Infinity RSa (port or no port)?

[robback]

A while back I picked up a pair of Infinity RSa's, and was just looking for more info. The pictures I found are of a standard two way, while my pair actually has a port on the front.

Infinity RSa with front port

• robback
• Apr 8, 2016

Infinity RSa with front port

Does anyone know if there were multiple versions of the RSa?

I'm kind of surprised that a company would put out two quite different versions with the same name.

Thanks.

 

[swechsler]

No, what you have is a heavily modified version that's not really much of an RSa any more except for the tweeter. The woofer is not an Infinity woofer, and who knows if the crossover is original. All RSas had sealed cabinets with poly woofers. In fact, I'm reasonably certain that Infinity didn't make any ported EMIT-based speakers at all until the Kappa x.1 series in the early 1990s.

 

[halo71]

Dang, looks like someone potentially ruined a nice pair of Infinity's.

 

[nexus]

hate it when people do that especially when they don't know what the heck they are doing.

 

[robback]

Thanks, folks. That will save me embarrassment if I ever try to get rid of them. The backs look right, there's no real sign that anything has been altered, and the port looks like it's been there forever.

I suppose there's nothing for it than to open it up.

It does explain why I was very disappointed in the sound. I expected a lot more, and chalked it up to it needing recapping. The emits are probably worth what I paid for them, so really no big loss. Just strange.

 

[Northwinds]

Port should have been put in the back and down real low, not sure why someone would install one on the front. I bet the original X-over is in them still or the EMITs probably would have been smoked by now

 

[gdmoore28]

Not original, but it could still sound decent if a)the modifier chose a good quality woofer compatible with a ported box of that size; b) the modifier chose the port size by modeling that woofer in that box; c) The modifier properly calculated that the replacement woofer would be compatible with the original crossover, or d) built a new crossover properly calculated to take all variables into account. I'd listen to them for a while before deciding what to do.

GeeDeeEmm

 

[swechsler]

It does explain why I was very disappointed in the sound. I expected a lot more, and chalked it up to it needing recapping. The emits are probably worth what I paid for them, so really no big loss. Just strange.

EMITs need to be crossed over fairly high. I used to have a pair of Qas (the predecessor to the RSa) and found them to be somewhat lacking in midrange because the crossover frequency was really too high for the woofer (the Qb fixes this by adding a midrange). If the replacement woofer doesn't go up high enough you're going to experience this midrange loss as well (and possibly worse)..

 

[robback]

Thanks again. Swechsler, I haven't listened to them recently, but I'll check it out again. My recollection is they sounded muddy, which might be because of midrange loss. It's just a little weird, because I would have expected modifications to be a little more obvious if done by someone who didn't know what they were doing with tools -- scuffs, or sloppiness around the ports, which I don't see. I was disappointed at the sound, having heard fairly good things on speakers with the emits.

No big deal, since I paid not a lot for them -- too much for what they are, ruined Infinities, mind you. I'm just glad I didn't try to pass them off as original to someone by accident.

 

[robback]

So, what I have, essentially, is two big old boxes, two emit tweeters, and some unknown woofers, and maybe original crossovers.

Anyone know how I can determine which emits are inside? I've been looking on the Internet without finding a clear answer.

 

[goodolpg]

Is that one of your speakers in the first post?
If so, that's the right EMIT for the RSa.
Round, blackface EMIT.
I'm familiar with 3 different codes on the back of them, 902-0484, 490124, and 490126.

 

[chef free]

Could it have been an RSb, and some wannabe Arnie Nudell took out (or more likely, destroyed) the midrange and replaced it with a port? Does the crossover have a model name on it? The boxes are the same size and the drivers are the same, or in your case were... There's a pair of mids on Ebay right now, cheap, maybe this could be a little conversion project seeing as someone has kindly cut the holes for you.

 

[robback]

Could it have been an RSb, and some wannabe Arnie Nudell took out (or more likely, destroyed) the midrange and replaced it with a port? Does the crossover have a model name on it? The boxes are the same size and the drivers are the same, or in your case were... There's a pair of mids on Ebay right now, cheap, maybe this could be a little conversion project seeing as someone has kindly cut the holes for you.

The speakers have backplates on them with the Infinity information (RSA) so unless this are complete frankenstein speakers made up of odd parts, I don't think so. I believe I have a single RSB somewhere so it's something to check with the positioning of the port. The backplates have two attenuators on them, I recall.

I'm going to take another listen to them, confirm that they sound lousy, then probably part them out. Then I'll get into them to get the parts, and see what's inside, which should tell me what is in there, where the woofers are from, etc.

In any event, my fault. I bought them without knowing too much about the line, BUT I know enough that ports aren't generally put in the middle of the baffles at the factory. I love these audio mysteries.

 

[robback]

Is that one of your speakers in the first post?
If so, that's the right EMIT for the RSa.
Round, blackface EMIT.
I'm familiar with 3 different codes on the back of them, 902-0484, 490124, and 490126.

Yes. Any idea, if I part them out, how I can describe them, since I'm seeing different emits with different designations?

 

[goodolpg]

Yes. Any idea, if I part them out, how I can describe them, since I'm seeing different emits with different designations?

I'd just list them with photos as RS series round black face EMITs...and maybe put the code from the back in the listing/description or show the back(s) in photos.
Good, clear photos of the front and back so potential buyers can see the condition of the diaphragms. It's also not a bad idea, if you have a multi meter, to show the readings across the terminals in pics, or at least mention they were checked and are ok
Typical readings range between 3.0-3.5 ohms for those EMITS.

 

[jazzmans]

Those woofers sure look a lot like the woofers in the Qa Qb and Qe.

 

[goodolpg]

The dust caps are too wide and don't have the blunt center section on the dust cap that original Q series woofers had.
Codes from the back of the woofers could help answer that.

 

[robback]

I'm planning on opening up the speaker sometime in the next week to see exactly what's inside.

It's kind of a drag if the woofers are crap. However, if everything happens to be genuine (or of decent quality worth keeping), would it make sense to remove the port tubes from the front, cut wooden pieces the size of the holes, and then use them and appropriate sealing, to bring the things back to their original configuration?

I suspect I'll end up giving some of the parts away, or parting them out to needy infinity owners, though.

 

[Rockyhill]

Could it have been an RSb, and some wannabe Arnie Nudell took out (or more likely, destroyed) the midrange and replaced it with a port? Does the crossover have a model name on it? The boxes are the same size and the drivers are the same, or in your case were... There's a pair of mids on Ebay right now, cheap, maybe this could be a little conversion project seeing as someone has kindly cut the holes for you.

I doubt it. The midrange driver on my RSb's have a wider opening than what that port looks to have.