thoughts on crescendo cs3009's

zenithradio

Active Member
has anybody here heard the cs3009 speakers or better yet, does anybody owen a pair. would like to know your listening impressions. thank you
 
I have two pair of the CS3006's and I love them. Not sure of what the difference btwn the 3006 3009's are. Mine only has one woofer. Suprising a lot of bass with good placement in the room. very detailed with mild brightness when compaired to advents or AR speakers.
 
I own a pair of Crescendo 3009's. I came across this thread and thought that I should sign up and give my thoughts on the Cs-3009 and the Crescendo Series in general.

Let me start off by saying that back in the early to mid 90's, I worked for Circuit City as a partime audio sales person. I worked for Circuit City off and on since the late 80's while maintaining a full time job elsewhere. This gave me some extra spending money, let me play with audio/video equipment, and gave me access to Circuit City's generous employee discount, which I used perhaps too often.

It was around 1993 that Circuit City contracted Infinity to manufactor two exclusive lines of higher end speakers to be available only at Circuit City. They had two lines of Infinity's. The lower end line was called "The Sterling Series" and the higher end line was called "The Crescendo Series". The Sterling line featured four good speakers at a reasonable prices and used Polycell Tweeters and IMG Woofers. The Crescendo line had four different speakers that all featured Emit-R Tweeters and IMG Woofers. The Crescendo line started with the CS-3006, which featured an Emit-R, a 3" IMG midrange, and an 8" IMG woofer. The CS-3007 was a floor standing speaker and featured an addional woofer and a larger cabinet then the CS-3006. The CS-3008 featured an Emit-R tweeter, a 4" midrange, a 6.5" midbase coupler, and a 10" woofer. The CS-3009 featured an additional 10" woofer.

The Crescendo Series used the same interior components and drivers used in the Kappas, with the exception of the Polycell Midrange Dome. I have listened to many different Infinities over the years and can safely say that the Crescendos are every bit as good as the later Kappas produced in the early to mid 90's. In my opinion, the SC-3009 compares favorably to the Kappa 8.1 or 9.1. The two 10" IMG woofers offer better tighter bass as compared to the Kappa 8.1's single 12" IMG woofer, and I also like the sound of the 4" IMG cone driver better then the the Polycell Midrange Dome. I like the bass of the SC-3009 better when compared to the Kappa 9.1, because I feel that the two 10" woofers in the 3009 produce a more accurate bass response as compared to the two 12" IMG woofers in the Kappa 9.1. In my opinion, I would need to step up to the Renaissance 80/90 in order to get better sound quality then my 3009's give me.

Unfortunately, these speakers never sold very well at Circuit City as most customers who shop there like to purchase very inexpensive speakers. The SC-3009 was sold for $1,349 for each speaker. Each store had one pair of CS-3009's in the speaker room and I never knew anyone who sold one at all. If a customer wanted one, they would have to order it from our regional warehouse, as no store ever kept a boxed pair in their stockroom. The Crescendo Series and the Sterling Series were discontinued in 1995.
 
hello manuel64, welcome to the club. well, that was some paragraph on the 3009's. thank you. i myself have a pair on infinity 1b's. the 3009 speaker came up on e-bay a week ago and i told a friend about them because he wanted another pair of speakers to go with his rs3b's. the 3009's dident sell for the asking price of $500 and i ended up getting them for $450 after the auction for him. they are in mint cond. i have to pick them up this weekond so i will chech out the sound then. i was asking about them because there dosend seem to be much out there about them. no test reports,i havent seen any reviews. so i was just wondering what they were all about. thank you for all the info. i will be sure to pass it along to my friend. thanks
 
Hi Zenithradio,

CS-3009's for $450 a pair is an outstanding deal. I am sure that you will be happy with the purchase. I don't think that many of these were manufactored by Infinity. Most people have never heard of them, so they really don't know what what other Infinity speakers to compare them with. I purchased my own pair of 3009's thru my employee discount at Circuit City in 1995. I had to order them and was told that our warehouse was out of stock, so I had them sent to me directly from Infinity. It was two or three months before I received my 3009's at my home.

I would have to spend a good deal of money in order to get a speaker that sounds better then the 3009, and even then, it would be only a marginal improvement in sound quality. I have listened to most of the speakers in the Kappa Series, including some of the older ones that used ribbon style Emits instead of the Emit-R and the 3009's can hold their own against the best of them. I think the Emit-R is an excellent tweeter and it's amazing that it's still manufactored by Genesis Speakers and used in their very expensive speaker lines.

I have also listened extensively to a pair of Renaissance 90's that that a friend of mine owns, and I love them, but I like the bass response of the 3009's better; and for certain types of dynamic applications such as rock music or home theatre, the 3009's are better in my opinion. One day, I would love to get a pair of Renaissance 90's, but I would not sell my CS-3009's.
 
manuel64, you have to check these out then. go to e-bay # 250225236291 and read about what was done to the speaker. they were rebuilt by miller sound who speacializes in infinity speakers. new surrounds, damping to the interior cabnet and woofers. rebuilding the crossovers with better parts,upgraded speaker post,stuff only millersound can do. i know, he rebuilt my 1b's last year and made them like new and bullet proof to boot. great deal for sure. tom t
 
Zenithradio,

Thanks for the excellent read. Miller certainly knows his business. I really loved the part about Miller getting that Infinity IRS back into top working condition. I had the pleasure of listening to one of those beauties a few years ago at a high end audio store, where it was on permanent display. A true marvel of audio greatness.

I'm sure that your own 1b's sound superb after getting his treatment. I've never heard the 1b's, but I have heard a lot of positive comments about them. I would love to own one, but I'm affraid my wife would have a heart attack if I were to purchase a speaker system that big. I already owned my 3009's before we were married and she had to accept them, because me and my speakers were a package deal. Still, she was not happy at the thought of those big boxes in our living room. I remember her asking me if it wasn't better for us to sell my large speakers and get a nice sounding, but much smaller system, such as a Bose! I about fell out of my chair at the horror of that thought!

Anyway, it looks like you got one great deal, purchasing those 3009's that were fixed up by Miller. I'm sure that your friend will like them. I checked them out on ebay and they look great. They are not IRS's but they do represent a lot of bang for the buck.
 
I wouldn't just fall out of my chair mate, I'd have booted her from the house. For me it would be in this order, my sound equipment, and THEN the person I fall in love with. If I ever do fall in love. So what do you guys think of the Sterling range then?
 
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I wouldn't just fall out of my chair mate, I'd have booted her from the house. For me it would be in this order, my sound equipment, and THEN the person I fall in love with. If I ever do fall in love. So what do you guys think of the Sterling range then?

Wow! It's been a while since I've seen this old thread!

To answer your question, I like the Sterling series speakers. They were not as expensive as the models that used Emits, but they are good speakers. My favorites in the Sterling line are the small 2001's(with 5 inch woofers), the 2002's(with the 6.5 inch woofers), and the 2005's(with the 8 inch woofer and midrange driver). While I do like the two way 2003's and 2004's, I've always felt that they needed a dedicated midrange driver to go along with their 8 inch woofers. I've always felt there was a bit of a hole in the midrange of those two models. For their price range, they are a very good value and deliver good sound quality.
 
Would love to snag a set of 3009s someday, I really like the 3007s I just finished refoaming, they seem to be a really well balanced speaker and are doing double duty in my HT as fronts and handling my digital music streamed off my server. I run them full range for 2 channel sources and they sound very good for the small price I got them for plus the repair wich I did.
 
Would love to snag a set of 3009s someday, I really like the 3007s I just finished refoaming, they seem to be a really well balanced speaker and are doing double duty in my HT as fronts and handling my digital music streamed off my server. I run them full range for 2 channel sources and they sound very good for the small price I got them for plus the repair wich I did.

I've always felt that the 3009's and the 3007's were similar in the way they sound. This is due to them having double woofers. The 3007's are great all around speakers, with a clear and smooth sound. They do everything well, especially HT. They are very well suited for medium sized rooms.

Back when I was re-arranging my master bedroom system; I had several models that I was considering. I was just waiting for one of them to pop up in the right condition. The 3007's were on that list. I still would like own a pair of 3007's someday, but I'm not into storing speakers or messing around with constant rotation of equipment.

Enjoy the 3007's, they are great.
 
Score!

:D I'm a happy camper...

Today I scored a nice set of Crescendo CS 3009's. Every driver works, and only the mids need refoamed at the moment.

The cabinets will need refinished, and I'm really looking forward to the entire refurb project. I'll have them looking as good as new when done.

I'm absolutely blown away by this speaker. Got 'em home and bi-amped them with my Yamaha RX-V3000, and the dynamics, clarity, highs, and soundstage were incredible. So much so that I intend to A/B test them against my B&W DM-603's as a potential replacement. Anyone care to guess which will win out?

Later in the day I drove another 150 miles and picked up a set of pristine RS 5001's. Both woofers need refoam but the cabinets are in perfect shape.

Now...this is gonna kill ya, but I gotta tell ya what I stole these for.....

Ready....?

You sure....? :D














I got the Crescendo CS 3009 for $100, and the RS 5001's for $50!

Not a bad day at all....
 
CL can be a great source sometimes, I got my 3007s for the same price and big pair of Klipsch 5.2s and a 2.2 thrown in 5 speakers for less than 2 bills.

I havent heard the Klipsch yet, Im liking the crescendos too much to move them.
 
:D I'm a happy camper...

Today I scored a nice set of Crescendo CS 3009's. Every driver works, and only the mids need refoamed at the moment.

The cabinets will need refinished, and I'm really looking forward to the entire refurb project. I'll have them looking as good as new when done.

I'm absolutely blown away by this speaker. Got 'em home and bi-amped them with my Yamaha RX-V3000, and the dynamics, clarity, highs, and soundstage were incredible. So much so that I intend to A/B test them against my B&W DM-603's as a potential replacement. Anyone care to guess which will win out?

Later in the day I drove another 150 miles and picked up a set of pristine RS 5001's. Both woofers need refoam but the cabinets are in perfect shape.

Now...this is gonna kill ya, but I gotta tell ya what I stole these for.....

Ready....?

You sure....? :D














I got the Crescendo CS 3009 for $100, and the RS 5001's for $50!

Not a bad day at all....

Wow.....You're killing me.

Just bought a set of 3007's.....with shipping, plus replacement of one of the drivers, will have $365 invested....still a lot of speaker for the $$, though.

REALLY looking for a set of RS 6001's as well.

Anyway, if you would like to triple your investment, let me know.....
LOL
 
:D I'm a happy camper...

Today I scored a nice set of Crescendo CS 3009's. Every driver works, and only the mids need refoamed at the moment.

The cabinets will need refinished, and I'm really looking forward to the entire refurb project. I'll have them looking as good as new when done.

I'm absolutely blown away by this speaker. Got 'em home and bi-amped them with my Yamaha RX-V3000, and the dynamics, clarity, highs, and soundstage were incredible. So much so that I intend to A/B test them against my B&W DM-603's as a potential replacement. Anyone care to guess which will win out?

Later in the day I drove another 150 miles and picked up a set of pristine RS 5001's. Both woofers need refoam but the cabinets are in perfect shape.

Now...this is gonna kill ya, but I gotta tell ya what I stole these for.....

Ready....?

You sure....? :D














I got the Crescendo CS 3009 for $100, and the RS 5001's for $50!

Not a bad day at all....


So the RS 5001..........is that a 8 or 10" woof??

I have a set of 4001's, as well as a set of reference 5's.

The 5001 is basically an earlier model of the reference 4 or 5 (depending on woof size)..... other then the polyspherite mid..... (as opposed to the 4 and 5 inch cone-type mid on the reference series)?????
 
So the RS 5001..........is that a 8 or 10" woof??

I have a set of 4001's, as well as a set of reference 5's.

The 5001 is basically an earlier model of the reference 4 or 5 (depending on woof size)..... other then the polyspherite mid..... (as opposed to the 4 and 5 inch cone-type mid on the reference series)?????

8" as I recall...I flipped them some time ago.

I have a set of Reference Six, sitting for months awaiting my time in re-foam. All drivers will need it. Anxious to hear what they'll sound like.

If my score on the Crescendo's got your attention, you'll love this: Picked up an absolutely mint pair of Kappa 7.1 II's recently with a Kappa center speaker at $45 total for the lot. Sound Perfect. Combined with the Carver AV-806x that I bought from the same seller, and bridged to 360W/channel at 8 ohms (The Kappa's are 6 ohm) they put out some dynamics/punch akin to live music. They're in my garage system now...(too good to let go yet too nice for a garage system)

Love this hobby.....
 
8" as I recall...I flipped them some time ago.

I have a set of Reference Six, sitting for months awaiting my time in re-foam. All drivers will need it. Anxious to hear what they'll sound like.

If my score on the Crescendo's got your attention, you'll love this: Picked up an absolutely mint pair of Kappa 7.1 II's recently with a Kappa center speaker at $45 total for the lot. Sound Perfect. Combined with the Carver AV-806x that I bought from the same seller, and bridged to 360W/channel at 8 ohms (The Kappa's are 6 ohm) they put out some dynamics/punch akin to live music. They're in my garage system now...(too good to let go yet too nice for a garage system)

Love this hobby.....

I am not familiar with the "Reference Six" nomanclature.....Infinity re-uses so much, it is a bit mind-boggling......are they accoustic suspension ala the rs6001, or more akin to the Crescendo series......woof size??

Tell me about them....maybe a pic (??!!??):banana:
 
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