Infinity speakers back on sale!

[Hokies83]

Ok, now JBL Pro says they don't know what the first Infinity rep was thinking giving me over to them and then JBL Pro gave me another universal CS line and they in turn tried to give me JBL Pro's number again. I felt like I was eating crazy pills. I hung up on that dude and called the original CS # Ifound on the website I actually ordered the speakers from and Steff got me handled but that was pretty bad. Proud of myself though. I never started yelling and only hung up on someone once. The 152's should be here on the 5th.

Guess the first rep u GoT was an idiot,
Those exsist everywhere lol.

 

[roadwarrior]

Guess the first two u GoT was an idiot,
Those exsist everywhere lol.

Actually the first and 3rd ones I got were idiot's. The second and third(both women by the way) were extremely helpful and the opposite of idiotic. Anyways it's handled or at least in the works for being handled once I receive the return shipping label. Already sent them the speaker glamour shots via email.

 

[Phase 2]

Well KEW I finally got the speakers in tonight and I just had a chance to finally open the box up due to a family member unexpectedly breaking their foot stepping off of a tall curb and they are both damaged. One had the driver just hanging out of the enclosure with absolutely no screws holding it in and I only found 3 of the black screws even loose in the box. Plus the top is torn up as well. The other one looks perfectly fine but when I shake it it seems like the whole crossover board has come completely loose inside the speaker.

What's strange is the speaker grilles that are in cardboard directly in front of both speakers are perfectly fine and the box isn't damaged other than a couple of slight outer box tears here and there. This wasn't damaged in shipping IMHO. These are big bookshelves by the way. Almost 16 inches tall for God's sake. Oh well. Time to find out how good Infinity's customer service is.

EDIT: Found one more driver screw so only 2 are still missing. Probably in the enclosure itself along with the broken port tube. That's what's broken and rolling around on the 2nd lesser damaged one as well.

Wow! Dam the bad luck!

 

[roadwarrior]

Wow! Dam the bad luck!

Yup. I just got the 152's delivered but haven't had time to open the box but I'm still working to get my card credited for the other damaged 162's and get the UPS return label. That hasn't been a particularly fun process dealing with Infinity on that so they get a C minus from me on that part of the buying experience. Still playing email tag with verifying they have received my pictures yet so I'm about to just call them again. I just want that money back on my card as soon as possible because I wasn't planning on putting out funds for 2 sets of speakers at the same time.

Don't fault them at all for the damage part but the rest after the fact has been a clinic on how not to handle a damage claim. I just hope I can give these new speakers a fair listening demo because this hasn't exactly been the most pleasant buying experience I've had. Least everyone's been very nice but everyone hasn't been super competent which is actually a bit shocking considering the size of this company. They surely have to deal with these types of damage claims all the time. It's not rocket science.

 

[roadwarrior]

Alright. Just got off the phone with Infinity and they did get the pictures. Now it's a wait for the UPS label email. 4 to 5 days to ship back to their warehouse. 2 days for them to inspect the speakers and a week to 2 weeks for their claims dept to refund my money. I might have to wait almost a whole month to get my money back .

 

[Phase 2]

Yup. I just got the 152's delivered but haven't had time to open the box but I'm still working to get my card credited for the other damaged 162's and get the UPS return label. That hasn't been a particularly fun process dealing with Infinity on that so they get a C minus from me on that part of the buying experience. Still playing email tag with verifying they have received my pictures yet so I'm about to just call them again. I just want that money back on my card as soon as possible because I wasn't planning on putting out funds for 2 sets of speakers at the same time.

Don't fault them at all for the damage part but the rest after the fact has been a clinic on how not to handle a damage claim. I just hope I can give these new speakers a fair listening demo because this hasn't exactly been the most pleasant buying experience I've had. Least everyone's been very nice but everyone hasn't been super competent which is actually a bit shocking considering the size of this company. They surely have to deal with these types of damage claims all the time. It's not rocket science.

I feel ya brother, last year my RBH Elites Towers had the wrong size negative connected to the drivers on all of the drivers except the tweeters. Center speaker was all good. I was on the hook fir return shipping, RBH knew that as I did also. Probably would have took a $300 hit at least on return shipping. They gave me the run-around, marketing Manager went as far as asking me to solder the negative connectors to the drivers. Lol. Go figure huh? 2K towers brand new and the dude wanted me to solder the connectors..lolo. Anyways I'm sure it was a QC issue from the factory. Never had something like that happen to me, like you, I've had damaged speakers shipped to me from being dropped like yours. I crimped down on them and it worked. But yeah I didn't fault RBH on the connector issues, but not the best at customer service. So yeah C- on that part for sure.

 

[roadwarrior]

I feel ya brother, last year my RBH Elites Towers had the wrong size negative connected to the drivers on all of the drivers except the tweeters. Center speaker was all good. I was on the hook fir return shipping, RBH knew that as I did also. Probably would have took a $300 hit at least on return shipping. They gave me the run-around, marketing Manager went as far as asking me to solder the negative connectors to the drivers. Lol. Go figure huh? 2K towers brand new and the dude wanted me to solder the connectors..lolo. Anyways I'm sure it was a QC issue from the factory. Never had something like that happen to me, like you, I've had damaged speakers shipped to me from being dropped like yours. I crimped down on them and it worked. But yeah I didn't fault RBH on the connector issues, but not the best at customer service. So yeah C- on that part for sure.

Wow, that's just as bad. I own some RBH speakers as well. I've calmed down a bit since my last post and edited it a bit because I was seeing a lot of red right then, lol. I unboxed the 152's and all was well this time around. No damage. Those 162's were heavy but these aren't much lighter which is a good thing. swapped out my Wharfedale's for the 152's (which are similar dimension wise except these are a bit taller) and am listening to some jazz and light rock and they sound pretty much just like KEW described them. Neutral sounding which I like and a bit forward with the mids which I also like. Not bad for $169 shipped.

 

[Hokies83]

Wow, that's just as bad. I own some RBH speakers as well. I've calmed down a bit since my last post and edited it a bit because I was seeing a lot of red right then, lol. I unboxed the 152's and all was well this time around. No damage. Those 162's were heavy but these aren't much lighter which is a good thing. swapped out my Wharfedale's for the 152's (which are similar dimension wise except these are a bit taller) and am listening to some jazz and light rock and they sound pretty much just like KEW described them. Neutral sounding which I like and a bit forward with the mids which I also like. Not bad for $169 shipped.

Anymore thoughts now that you had more time to listen to them?

 

[roadwarrior]

Anymore thoughts now that you had more time to listen to them?

Yeah. I'm trying to just use them for everything i.e. music, movies, cable news etc.. So far I've done lots of streaming music and a movie or 2( older black and white TCM WW2 films.) Next I'll try some newer movies with lossless audio although downmixed into stereo and CD's. Yes, I still use some physical media for music, lol. I even have a 6 disc Onkyo CD changer on my AV rack.

So far I'd say I'm impressed with how natural/uncolored these sound for the money and for some reason they sound just a bit louder than my Chane towers which doesn't make a lot of sense but maybe they are just more forward sounding. ABing quickly between these and my Chanes and they sound very similar except for that forwardness the 152's have. Probably the waveguide. They also are literally sitting on top of my towers so there's that higher speaker effect. I like them. These speakers should not really be this cheap for their performance if I'm being completely honest but Infinity isn't the hottest brand in speakers nowadays. Least that's my guess on the steep discounting year round. That's the number that gets them sold so I get it.

 

[Hokies83]

Yea I played topgun 5.1 pcm signal up mixed to 7.1.4 atmos on the r162s and it may be the most amazing thing I’ve heard so far lol even tho it was not native atmos.

 

[roadwarrior]

Yea I played topgun 5.1 pcm signal up mixed to 7.1.4 atmos on the r162s and it may be the most amazing thing I’ve heard so far lol even tho it was not native atmos.

Got it. I'm back on the phone with Infinity again trying to get this shipping label emailed to me after 2 more days of waiting. God is testing me I think.

 

[roadwarrior]

The damaged 162's are finally dropped off at the UPS store thanks to my 4th CSR rep finally getting me a shipping label email. Persistence beats resistance. I'm a fan of these 152's.

 

[Hokies83]

The damaged 162's are finally dropped off at the UPS store thanks to my 4th CSR rep finally getting me a shipping label email. Persistence beats resistance. I'm a fan of these 152's.

If the 152s sound good then think how good the 162s are.

 

[roadwarrior]

If the 152s sound good then think how good the 162s are.

Of the reviews I've read most have been about the 162 but it's too wide/tall for my setup as a second set of mains and would be too small if I decided I wanted it as my primary main setup. UPS must have known as well. I cross over to dual ported sub's also. The 152's are only slightly larger than my Wharfedale Diamond 10.1's and their not exactly small books so no regrets. Sorry they got damaged though. For 200 bucks they must be a steal.

 

[KEW]

Yeah. I'm trying to just use them for everything i.e. music, movies, cable news etc.. So far I've done lots of streaming music and a movie or 2( older black and white TCM WW2 films.) Next I'll try some newer movies with lossless audio although downmixed into stereo and CD's. Yes, I still use some physical media for music, lol. I even have a 6 disc Onkyo CD changer on my AV rack.

So far I'd say I'm impressed with how natural/uncolored these sound for the money and for some reason they sound just a bit louder than my Chane towers which doesn't make a lot of sense but maybe they are just more forward sounding. ABing quickly between these and my Chanes and they sound very similar except for that forwardness the 152's have. Probably the waveguide. They also are literally sitting on top of my towers so there's that higher speaker effect. I like them. These speakers should not really be this cheap for their performance if I'm being completely honest but Infinity isn't the hottest brand in speakers nowadays. Least that's my guess on the steep discounting year round. That's the number that gets them sold so I get it.

The Sound and Vision review (of the R162, but I am betting it and the R152 have a lot in common) makes a couple of key comments that I would associate with your "forward" comments:
In the "At a Glance" section:

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Detailed high frequencies
Proprietary drivers
Curved enclosure
Minus
Can be too revealing
More finishes needed

THE VERDICT
The new Infinity Reference series has superb top-end transient detail and a commendably subtle sub, turning even familiar material into a fresh experience.


Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/content/infinity-reference-r162-speaker-system#i4iFqDIJcWbevG80.99

And, in the conclusion:

If I maintained a speaker museum, the R162 would make the cut, and the sub is nearly as good. I imagine this system pleasing every listener except for the ones who prefer a less enthusiastic top end. On the other hand, many listeners may love these things as much as I did—especially if they’re in the mood for top-end revelations.
Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/content/infinity-reference-r162-speaker-system-page-2#Y9DhfspjHTcSt8K6.99

I agree with his comments. This speaker is on the forward side of neutral, but that is not a deterrent for me! It definitely is not harsh or even bright (I guess that is the result of de-emphasizing the 3600Hz range (-3dB) with a gradual ramp up to 8500Hz range (+3dB)). For me, that top-end detail gives a lot of the effect of the clarity of the RAAL ribbon and that is an impressive feat. When compared directly, it is clear that the RAAL get its sense of detail because it is just so freaking clean and clear. But then, it cost less for these two very good sounding speakers than for just one RAAL tweeter!
Whenever they are on sale for less than $200/pr, I don't think anything can touch it for value on a very good sounding speaker!

 

[roadwarrior]

The Sound and Vision review (of the R162, but I am betting it and the R152 have a lot in common) makes a couple of key comments that I would associate with your "forward" comments:
In the "At a Glance" section:


And, in the conclusion:


I agree with his comments. This speaker is on the forward side of neutral, but that is not a deterrent for me! It definitely is not harsh or even bright (I guess that is the result of de-emphasizing the 3600Hz range (-3dB) with a gradual ramp up to 8500Hz range (+3dB)). For me, that top-end detail gives a lot of the effect of the clarity of the RAAL ribbon and that is an impressive feat. When compared directly, it is clear that the RAAL get its sense of detail because it is just so freaking clean and clear. But then, it cost less for these two very good sounding speakers than for just one RAAL tweeter!
Whenever they are on sale for less than $200/pr, I don't think anything can touch it for value on a very good sounding speaker!

Thanks for all the great info. Been rough last few days with free time for stuff but I just noticed they went back on sale but through a Newegg flash deal. Any reason not to buy through Newegg and just wait for Infinity to run their sale again directly through their own site? I've bought some small electronic gizmos through Newegg before but nothing like speakers.

 

[KEW]

Thanks for all the great info. Been rough last few days with free time for stuff but I just noticed they went back on sale but through a Newegg flash deal. Any reason not to buy through Newegg and just wait for Infinity to run their sale again directly through their own site? I've bought some small electronic gizmos through Newegg before but nothing like speakers.

I can't think of a problem with NewEgg, they have always been pretty good to deal with.
I see they also have the JBL Studio 590 for $499/ea.
https://flash.newegg.com/Featured

 

[roadwarrior]

Cool. Only thing I notice different is the larger center speaker isn't included. Other than that it's the same.

 

[kystorm]

Does anyone own the r10 sub? Not finding too many reviews online so far. Suited for music and movies?
Thanks

 

[slipperybidness]

Thanks for all the great info. Been rough last few days with free time for stuff but I just noticed they went back on sale but through a Newegg flash deal. Any reason not to buy through Newegg and just wait for Infinity to run their sale again directly through their own site? I've bought some small electronic gizmos through Newegg before but nothing like speakers.

Newegg is legit. I've ordered various PC components from them for years, and my DT SM350 came from them when they had a great price years ago.