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Infinity RSe, thoughts?

CJ Payne

CJ Payne

Well-Known Member
Just came across a pair of Infinity RSe bookshelves. Looks like they have ribbon tweeters. One definitely needs new surrounds. Worth fixing up? I know infinity can be hit or miss, with some not really being worth it and some being fairly well regarded. I think the clear cone is a neat idea.
 

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CJ Payne said:
Just came across a pair of Infinity RSe bookshelves. Looks like they have ribbon tweeters. One definitely needs new surrounds. Worth fixing up? I know infinity can be hit or miss, with some not really being worth it and some being fairly well regarded. I think the clear cone is a neat idea.
Click to expand...
Not ribbons, planars (but don't worry, it's a common mistake). I agree with everything @crazy-in-az said. Feel free to join us in our Infinity subforum; some of us are a bit obsessed.
 
You can do a DIY refoam for maybe $20.
A shop might charge around double that give or take (probably give).
I'd think it's worth it whether you plan to keep or pass on.
Has to been done either way if they are to be used by anyone.
 
Yes, what others have said. Worth fixing up. I have a pair of RSa speakers, which are the big brother of the RSe. With the woofer being a 6.5" driver in the RSe, the soundstage will be more in your face than with the 10" woofer of the RSa, since it is better suited for midrange frequencies. It probably won't go as low, bass-wise, but they should fill a small room with sound, no problem.
 
Well good to know! I’ll have to order the surround kit and take a look inside them next week, too busy this weekend.

these just fell in my lap for free, so no complaints on breaking even! Funny how when you’re a vintage audio nut after a certain amount of time people start bringing you stuff, “I know a guy that might like these”

cheers to a set saved from the dump

I wonder if with the clear woofers I could find some kind of led light kit that can change colors with the beat to put in the basket
 
Those look just like my RS8s (the original). Measure woofer size from mounting hole across the center to mounting hole.
 
classic carl said:
The RSe uses an 8" woofer. I had a pair for several years and traded them to another AKer who recapped them. They sounded very good to me, but I was told the recap improved them significantly.
Click to expand...

Yeah, must've been thinking about the later RS9b speakers... So, they're basically the RS6b, minus a midrange, in a slightly smaller cabinet.
 
Keepers for sure. I have a pair of Qe's, which are the direct predecessor to the Rse, and these little speakers always impress me. Stronger bass than you would expect from such a small cabinet, and they image really well, too.
 
Well this crossover looks a little more complex from the diagram above. The 8.5/100V comes off the fuse (from +) and then into the tweeter control which has a small inductor to steepen the curve.

Then the + for the woofer bypasses the fuse, an inductor, 25uF/100V, and 5.4ohm 5W ceramic are wired in parallel, into then another inductor, then to the + input of the woofer with one last 6.8uF/100V crossing from there to ground.

in the picture you’ll notice the ceramic resistor is toast, this is in the one that needed the new foam, haven’t pulled the other one apart.

I haven’t de soldered the inductors to find their exact measurements, however I used the known factors on a quick X-Sim mockup and played with the inductance until I got a fairly smooth response. See the picture of the mock-up, the resistor in series simply represents the tweeter potentiometer . When I get the caps and deconstruct the thing I’ll check the individual inductors resistance and compare. I’ll also probably run an impedance sweep on the emit and the woofer to load those into X-Sim and get a better visual.

Final note: the staples holding the x-over in the inside of the box were a pain to get out! I might replace using a commercial grade double sided tape.
 

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Just did the surrounds and they sound great. Definitely bigger sound than I’d expect from bookshelves their age.
 
I’m new to this forum and would like to endorse the Rse’s for those looking for great value in vintage speakers. I just bought a pair for $60 and am extremely happy with them. My main speakers are Genesis 110s which I restored using drivers and crossovers from Human Speakers. They are my reference system.

The Rse’s are less forward and not as detailed as the 110’s, but they have a very pleasing soundstage and tonality. They make music. I recently bought and sold a set of Kef q150’s that were crap by comparison.

I’d love to hear the Infinity Infinitesimals for comparison with the Rse’s. They both have the same Emit tweeter and Watkins 8” woofer, and I can’t imagine they sound significantly better at 10 times the price of the Rse’s. To me the Rse’s are a steal, especially considering the low cost of good class D amps with the power needed to drive them. Real sleepers in the vintage market in my opinion.
 
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milanpavich said:
I’m new to this forum and would like to endorse the Rse’s for those looking for great value in vintage speakers. I just bought a pair for $60 and am extremely happy with them. My main speakers are Genesis 110s which I restored using drivers and crossovers from Human Speakers. They are my reference system.

The Rse’s are less forward and not as detailed as the 110’s, but they have a very pleasing soundstage and tonality. They make music. I recently bought and sold a set of Kef q150’s that were crap by comparison.

I’d love to hear the Infinity Infinitesimals for comparison with the Rse’s. They both have the same Emit tweeter and Watkins 8” woofer, and I can’t imagine they sound significantly better at 10 times the price of the Rse’s. To me the Rse’s are a steal, especially considering the low cost of good class D amps with the power needed to drive them. Real sleepers in the vintage market in my opinion.
Click to expand...


Infinitesimals versions 1 and 2 have a 5" Watkins mid/woof, I believe version 3 has a regular single voice coil 5" mid/woof.
There is/was also a 12" Watkins dual voice coil woofer used in some higher end Infinity models.
As far as I know there were NO Infinitesimals that used an 8" driver, and as far as I know there were no 8" Watkins dual voice coil drivers.
 
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