todampicky
New Member
I am doing some horse trading for a set of RSIIIa's, and was wondering about the sound of these speakers.They will be powered bye a Nad T-955 amp.Thanks for your opinion in advance.John
Infinity RSIIIa
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kneeOhFight
Addicted Member
superb speakers, when properly powered; the NAD you mentioned won't get you close to optimum results with them. I've found that with good Infinity speakers (which I own and love), one needs to have a willingness to cater to their needs (power wise) to find bliss. Stay tuned, Infinity experts abound here, and will probably weigh in on this one.
todampicky
New Member
Thanks ,How much power or current are you talking about? I was also wondering what the sound stage was like with these speakers.Are they good for jazz, rock ,blues, classical? Thanks again John
kneeOhFight
Addicted Member
I wouldn't start with an amp rated at less than 200-250 wpc @ 8 ohms, and capable of handling loads of 4 ohms or less. Infinity woofers make amps dig deep, and a shortage of this kind of"grunt" will starve and damage the delicate EMIT drivers when used at a robust volume level.. Properly powered, all aspects of this speakers presentation are breathtaking, regardless of musical genre or instrumentation. These are serious,very high quality speakers
I don't believe the RSIIIa/b is an especially "tough" load for an amplifier but 160 watt per channel Yamaha M-60 is plenty IMHO.
This model is perhaps the best "deal/value" in the vintage speaker category, considering the average price at which they can be obtained:yes:
This model is perhaps the best "deal/value" in the vintage speaker category, considering the average price at which they can be obtained:yes:
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todampicky
New Member
Thanks for the help.I really don't need another set of speakers, but I am getting them in a trade.Thanks again,John
kneeOhFight
Addicted Member
your ears and brain will thank you, believe me
was on the sales floor when those were current. clean, detailed loudspeaker. ran them respectably with nad, yamaha, hk, and sony receivers of 50-100 wpc but higher powered separates did a bit better job, particularly at higher listening levels. the nad electronics are stable and dynamic so I wouldn't expect any problems there. enjoy.
Yamahaha
Well-Known Member
Speaker manufacturers generally don't make consumer level speakers to run on power well beyond consumer level amplifiers.
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tuffstuff1
Super Member
Way to go! I have a set too. I refoamed the woofers and gave them a listen for a couple days and then ironiclly stumbled on a pair of Yamaha NS-1000 ebonies that I had to have. I have had the Yammies as my mian speaks for about 3 months now, and I think my ears are pretty well trained to those. I am going to drag the RSIIIa back out and give them a good listen now. I would expect a big difference in sound. Wouldn't it be something if I like the Infinity's better? The Yammies are not forgiving at all. They are very detailed and bring out every flaw in records. Maybe the Infinities will be a little more forgiving. Oh, BTW, my RSIIIa don't have fuses in them. I put little 1/4 socket in. I know, shame shame. Does anybody know what fuse goes in the holder. Have a good one. Enjoy!
The fuse is 1.25 amp fast blow but if you can't find a 1.25, a 1 amp fuse works fine and gives a little more protection.
My IIIb's were powered with an Adcom GFA-555 Mk II (200 wpc) and they sounded fantastic. Though not the amp killers that some of the bigger Infinity's are, the RS-IIIa/b's still like a stout high-current amp of at least 100 wpc that can take control of the woofers. I had a 225 wpc Carver TFM-25 one 'em for a while that sounded flabby and anemic; the Adcom mopped the floor with it.
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tuffstuff1
Super Member
Thanks for the reply on the fuses. I have a pair of Mcintosh MC-250 run as mono blocks and they mopped the floor too.
MarkRSIIIa
Active Member
Old thread but I have to add to it if anyone looks. The Woofers are not the load from the RSIIIa speaker. It's the Emit and Polydome. Watkins woofers are 4 ohms but they are wired in series (factory) which brings them out to be 8ohms. The Polydome is 4 ohm's and the Emit is 3 point something ohms (depends on the diaphragm). You can run the woofers off a clock radio output. The top end is the power draw / heat maker. I passive bi-amped mine so now I have a 4 channel amp @ 250 watts per channel (4ohms) feeding the speakers. Staying out of clipping and lots of head room is the challenge. You get that and these speakers are hard to beat.
Sure.
Well the RSiiia woofers are not Watkins. Yep wired in Series.
These aren't Kappa 9's.
Like most sealed bass box speakers-a bit more power is helpful.
These are a easily load compared to the Kappa's-but transparent.
They do need high quality power, but it doesn't have to be expensive.
Many of the newer D class amps have plenty of juice to drive these.
I currently run my with a Dargon N-but had excellent luck with my Rogue Atlas III Magnum Darl-100 tube watts.
IMHO-swapping out the yellow/white Mexico caps for Jatzen Superior Z's, and replacing the old l-pads with new units-these will amaze you.
A heard some complaints about the RSiii'a's ploy midrange "honking" or hard etc my one member at higher volumes.
Haven't found that to be the case-midrange is superb IMHO-nice wide and deep soundstage-like a Magnapan-but with dynamic bass.
Real sleepers IMHO-esp for the price.
