Infinity bug bites again...

slackie911

Member
Hey guys, so the bug bit me again. It started out with a pair of kappa 6.1 that I inherited and blew my mind. Then I picked up a pair of infinitesimals 0.1 (which I still haven't listened to - slow amp shipping from UK). Well, my set it becoming complete: picked up a pair of Renaissance 80 today for delivery in a few weeks (Xmas present from me to me!). I am psyched. I got the black framed ones (not gloss black, I wish...).

Will probably power them with an Aragon amp.

Thanks to the generous folks on this forum that helped and educated me over the last year. cheers!
 
CONGRATULATIONS !
Athough I currently have no desire to upgrade ( due to K6.1 blown mind syndrome )
The REN 80 ( not the 90 )
Is THEEE speaker Id be looking for .. ( I wouldn't want big humungous speakers )
Just by chance I happened to search for REN 80 in last few days .. Saw NONE except a pair in AUSTRALIA asking $ 1.600 + Not sure if its acceptable to ask .. What price did you get them for ?
I have a feeling your mind is in for an EXPLOSION .
I have never heard an emmimed infinity but did listen to youtube of REN 80 and it was amazing even through headphones ..
Looking forward to photos and impressions ..
 
Thanks for your note slakie !
Being such a rare bird they seem to command higher price than I would want to pay . YIKES !
I got 6.1 For A Song.. ( + 200 ) They are great for Songs and great for $200 !
Curious as to your imrpessions of ren 80 .. From what I have gleaned you have made a leap upward from 6.1 .. Almost hard to imagine
Enjoy .. .
 
Yes I think I paid up for them...the 6.1s are IMHO one of the best "values" out there. Like you say, $200 bucks for an incredible experience!

I will let you know how the ren 80s compare vs. the 6.1s!

It may be an unfair comparison as the 6.1s I had were inherited. One polydome was in rough shape (functioning, but one wire-mesh "globe" was bent). One EMIT was a bit scratched up, and they were driven with an old Harmon Karmon Festival 500 (60wpc). It was a bit of a mess, so I am looking forward to starting from scratch.
 
Hey guys, should have pictures up for everyone soon as they arrive late this week.

Does anyone drive these with an integrated amp? I read one source where a guy had a pair of Ren 80s and said a powerful integrated amp would be fine. He also said he saw a 1994 magazine that showed the Ren 90s dipped to 3.3 ohms and the Ren 80s were similar. Can anyone recommend a reasonably affordable integrated that they think would suffice? I was originally going to use an Aragon amp but another owner said the sound can lack warmth.
 
Congrats dude!!
The Infinity bug hit me too a few years back.
It's like a cult you revisit time to time and slightly less difficult to leave than Scientology.
My last RS5000's blew up on the 1812 Overture back in 1988 and then the foam rotted out so they disappeared.....
I gave up looking for a pr anymore and built mine from decent 1970 Panasonic (Technics) veneer plywood boxes i found at the record store and just because they were such great wood and because the original QB MDF-vinyl boxes rather sucked.
I extensively re-enforced F-B and side to side with 1x1 oak and built a tuneable sealed midrange inside baffle out of 1/4" x 3" cedar slats.
Good thing too because they're sealed and really start resonating when everything's working.
Then plumbed in a Kappa 6 XO, an EMIT,-R a 5 in mid from an Overture 3 and the 10 inch woof from the QB. Love them rubber surrounds!!
Frankly, the Overture mids sound better and more full than any of the Kappa 6 Polydome, Phillips cone from the QB or Peerless domes I tried.
It's great experimenting with different drivers in a good cabinet.

I call them my Rat Infinities because they're pieced together like an old Harley and i would be a skeleton before a pr of RS 1.5's ever luckily showed up.
Rat Infinities.jpg

And it is known they demand a good power supply!!!
I'm no expert but there's a great big gray area about amps, "listed power" and "current power" that is real..
Something happens to amps when Infinities really hit stride... Not like a Klipsch or even a Polk.
These little 4 ohm 3 ways smoked my Pioneer sx-626, 828 and most recently a sx-950. Guilty as charged.
Old Pioneers sound great but old infinities and their "dip" will eat em up at loud levels and dynamics......I have learned this.
Headroom is good.
What DOES work, I found, are Luxman's which have decent PS's have low impedance ratings and I've read here as well that Rotels, NAD's and HK's, though I've never had any of those.
I've even run them on a Yamaha P-2050 built like a tank amp and even at a modest 45wpc it sang all day.
A pretty sterile sound however, compared to a Lux or Pioneer.

This receiver sounds wonderful with the Rats, but I don;t push it too hard with the Jimi or 1812 Overture...Don;t care much to have to repair it too.
Luxman r1120.jpg

The 115 sound almost as good and handles the "dip" well but is working at its limits to do it with only ~ 105wpc @4ohm..
It does have the 3db Luxman headroom though which is great, They say the R117 has 4.5db @ some 400+ watts!!

luxman r115.jpg

And a 105(8)/175(4) Denon integrated (I received free from a bar mate) is the loudest and can run all day but gets harsh, even on vinyl, and lacks the Luxman luster and velvet smooth sound.

Denon 1315r.jpg

So yeppers my friend, I salute and empathize with you Slacke, for embracing your Infinity addiction and wish you well in finding the perfect amp to run them
At least within 2-3 tries and swapouts, to make them REALLY sing! !:thumbsup:
 
Hey guys, these guys came in today! Pictures as promised. Thanks to all for the advice I've gotten from this forum, I hope to pay it forward! Cheers

Also: aside from settling on an amp, I guess my next upgrade has to be a larger home with more room to show these guys off. This is an expensive hobby :)
 

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Congrtulations !!!!!!!!!!! Those look AMAZING . ( I have some issues I have to deal with but am happy for you . )

I have never heard emim so im curiuos as to difference which I would suspect would b large improvement in midrange .. Enjoy !
 
Congratulations on that very special pair of speakers. Take good care of them as each driver is very special and hard to come by. Even those 8" Watkins woofers.
Jim
 
Nice! Congrats.

I've driven my Ren 90's with everything from big old carver pro iron, to modern light chip amp (lepai 7498) and they are fabulous speakers, be warned they will expose any flaws in your source material, or signal path. They don't 'Rock' but the bass when present in a recording is sublime.

Take some time, and enjoy them, mine will likely never leave my possession.
(and I should have also bought the ren 80's that a friend had... definitely one thing I'll always regret)
 
I've owned 2 pairs of 80's and 1 pair of 90's. I absolutely regret selling any of them now.

I've been experimenting with subwoofers, man am I stupid. I can't say how bad I think I've cheated myself because I thought the bass was weak.

Whatever you do, explore all routes before giving up on them.

And congrats, they look really nice.
 
I picked up an Aragon 8008 to experiment with. Will eventually upgrade to a bigger amp when my wallet/listening space get bigger, but for now this should do well.

One more question to you folks....do I NEED a pre-amp? Or am I going to blow out my speakers without one? I would be going TV>DAC>Power amp>Ren 80s

My gut tells me this may hurt the speakers since there is no volume control.
 
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