Infinity and real wood

[Bill_Van]

I purchased a set of Infinity RS-4001 speakers years ago on eBay and appears the original owner was a super craftsman/woodworker!

First question: Did Infinity ever offer the 4001 in a real wood (veneer) cabinet. with a port on the rear rather than the usual vinyl sealed box?

The workmanship is outstanding with sound exceeding my best expectations!

I'm really happy with the purchase and just trying to chase down if Infinity offered them or the seller built them himself..... yes, they are that good and look like a factory offering! Either way I think I really came out on this one!

 

[goodolpg]

Can you post pictures of them?

 

[JoeESP9]

 

[Bill_Van]

Pic don't do them justice but here they are!

 

[swechsler]

No, they were all originally acoustic suspension with vinyl veneer. And that's not an Infinity woofer; it has been replaced. If you're lucky, the previous owner selected the woofer based on the cabinet volume, and built the port accordingly.

ETA: there are a lot of pics online showing the 4001s with the wrong woofers. Here's what they are supposed to look like:

 

[Bill_Van]

Thanks for the info. If I remember, the seller said he had replaced the woofer with a Tang Band (unknown model) but it must have a huge magnet as these weigh quite a lot. I am pleased with the low end sound. Much better than I expected from a speaker this size. Tight bass yet good lower extension.

What about the finish? Any ideas? It is not vinyl as I oiled them yesterday and it soaked it up. Really deep looking grain after the oil.

 

[swechsler]

No, as I said, they were all originally vinyl. Fake oak, either brown or black. Looks like nice work on these.

Did the previous owner internally brace the cabinets? IIRC these had pretty thin walls.

 

[Bill_Van]

Sorry, I missed that. Guess my hearing is better than my eyesight! Thanks!

 

[gkimeng]

The port makes sense because of the replaced woofer. Most aftermarket woofers are designed for ported cabinets. The question is whether the person who replaced the woofer chose one that is suitable for the cabinet volume, and whether the cabinet got all the mods needed to make it suitable for the woofer and not just a port in the rear.

Either way, even if they sound good, you can't really say they're still Infinity speakers.

 

[blademan13]

I would guess the owner had at least some knowledge of speaker design, such as woofer selection and port tuning. Especially if they sound good to you. Beautiful veneer work, Tiger Maple in my eyes.

 

[goodolpg]

Interesting. I saw one of them on Worthpoint when I did a search right after I asked for pictures this morning...I don't know if this will work (after posting the link all I see is a blank box and , not the image).
Do a Google search for Infinity 4001 then select images and scroll down. Odd that it/they are on Worthpoint as the wood grain is both distinctive and one of a kind. And yes, that woodgrain is very nice.

 

[swechsler]

Yes, that does appear to be the OP's speakers, especially since he said he bought them on eBay, and that Worthpoint page is a direct copy of an eBay listing. Text:

New Anigre veneer all sides w/ 5 coats hand-rubbed tung oil(satin). Replaced original bass drivers(Tonegen, 1"voice coil, stamped steel frame) with the Vifa PL22WR09-04(2" voice coil, cast magnesium frame). A perfect acoustic and electronic match. Vastly improved bass authority. Enclosure is lined, ported and tuned to 32hz(down from 44hz). Excellent response to 25hz. Top quality components in the crossovers.​

 

[Bill_Van]

Amazing.... after all the searching performed by me, I passed the Worthpoint listing thinking it was just another dead end! I think those are my speakers! Listened for a couple hours last night and I'm still impressed with the sound. My other system(s) are complicated. Just wanted to set up a simple 2 channel system in another room, wondering what took me so long as simple is sometimes so much more enjoyable.

Thanks for finding the listing and all the responses!