Greetings to the Infinity collective. I had the great pleasure of being hosted by Max and his lovely wife for an evening of music, wine and Max’s insanely modified RS IIb system. As an RS IIa owner and longtime Infinity aficionado, I was curious to see just how good the RS II platform could get. Well, let’s just say they can be extraordinarily good if you’re willing to devote the time and skill that Max has put into his. For those who have followed the threads on the cabinet bracing, crossover/EQ upgrades, and EMIM updates including the damping and diaphragm changes that went into the final product, you know that Max has tried to address all the cost and technology constraints that limited the original RS II series speakers performance. I have to say, the end result is a speaker system that can compete with most of the $10-$30K systems currently in production.
Whenever you experience a great music system, the end result is, of course, the sum of the parts. Max has taken great pains to ensure that there are no weak links in the chain from the digital front end (a CD player that rips CDs and plays the music directly off the internal hard drive) to the all tube preamp and 500 watt monoblocks. His system is very faithful to the source and feeds the RS IIbs with a pure uncorrupted powerful dynamic signal. I will try to focus on the differences I heard between a stock RS IIa/b system and his heavily modified pair. Over the years, in addition to my current pair of Infinities, I have used RS 1bs, Carver Amazing Platinum IVs, various Beveridge, Acoustat and Martin Logan electrostats, and in my current main system Thiel CS 3.7s. I have also logged quite a few hours listening to an IRS V that one of my best friends owned, so I think I can say that I have some experience in evaluating systems capable of producing impressive sound.
First off, my biggest complaint with all the big Infinity systems is the discontinuity between the bass and midrange. While they can all go deep and move a lot of air, I always hear a distinct difference in the clarity and tonal accuracy between the EMIMS and woofers. I always felt that the RS IIs actually have less of this effect in stock trim than the RS 1 and IRS series, but it's still there. By sealing all the air leaks, bracing the bass cabinets, and damping the woofer baskets, Max has managed to achieve an almost seamless blend at the 250 hz crossover point. The first track I played, (track 1 of Dead Can Dance Into the Labyrinth) has multiple layers of differently tuned drums spread from left to right across the soundstage. On the stock RS IIa, the initial hits of the drum head which are handled by the EMIMs turn into increasingly duller thuds as the woofers take over. The precise placement of each drum is smeared by the by the cabinet resonance and the individual drums start to blend together. With Max’s system, the transient speed of ribbon mid and woofer are now in sync. Each drum maintains its’ precise location across the stage and you don’t have to put any effort into hearing the individual tuning of each drumhead. I like my music at life size volumes and with 500 watts on tap there was no sense of compression from the electronics or the speakers. The bass holds together as the volume levels increase with the drivers always sounding clean and in control. There are tradeoffs. Four tens in a relatively small box that have to reach up to 250 cycles cleanly cannot dig deep and put out the bass you feel that pressurizes the room. With most rock or jazz you won’t miss it. They are not going to do what RS 4.5s RS 1bs, or an IRS can do below 30 cycles, but what they do from 30 up is much, much better.
I know this is going to ruffle some feathers here, but the EMIT tweeter was never my favorite Infinity driver. Yes they are reasonably detailed, but to my ears, not until you get to line source numbers do they get out of the way and start to float cymbals and triangles in a 3d space like the best tweeters seem to do. By better, I’m thinking the Magnepan ribbon tweeter, Scanspeak Revelator, Dynaudio, and some of the better ribbon designs out there. Max has cleaned the stock sound up considerably, but from what I heard, there is still a ways to go to get to the quality level that the bass and midrange have achieved. Now some of this may be due to the TV and reflective glass from the entertainment center that sits between the speakers scattering the rear wave but, with every piece of music played, I kept hearing the slightly metallic EMIT “ringing” coloration that has bothered me over the years.
OK, now for the main course, the upgraded EMIMs with the Graz diaphragms. Think electrostatic resolution and openness with much more dynamic headroom. These are not just a repair for blown drivers, but a major improvement to every aspect of the EMIM sound. The first thing I noticed was a dramatic increase in low level resolution. Playing the Pie Jesu cut from the Rutter Requiem CD you can really hear the female soloist floating perfectly behind the speakers. And when all the individual voices that make up the chorus come in the sense of air and hall size is amazing. These midranges take detail to a level I have never heard from any Infinity system. With choral music, the stock EMIMS can get strained and edgy sounding due to the dynamic limitations of the diaphragm. The new diaphragms seem to track the changes in signal from the quietest to the loudest passages much more accurately so there is no smearing of the image or change in tonal balance. There’s a sense that everything has been cleaned up. It will be interesting to get some measurements of the distortion products between the two diaphragms. I had Max throw on Endless Dream from the YES Talk CD. This cut goes from super quiet to live rock levels and then some and if you are at all worried about damaging your speakers, keep the volume down. Max got a bit nervous fearing for the health of the tweeters when the big peaks kicked in since there are no fuses in his speakers. These midranges had no problem handling the loudest peaks unlike my stock set which visually flex and audibly strain on this cut. I was quite impressed.
Other shortcomings? Well, they can’t do the life size, floor to ceiling effect that the big line source systems do. It is a point source system after all. And I get the sense that Mrs. Max would require a very expensive house addition should a pair of IRS Vs show up at his door. We didn’t spend enough time with a wide enough variety of recordings for me to get a sense of how they sound with average and below average quality source material. Max’s system sounded more on the high resolution than the forgiving side of the musical continuum which was fine by me, but can be problematic on poor recordings.
Thanks Max for a very enjoyable listening session. You have an excellent set-up that any Infinity lover would envy.
mberk
Whenever you experience a great music system, the end result is, of course, the sum of the parts. Max has taken great pains to ensure that there are no weak links in the chain from the digital front end (a CD player that rips CDs and plays the music directly off the internal hard drive) to the all tube preamp and 500 watt monoblocks. His system is very faithful to the source and feeds the RS IIbs with a pure uncorrupted powerful dynamic signal. I will try to focus on the differences I heard between a stock RS IIa/b system and his heavily modified pair. Over the years, in addition to my current pair of Infinities, I have used RS 1bs, Carver Amazing Platinum IVs, various Beveridge, Acoustat and Martin Logan electrostats, and in my current main system Thiel CS 3.7s. I have also logged quite a few hours listening to an IRS V that one of my best friends owned, so I think I can say that I have some experience in evaluating systems capable of producing impressive sound.
First off, my biggest complaint with all the big Infinity systems is the discontinuity between the bass and midrange. While they can all go deep and move a lot of air, I always hear a distinct difference in the clarity and tonal accuracy between the EMIMS and woofers. I always felt that the RS IIs actually have less of this effect in stock trim than the RS 1 and IRS series, but it's still there. By sealing all the air leaks, bracing the bass cabinets, and damping the woofer baskets, Max has managed to achieve an almost seamless blend at the 250 hz crossover point. The first track I played, (track 1 of Dead Can Dance Into the Labyrinth) has multiple layers of differently tuned drums spread from left to right across the soundstage. On the stock RS IIa, the initial hits of the drum head which are handled by the EMIMs turn into increasingly duller thuds as the woofers take over. The precise placement of each drum is smeared by the by the cabinet resonance and the individual drums start to blend together. With Max’s system, the transient speed of ribbon mid and woofer are now in sync. Each drum maintains its’ precise location across the stage and you don’t have to put any effort into hearing the individual tuning of each drumhead. I like my music at life size volumes and with 500 watts on tap there was no sense of compression from the electronics or the speakers. The bass holds together as the volume levels increase with the drivers always sounding clean and in control. There are tradeoffs. Four tens in a relatively small box that have to reach up to 250 cycles cleanly cannot dig deep and put out the bass you feel that pressurizes the room. With most rock or jazz you won’t miss it. They are not going to do what RS 4.5s RS 1bs, or an IRS can do below 30 cycles, but what they do from 30 up is much, much better.
I know this is going to ruffle some feathers here, but the EMIT tweeter was never my favorite Infinity driver. Yes they are reasonably detailed, but to my ears, not until you get to line source numbers do they get out of the way and start to float cymbals and triangles in a 3d space like the best tweeters seem to do. By better, I’m thinking the Magnepan ribbon tweeter, Scanspeak Revelator, Dynaudio, and some of the better ribbon designs out there. Max has cleaned the stock sound up considerably, but from what I heard, there is still a ways to go to get to the quality level that the bass and midrange have achieved. Now some of this may be due to the TV and reflective glass from the entertainment center that sits between the speakers scattering the rear wave but, with every piece of music played, I kept hearing the slightly metallic EMIT “ringing” coloration that has bothered me over the years.
OK, now for the main course, the upgraded EMIMs with the Graz diaphragms. Think electrostatic resolution and openness with much more dynamic headroom. These are not just a repair for blown drivers, but a major improvement to every aspect of the EMIM sound. The first thing I noticed was a dramatic increase in low level resolution. Playing the Pie Jesu cut from the Rutter Requiem CD you can really hear the female soloist floating perfectly behind the speakers. And when all the individual voices that make up the chorus come in the sense of air and hall size is amazing. These midranges take detail to a level I have never heard from any Infinity system. With choral music, the stock EMIMS can get strained and edgy sounding due to the dynamic limitations of the diaphragm. The new diaphragms seem to track the changes in signal from the quietest to the loudest passages much more accurately so there is no smearing of the image or change in tonal balance. There’s a sense that everything has been cleaned up. It will be interesting to get some measurements of the distortion products between the two diaphragms. I had Max throw on Endless Dream from the YES Talk CD. This cut goes from super quiet to live rock levels and then some and if you are at all worried about damaging your speakers, keep the volume down. Max got a bit nervous fearing for the health of the tweeters when the big peaks kicked in since there are no fuses in his speakers. These midranges had no problem handling the loudest peaks unlike my stock set which visually flex and audibly strain on this cut. I was quite impressed.
Other shortcomings? Well, they can’t do the life size, floor to ceiling effect that the big line source systems do. It is a point source system after all. And I get the sense that Mrs. Max would require a very expensive house addition should a pair of IRS Vs show up at his door. We didn’t spend enough time with a wide enough variety of recordings for me to get a sense of how they sound with average and below average quality source material. Max’s system sounded more on the high resolution than the forgiving side of the musical continuum which was fine by me, but can be problematic on poor recordings.
Thanks Max for a very enjoyable listening session. You have an excellent set-up that any Infinity lover would envy.
mberk
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