Michael F
Active Member
And what a damn impressive speaker it is. I have not been this thrilled since owning a nice pair of Opera Grand Mezza`s which I foolishly sold and regretted.. I`ve come across a ton of speakers since that time, some that retailed for up to and more than 5K but failed to please. Most of those were the typical modern two or three way towers sporting 6 or 7 inch woofers except for some JBL L80t and 4311s which made some nice sounds but not nice music.
Having never heard any Infinity speaker before, I was not sure of what to expect of this comparably large system, it would be my first exposure to ribbon tweeters and infinite baffles too.
Fortunately the previous owner was gracious enough to allow an audition and it did not take long to realize the potential. Although the cabinets show some signs wear, it`s nothing a good sanding couldn't take care of. I find the Oak veneer to be forgiving of scratches and such, concealing them well.
More importantly, the drivers are all perfect with the woofers recently very nicely refoamed and only some fog on the Polydomes but structurally sound otherwise. The price was right so I took them home and haven't stopped listening since, these things do so much so well.
With the mid and tweeter levels at the suggested reference points, positioning the speakers proved to be somewhat of a challenge due to their size and the very limited floor space they must occupy.
I found they needed more toe-in than any other speaker I`ve had before, the 7s don't project the image as far into the room as I`m used to hearing, staying closer to the baffles plane and behind, but that image extends well beyond the left and right positions, higher too. At 8' apart and 12' from the listening position, all the drivers integrate quite well.
By the same token, other, previously unheard details become audible no longer being obscured by a more forward image so I guess it`s a fair exchange.
These speakers have a presentation unlike any other previously experienced. I would have to say that the bass response of these speakers would have to be their most unique attribute. Unbelievably fast and tight for such a large driver even in the mid 30hz range. Drums sound and feel like drums as do Basses. Smooth and punchy even at very low levels, the low end doesn't lose it`s composure at higher levels either.
A close second would have to be the Emit tweeter. It too is extremely quick, detailed and airy without being harsh or spitty. I am very sensitive to aggressive treble so I don't get along with most metal dome tweeters for that very reason as they tend to fatigue me rather quickly, but these ribbons don't behave that way at all.
The Polydome mid driver seems well engineered and integrated. It does it`s job adequately but perhaps some experimenting with the drive level or maybe even a little cabinet elevation will bring out some more presence that will better match the other sides of the spectrum.
Regardless of the source, be it CD,FM, streamed Digital music, TV or movies, the sound emanating from these speakers puts a smile on my ears every time
Also, I find myself going for the volume-up knob quite often, a very good sign but try not to go overboard as I don't want to freak out my neighbors which would be all too easy to do considering the available horsepower.
For now, I think I`ll put some more miles on them and enjoying them as they are before changing out electrolytic caps or anything else.
I`m also getting used to the presence of this unusually styled, finished and dimensioned system, it`s quite different and I`m liking it.
Long live vintage !
PS
Upstream electronics are Rega Apollo>Sonic Frontiers/Anthem Pre>Yamaha PC2002M.
Modified Phase Linear 700B and BGW 750B are waiting in the wings.
Having never heard any Infinity speaker before, I was not sure of what to expect of this comparably large system, it would be my first exposure to ribbon tweeters and infinite baffles too.
Fortunately the previous owner was gracious enough to allow an audition and it did not take long to realize the potential. Although the cabinets show some signs wear, it`s nothing a good sanding couldn't take care of. I find the Oak veneer to be forgiving of scratches and such, concealing them well.
More importantly, the drivers are all perfect with the woofers recently very nicely refoamed and only some fog on the Polydomes but structurally sound otherwise. The price was right so I took them home and haven't stopped listening since, these things do so much so well.
With the mid and tweeter levels at the suggested reference points, positioning the speakers proved to be somewhat of a challenge due to their size and the very limited floor space they must occupy.
I found they needed more toe-in than any other speaker I`ve had before, the 7s don't project the image as far into the room as I`m used to hearing, staying closer to the baffles plane and behind, but that image extends well beyond the left and right positions, higher too. At 8' apart and 12' from the listening position, all the drivers integrate quite well.
By the same token, other, previously unheard details become audible no longer being obscured by a more forward image so I guess it`s a fair exchange.
These speakers have a presentation unlike any other previously experienced. I would have to say that the bass response of these speakers would have to be their most unique attribute. Unbelievably fast and tight for such a large driver even in the mid 30hz range. Drums sound and feel like drums as do Basses. Smooth and punchy even at very low levels, the low end doesn't lose it`s composure at higher levels either.
A close second would have to be the Emit tweeter. It too is extremely quick, detailed and airy without being harsh or spitty. I am very sensitive to aggressive treble so I don't get along with most metal dome tweeters for that very reason as they tend to fatigue me rather quickly, but these ribbons don't behave that way at all.
The Polydome mid driver seems well engineered and integrated. It does it`s job adequately but perhaps some experimenting with the drive level or maybe even a little cabinet elevation will bring out some more presence that will better match the other sides of the spectrum.
Regardless of the source, be it CD,FM, streamed Digital music, TV or movies, the sound emanating from these speakers puts a smile on my ears every time
Also, I find myself going for the volume-up knob quite often, a very good sign but try not to go overboard as I don't want to freak out my neighbors which would be all too easy to do considering the available horsepower.
For now, I think I`ll put some more miles on them and enjoying them as they are before changing out electrolytic caps or anything else.
I`m also getting used to the presence of this unusually styled, finished and dimensioned system, it`s quite different and I`m liking it.
Long live vintage !
PS
Upstream electronics are Rega Apollo>Sonic Frontiers/Anthem Pre>Yamaha PC2002M.
Modified Phase Linear 700B and BGW 750B are waiting in the wings.
)...
