Infinity Qe speakers

[goodolpg]

Picked up a working pair for $8 at a local thrift store. At first a bit put off by the ugly vinyl and brown grill cloth, but when I hooked them up to a small Sherwood receiver the sound is way bigger than the price. Much nicer overall than a newer set of Infinity SM-82s I am restoring. The metal around the tweeter seems rusty (steel?) but the woofers are in great shape and the tweeters sound fine. Any tips on how to clean the tweeter plates? The boxes are in good shape for recovering. I'll open them up tomorrow and see what's inside. I am veneering a pair of EPI speakers with some birdseye primavera veneer and am thinking the same for the Infinitys. Will post some pics later of the progress. :thmbsp:

Whatever you do, DO NOT use steel wool to clean those face plates.
The strong magnets will attract the steel wool sheddings and then you will have a real problem.

Exception--only if you completely disassemble them could steel wool be used.

 

[Spitfirejoe]

Whatever you do, DO NOT use steel wool to clean those face plates.
The strong magnets will attract the steel wool sheddings and then you will have a real problem.

Exception--only if you completely disassemble them could steel wool be used.

Ditto that - disastrous possibilities...

You might try some automotive "Chrome Polish". I've been surprised several times by how much discoloration can be removed. The little rust pits seem to "bleed" oxidized particles all over the surface. Put a dab on a soft cloth, rub it on, wipe it off with a clean section of the cloth. It would probably go easier if you removed them from the cabinets, and then you wouldn't risk getting polish on the front baffle.

 

[jrug]

Thanks for the tips. I intuitively stayed away from the steel wool--used the chrome polish on a rag and they cleaned up nicely. I've picked up and turned over a number of speakers, but gave the Qe speakers to a customer who I had sold a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 7c's to. Shortly after he set them up one of the woofer voice coils started rubbing and I offered him the Qe's in exchange. He wasn't as fussy about the exterior, but was knocked out by the sound. So he's happy, and I'm on the lookout for others.

 

[MrRogers385]

I just found two today for 14.99 one grill is shot, I'm missing my fuses, what kind are they? I did test the tweeters and they sound good, a little soap, water and elbow grease removed my rust. Vinegar may be good for heavier rust. I also grabbed some Polk 5jr speakers.

 

[Andyman]

Listening to a set from Kegger's and they are really quite nice. It will be interesting A/B'ing them with my EPI 100s as they sound so nice right now playing a little Jerry Garcia Band...

 

[ChefE]

I agree, the combination of HPM and Qe speakers is definitely a good sounding pair. The high notes are there. Crazy good with a subwoofer.

 

[RickeyM]

View attachment 977348 I just found two today for 14.99 one grill is shot, I'm missing my fuses, what kind are they? I did test the tweeters and they sound good, a little soap, water and elbow grease removed my rust. Vinegar may be good for heavier rust. I also grabbed some Polk 5jr speakers.

Looks like a RSe with a Qa woofer. If memory serves, the Q series woofers have rubber surrounds and the RS series woofers had foam surrounds that rotted.

 

[goodolpg]

Looks like a RSe with a Qa woofer. If memory serves, the Q series woofers have rubber surrounds and the RS series woofers had foam surrounds that rotted.

Not an RSe, front baffle is wrong (RS baffles are full face with no edge woodwork) UNLESS it's an overseas version.
The Australian RSM has a different cabinet than the USA version.
Looks like a Qe to me.

 

[jwrauch]

I have toyed with the idea of making a set of walnut enclosure for them or possibly adding a 12 inch woofer and using the 8 inch as a mid/woofer. JOHN

 

[RickeyM]

Not an RSe, front baffle is wrong (RS baffles are full face with no edge woodwork) UNLESS it's an overseas version.
The Australian RSM has a different cabinet than the USA version.
Looks like a Qe to me.

Doggone-it, they have so many similar models that it's hard to keep up. My RSe's had the same two piece EMIT's rather than the one piece ones.

 

[goodolpg]

Looks like a RSe with a Qa woofer. If memory serves, the Q series woofers have rubber surrounds and the RS series woofers had foam surrounds that rotted.

Doggone-it, they have so many similar models that it's hard to keep up. My RSe's had the same two piece EMIT's rather than the one piece ones.

Sounds like they were replacements.
Should have had the black round face EMITs.
It is annoying the way Infinity reused model names.
Fairly often it is a huge difference between the original XXXX and the 2nd or 3rd model XXXX

 

[RickeyM]

Sounds like they were replacements.
Should have had the black round face EMITs.
It is annoying the way Infinity reused model names.
Fairly often it is a huge difference between the original XXXX and the 2nd or 3rd model XXXX

Never mind the woofers Not the originals, they are Infinities tho'

 

[432HzBob]

Never mind the woofers Not the originals, they are Infinities tho'

Those look like Kappa IMG woofers. IMO they are superior to the stock woofers and handle more power.
After burning out the VC's in my RS6's twice, i replaced the stock poly drivers with the Kappa IMG's and have been nothing but totally satisfied with the improvement, bass and increased power handling. Even though they need replacing every 15-20 years, the foam surrounds are the key to these drivers. Rubber surround woofers will not have the same sound and are nowhere near as fast and tight as the foam models. I tried running 8" rubber surround Infinity woofers (QA, OEM) and they sounded very very weak and unable to keep up with the bass in the music.
Another tip I used to improve them was gluing a felt center cap over the stock concave center cap (same diameter)..
Brought out and dispersed the upper mids that flowed better into the Polydome midrange.. Never be afraid to experiment
As far as the EMIT's, those do look like the Silver OEM's that sound very nice...
But then again there are whole treads dedicated to "which model EMIT sounds best" that will never have a finite answer.

 

[RickeyM]

Those look like Kappa IMG woofers. IMO they are superior to the stock woofers and handle more power.
Another tip I used to improve them was gluing a felt center cap over the stock concave center cap (same diameter)..
Brought out and dispersed the upper mids that flowed better into the Polydome midrange.. Never be afraid to experiment
As far as the EMIT's, those do look like the Silver OEM's that sound very nice...
But then again there are whole treads dedicated to "which model EMIT sounds best" that will never have a finite answer.

I don't know if the Kappa IMG's are the same as the others but these came out of a pair of Infinity Sterling SS-2004's. Where did you get the idea of gluing a felt center cap over the stock concave center cap? I might give that a try.

 

[432HzBob]

I don't know if the Kappa IMG's are the same as the others but these came out of a pair of Infinity Sterling SS-2004's. Where did you get the idea of gluing a felt center cap over the stock concave center cap? I might give that a try.

There was a slight drop in part of the midrange spectrum I could not hear compared to the original poly that did have the standard convex dust cover.
I thought there might be wasted sound from the IMG concave cover over the pole as the difference.
On a hunch and as a tinkerer I bought and glued on that felt piece, never really worrying about the difference in mass it might add, it was so light.
And voila!! That little bit of sound between where the woofer XO'd into the midrange was back..
I could tell quickly especially with piano...
I know it sounds weird and I'm a huge Infinity fan, but I think I improved something they made by just doing that.