My dream speaker - RS1b

waudio

Active Member
After considerable wait for the right price and right timing, finally I was able to acquire a pair of my dream speaker - the Infinity RS1b.

I purchased this pair from an audiophile in Seattle (2nd owner) - who purchased it 14 years ago from a Boeing engineer (1st owner). The 1st owner was an audio reviewer (supposedly to be of some renown). He modified the both passive and active crossovers - but the 2nd owner thinks that the mods improved the bass performance significantly.

I happened to be in business trip to Seattle this week and took the opportunity to check the speakers and made arrangement for shipping yesterday. I did not want to send the mid-hi towers (with its fragile base) as is - so I took them apart and sent the emims, emits, passive crossovers, bases, and active crossovers by UPS in boxes. Then, I strapped the mid-hi panel to the base towers and wrapped them with many layers of bubble sheet. See attached pictures. It costs a little more but I think it is safer this way.

The unit is in excellent condition - the emims are almost like brand new (tight, straight, no waviness at all), but I need to redo the wiring to the emims and emits. Seller suggested that I use Cardas wire - but I am not sure about it. Let me know of any recommendation that you can suggest.

Between work and finishing my house, it will take a while before I will be able to complete the setup of this system. The seller laughed at me when I told them that I plan to power them with a pair of Carver tfm-45 (completely refurbished and upgraded by Rolland). He is using VTL 300 - which I am considering to purchase from him if the price is right. Any thought?

Will post more pics when it arrives in couple weeks.

Recently, after some tweaking here and there, I am happy with the RSIIb powered by a pair of tfm-45, GF DAC-09, and Denon 1520. The base is not at all lacking (with the base crossover setting at 02:00 position) and go low with quite moderate volume only. I can feel it in my body - sitting almost 20ft away. In my opinion, the RSIIb is significantly superior to the RS 2.5, but in sound stage and detail.

When I was at the seller's house - I saw quite few high end equipments - including a pair of monoblock for $30K and a pair of Avalon speaker ($15K). It is truly an eye opener to me to understand what a high end audio is. For now, I am satisfied with my Carvers and DAC 09.
 

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Congratulations.

I used Cardas teflon insulated copper litz wire on my RSIIbs and I am very happy with the result. I used 11.5ga on the woofers, 15.5ga on the mids, and 17.5ga on the tweeters. It's harder to work with than plain stranded wire because you have to remove all the insulation from each strand in order to solder it, but what the hell, it was a labor of love! I found that a Dremel with a stainless steel (not carbon steel) wire wheel worked very well for removing the insulation - I did not need a solder pot.

Good luck!
 
Awesome man!!! Keep us in the loop. And please share any info you can on those Mods to the X-overs.
 
Nice! Let us know when you put it all back together. The 1bs are an impressive looking set of speakers.

Max, litz huh? Did it make a difference? Litz is used in RF too, so it should be a good upgrade...
 
Congratulations indeed!! I love my Rs1b's. I bought mine from a 2nd. owner and I had them shipped from Mass. to Florida. I hired Craters and Freighters to pack them, and they did a wonderful job. When I moved from Florida to Seattle and packed everything in a Penske truck I again used Freighters and Craters, and they did a great job. They build the boxes right around the speakers. Expensive though.

You are fortunate to have the crossovers modded. The original active crossover was a disaster to use. I would be interested in finding out exactly how the passive crossover was modded. I had the the passive crossovers on my pair upgraded with new caps, etc. but not modified.

I also had all the original Emims replaced with Apogee Emims made by Graz, and they are a huge, huge, huge improvement over the originals. I saved all the original Emims of course, thinking that if an Emim died I would be able to pop an old one back in until I got a replacement, but I have found that they are not as prone to failure as the original ribbons, and I have not yet had to replace one.

Enjoy your new speakers. You will love them.

Bill
 
Oh-I forgot that you asked about the amps. I originally used a pair of VTL 350mb's on top and Bryston 4b's running mono on the bass towers. I eventually bought a Krell KSA-250 to replace the VTL. I am extremely happy with the Krell. You want the most clean power you can get on top, and the Krell does exactly that.

Bill
 
@waudio,

you want to change the monstercables? Why? The original cables are perfect for the RS1B! Don't change it!

Note that the complete RS1B include the cables is a perfectly adapted system. That should never change it! Infinity's engineers have been thinking back then what, why they have this and not some other cable.

We should not have the skills of developers Infinity by such actions are not in question.

Klaus
Sorry for my puer english
 
The 1st owner - kept some documentation on the crossover mods. I will scan those sheets and post them here. I told the seller that from what I read - I heard that the bass on the 1b's is a little bit on the puny side - and he said it is not the case with his unit. He said that he had a guest for an audition, and the guest said that he felt his stomach turning and the walls vibrate at certain sections of the music.

The active crossover was not only modified internally- but also has a separate power supply built for it. That power supply is housed in a separate metal box and is heavy. I will take pics when they arrive.

Thanks for the suggestion on the wire and the amp. I am seriously considering going for tubes for the tops. I would like to compare though - how the tfm-45 fares with the Krel and VTL. I think Rolland made it sounds a lot lot better than the original.
 
Congratulations on scoring one of the best speaker systems out there. :music: :thmbsp:

I think after the IRS Vs (utterly unbeatable!), the RS1Bs would be my "ultimate" speaker choice. One day, perhaps... :dunno:
 
I for one would have to question the bass being on the puny side. I have seen others use two bass towers but for the life of me I don't know why.
 
The 1st owner - kept some documentation on the crossover mods. I will scan those sheets and post them here. I told the seller that from what I read - I heard that the bass on the 1b's is a little bit on the puny side - and he said it is not the case with his unit. He said that he had a guest for an audition, and the guest said that he felt his stomach turning and the walls vibrate at certain sections of the music.

The active crossover was not only modified internally- but also has a separate power supply built for it. That power supply is housed in a separate metal box and is heavy. I will take pics when they arrive.

Thanks for the suggestion on the wire and the amp. I am seriously considering going for tubes for the tops. I would like to compare though - how the tfm-45 fares with the Krel and VTL. I think Rolland made it sounds a lot lot better than the original.

Didn't you have some Phase Linear III's?
 
@waudio,

you want to change the monstercables? Why? The original cables are perfect for the RS1B! Don't change it!

Note that the complete RS1B include the cables is a perfectly adapted system. That should never change it! Infinity's engineers have been thinking back then what, why they have this and not some other cable.

We should not have the skills of developers Infinity by such actions are not in question.

Klaus
Sorry for my puer english

Hello Klaus,

When the first owner modified it - he also rewired - as the passive crossover was modified (and also rewired). So, the original monster cable was no more. It looks rather messy now and I want to tidy things up. I will post pictures later on.
 
Dump the infinity active xover in a trash can and get A DBX. then you will have bass. If it were me id run the 2 carvers in mono on the bass towers and look fore sumthing better on the mid treb towers. I have rs1. I run 2 tfm 42 that way.
 
Congrats on scoring your dream speakers :tresbon:. Look forward to photos and impressions when you get 'em set up and singing.
 
Congrats on the great addition to your family!! The VTL's would be my choice if the price was right compared to the Carver. The high pass panels of Infinitys premier speakers are meant to be driven with tubes.

Enjoy:music:
 
I for one would have to question the bass being on the puny side. I have seen others use two bass towers but for the life of me I don't know why.

I have never felt that the 1b's lacked in bass extension, but there has always been a hollowness in the upper bass. I have had them in three different houses in three completely different rooms, both with the original active crossover and then the DBX 223, and that hollowness or "boominess" if you prefer was always a constant. Power was always there, extension was always there, but I think the cabinets are a factor with the bass towers, which results in a peak in the upper bass which robs timpani of the sound of the mallet on the skin, or string bass of it's depth of it's timbre.
Bill
 
I have never felt that the 1b's lacked in bass extension, but there has always been a hollowness in the upper bass. I have had them in three different houses in three completely different rooms, both with the original active crossover and then the DBX 223, and that hollowness or "boominess" if you prefer was always a constant. Power was always there, extension was always there, but I think the cabinets are a factor with the bass towers, which results in a peak in the upper bass which robs timpani of the sound of the mallet on the skin, or string bass of it's depth of it's timbre.
Bill

I guess it all depends on what your comparing them to, but I still would not call the bass puny
 
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