too_cool_3

I went to go audition component set's today at my local car audio stores (we only have two in town - Futureshop & Powercentre) and the only brands carried in town to actually hear with my own ears are Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer, Sony, MTX and Infinity. THAT'S IT!

I'm not going to lie but I REALLY like the Infinity Reference 6030CS..

I heard a set of Alpine SPX-17PRO's being fed 75 W off an Alpine PDX-5.. not impressed, seriously, they didn't sound /bad/ they didn't get as loud, were as clear or defined as I expected from their high end set. I also heard the Type-R's and they just sounded way too 'boxy'. Don't even get started on the MTX, they sounded like garbage. Sony, Kenwood, and Pioneer I didn't even bother trying. The Infinity Reference's were being fed 100 W from a Pioneer GM-D9500F and they sound much, much nicer.. The Infinity's got loud, stayed clear, crisp and exciting - not at all harsh, with good separation between the mids and highs. Maybe it's the silk-dome tweeter but I really like their sound..
(unfortunately no stores carry the Kappa or Perfect I wish I could hear those)



Everyone has been telling me to stay away from Infinity's, what higher end component sets - under $400 - have a similar sound?

Dukk

People tell you to stay away from Infinity only because FS carries it. Trust me, if FS suddenly carried Morel or Focal, those brands would suddenly be garbage too

The most important thing when choosing a speaker is to choose one you like the sound of.

On a side note - the top end MTX actually sound really nice, and so do the mid-range to top end Pioneer. Both are hard to find at a dealer to listen to though.

Now, the sound of any speaker is going to be different once it is installed in your car. One of the nice things about the Infinity is if indeed it was FS you bought them from, they have a pretty good return policy if you don't like them.

Denonite

iTrader: (1)

I had Infinity ref, kappa and perfects...all performed well and the perfects are excellent(very underated comps..again because they are Infinity). I personally like the sound of the JBL GTi a little more (love their titanium tweets). They're both owned by Harmon International and have some of the best facilites available for R&D in the world. Both brands manufacture ultra high end equipment and are more than capable of making good equipment for mass market. Let your ears be the judge, they're installed especially for you!

audio1der

Nothing wrong with Inifinity's, friend. I loved, and miss my Ref 6.5's in the kicks of my old car. SO warm, natural and clean (and with a crappy Sony amp behind them yet!)

slip

When I went to buy some infinity references I found it hard to judge the little differences in sound other then one type of speaker was "brighter" then the other. unless you hear them in a smaller space (the Futureshop I went to the listening environment was wide open) its harder to judge the SQ IMHO. I took a shot in the dark and the Infinities really sound great in my Toyota.
I remember a few years back Yamaha made some car audio... the speakers rocked in the show room and when I got them in the car, they sounded flat and dead. Big disappointment.

good luck with your search

cheers

randy

audio1der

You've got me lookig at FS to see when they go on sale next. Since making my kickpanels, the clarity has increased tenfold, but my Bostons now sound "nasal"

Dukk

They're really not a bad speaker. They just rarely get installed very well.

too_cool_3

I really liked how lively, clear, and crisp the Reference's sounded. Since I've only had a chance to listen to the Reference's can anyone that has also heard the KAPPA's and PERFECT's tell how they sound vs the References? Is the difference noticeable with each upgrade? Do they sound harsh with the aluminum tweets when compared to the silk-dome References or are clearer/better?

Thank you for the help,
Marc

d4rin

I've owned the Infinity Reference 5 1/4 components and I found them pretty harsh on the ears at loud volumes. Personally I think they are an O.K speaker. They just didn't sound pretty thin to me.

I've never heard the KAPPA or PERFECT series before but there may not be much of a difference, You might have to go much more high-end in that area to hear more of a difference.

I'm not saying they are trash or anything, But you can probably get better for your money, Or invest in a different brand of speaker.

Denonite

iTrader: (1)

I've had them all, the ref textile tweeters are good (if set up properly), the kappa metal matrix ones I did not like...a little harsh no matter what I did, and the perfect's aluminum were excellent...almost as nice as my JBL titanium gti tweets...very clean, bright but not edgy, and sparkling. If you can get a set of perfects for under 250.00 (woofersetc..has them for 229.00), they're hard to beat, and will perform with sets 2-3x their price (they were originally 500-600 a set when they came out).