Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Infinity Systems IL-40 Speakers by Atexanathome

Model:	IL-40
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$999
Description:	Floorstanding 8" 3-way
Manufacturer URL:	Infinity Systems
Manufacturer URL:	Infinity Systems

Review by Atexanathome ( A ) on April 25, 2005 at 18:34:39
IP Address: 24.143.27.52

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I bought these Infinity Interlude 40's because of Peter Aczel's recommendation in The Audio Critic. I have purchased several pieces of equipment over the last 23 years based on his judgment and test results and I haven't been disappointed. His review of the IL-40 in The Audio Critic #27 was so enthusiastic that I figured I had to check them out.
I auditioned them versus the Polk Rt tower speakers and was surprised at the difference. The new Polks sounded much brighter than the Infinitys. The new Polks actually sounded a lot like my old Polk Model 10 speakers. The Monitor 10 had a large tweeter peak at 15,000 Hz and a bass peak at 60 Hz. I put up with the colored sound because of their great imaging. The Infinity IL-40's sounded a little dull and not very impressive on rock music relative to the Polks, but I knew my ears were used to colored sound. Aczel emphasized the smooth response and neutrality of the IL-40, so a lot of the impression I got came from my familiarity with inaccurate sound. I held off buying at Circuit City and picked up a pair new on eBay for $650.
My first impression was not too good. They still seemed dull compared to the Model 10's and the imaging wasn't quite as good. I grumbled and decided to break them in with TV sound. I bought them in July and didn't do any serious music listening on them until November. I put on a classical guitar album and was shocked at the difference. I was breaking in a new amp, turntable and preamp at the same time, so I'm not sure what needed breaking in the most. In any case, the sound was so good that I stayed up all night going through my LP collection. The imaging had greatly improved. I can now pick out the location of all the harpsichords on a recording of Bach's concerto for three harpsichords. On the MHS album "The Classical Guitar" it sounds like Eliot Fisk is sitting on a stool in my living room.
I did find some weakness in the bass region. These are not really kick-ass rock speakers. Organ music really requires subwoofers. Aczel's review indicates the bass is only flat to 44Hz.I bought a Velodyne HGS-10 and I can now knock all the dust off my ceiling fan. They are easy to integrate with subs.
Now I know what Aczel was raving about. He said, "The IL40 proved to be more neutral, balanced and transparent than any other speaker under $1000 the pair that I can recall." He found the response to be flat to plus/minus 3dB from 44 to 20,000 Hz. A lot of speakers claim they are flat, but this one tested that way. (I miss the old Julian Hirsch tests)
I eventually replaced these with Joseph Audio RM33Si's. The IL-40's are used in the bedroom with a Sherwood S-5500 integrated.The Josephs are better, but it's not a quantum leap. The Joseph's have deeper bass (-6 dB at 25Hz compared to the IL-40 -6dB at 35Hz measured in my room). The Josephs have more soundstage depth, but the soundstage is actually a little narrower than the IL-40. Both speakers can disappear on good material. In summary, the IL-40 is hard to beat at a used price of $400-600. Unlike many, it was worth every penny of the original suggested retail.

Product Weakness: Bass is a little weak for a speaker that size; nasty impedance curve makes the bass kind of loose with tube amps (2.7 to 40 ohms with a +/- 60 degree phase angle swing); need a good SS amp; may need long break-in
Product Strengths: Wide soundstage; pinpoint imaging; natural vocals; flat response with excellent dispersion; excellent for jazz, baroque and realistic HT effects with a sub

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	ODL HT2 150w/ch;Odyssey Stratos monoblocks 180 W/ch;VM 1448 15 W/ch;Sherwood S-5500 IV 40 W/Ch
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Dynaco PAS 4
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Pioneer DV-440 DVD with Modwright mods; NAD 533 with modded RB250 FR MC201 and Shelter 501 with Verion Mk 1 transformer
Speakers:	Infinity Interlude 40, 86 db/ 1 watt
Cables/Interconnects:	Variuos Radio Shack;Audioquest Turquoise; Monster Interlink 400; custom RG6 coax; original Monster speaker cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Baroque, classical; lots of Bach organ;harpsichord and chamber orchestra; classic rock (The Who), Miles Davis Kind of Blue and a lot of the jazz channel on DirecTV
Room Size (LxWxH):	14 x 22 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments:	Two Echo Busters
Time Period/Length of Audition:	4 years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Monster HTS-2000
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Bass is a little weak for a speaker that size; nasty impedance curve makes the bass kind of loose with tube amps (2.7 to 40 ohms with a +/- 60 degree phase angle swing); need a good SS amp; may need long break-in
Product Strengths:	Wide soundstage; pinpoint imaging; natural vocals; flat response with excellent dispersion; excellent for jazz, baroque and realistic HT effects with a sub