Infinity Reference 5

Picked these up at a local thrift store for $24...they were $30 but electronics were on sale that day! Woofers and midranges were rotted so I refoamed. Hardest refoam I've ever done due to the hard residue left on the edges of the IMG cones from the original adhesive. I think they turned out nice. Currently in my office at work running a kenwood 30 watt receiver and pioneer CD but they will come home and be paired with my Denon 110 watt amp, Harmon Kardon tuner and Denon CD player
 

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i just asked that question in another thread...i have refoamed the speakers ...they sound amazing...but I'm only pushing them with my work/office stereo...i have a vintage MCS 3822 Integrated amp that sounds amazing with these: but am i "under-powering" them? does it hurt them? or am i just not getting the most out of them? The MCS amp is super clean sounding and i think it is very under-rated at 30wpc. i can only turn the volume up to 2 before its too loud in my office. i also have a Kenwood and Onkyo receiver pair I've been using (both are also 30wpc). My eventual plan is to get these Infinity's home and hook them up to my Denon PMA 1060 amp and see what they can really do. (the problem is sneaking them into the house because my wife is not an idiot and knows when 4 foot column speakers show up out of the blue)
 
Yup, nice speakers if you can stand the awful fake wood grain vinyl. They're rather efficient and an easy load on the amplifier. You may notice an improvement with higher power/higher current, but it's not needed. They won't do any harm to your amp playing at that level.
 
How do the Reference's compare to the Kappa's? I have a pair of Kappa 5.1's from 1995. They're front ported. I love them.
 
I've compared the Kappa 5.1 to the Reference Five directly. The Reference Five sounds slightly better.

Kappa 5.1s are nice speakers, especially for their size. They're what I would call a large bookshelf speaker. They're comparable to the Reference Four. They have the same set of drivers, although the Reference Four is larger. It's a small floor stander. But the Kappa cabinet is better.
 
I've compared the Kappa 5.1 to the Reference Five directly. The Reference Five sounds slightly better.

Kappa 5.1s are nice speakers, especially for their size. They're what I would call a large bookshelf speaker. They're comparable to the Reference Four. They have the same set of drivers, although the Reference Four is larger. It's a small floor stander. But the Kappa cabinet is better.
Thanks for the reply. I remembered the Kappa 6.1's and above having a better quality mid-range driver, a sort of fiberglass looking material. That mid-range was noticeably better, more full and natural. I didn't have the money for the 6.1's at the time, so I've been pondering getting a hold of a pair of those mids and swapping them into my 5.1's. I occasionally come across a single unit for sale on eBay but I don't trust them to be in good condition. I'll keep looking...
 
Thanks for the reply. I remembered the Kappa 6.1's and above having a better quality mid-range driver, a sort of fiberglass looking material. That mid-range was noticeably better, more full and natural. I didn't have the money for the 6.1's at the time, so I've been pondering getting a hold of a pair of those mids and swapping them into my 5.1's. I occasionally come across a single unit for sale on eBay but I don't trust them to be in good condition. I'll keep looking...

You're referring to the Polydome. Excellent midrange driver, but as you mention, it degrades over time and needs to be rebuilt. You can buy a set of fully functioning Kappa 6.1 for the same price as a decent set of polydomes. If I were you I'd just keep my eyes open for a set of 6.1 in good condition and either keep or sell the 5.1 rather than trying to stuff a polydome in a cabinet and crossover that's not built for it.
 
You're referring to the Polydome. Excellent midrange driver, but as you mention, it degrades over time and needs to be rebuilt. You can buy a set of fully functioning Kappa 6.1 for the same price as a decent set of polydomes. If I were you I'd just keep my eyes open for a set of 6.1 in good condition and either keep or sell the 5.1 rather than trying to stuff a polydome in a cabinet and crossover that's not built for it.
Yes, the old polydome is usually listed for more than $200 a unit, so a pair of Kappa 6.1's does make sense.
Or I'll just get those Tekton Impact Monitors I've been lusting after.
 
Yup, nice speakers if you can stand the awful fake wood grain vinyl. They're rather efficient and an easy load on the amplifier. You may notice an improvement with higher power/higher current, but it's not needed. They won't do any harm to your amp playing at that level.
 
Finally got around to finishing the Infinity Reference Five speakers...PPG charcoal black paint seems to have done the trick..now they will be 20200905_143609.jpg allowed in the house!
 

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YES..huge improvement on the appearance and not that hard of a project actually!
Infinity Reference 5.jpg
I was really enjoying the NAD-built MCS amp with 30 watts but then tried a Fisher RS-914 with 120 watts just to see if anything dramatically improved (which it did not!)...then i remembered i had another NAD-built MCS 3246 receiver i was storing in my garage with 45 WPC and more features: works like a charm and sounds amazing...i'm really a fan of the NEC "sound": very clean sounding to me.
 
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Infinity Reference 5 speakers finally in their "forever home" with my new Rotel amp/cd stack, proton tuner, tascam cassette, technics turntable.
 

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Hi Guys,

Just got a call from a buddy of mine. He says he got a pair of Infinity "Reference 5" speakers. I can't find any information on them. Anyone know anything about them?

Thanks,

Ed
Not sure about the Reference 5 but the Reference FIVE are great. Yes there is a Reference 5 and Five versions. The reference Four, Five and Six are all very nice. Tight detailed bass, realistic mid range and the tweeters are fantastic. Some people don't like the vinyl woodgrain but who cares as even the so called real wood is only paper thin veneer anyway and marks very easily.
 
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