) and USB (computer). Im sure some of that is sacrilage here but I have no patience for turntables.

It is the clearest and most neutral source I have used. To me it sounds like i get a flat output with no coloration. Compared to the old parasound receiver i was using this preamp gets out of the way of the music.

Yea man, you definitely scored... so jealous! How do the highs sound on the P5? Are they harsh or smooth? Anyways, does your computer actually have a usb 1.1 input? Im curious, cause my computer only has USB 2.0/3.0? :)
 
Yea man, you definitely scored... so jealous! How do the highs sound on the P5? Are they harsh or smooth? Anyways, does your computer actually have a usb 1.1 input? Im curious, cause my computer only has USB 2.0/3.0? :)

All the USB formats are compatible. Even with a 2.0 or 3.0 they will drop their bandwidth to 1.1. Truly an inconsequential concern with audio. Even the largest audio files shouldn't have a big enough file size to cause issues over USB.

I currently have both the tweet and mid pots dead center. I'm just playing with placement at this point. I'm pretty sure pot levels are based more on the room acoustics vs components but, I'll fiddle with them more in the future.
 
Last edited:
Those are beautiful.
I've sung the praises of the RSII for some time now.
Just as important as using quality gear, they deserve placement a minimum of four feet from the front wall and will pay sonic dividends.
 
All the USB formats are compatible. Even with a 2.0 or 3.0 they will drop their bandwidth to 1.1. Truly an inconsequential concern with audio. Even the slowest audio files shouldn't have a large enough file size to cause issues over USB.

I currently have both the tweet and mid pots dead center. I'm just playing with placement at this point. I'm pretty sure pot levels are based more on the room acoustics vs components but, I'll fiddle with them more in the future.

Alight man, sounds good! Did you get ur P5 locally or online, cause I live in the Portland area too. And I've heard/read that placement of these speakers are KEY to how they sound! :music:
 
I have a small listening space too. Speaker placement in a small room can be very sensitive. Small movements can greatly effect the image. If you get it right the sound will seem to come from behind the speakers and extend passed them left and right. Get someone to move them around while you are sitting in your chair. They will image pretty good anywhere but when you get it right they will really bloom. Like looking at one of those 3d pictures, kind of just all comes together if that makes any sense. The bass will improve if you can get them out from that wall and tv. My IIb's (and II) sound incredible in my little (12x14) room. Far better than any monitor, satelite sub woofer combo I've heard anywhere. And maybe in the top 4 speakers I've heard in anyones room.
Have fun!
Jim
 
my room is 16 x 12 feets

the RS II are placed either side of the fire place, about a 18" from side walls and about a foot from the rear walls. They look great there and sound great there. The controls pads are on mid position. I am afraid to change them as I am sure the pads need cleaning. Leave well enough alone. VERY IMPORTANT make sure the fuses for emits are proper value, contact surfaces are clean, and are FAST BLO . According to tech information at http://www.infinity-classics.de/models/Reference-series-1+b-2-10+A+B-1981-86/index-Reference.htm 2 1/2 AGC. Sound stage is amazing, bass is very clean, and highs and mids are also superior to most speakers out there . Clean amp power down to 3 ohms is a must. No receiver can do it right. ENJOY and welcome to a very exclusive club!:music::music::music::music::music::music::music::music::music::music:
 
Hmmm the fuses I picked up were 3 amp. Didn't have any 2.5 amp fuses. I'll order some off of amazon.

I figured out that it's the middle mid on the left speaker with a rubbing voice coil. It's strange in that it doesn't do it all the time and doesn't seem to matter the volume level. I know that I can try to just flip it over and see if that alleviates the problem. But, I'd rather have it fixed properly or replaced.
 
Congratulations . That is the best deal I have ever seen . They are really beautiful and thats agreat room for them . Never heard them but maybe some day . One Can Dream ..
HA > Post It In The Polk Section . We can have this shit out right here and now . You tried them both and your conclusion is unbiased and unequivocal . If they come after you weve got your back
You Are With Us Now !
( When You Said " Not All Roses" I Thought The Jig Was Up !
( 300 to good to be true ) Isnt it great when an experienced aker makes your day like that ! ENJOY THE PRIZE !
 
Ha! No doubt!!

Congrats on the RSII's, OP. They look great.

Very glad you made it by my post Tom.

I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on potential upgrades for my infinity's and potential acoustical treatments to get the best from them (if you remember my orange room you likely remember that you encouraged me to start work on some acoustic panels).

And I must ask..... Have you made any progress on your big boys?

For all:
I am sitting here listening to some Clapton, dire straights, beetles, and Floyd. Given my room size I believe that I have reached the absolute pinnacle of vintage speakers given my room constraints. I remember sitting in an audio showroom listening to some b&w 801's powered by Mcintosh and being absolutely floored. These infinity's are the closest I have come to replicating that experience.

Everthing blends so seamlessly, it's all so balanced, and everything sounds so accurate and precise.

Even my dog agrees..... She keeps running upstairs to the front door barking at nothing!
 
Back
Top Bottom