Hello. Infinity Speakers by ...

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pieplanisimo

Audiophyte
Hello everybody. New to the forum. Main interest is good music with good sound. I recently purchased a used integrated amplifier, reciver, dac, phono: Gold Note is-1000. Handsome. I have an old Technics turntable. And I have my old Infinity SM 115 speakers. In a 6m x 4m x 4m room and I listen to a variety of things: classical jazz rock, etc. at low and medium volumes; seldom high. I feel that the Infinities were low in quality with the Gold Note and would like to improve the quality with little money. I have U $$ 1500 or 2000 and sell my Infinity to acquire a used one that exceeds them. I prefer a neutral and natural sound, which does not tire the ear. I have seen some B&W 603 S2, Celestion ditton 332, Polk Lsim703, etc. I couldn't hear them. I do not know the audiophile world and I am afraid to go to a model that I do not like, although the infinity SMs have a very bad reputation and would seem surpassed by any other. I could also hear some PMC twenty5 22i that I really liked, and some Tannoy, but it would be for another economic moment. If you can guide me with some brands and their styles or with some specific models that I may get used, I would be very grateful.
Greetings
 

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Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
What country are you located in? (I ask because the PMC are British and not often seen in North America.) That may affect the speaker recommendations. For $1500-$2000+ US you should be able to get a modern speaker that outperforms the old Infinities. Do they have to be bookshelf or will you consider floor standing speakers as well?
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
@pieplanisimo Welcome to Audioholics :).

Your photo shows your Infinity speakers on the floor. Do you listen with them on the floor, or did you move them for the photo? If you keep them on the floor, try raising them up so the tweeters are at the same height as your ears or face. See if that helps their sound. Raise them with books, a chair, or an empty box just to try it.

If that helps, buy some speaker stands. No need to spend large amounts of money for speaker stands. Their only purpose is to raise the speakers off the floor.
 
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pieplanisimo

Audiophyte
What country are you located in? (I ask because the PMC are British and not often seen in North America.) That may affect the speaker recommendations. For $1500-$2000+ US you should be able to get a modern speaker that outperforms the old Infinities. Do they have to be bookshelf or will you consider floor standing speakers as well?
Thanks Eppie! I am in Argentina. There are representatives and importers of many audio brands, such as PMC. Not all or all models. Surely less than there and much more expensive!
The loudspeaker can be both bookshelf and floor-standing. Although from bookshelf I always had the doubt that they can reproduce the bass well. Greetings!
 
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pieplanisimo

Audiophyte
@pieplanisimo Welcome to Audioholics :).

Your photo shows your Infinity speakers on the floor. Do you listen with them on the floor, or did you move them for the photo? If you keep them on the floor, try raising them up so the tweeters are at the same height as your ears or face. See if that helps their sound. Raise them with books, a chair, or an empty box just to try it.

If that helps, buy some speaker stands. No need to spend large amounts of money for speaker stands. Their only purpose is to raise the speakers off the floor.
Thanks Swerd. If the baffles are there for the photo. To listen they are raised to the level of the ears. And the sound is not bad at low and medium levels. Above 50% of the volume of the amplifier the sound is squashed, the scene is compressed and I do not understand if it is the fault of the speakers, the acoustics, etc. Greetings!
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
And the sound is not bad at low and medium levels. Above 50% of the volume of the amplifier the sound is squashed, the scene is compressed and I do not understand if it is the fault of the speakers, the acoustics, etc.
I agree. That does seem like the speakers are at fault.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Thanks Eppie! I am in Argentina. There are representatives and importers of many audio brands, such as PMC. Not all or all models. Surely less than there and much more expensive!
The loudspeaker can be both bookshelf and floor-standing. Although from bookshelf I always had the doubt that they can reproduce the bass well. Greetings!
The Gold Note IS-1000 specs are here. Certainly looks good on paper and 125W per channel should be enough amplification for typical listening. Infinity SM 115 was introduced in 1975, so pretty old technology by today's standards. Rated at 100dB /1w /1m which is a very high efficiency rating. Those speakers should get pretty loud without a lot of power, so I'm not sure why you are loosing fidelity at 50% volume. Here is the owners manual for the SM line of speakers.

I don't think it's your Gold Note amp. More likely that you do not like the sound profile of those speakers. I looked at the Gold Note IS-1000 manual and it looks to be quite a nice amp with decent support for various digital formats. While it does not have a subwoofer output, it does have a variable RCA analogue output that could be fed to a subwoofer, so bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer could be an option. You are correct in that most floor standing speakers will have deeper bass extension than bookshelves.

Are there other brands available in your area that you can mention? Do you need to be able to listen to them first or are you also considering ordering speakers over the internet?

Here is what Audioholics recommended 2 years ago around the $2000 US range and under. These may not be available in your area so it would help to know what brands you have access to.
 
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pieplanisimo

Audiophyte
Thanks Eppie!
The Gold Note was able to listen to it with PMC prior to purchase, and it sounded great at any volume.
It is true that the infinity have a very high efficiency, a good sound with a body at very low volume. The problem is with volume over 40% and with heavily loaded music (heavy, etc). With my previous Yamaha rn803 they had the same problem.
For the purchase I always prefer to listen before.
Very interesting article "5 Killer Tower Speakers Under $ 2K / pair", almost all those brands are here. Also PMC, B&W, Dynaudio, Spendor, Faber, Dali, Polk, Tannoy, Harbeth, JBL, Monitor Audio, Klipsch, Vienna, etc.
Although few models of each. Of the Infinity SM series I have read very bad reviews, although they have served me well until a few years ago.
Subwoofer I never used, as my system is classic stereo, I suppose I am a little reluctant to incorporate it.
A question that will reveal my ignorance: are the current columns where the woofers are less than 8 "are prejudicially scarce for the bass and destined more for home theater? Prejudicially because I have not heard much. I have the +10 preconception: that an amplifier it must weigh more than 10 kg and a woofer be more than 10 ". That is why I am also tempted by old baffles that circulate around here like various celestion dittons, but I suppose it must be more a prejudice of mine, and that technologies have achieved good bass with 6.5 "as PMC with their system. Greetings
 
CajunLB

CajunLB

Senior Audioholic
I’m no expert on the matter but could something in the crossover be out of spec on a 40yr old set of speakers that would cause these problems ?
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
@pieplanisimo You have a very nice selection of speakers available to you. It's going to come down to personal preference of course. Of those brands I like Sonus Faber, Dali, Polk Audio, JBL, Monitor Audio and Vienna Acoustics but there is also some personal bias there. ;) The bass output from smaller speakers has come a long way since those Infinities. I grew up with full range speakers but now own Paradigm bookshelves paired with an SVS subwoofer.

A good quality subwoofer will go deeper with more authority than a floor standing speaker and depending upon your room layout it can allow you more flexibility for moving the sub around the room to find a proper location. It will take a good chunk of your budget though if you want a sub that is as good as your main speakers. Close to $600 US or more for something good but there are also some budget options that can perform quite well in smaller rooms. Subwoofers are not just for home movie theatre. I was amazed at the improvement in music listening when I changed from a cheap sub to the SVS.

If there is no space or money for a sub you'll want to look at the -3dB lower frequency cutoff for those speakers and see what meets your needs. At your price range some of those brands will be limited to bookshelf speakers. Not mentioned in that articled from 2019 are the Monitor Audio Silver line, Polk Audio Reserve series and JBL Studio line. Klipsch make some very efficient speakers but their horn tweeters are not to everyone's tastes. Bring a good selection of demo music if you can. ;)
 
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