Classification of the Infinity Sound.

[Kencat]

East Coast Sound - AR
West Coast Sound - Pioneer HPM

Proposal - No Coast or Mid Coast Sound - Infinity :thmbsp:

What do you think? 3/4 West Coast? or 3/4 East Coast? or other fractional increments in-between?

This has been prompted by some AB listening between my Series I HPM-60's hooked up to the Denon AV Receiver on the same FM station as the Q2's on the Adcom GFA555II. Now the poor HPM's are outclassed miserably in the lower bass regions and just plain overall, but, they are very good in their own right. Maybe not a totally fair comparison being hooked up to different tuners and amps, but, it still made me think about this East vs West Coast thing that is discussed a lot.

What I hear so far. HPM's are missing the lower bass guitar riffs that the Q2's reveal so beautifully. 12" woofer Q2's are as fast on the drums as the HPM 10 inchers and just way deeper. The HPM's are very prominent in the upper registers, and almost make the Q2's seem upper-mid to treble shy. But, with careful listening, I'ld have to give the Q2's the edge for crispness and clarity in the treble vs some smearing with the HPM's high notes. I know that the HPM's are not in the same "class" as the Q2's, but this little comparo made me listen to the tonal shift in the two speaker systems and wonder about where the Infinities fit in the world of generalizations.

SO.....What are your opinions on this wrt comparing Infinities to other speaker systems? No Coast or Mid Coast Sound an appropriate label?

 

[phaedrus]

Kencat,

Interesting question, I look forward to hearing people's comments. I keep seeing this "West Coast/East Coast" discussion here on AK, and have no clue what they're talking about, since I don't own any of the "Coast" speakers, just lots of Infinities, and other speakers that don't fit the "Coast" stereotype, like Cornwalls.

I personally think the Infinities are just very neutral, so I vote for "No Coast", but obviously lack the range of exposure to different speakers others here have.

David

 

[onepixel]

I've had ARs, HPMs and Infinitys.

I don't get this east, west, middle coast stuff.

But I do like the Infinitys over the other two.

 

[jeffn]

Maybe this is a good place to ask........I recently bought some Infinity RSe's..... (clear plastic woofer and EMIT tweeter). I wondered where in the Infinity range these guys lay. Are they similar quality to the bigger guys or cheaper or what.

The sound?........... At first I thought they were very bassy and boomy compared to my other speakers, but when listened to alone for a while I think I like them. Whereas with my other speakers I've used an EQ to get a flat response (used a sound meter etc), I think the Infinities achieve a reasonably flat response with no EQ...... So what IS the Infinity sound?

 

[Arkay]

I think "East Coast" and "West Coast" labels have a broad usefulness, in that some speakers do sort of sound similar in the way they "color" or emphasize different aspects of the music, and they tended to cluster geographically (by where the makers were located) along the East and West coasts. Other threads here have discussed these differences in greater detail. In over-simplified terms, the East Coast sound is more subtle, better suited to classical and acoustic; the West Coast is a bit more forward, emphasises highs and lows a little more, and is better for rock. Unfair yet useful distinctions to a point, but probably too much is made of the differences.

In my opinion (others may disagree) the better vintage Infinities (not the more modern cr*p that carries the label) are simply BETTER than most of the speakers usually called "East Coast" or "West Coast". Not all, but most. With EMITS on the high end and Watkins on the bottom, as long as the midrange is good (EMIMS are hard to beat!) they are simply outstanding. If I had to allocate them more to one than the other, I'd say more West Coast ... but only because they were manufactured in California! That said, they had a very busy central showroom in New York, too, from what I've read.

I recently heard the much-touted Yamaha NS-1000s, in two different systems/environments. I've read many reviews that said these were "the most transparent speakers ever" etc... and they are, indeed, VERY good speakers, but honestly, my big Infinities seem to have at least as much clarity and spaciousness, as tight a bass, and a slightly better soundstage. Not a fair comparison because of different listening environments and such, and It may be unfair to compare 14 drivers in partly open-baffle dipole configuration to 6 drivers all in acoustic suspension, but still... I wouldn't trade the Infinities for the Yamahas -that's how good they are. My only complaint is that (1) they are power hogs and dip to 1-2ohms, so many amps are not suitable for them, and (2) they are so revealing and accurate that half my source material is practically unlistenable on them. The ARs and HPMs don't have these problems.... because, as pleasant as they can be to listen to (and they are!), they just are NOT as revealing as the Infinities!

Of course, if you are talking about the IRS V beasts, then there is no comparison: those speakers are not coastal, not continental, but galactic standard-setters, IMO!

 

[ugornot]

I have always wondered where the infinities fit. I can compare them to what I have. The original large advents are very listenable but not as clear or precise. They are great for casual listening and I doubt anybody would not like them. The Epi 70 and 320s are not epis best but are fairly nuetral. Again very listenable. These I would consider more towards east coast. Then the big CV d9s very west coast and probably not best quality example of this sound. But on some rock these things rock. But then some rock is pretty fuzzy and low-fi. Then the infinities. I believe they are one of the companies that pusued fairly flat frequency response. I have 5bs and 4bs and plan to continue to work my way up this line. On the other hand I wouldn't mind owning some ba100s and some other vintage classics. Finally I would classify these as more east coast. No boom and tizz to my ears. But not lifeless and dull either. Maybe there should be an infinite coast sound.

 

[SicMan]

I've owned Infinity Q3's since 1978 and still own and use 2 pairs of them, along with a set of Q5's now all refurbed. I find that the low end all the way up to the highs is as clean as you can get and flat, with the proper power applied. Alot of high end speakers can give great high end but fall off in the very low end. I don't need a sub-woofer, all I do is turn up the bass a little if I want more low end. But overall A good set of old Infinities Q series brought back to life sound great for the price and the size.
The down side is that you need lots of power for these puppies. I get my SX-1250's to go into protection now and my KR-9600's to start dimming the lights on the front panel. Bryston amps about 500Watts/ch seem to bee the fix. or something like that. As far as a rating for east,west etc... They are in a class of their own, I believe.
My $0.02

John

 

[Kencat]

...snip...As far as a rating for east,west etc... They are in a class of their own, I believe.
My $0.02

John

Hmmm :scratch2: "class of their own"..... sounds like "No Coast" would be the one so far, although that new one coined as "Infinite Coast" is growing on me

Of course, if you are talking about the IRS V beasts, then there is no comparison: those speakers are not coastal, not continental, but galactic standard-setters, IMO!

That's a really cool statement :yes: :thmbsp:

All really great comments in all the posts above guys.