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Back Again for Advice! KLH 23's to Infinity RSIII-A's?

davelarz

davelarz

Well-Known Member
I put up a similar post a few days ago asking about upgrading from my KLH 23's to Snell Type D's, which I decided not to do because of price and distance to pick up. BUT I'm still on the hunt, so here's my next question of you AK aficionados out there - as always greatly appreciate any input.

I'm a vintage mid-fi audio enthusiast thinking about upgrading my speakers from my beloved KLH 23's to some Infinity RSIII-A's that are for sale locally - I'm wondering how much of an upgrade this will be. Obviously I know that only my ears can make this decision, but I just wanted to see what the AK consensus is.

Listening room about 16x16. I listen almost exclusively to jazz on vinyl - my system is a Music Hall MMF7 w Grado Sonata going into a Black Cube SE phono pre and then a rebuilt SX-850 - Kimber 8vs into the 23's. I'm happy with my sound but have a feeling that, while I'm amazed at their performance for what they are, the 23's aren't giving me everything I could be hearing out of this set-up. The Infinitys are very nicely priced but a 3-hour drive round trip that will not allow for auditioning (meeting seller midway - have faith the speakers are in good shape though - coming from a trusted AK'er). For me the time is the biggest issue - also don't have a lot of room here for a growing speaker collection so would like to know before going in that there was a least a chance that Infinitys would be a big jump up in SQ from my 23's. What do you think? Thanks, Dave
 
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Generally speaking, large vintage Infinitys are in a different category from nearly any small box speakers. I say this as one who owns KLH model 5s and 17s as well as Infinity RS IIs and Kappa 9s.
 
Just wondering have you replaced the 23's caps and put new sealer on the cloth surrounds? Lot's here on AK on the subject if you haven't.
 
gbroot said:
Just wondering have you replaced the 23's caps and put new sealer on the cloth surrounds? Lot's here on AK on the subject if you haven't.
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I concur, when I changed the caps in my 23's the tweeters became nice and airy again.
 
I have - AK'er GD70 did it for me. And the results were spectacular. Trust me, I have nothing bad to say about the 23's. Just... you know. Wanting a little more of everything. But definitely don't have the time or space to make a lateral move, no matter how interesting an experiment that might prove.
 
Will your SX-850 drive the Infinities? I was thinking about a pair of RS-IIB last year and the guy that was selling them told me I didn't have the right equipment to really drive the big Infinities. I was using a Pioneer SX-1980 at the time which I thought would be plenty of power. He told me that it wasn't all about the power but something to do with how much current the receiver would put out (all Greek to me) bottom line was that the Infinities will drop down to 2 ohms and that would put a strain on the receiver.
 
I was concerned about that and thinking about getting some more power into the mix and running my 850 as a pre. However, seller assures me that up until recently he was driving the RS3a's w a 60-wpc Adcom and before that an ST-70. I'll have to see how it goes. I think I'm going to go for it - the price is right enough that I think if I decide they're wrong for me I won't have too much trouble moving them. I'm sure moving up to 150-200 wpc will get more out of them for sure
 
davelarz said:
I was concerned about that and thinking about getting some more power into the mix and running my 850 as a pre. However, seller assures me that up until recently he was driving the RS3a's w a 60-wpc Adcom and before that an ST-70. I'll have to see how it goes. I think I'm going to go for it - the price is right enough that I think if I decide they're wrong for me I won't have too much trouble moving them. I'm sure moving up to 150-200 wpc will get more out of them for sure
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Just took a quick look at these on line. Very nice speakers.
I would think that these will give you a lot more than the Twenty Three's can, but as stated, the more power, the better.
 
Yes I'm going to be in the market for an amp. Though like I said, seller says I'll be fine at normal volumes and drove them happily himself with a 60wpc amp. I'll have to see. I have little kids - not cranking anything pretty much ever.
 
I owed a set of RS IIIA's...great speakers but the dome mid is the weak point....when you start to add volume the mid gets crowded sounding...it seems to get overwhelmed...I was quite bummed and ended up getting rid of mine...
 
A vote against. Noted. This sounds similar to my main issue w 23's which is that denser pieces get muddy in the mids - not enough separation of detail
 
I have both (23's and RSiiia's) There is no comparison. The Infinitys are much better than the 23's. I bought the 23's new, and I enjoyed them for many years, although they are on the muddy side, but very easy to listen too. I have had the Infinity's for about 3 years, and rarely listen to the 23's now. The 23's are recapped and redoped, but to tell you the truth I enjoyed them more before the restore.
 
cb5300 said:
Will your SX-850 drive the Infinities? I was thinking about a pair of RS-IIB last year and the guy that was selling them told me I didn't have the right equipment to really drive the big Infinities. I was using a Pioneer SX-1980 at the time which I thought would be plenty of power. He told me that it wasn't all about the power but something to do with how much current the receiver would put out (all Greek to me) bottom line was that the Infinities will drop down to 2 ohms and that would put a strain on the receiver.
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I have driven my RSiiia's with a Pioneer SX780, Onkyo 7090, Crown XLS1500, and Marantz 2245, all of which drives them easily. To my ears, the 2245 sounds the best with them and has plenty of power. They are in a 18x30x16ft room and the 2245 drives them to very loud levels.
 
Really helpful info bluescat- definitely would prefer to be able to drive them w my 850, at least until the right amp comes along.
 
You should have no problem. The Infinity's with the Watkin's woofer's seem to be the ones that require more juice. The RS iiia's don't have the Watkins woofs.
 
As I said earlier it's all greek to me, I just know what sounds good to my old ears...After numerous phone calls to the gentleman in KY, I gave up on the Infinities and bought a pair of Klipsch RF-7II, but while they sounded OK they seem to wear on you after any length of time of listening to them.

Last August I got a chance to listen to a pair of Legacy Audio Focus SE's and I knew right then that was the speaker for me. I finally got a pair in a Rosewood finish and I've been in 7th heaven ever since. I can listen to them all day without getting fatigue at all... Just a great all around speaker with a tight powerful bass, smooth mid-range, and crystal clear highs.
 
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