Infinity RS1b

[OldiesButGoodies]

@Jim - come on,  that was not a long trip!

The Soundcraftsmen is off-duty now with Carver C-19 back in service.  It is on the bench as I am planning to recap it,  ordering parts soon.  Here's a look at the interior:





@Macgeek

I am waiting for the Tom to finish recapping the Sunfire 400x5 amp so I can redo the room with the more permanent setup.  I did realign the speakers more closely with the position suggested by the manual (influenced by Jim),  which I had tried before.  This time I measured a bit more carefully.  It sounds good and may allow me to have the speakers behind the theater screen (the 35" mark).   

@Nick: 

Heard you on the crossover.  I know there are high end crossovers I should be trying.  As soon as I find one for sale at a decent price I may acquire one. 

[badgolfermike]

Hi...

Thanks for posting this.  I do not meet many RS-1 owners in these parts.  I use a Peavey 23XO but may give the Ashly a try if I find one for a good price - their claim is that the xover maintains phase,  which is a must for these speakers. 

I still have the original xover in good form and have spent some time troubleshooting.  If yours has a hum I recommend you look at the 100 ohm resistors that separates the oc board ground from chassis ground.  If goes into the screw holding the transformer chassis to case ground.  It snaps easily after these many years.  A $2 Radio Schack fix. 

I never did find the "servo" a big selling point - Peavey sounds better to me.  Will look for an Ashly to try on Ebay.  If you are local we should coordinate to have you drop by and help me with speaker positioning.   .  What amps are you driving yours with?

Thanks,

Pepe

I was never planning on actually using these, but I found a pair of Yamaha MX 630 amps dirt cheap, $230 for the pair. One didn't work but it was just bad solder joints on the main caps. The 630's have enough power and sound respectable for man cave system. I have never had the money to try some amps on either the Beta's or the RS1b's, but I am still looking. You need to be sure to use amps with enough power, from what I understand the biggest reason for driver failure is distortion from under powered amps. I bought both the Beta's and RS1b's used, and both had blown EMIT's. I have had the Beta's for 25 years with no issues of my own until the magnets on the EMIM's de-laminated, which is why I bought the RS1b's. Having a backup source for the EMIM's I decided to repair the EMIM's using magnet kits from the auction sites, which are fantastic.

There are easily $2600 worth of EMIM's alone on the RS1b's so I can never loose money even considering the Ashly and the amps, if I ever need to sell them or part them out.

I like the sound using the Ashly, so I will probably never go back to the Infinity crossover, it would be different if it was an active servo like the Beta's.

Mike

IRS Beta
RS1b
ESS AMT 3
Pioneer HPM 100
Klipsch KG4

Yeah I'm a collector........

[badgolfermike]

P.S. I am just outside of Denver so a drop by probably won't work.



Mike

IRS Beta
RS1b
ESS AMT 3
Pioneer HPM 100
Klipsch KG4

Yeah I'm a collector........

[OldiesButGoodies]

I bet the betas sound great after a toke of those special Colorado cigars...

[badgolfermike]

The Beta's do sound great, no wacky tobaccy required. They need a big room like the RS1b's, but I have that.

[badgolfermike]

These have been in pretty much the same place for over 20 years now. Once you find the sweet spot for yours, you probably won't find a need to fiddle with them much

[OldiesButGoodies]

Great pic Mike

Do the woofer towers sound better elevated like that?

Pepe

[badgolfermike]

Great pic Mike

Do the woofer towers sound better elevated like that?

Pepe

It doesn't make much difference in sound, maybe a slight decrease in loss to the carpeting, but not much and with 4 12" drivers in each tower, there is plenty to spare. I had my ESS AMT 3's on the stands, which did sound better on them. I needed the storage space that they provided so I kept them when I got the Beta's. I kind of like the looks though. I did try the treble towers on them but that was NOT good, so I settled on the configuration shown.

[SunnyDaze]

I admire your respect for symmetry, Mike.

This setup receives 100% approval from the OCD mathematician camp.

[OldiesButGoodies]

Jim Smith (of "Better Sound" book fame) makes a big deal of keeping the space between the speakers empty.  Looks like you and I break that rule. I have tried it both ways and I prefer the short speaker cable runs to the empty space.   

[MacGeek]

Add me to the list of violators.  My "space" has a rack of gear in it, with the speakers pulled a bit forward.

[badgolfermike]

Jim Smith (of "Better Sound" book fame) makes a big deal of keeping the space between the speakers empty.  Looks like you and I break that rule. I have tried it both ways and I prefer the short speaker cable runs to the empty space.   

From what I have found the overall size of the space and the distance from the back wall makes the most difference. The rear facing EMIT sits quite high which I am sure plays into the equation. I am pretty much stuck with needing to fill the space with the components you see

This room has 20' ceilings on that wall tapering to 10' opposite. Imaging is what I like best about these speakers, and I think that the imaging in their current configuration is excellent.

 I have tried the RS1b's with empty space except for amps on the floor but never the Beta's. I currently have the components on a low table in the void and I could not discern a difference with my old ears.

[OldiesButGoodies]

Mike - dibs on your betas when you get tired of them.  Special trip to Denver to get em.   

[badgolfermike]

I will keep that in mind, but the phrase Cold Dead Hands come to mind. I wanted them since the first time I heard them new but I could never afford them. It was a decade before I found these used, and I will do almost anything to keep them running, even cannibalization of the RS1b's if it comes to that. I think that I would have to spend 30 ~ 40 k to find anything better today. Right now they are perfect with the new magnet assemblies on the EMIMs and new foam on the Watkins.