Infinity IRS Epsilon or renaissance 90

[flaskebent]

I have had the Infinity renaissance 90 for some years now and I love the sound from them but I am thinking about finding a pair of IRS Epsilon. Would it be much of an upgrade to invest in the IRS Epsilon?

I do believe I have amps to drive the IRS Epsilon I have a pair of krell fpb 650m which I today use for my renaissance 90.

What about spare parts? Am I able to get any drivers for the IRS Epsilon?

 

[Mark B]

If you get a pair of IRS Epsilons you will love them.

IMO it will be a significant upgrade.

 

[okeeteekid]

I'm not 100% sure your krells would work with the servo control system, stereophile did a review on the Epsilon in 95 and tried to use these krells KSA-300Ses for the woofers and had problems with the amps bias, here is the review, http://www.stereophile.com/content/i...speaker-page-2 go to the paragraph next to the Epsilon speakers, Here are my thoughts on the two speakers: the Epsilon gives you everything you love about the Ren 90 and more, added detail from top to bottom, a larger soundstage and lower/tighter bass extension thanks to the SCU box, they can also play louder with less distortion, If you think the Ren 90's are good at making the musicians appear right in front of you... Wait till you hear the Epsilons, IMHO they take it a step further, The Ren 90 is a slightly warmer sounding speaker probably due to the 140 Hz peak that they are known to have, The Ren 90 is a more forgiving speaker of lesser electronics and poor recordings, With the Epsilon you will hear all the good and all the bad with lesser electronics and poor recordings, The Ren 90's will sound their best in a medium size room where as the Epsilon will sound better in a larger room, If you can find a pair of Epsilons for sale in the $5000 to $6000 range they are definitely worth the upgrade.

 

[uvafan420]

What about spare parts? Am I able to get any drivers for the IRS Epsilon?

An owners biggest problem with alot of the old Infinity speakers. Excepting of course say the Kappa line, which was a long running and high selling product as was a couple other lines (so parts are a bit easier to come by).

The bigger the speaker usually means less parts available for them (not as many made). Also take into account the cost of those types of speakers, and people are less prone to break them down to sell drivers for parts etc...

It is one of the reasons I have grown happy and settled with what I have. Much easier to find parts for.

Thus, if I were to buy a pair, they would have to be 100% operational and in very good original condition, as the speaker can last a very long time in the right hands.

Not sure where you are, but there was a pair near me in NC that was up for sale a while back (4500 or 5K I believe it was). I don't think they ever sold.

 

[okeeteekid]

To drive them you will need:
Two stereo power amplifiers - or
Four mono power amplifiers - or
One stereo amp and two mono amps
The Epsilon System requires two power amplifier channels for each loudspeaker enclosure: One for the servo woofer
section and one for the mid/high frequency section containing the planar midrange and tweeter drivers.

 

[okeeteekid]

An owners biggest problem with alot of the old Infinity speakers. Excepting of course say the Kappa line, which was a long running and high selling product as was a couple other lines (so parts are a bit easier to come by).

The bigger the speaker usually means less parts available for them (not as many made). Also take into account the cost of those types of speakers, and people are less prone to break them down to sell drivers for parts etc...

It is one of the reasons I have grown happy and settled with what I have. Much easier to find parts for.

Thus, if I were to buy a pair, they would have to be 100% operational and in very good original condition, as the speaker can last a very long time in the right hands.

Not sure where you are, but there was a pair near me in NC that was up for sale a while back (4500 or 5K I believe it was). I don't think they ever sold.

I agree, Mids and tweeters do appear on the bay every once in a while, tweeters are the same in the Ren 80,90,Omega,Sigma and Epsilon, Mids are different, Ren 80,90,Omega are the same, they have black cloth on the back of them, Sigma and Epsilon are different than the above mentioned as both have open backs or no cloth, all Mid diaphragms are the same and can be used in all models, I have owned Infinity speakers since the mid 80's and never had to replace a driver yet, if you don't play them real loud they will last a life time, If you ever have a problem with the SCU box it can be repaired as schematics are available online for both SCU box versions.

 

[rvito]

Or maybe a set of Gammas? I love mine and they are keepers. I compared them with my 90s and the Gammas are in a whole different class. I run mine mine with a Krell Fpb400cx for the top end and a Krell Ksa300 for the bottom end. Often wonder though how the Gammas compare to the Epsilions

 

[okeeteekid]

Or maybe a set of Gammas? I love mine and they are keepers. I compared them with my 90s and the Gammas are in a whole different class. I run mine mine with a Krell Fpb400cx for the top end and a Krell Ksa300 for the bottom end. Often wonder though how the Gammas compare to the Epsilions

They probably sound very similar, you would think that the Gammas would put out a little more bass because they have two 12 inch woofers and they also have a super tweeter that the Epsilon does not have so I'm guessing that the Gammas have a more airy sound to the high frequencies, the only other difference is the Epsilon uses infinity's newer/upgraded planer drivers, infinity said the epsilon Servo Control system was improved over the ones used in the earlier IRS speakers, so who knows, both speakers sound nice from what I've read on forums.

 

[flaskebent]

To drive them you will need:
Two stereo power amplifiers - or
Four mono power amplifiers - or
One stereo amp and two mono amps
The Epsilon System requires two power amplifier channels for each loudspeaker enclosure: One for the servo woofer
section and one for the mid/high frequency section containing the planar midrange and tweeter drivers.

After getting this information I must say I am not ready for the Epsilons. Not only should I invest in the Esilons, but also another high end amp. By adding a new amp I should do some calculating on the power consumption and have my electrical instalation changed.