"Infinity Interlude 10 Bookshelf Speakers" a short story by Seth=L
When I was in my early teens I received a Denon pre/main amplifier (aka Integrated amplifier with no preouts
). Shortly after receiving it I went and purchased a pair of Jensen C-JR bookshelf speakers from Circuit City for around $40-50. I thought it sounded great compared to my old Panasonic tuner/tape/broken record player thing. My source was a portable Sony CD player and I was just tickled pink with my little rig.
A couple years later I was drooling at Circuit City again because they had some sexy looking Infinity speakers on sale. I knew that Infinity made good speakers and that the prices they where selling these things at had to be a steal. I had compared them to some big MTX speakers for a similar price in their "sound room" and the little bookshelf speakers completely wiped the floor with the MTX which sported a 3 way driver configuration with a 12" woofer and horn tweeter. The Infinity speakers had better bass response, and the Infinitys could play high frequencies. Apparently the MTX had no highs?
I was convinced the Infinitys where exactly what I wanted. I told Mother all I wanted for Christmas was those speakers, I didn't care about any other gifts because they where the ultimate gift I could possibly receive.
Alas I was the happiest kid at Christmas. She had purchased the open box model which had slight damage to the grill, which she used her knitting skills to mend as best as it could have been.
Since then I have owned and used countless speakers. Just a brief look at what I've had: PSB Centuri 600i, BIC something or others, NHT 1.5, Athena AS-B1, Paradigm Studio 20v1, Paradigm Studio 100v1, M&K S-125 and probably a few others I am forgetting.
I always seem to find myself going back to the Infinitys, no matter how high up the chain in speakers I so far looked in.
The mystery is why haven't these speakers received more praise? Have my ears been catered by the IL10s for so long I don't wish to change to something else? I've gone through months without hearing them doing what they do best, and as soon as I hook them up and begin to listen I am reminded instantly how great they sound when I notice a sound stage that wraps around me and a strong central focus with vocals. They handle lots of power without the cabinet making all kinds of noise. In fact, that's been my biggest fuss with the M&Ks, the back panel resonates LOUDLY at certain frequencies and makes me think the speaker's drivers are malfunctioning. Other than that flaw for the M&Ks they have an amazing way of casting a sound stage and they center stage excellent as well, but they lack in terms of power handling and cabinet construction.
So am I just partial to the IL10s for personal taste only? Are they a fluke in the Interlude line, or can I expect the same amazing capability from the entire line? Or...are these speakers really as amazing as I think they are? The resale market for this series would indicate a lack of following. I've heard people talk good about the line, but nothing I've heard from Infinity (stock mind you, I'm sure WmAx's Infinity Primus Frankenstein speaker would be more than a worthy adversary) stacks up to the Interlude line.
I should probably try to find another pair of the Interlude 10s and send them to Chris for modification.
