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Which Infinity's to choose from

markd323

markd323

Igor
I've been a long time AK follower but never posted.

I've done a lot of research on the various Infinity models but I'm looking for serious opinions.

I'm looking to choose a set of Infinity's to focus on for my main speakers.
Here are my options.

RS 2.5
RS II
RS IIB
Kappa 8.1 Series II
 
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I would follow Jazzmans advise. From my standpoint, all the above. At some point, I'll be stepping up. First I would need a amp upgrade.
 
Any of the first three, and what jazzmans said about the 8.1. I think it really all depends on what the rest of your gear is and your room from what I have read. All would be great, but then I am biased toward any early Infinity. I think you will find that there are some very knowledgeable guys that may comment. 7.62, tubed, goodolpg, bahamayellow and jazzmans come to mind. (there are many others) In my time lurking here, I have pretty much decided that if they say it, you can take it to the bank. Just my 2 cents.
 
Of the 4 you’ve listed the 8.1 will be the easiest to power. Personally the 2.5 would be my first choice, then the 2B and RS II. All good choices though ! The 2.5, 2B’s and RS ll’s are going to need some juice to sing.

And Lurker no more, Welcome Sir :thumbsup:..
 
markd323 said:
I've been a long time AK follower but never posted.

I've done a lot of research on the various Infinity models but I'm looking for serious opinions.

I'm looking to choose a set of Infinity's to focus on for my main speakers.
Here are my options.

RS 2.5
RS II
RS IIB
Kappa 8.1 Series II
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October of 2004 and this is your first post this has to be some kind of record here at audiokarma
 
Tough choice, I have never heard the Kappa 8.1 but own the IIb and 2.5 and sold my II’s. I’d say the if you can have either the of them you’d be happy for a long time. The RSII are pretty much bomb proof as they only have the emits to worry about. I sold them and kind of regret it. The RSIIb have a bass controller that I’m always nervous about failing someday as there is no real replacement that I’m aware of. The 2.5 is a great rock and roll speaker and sounds pretty darn good in a smallish room. I listen to those the most.
 
Something to note, if cost is a factor at all then the RSII is the best bang for buck of the 4 by far from what ive seen. A decent pair of RSIIs can be had for under $500 if you're patient, whereas the IIb and 2.5s you'll be lucky if you get them for anything less than 3 times that. This is based on prices I've seen lately in the south western U.S. though, YMMV, and you can always get lucky and find some at goodwill or something though.
 
Op I don’t know where you are, but if you were a member here there is a member selling a gorgeous set of RS ll’s now at a ridiculously low price in our subscribers forum. I’m glad he’s not close to Las Vegas because I’d probably be sleeping on the porch.
 
7.62 said:
Of the 4 you’ve listed the 8.1 will be the easiest to power. Personally the 2.5 would be my first choice, then the 2B and RS II. All good choices though ! The 2.5, 2B’s and RS ll’s are going to need some juice to sing.

And Lurker no more, Welcome Sir :thumbsup:..
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Nothing to do with the 2.5 as it has been many many years since I heard them, but curious why you never tried the 8.1 SII with the Krell? I am not sure on the 8.1 (as it is a bit different enclosure and one less driver), but I know with the 9.1 (which I have owned a set since they came out), is a good speaker with a lot of amps, but an excellent speaker with a lot of current. I never really heard them correctly through all of those years until I changed that. So when people say they are easier to drive, I don't really tend to agree with that statement (especially on the 9.1SII). Something Steve Guttenberg once said, on his channel, is that a speaker can offer a whole lot more with the right things connected to them (even really small bookshelf speakers). After many years, I can really understand that statement.
 
7.62 said:
Op I don’t know where you are, but if you were a member here there is a member selling a gorgeous set of RS ll’s now at a ridiculously low price in our subscribers forum. I’m glad he’s not close to Las Vegas because I’d probably be sleeping on the porch.
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Exactly. Still for sale as of today. If you are in NY state I believe, the seller is doing everything possible to get them to a new home soon. I am afraid if they don't sell, they may be parted out, which is a shame, but often necessary. As an owner of a pair of these, unmodified, I highly recommend them, especially with adequate power. Good luck in your quest. Hit the subscribe button. Worth the small investment to support this site and the benefits are great.
 
As Brunt said, the RS II is the best bang for the buck. I have two sets of them and the 2.5's. Love them both. Would like to get a pair of RS IIb, but I haven't found a great deal on a set yet.

L.D.
 
I gotcha uvafan420, I’ll give you my reason. Krell and the 8.1, the KSA 80 has power to spare and being a single woofer speaker IMHO it wouldn’t take much on the happy knob to start blowing drivers, that scared me and why I never bothered to go for it. I’ve blown a woofer on 3009’s and it happened with less power.

If the average guy using standard receivers the 8.1 is probably the only one of his selection that could make decent volume without to much risk to the receiver or speakers.

Throw the same thing at the 2.5, Watkins is going to heat things up and probably going to break something. Enter your 9.1 and the dual woofers, same thing. The RS-ll’s is the same, my very first Infinity speaker and what started me down the rabbit hole, average guy didn’t know what I do now. Cranked up the volume knob working out back, come in the house for a cold beer..oh what’s that burning smell ? Cooked a nice Kenwood AVR. Took like 5 minutes.

Also using the XLS 1502 I never had to turn the volume know past a 1/4 with mine to ROCK, as where the 2.5, and the rest was usually 1/2 way or more. So I can’t argue with you, maybe I’m wrong it’s just what experiences tell me.
 
At a bargain price point, the RSII are a gem as are the others mentioned but at a higher price point;)
 
7.62 said:
I gotcha uvafan420, I’ll give you my reason. Krell and the 8.1, the KSA 80 has power to spare and being a single woofer speaker IMHO it wouldn’t take much on the happy knob to start blowing drivers, that scared me and why I never bothered to go for it. I’ve blown a woofer on 3009’s and it happened with less power.

If the average guy using standard receivers the 8.1 is probably the only one of his selection that could make decent volume without to much risk to the receiver or speakers.

Throw the same thing at the 2.5, Watkins is going to heat things up and probably going to break something. Enter your 9.1 and the dual woofers, same thing. The RS-ll’s is the same, my very first Infinity speaker and what started me down the rabbit hole, average guy didn’t know what I do now. Cranked up the volume knob working out back, come in the house for a cold beer..oh what’s that burning smell ? Cooked a nice Kenwood AVR. Took like 5 minutes.

Also using the XLS 1502 I never had to turn the volume know past a 1/4 with mine to ROCK, as where the 2.5, and the rest was usually 1/2 way or more. So I can’t argue with you, maybe I’m wrong it’s just what experiences tell me.
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Woofers/drivers blow from distortion/overheating/clipping, not really clean power, so you would not have had much worry with the KSA 80. But the high current amplifiers are not really to make a speaker louder, it is to make an inefficient speaker sound better at all volumes. Having good tight bass at lower volume etc... I remember quite some time ago (actually a long time ago now) I used to have 2 Yamaha MX-1000U amplifiers bi amped to my 9.1s (along with quite a lot of others over the years). Even at quite high volumes (yes these amps would make the speakers really loud) the 12" drivers never even really moved very much (did not produce any air). So my first try with a big high current amp was not really to make my speakers louder, it was to make them sound better (and it done just that in spades). I mostly listen to music at natural levels (natural as in what I believe it would sound like in person). The Rens seem to be the same, they like high current (power to spare).

Being my room is not laid out to accommodate another set of Betas (4 cabinets). My next speaker experience might be with some Gammas if I find some at fair pricing (and in the condition I like my speakers to be in). I like those for the dual 12s. I have also been contemplating having some Omegas shipped from overseas (as that is where they all seemed to be). I like that speaker for it's rarity here in the U.S.
 
“It is to make an inefficient speaker sound better” I guess I never felt the 8.1 was inefficient enough to warrant applying the Krell power. Now the 90 is a complete different animal. And as far as that goes my 90’s were very good with pro power, when the Krell came into the house, I was smitten and i thought it was nirvana UNTIL I really got some listening time in.

While the Krell did wonders for those Watkins woofers, my ears could not take the top end for any amount of time. While they retained that spooky good imaging the he emims and tweeters were just to bright for me.

The 8.1 with the pro amp, Devine with just about anything you throw at it. Maybe that has a lot to do with the emit-r tweeter too. That’s a great combination for that speaker, emit-r, polydome. Any of the infinity speakers with that combo is a great sounding speaker IMHO.
 
7.62 said:
“It is to make an inefficient speaker sound better” I guess I never felt the 8.1 was inefficient enough to warrant applying the Krell power. Now the 90 is a complete different animal. And as far as that goes my 90’s were very good with pro power, when the Krell came into the house, I was smitten and i thought it was nirvana UNTIL I really got some listening time in.

While the Krell did wonders for those Watkins woofers, my ears could not take the top end for any amount of time. While they retained that spooky good imaging the he emims and tweeters were just to bright for me.

The 8.1 with the pro amp, Devine with just about anything you throw at it. Maybe that has a lot to do with the emit-r tweeter too. That’s a great combination for that speaker, emit-r, polydome. Any of the infinity speakers with that combo is a great sounding speaker IMHO.
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I’m still rocking the 8.1s over here. Lol. I tried a 100 watt per channel receiver on the 8.1s and anything above 4-5 on the dial the speaker sounded like complete garbarge. Now if it was a classic receiver with 120-160 watts that might do the trick like the Sansui G8000 or higher. I think these speakers sound their best with a more modern sounding amp. I tried one carver A500x and it sounded mediocre litterly to the point where I didn’t turn them on.. So I added another in bi-amp mode and it is a totally different speaker. Sound is more 3 dimensional with vocals locked front and center. Separation of instruments is far superior in this configuration. The thing with the 8.1 I like the most is you can listen to it all day without a hint of fatigue.

I wish I could listen to the top 3 on the list one day. I really like my K9s and don’t think there going anywhere. I have kind of given up on the Rens. I think if I found a good price on some Rs 2.5s the smaller ones I would give them a try. I have no subs on my speakers except the home theatre because the bass is so good on both the big infinity’s. The 8.1 bass is alittle uncontrolled due to the port but with level controls on my amps it helps to dial them in a lot. My pre amp has tone defeat as well which attributes to the sound also. I use tone control only on poor recordings. . I would love a pair of 9.1s to have but they are kind of rare and my space wouldn’t do them justice. Lol I like big speakers.
 
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If you turn any amp/recievers past 4 (11 oclock), the distortion will increase exponentially! that is what a highly respected audio engineer told me many years ago. I have tested that theory, I believe it! I never turn my "GOOD GEAR" up past 11 oclock.
 
One thing for sure if you find the 2.5, be prepared for a very good bass. Of your 4 choices these will throw a very deep and nice thump. Best of the bunch overall I’d dare to say.
 
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