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Infinity Column 2s?

Brunt

Brunt

Active Member
A listing just popped up near me for 'Old Pioneer Speakers' but they look like old Infinity Column IIs from the 70s some time but with non-original midrange and tweeter drivers. Unfortunately this is the best picture they have of them, but I'm pretty curious about them. The oldest Infinities I've heard are RSIIs but these would be 7 years older, far before they started putting EMITs in everything. Have any of you heard a pair of these in the past and have any opinions?

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Those are definitely Column II. And correct that those are non-original mids and tweets, which is unfortunate. The mids in Column II are directly from the Quantum series and the tweeters are excellent Motorola piezos that are, in my opinion, equally as good as EMITs. Note that there is also a matching rear-firing tweeter as well. If those have been replaced too, it would be very hard to find 4 original piezos.

With all that being said, Column II are excellent speakers in stock form and a fantastic example of early Infinity. My only issue with them is that they can produce TOO much bass. They have a downward firing, doped 10" woofer that really hits hard. They can be had for very little coin and represent amazing values in the used market. I sold my near mint pair that I refoamed and recapped for $400. That's a pretty good value considering they sold for $1,500 a pair in 1977, which is $6,500 in today's dollars.

So although I would normally recommend any Infinity lover to grab and listen to a pair of Column IIs, without the mids and tweets, these aren't really Column IIs anymore, so unless they were dirt cheap, I would probably pass and wait for a better example to come along.
 
Thanks for sharing. I actually just coincidentally found a 2nd pair for sale locally with original mids and tweets, but modern car subs for woofers. If I can get them for similar money I might resurrect these old things and see how they sound.

On the other hand, does anyone know if an EMIT-r would work in place of the Piezos if I can't get the 2nd pair? I have a few of those lying around. Do they have a similar impedance or are the piezos very different than the EMITs?

I'm honestly not sure what use I'll have for these but it's always fun doing projects like this and if I can bring these back from the dead then I'd consider it a worthwhile pursuit. Who knows, I might be able to pass them on when I'm done with them to someone that will be able to actually appreciate them.
 
Just buy both pairs and make a single complete set! :)

Too bad both pairs have inferior replacements. The woofers in the Column II can be hard to find. Especially the doped, downfiring pair.

I can’t help you with the piezo/EMIT compatibility. My guess is they’re probably not very close and the sonic results might not be to your liking. For the relatively low price that even perfect Column IIs are getting, it certainly wouldn’t be a good financial venture. But if you’re just dying for a project to keep you out of trouble, go for it.

Or sell the extra EMITs to someone looking for them and hold out for a nicer, complete pair of vintage Infinities. Keep an eye out for the WTLC, which is the predecessor to the Column II. They don’t hit as hard (they used a pair of 8” woofers in a simpar configuration), but they used a Walsh supertweeter and really sound nice.
 
The 2nd guy wants too much for them so I may pass on both pairs. I got the first to agree to $25, do you think theyre worth that just as party speakers or in case an AKer needs some parts later down the line? The woofers are all original and look to be in good condition based on the pics I've seen.
 
Well, it would certainly be hard to find a set of 4 original woofers for $25, so in that respect, it's a good deal. Having no idea what they sound like in their current state, I couldn't tell you if it's worth $25 for you to go pick them up and drag them home. Although $25 for any speaker is a good deal, I suppose. At least you know they have good cabinets and good woofers.
 
I'd get them at $25 for the pair. The crossover would need to be modded to replace piezos with any other tweeter (it's possible the previous owner did that to use the domes), since piezeos have a very high impedance (one way around this is to put an 8Ω resistor in parallel with the piezo). I believe the original Philips mids should be fairly easy to find, they were very common in the 1970s.
 
Ok you've sold me, I'll pick them up. Could also use them as a test-bed for learning to work on old crossovers since I want to do a full restoration/upgrade on the crossovers in my RSIIs. I have some EMITs and IMG mids from the CS/kappa.1 era laying around that I could use to replace the current ones if I don't like the way they sound.

Are these difficult to drive at all or would a Yamaha 100wpc stereo receiver be fine?
 
I have for the WTLC - 2 upper woofers, and 1 lower woofer - original infinity drivers. They all have new surrounds installed. The lower woofer has the infinity doped cone.
 
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