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first infinity Speaker?

Check out also Infinitesimal series, although you need a sub too.

Or perhaps also the 80's RS series, from 8a to 6. They can be had for relatively little money, and you get to experience the EMIT sound. And no need for a sub.
 
OmegaHyperio said:
Quick qestion on the monulus, how much power do they need to sound good? My current most powerful amp is 65W continues into 4 ohms. Would that be enough, or should i go biamping using a 70W (into 8 ohm) and 50W into (8 ohm). Or will the 65W be sufficient to get good results out of that EMIT.

And yes i am still very interested. I also found a Modulus in Germany, but the seller wants 800 euros for it, but they have the original stands with them as well.
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I'm currently running mine with a Kenwood KA-7300 and they sound fantastic. It's also rated at 65W, but I've also powered them with 200W McIntosh, 325W Carver, 100W Pioneer and they have always worked well. But all of these amps have had beefy power supplies, not sure how a modern AVR would cope with them, but they aren't the amp killers some of the Infinity line are.

The stands originally sold for $300 in 1991 and are a must in my opinion, they integrate with the Modulus in a way no other stand can. So if you add in the price of the stands this brings the original MSRP to $1300 for a Modulus pair, only you can decide if the price is right for you. Keep in mind these were meant to be used with a sub, but I've used them in my bedroom without and never felt I was missing anything, the bass they do produce is very tight and musical. Even with the sub it's impossible to tell if it's on until you turn it off, and even then it's almost an imperceptible change in timbre.
 
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Thais good to hear that my 65W dual mono block amp will be able to power them. Its a Optonica SM3636 btw. And it has a rather large dual power supply for the Power amp. I will also see if the dude in Germany still has the Modulus with the stands for sale, and see if i can get the price down.
 
i have found a infinity rs4b with the foam surounds on the woofers replaced, for under 500 euros, not counting shipping. would these be any good compared to the Modulus. I do want to get a modulus but one dude i waw negotiatimg the price for them basicly said, since you do not want to pay me a lot more them what i have seen them gp for in the past, i have no clue what these speakers are and how good they are, as well as their signifacance in the histpry of high end speakers.

So i checked a craigslist style thing in germany for a rs series speaker, just to see what is avalible. And i found the RS4b. It will probably cost me 100 euros in shiping but would these be worth the hassel, as well as wpuld the usable woth my 65W optonica sm3636 amp. if no i think i will pass on them, unless its the deal of the centuary.

i still intend on vettong a modulus speaker set eventualy. If they are significantly better then the rs4b i will wait for the modulus. if the difference ist there but not very much i will wait as well. if the rs4b is better i will contact the seller.


So input would be aprociated.
 
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That price would probably be on the high side for the US; however, that is basically useless information to you since you're not here. They are excellent speakers, though. and they go down to 40hz, so you shouldn't need a subwoofer for most music purposes.

The Modulus uses a newer version of the same tweeter. However, in my experience, the EMIT sound didn't change much over the years (I compared a pair of Qa's from 1977 with my Kappa 8a's from 1988 and was impressed that the Qa sounded as good as it did - although I did end up keeping the superior Kappas and giving away the Qa's). I have heard neither the Modulus nor the Rs4b, but my suspicion is that the former is not significantly better than the latter (plus you'll probably want a subwoofer with the Modulus).

One concern I'd have with your buying a pair of these sight unseen is the quality of the refoaming job. Did the seller do it him/herself, or was it done professionally? It is more difficult to replace foam surrounds that were incorrectly installed than to replace ones that have deteriorated.
 
I have RS-IIIa's and they are very nice all-around speakers. RS-4b's are their little brother. I am quite confident you will not be disappointed. If you have not heard EMITs yet, you should go for it just to get an idea what many people are raving about :)

But having said that, my understanding is that Modulus are better still, and rarer and more expensive...

See the brochure here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=7773551#post7773551

And a review article here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=8078930#post8078930
 
The RS4b's are good speakers, I like mine allot. But they are a little power hungry. At low to moderate listening levels your Optonica should run them, but if you like loud music, you will need more power.
 
I think i will wait for another Infinity Modolus then. Since i have 2 problems: 1: its increadably hard for me to sell anything 2: i probably do not have enough space to start speaker collecting.

I did a closer read of the offer, and the seller dose not want to sell them with shipping, he wants local pickup only, and i currently have no time to drive the 350km to the seller to pick them up, and the 350km back to my house. The basic problem is that i don't think i could house a IRS, as well as the RS4b and a modulus speaker in the same house, eventually speaking though. I am still considering contacting the seller. But the concerns that swechsler mentioned with the foam is deterring me at the moment.
 
OmegaHyperio said:
But the concerns that swechsler mentioned with the foam is deterring me at the moment.
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That will be a concern with many vintage Infinities, unfortunately, since many of them used foam surrounds (I believe the only later EMIT-based Infinities that don't use foam are the Infinitesimal 0.1-0.3, RS I, Modulus, Renaissance and Delta series (but not the IRS Gamma/Delta, which does use foam), and possibly the IRS Epsilon, Omega and Sigma - I'm not too familiar with those). If you can demo the speakers, or the seller can produce a receipt showing professional replacement of the surrounds, then you're fine.

Note that sometimes problems with incorrect surround replacement only manifest themselves at high volumes or large amounts of bass.
 
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I have had a pair of Qe's since the early 80's. Today they are in my secondary system in our sunroom. With a dual 12 inch passive sub its a dynamite system. They do almost everything well . Qe's use butyl rubber rubber surrounds so they don't break down like the foam surrounds do. JOHN
 
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Well i have 4 options at the moment for infinity speakers (adding 2 others after edeting), one of which involves waiting an indefinite amount of time.
Option 1: wait for a modulus to show up, again...
Option 2: Infinitesimals .2 (passably a sub as well) (the infinitesimals and the RS4b would cost me the same, just about)
Option 3: RS4b (unknown surround repair, but i might contact the seller)
Option 4: Qe + SSW10 (needs reforming and possibly repairs, i found one for under 100 euros)
Option 5: wait a indefinite amount of time for a IRS to pop up, and get a amp capable of driving it later.
Option 6: wait for a indefinite amount of time for some other infinity, but i doubt that the IRS series can be beat, but i would like a WLTC speaker, although that might take a while...

Which option should i go with, personally i have now come to terms with speaker collecting, but collection a IRS, RS (one of the good old ones) and a modulus will work.

Also, how do Infinitesimals .2 compare to Modulus? I found a thread on AK, but it was inconclusive, although i did not read it in depth.

Also, has anyone compared the beyerdynamics T1 to infinity speakers, i am curios since that's my main headphone at this time.
 
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you are all over the place with your wants – from less than hundred $ for the Qe, to over a thousand for gammas, and several thousand for the IRS (if you even have a room large enough for them). its hard to take this serious, when you state that your budget is $200. most of the potential speakers you list are way over your budget. for the better infinitys, you will also need to spend a lot of money on the amps (high watts @ low impedance) to drive them.

there is no comparison of headphones to any infinity speakers. they are two different animals.







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I have incresed my budjet for my first infinitys, and one thing that i just noticed (and forgot when righting the post above) is that there is the Infinity Refference Standard, i was not refferencing to that one, i was refferencing to the IRS line of speakers, below the Delta/Gamma, the delta/gamma is basicly the largest i can go at the moment, without having room issues.

My current budget is about 600-700 euros. Its now only a matter of what should i go with. And yes i am well aware of the fact that speakers are a different beat compared to headphones... (i was going to wright something here, but i cant remember what, i should stop wrighting these things just before going to bed)

The amp i will eventually be getting myself, is the Optonica SM4646 (145W into 4ohms). But that will happen once i have restored its 2 little brothers. The optonica amps sound very good with my T1, but i doubt they would beat Krell or Yamaha stuff (although i have not heared either).

There is also the problem of should i save up some more and get a epic speaker, or go with something more "modest" for now, and get something better in the future. Vintage infinity speakers are also more rare in Germany (at least at the moment) when compared to America, but per capita i think it might be the opposite.


For now i just want some good infinity speakers, that i will probably still like 5 or 10 years down the line, although by then i doubt the ones i buy now will be my main speakers. I just don't want to wast money on something that will not satisfy me at the moment. A fried from university recommended the Magnat Quantum 673 (contemporary), but i think vintage infinity stuff will beat them easily. Also i like the infinity design, for their speakers, especially the WLTC and IRS Beta.
 
+1 on the Kappa 8.1

And although a little out of your budget, these are very highly regarded. A step above the Kappas. Prices of both these and the Kappa 8.1 are quite good.
 
How do the Kappa 8.1 and the Renaissance 90 compare to the other speakers mentioned before, mainly compared to the RS4b, Modulus and Infinitesimals?

Also how would the Renaissance 90 compare to say, a IRS Gamma/Delta?
 
Hello HyperO.
I recommend saving your marks, bypassing all the detritus, and going for the gusto with the IRS V.
In the meantime the music will always be enjoyable listening whether listening through Qes or eQs:)
 
tubed said:
Hello HyperO.
I recommend saving your marks, bypassing all the detritus, and going for the gusto with the IRS V.
In the meantime the music will always be enjoyable listening whether listening through Qes or eQs:)
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ha ha ha ... very funny tubed, as if i could even get a IRS V into my house, even if i wanted to.

can we get back to a more serious discussion, or is this turning into a joke thread
 
Here's a thread that compares Ren 90s to some other Infinities

Regarding the Kappa 8.1, I have a pair and I think they're fantastic. I think you'd be very happy with them, and I'd probably put them above everything on your list except possibly the Modulus (with sub - the Kappa 8.1 doesn't need one). I'd say the Ren 90s sit somewhere between the Kappas and the IRS series.
 
the kappa 8.1 and the ren 90 are higher on the infinity ladder than the Qe, RS4b, modulus, or infinitesimal. the ren 90 is higher on the ladder than the kappa 8.1. the gamma/delta is higher still. be warned, once you get up above a certain grade you'll need to get into bi-amping, external crossovers, and other things i would not recommend to a novice on a budget.


of those mentioned, i'd say buy the kappa 8.1




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