My first Infinity- RS4b- Need help!

The listing said they were from a set of RS-IIIs. Wouldn't those be the 10" woofers? The pic isn't very good, so it's hard to see the tape measure. Plus, the part number doesn't match what was said to be the right ones.

EDIT: I see the RS-III used 8" woofers, unlike the A/B variants. On the Infinity white paper, they say it uses the 908-4976 driver, but the ebay ad lists it as 206-0089. Is this still the same driver?
 
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I was thinking the same thing, which was why I pulled it initially. However, when I took the front plate off, I couldn't find a way to open it up without ruining it. The diaphragm is glued on and appears very fragile. I figured if I tried to remove it, I'd risk tearing it. Plus, I don't have any glue to re-install it.

I just ordered a replacement on ebay for $35 shipped. Here's hoping it works out. Now, if only the woofers were so easy to find.

-Jon

Sounds like you're on your way. A good piano recording can be quite revealing, choir churuses too. Joni Mitchells Court and Spark album (HDCD version is spectacular) has a lot of both which is what I test with. Good luck with the woofers, should not be too much $$. You will also want them on a nice pair of sturdy stands around 8 or 10" off the floor tilted back to your tastes.
Jim
 
Seppo,
I just bought the woofers you mentioned. Well, I've gone from $40 in these speakers to $150 and I'm not done yet. Still need another set of woofers and the foam kit. At least I shouldn't have more into them than they're worth.

-Jon
 
Seppo,
I just bought the woofers you mentioned. Well, I've gone from $40 in these speakers to $150 and I'm not done yet. Still need another set of woofers and the foam kit. At least I shouldn't have more into them than they're worth.

-Jon

Don't look at it that way...its like cars, money in because you want to, not because it makes economic sense...
 
Yeah, guess you've got a point. I'm eager to hear what these will be like with mostly proper parts.
 
I think you still have good margin, I would estimate that fully functional RS-4a/b's are worth $300-$400 ATM. For more than that you could get RS-IIIa/b's (I paid $550 for mine). And the result of all your work will be very nice sounding speakers for relatively small $$'s. Did you have time to read the review I posted above?

Anyways, part of this hobby and fun for me is to tinker with the speakers, learn and read about the physics etc. So as long as the costs stay in the correct ballpark, it is all good. And it is nice to own something that you have worked on and understand better.

And yes, this is a cheaper hobby than e.g. 60's and 70's sports cars (my other passion, although I do not own any, yet) as I keep telling my wife... :)
 
The weird thing is I only hear it with piano. I've tried numerous albums with well recorded pianos, and it's always around the same note range. It's centered on the D in the octave above middle C. Regardless of the album, anytime someone plays that note, or others close to it, it sounds like the piano's got a cracked soundboard. Can you tell I'm a pianist? LOL. The sound is metallic, buzzy, and the decay is dead.
-Jon

You are not alone, my RS4B's did the same thing on one polydome. Only on piano and only in certain spots, always the exact same notes causing it. You obviously have better ears figuring out the exact note causing the problem. I just replaced that particular polydome, no more problem. I was lucky, same guy I purchased mine from had another pair with water destroyed cabinets. He sold me the emit's and polydome's out of them for 70 bucks. The first one I tried replacing solved the problem.
 
Glad to hear I'm not the only one that had this problem. Piano can certainly be very revealing. I played Court and Spark as well (HDCD version) and agree it's a great album for testing. However, with how revealing these speakers are up top, I was surprised how much grain came through from the original analog master tapes. These speakers certainly don't hide anything.

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the polydome and woofers. Once I refoam them, I'll have two out of four woofers. The question is how to configure them? Should I just put them both in one speaker, and have one right, one wrong? Or, should I put one in each, so at least they're the same?

I'm thinking probably the latter. At least that way they'll match, while I keep looking for another pair. I think I'd put them in the bottom.

Any thoughts?

-Jon
 
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I found Rick Cobb's refoam kit for 8" Infinity on ebay. However, when I scroll down to read the description, it's completely blank. First I thought it was my browser (Firefox) so I tried it on Internet Explorer too, and the same thing. I noticed it on multiple listings of his. Everyone else's listings were fine. He must be using some advanced listing format that doesn't display on older systems like mine.

Kind of a bummer, as I'd like to buy his surrounds. However, I need to make sure they're the right ones. It just bothers me not being able to read anything about them, shipping, etc. Anyone else experience this?
 
I have used Simply Speakers for my refoaming needs.

"...These speakers certainly don't hide anything..." Exactly, I love it how these speakers reveal everything with natural clarity, the breathing, scratches, soloist movements etc, such a great speakers and value IMO.

I would put both on one side first, so you get some idea how much a difference the new/orig woofers make. And then put both say at the bottom of each, to that you have more balanced stereo image while you wait for a second pair to emerge.
 
Sweet! I'm on it! Thanks again Seppo. You've done a better job of finding woofers then I have..LOL. Plus these are already refoamed! Score.

Looks like he actually has 4 listed now. He listed three, then a Denon receiver, then there's a fourth hiding down below. I'm only buying two, so if someone else needs a pair, they're there. Wish I knew about this one before! Oh well.
-Jon
 
I compared the pair I already bought to this pair. The first pair I got was pulled from a set of RS-IIIs. According to the Infinity white paper, it's the same driver- 908-4976. However, Infinity's color scheme must have been different back then. The RS-III woofers have goldish/unpainted baskets with a black front ring around the surround. The RS-4b woofers have black baskets and a greyish front ring around the surround.

I'm not worried about performance, as I know it's the same driver. I'm just afraid if I ever go to sell them, that someone will complain about it. I could see someone trying to tell me I've got a pair of wrong woofers. Hmm, do I buy all four, and sell the RS-III woofers?

I've done so many speaker re-foams, I've got foam coming out of my ears..LOL. It would be nice to just plug and play. However, I don't want to have a set of RS-III woofers sitting here doing nothing for two years either. Guess I could keep 'em as spares, though I've never blown a woofer.

Choices choices...

-Jon

EDIT: I sat down and crunched the numbers. The way it came out, with the cost of refoaming my RS-III pair, I was only saving $65, vs having 4 correct, already re-foamed RS-4b woofers. It was a no brainer. So, it looks like I'll be putting a set of RS-III woofers up for sale!
 
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Great that you got all 4 OEM woofers! I would consider keeping the two extra as spares.
 
Glad to hear I'm not the only one that had this problem. Piano can certainly be very revealing. I played Court and Spark as well (HDCD version) and agree it's a great album for testing. However, with how revealing these speakers are up top, I was surprised how much grain came through from the original analog master tapes. These speakers certainly don't hide anything.

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the polydome and woofers. Once I refoam them, I'll have two out of four woofers. The question is how to configure them? Should I just put them both in one speaker, and have one right, one wrong? Or, should I put one in each, so at least they're the same?

I'm thinking probably the latter. At least that way they'll match, while I keep looking for another pair. I think I'd put them in the bottom.

Any thoughts?

-Jon

So, I wanted to test my speakers for this issue and put some Glenn Gould (Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, a CD from 1981) playing. And lo and behold I did hear a faint distortion occassionally, but could not pinpoint it to particular notes first. So I cranked up the volume to get a better picture...

And it turns out that the distortion is Mr Gould himself very quietly humming the tune occasionally, and sometimes grunting and breathing barely audibly.

In short, fantastic speakers :thmbsp: :)
 
Have any of you tried using test tones to determine if a driver is problematic? I did this when comparing a faulty polyspherite mid to a good one and it was a useful test. The fault turned out to be cooked ferrofulid.
 
The replacement polydome came in today and I swapped it out. Holy hell what an improvement. I can say with absolute certainty that the old midrange was bad. I played the same organ track that used to cause sheer sonic madness. Now, all is clear, and I can tell that the organ is tracker with mechanical action. I know because I can hear the pallets opening and closing, and the clacking of trackers in their squares. Awesome.

On the downside, I can also tell that this organ has rather poor regulation on one of it's mixtures! Oy.
 
The four woofers are due to arrive this Friday. Once I swap them, I'll be good to go! Looking forward to it.
 
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