Why This 20 Year Old Infinity Speaker Is Better Than Many Speakers Today

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Written review/data can be found here:
(coming soon)

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:13 - Subjective
9:03 - Objective
15:40 - Summary

____________________

All of my tests are conducted using KLIPPEL Hardware and Software. KLIPPEL is an innovative leader in providing unique test equipment for electro-acoustical transducers and audio systems. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Wolfgang Klippel, the novel techniques developed for control and measurement systems of loudspeakers and other transducers are the result of over 30 years of fundamental research. This provides more accurate physical models of loudspeakers, micro-speakers and headphones valid for both small and large amplitudes. The focus is on revealing the root causes of signal distortion and defects and giving practical indications for improvements in design and manufacturing of audio products. For information on KLIPPEL products, please visit their site below:

[ErinsAudioCorner]

Support the cause:

A simple request: If any of you find yourselves shopping for anything sold by the retailers below please consider using my generic affiliate link. These can earn me a small commission which goes a long way toward helping me review items and make content. It is a great way you can help me continue doing what I enjoy doing without costing you anything extra. It is truly appreciated!


Purchases through these links can earn me a small commission - at no additional cost to you - and help me continue to provide the community with free content and reviews. Doesn't matter if it's a TV from Crutchfield, budget speakers from Audio Advice or a pair of socks from Amazon, just use the link above before you make your purchase. Thank you!

[kewlbug]

I appreciate how you still explain your reasoning and measurements and what matters, even though you've definitely gone over it dozens of times before.

[harbirnain]

I don't understand why Infinity just dropped off the map. They made such superb speakers 30-40 years ago

[Clobercow]

Reviewing older speakers is pretty awesome Erin! Great to see what the past had so we can hold the future accountable!

[DearSX]

Pretty cool to verify that affordable speakers 20 yrs ago got it done!

[matt]

I had these with the matching center, 32" RCA crt TV, velodyne SMS-1 and a DIY bill fitzmaurice Tuba HT sub. That seems like a lifetime ago. Thank you for making me feel like the old guy that i am.

[shipsahoy]

If you're 21, these speakers are old; the further you are past 40, the less old they actually become lol

[OneRoomShed]

I still can't believe you reviewed a set of speakers I own! I've always been very happy with these towers. I used them primarily with my Yamaha AX-700U amplifier. No loudness control on, no EQ and just the on board bass & treble turned up about half way. I listen to everything from classic rock, heavy metal, 90's rap, drum & bass and even a little bit of jazz and classical. These Infinitys are one of the few speakers ive ever owned that seem to sound good with all of these genres.
Thank you so much for reviewing these speakers. Its so cool to the technical data on them and your opinion too. Very, very much appreciated this video my friend 🍻👍👍

[lakinnenlako]

And these were the entry level line from Infinity. I remember the bookshelf model from my old hi-fi magazines I used to buy.

[RobWooten]

Man, I would love to see more videos of older speaker designs vs what we have today. I think you’re on to something here. I think your subjective opinion and the data would be really cool to see. As I always want the new best thing that I can’t afford but I think there is a lot of older designed speakers that are much more affordable and available. Such as Advent, JBL, Infinity, KLH, DCM, Paradigm and Mission just to name a few. Sadly, I’m sure a lot of them just end up in landfills. Hope some people around your area reach out to you with some babied classic boxes ! Thanks Again for taking the time to do all of these measurements and give your honest take on everything.

[richh]

Hi Erin, Thank you for looking at this older speaker. I loved Infinity's 1980s and 90s speaker models, so remember when these came out in the early 2000's. I always had thought these were likely just cheaper branding from Infinity to fit the Circuit City crowds. I'm glad I was wrong. Well done sir!

[NackDSP]

This speaker was designed and built by Harman International Industries, that used extensive double blind testing and leveraged the research documented by Floyd E. Toole that he published in his excellent book "Sound Reproduction Loudspeakers and Rooms". Another great bargain speaker from this design house is the LSR-32 and LSR-6332 studio monitor. These can be had for around $500 each as they come out of recording studios. They often need a new tweeter which is still available from JBL Pro. Erin finding the gold even when on vacation!

[DPSingh-pxxu]

I gave a pair of these to my son many years ago because I'm a nice want them back

[kevinfinke]

Two companies that no longer exist, but made great speakers were Infinity and Boston Acoustics. Wish they were still around.

[FURognar]

These are the speakers I own. Bought about 6 years ago off Craigslist for about $100 for the pair. They were barely used.

Are you telling me that in order to gain an obvious and significant upgrade to these, I'm going to have to spend multi-thousand dollars to find something worthy?

Doesnt surprise me because they sound phenomenal. I cant believe how good of a deal I found. I have them in my dedicated theater, but I also use them for 2-channel music listening. I have embarked on a quest to find enough Infinity Primus bookshelf speakers to completely fill out a 7.4.6 Dolby Atmos system. I have been pleasantly surprised how easy these speakers have been to find.

But not after this review goes viral. Gee, thanks Erin. These are suddenly going to become rare. I still need to buy a pair of P160s for my rear surrounds and 2 pair of P140s for my height channels.

Oh by the also settled on pulling them out about 18" from the wall and with about 15° of 3 to 4 years ago. 😂

[DougMen]

Infiniti is owned by Harman, and one of their main speaker gurus was Dr. Floyd Toole, who did extensive research and blind listening tests with focus groups, and he found that the majority of listeners prefer speakers with a flat frequency response. The entire Primus line was always well received by Stereophile, and JA's measurements were always very good, even on their low priced bookshelf models. Another Harman brand is Revel, which are universally praised by all reviewers.

[ron]

Awesome! This is where people can actually learn something! I once chatted with a reviewer who said, and I am paraphrasing, "I understand we could build a kit speaker that crushes a similarly priced product, but if I highlight this point I will become estranged from all the manufacturers who would send me stuff, so I have to say No...". On the other end of the spectrum, Erin is a freaking honey badger reviewing something 20 yrs old just as a learning experience! Keep up the good work!

[kenhiett]

My first pair of legitimate speakers were Infinity Alpha 50's. I haven't had them connected to an amp for awhile and this video reminds me to do something about that.

[ClassyTechCalibrations]

I got the P363 towers, 4x P163 bookshelves, and PC351 center during a Fry's clear out sale back in 2015/16 all for ~$1000. I still can't justify changing them for anything else.

[bassxtcy]

I like the high end Infinity speakers from early 2000s.