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Help deciding between two speakers.

 

I am trying to decide between a vintage pair of infinity rs iiia and triangle borea BR08. I will have them in a large open living room and I listen to rock, pop, and country music. I will be pushing them with a pro-ject audio rs amp. The infinities are legendary speakers but obviously are older and may need to be refoamed. The BR08‘s are new. I will save a few hundred going with the infinities. Is there a big leap in speaker quality between the two? Are vintage better made? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I should also say I am not looking to blow the doors off the house. I am looking for great sounding and detailed sound. I am open to any other suggestions. There is no particular reason for these two other than they are in my price range of around 1k and they are available in my area.

the room they will be in is 20x30 with a 10’ ceiling. And the specs on my amp are as follows.

Tube assembly: 2 x ECC88 (6922)
Power output: 2 x 110W / 180W @ 8 ohms / 4 ohms
(2x 180/250 W @ 8/4 ohms with PS Box RS)
2 ohms drive capability
Frequency response: 20Hz - 50kHz (- 0,8dB, - 3dB)
Signal to noise ratio: >-100dB (IEC -A)
THD: < 0,05% @ 100W
Input: RCA & XLR-sockets
Input sensitivity: 1,35V
Input Impedance: 22kohms
Speaker terminals: 4mm Ø Banana, spade or bare wire
External power supply: 48V/2,5A DC;100 - 240V, 50/60Hz

Thanks in advance for your input and again if anyone has another suggestion please let me know.

 

 

honkykong7777
dayglow
2,090 posts
 

Loudspeaker technology has vastly improved over the last 25 years! There is no logical reason to repair a random 40 year old speaker other than to sell them. Unfortunately many in this hobby have a skewed emotional connection with vintage audio gear that has very little or anything to do with performance levels.

erik_squires
16,879 posts
 

This feels like attempting to purchase  speakers based on reviews.  It's like buying a mattress you've never slept on.  Really bad idea.

Assuming you like the sound of them, the only issues with the IRS IMHO are the impedance curves were really punishing.  No idea about the Triangles, but not really my cup of tea, but perhaps yours. 

boostedis
126 posts
 

@dayglow 

This response is spot on! The advancement in driver technology and measuring techniques makes a modern speaker difficult to match by an older design. With that said, I have never heard of the newer speakers you are interested in, but the Infinity’s will be very dynamic because of their size and you may need to go with a large speaker to match that. MoFi 888’s come to mind for a large room filling speaker that won’t break the bank. 

1971gto455ho's avatar
1971gto455ho
549 posts
 
  • Speaker technology has changed, but to what degree it’s still drivers  in a box. The dollar isn’t worth what it used to be that aside a $1500 speaker 40 years ago generally eats a $1500 speaker today, that’s a fact. I think people should spend more time, especially in a 20 x 30 room, listening rather than Price shopping, newer is better is that a rule ?  
jetter
3,116 posts
 

It appears that the infinity's sell in the $500-$700 range.  Refoaming is relatively inexpensive.  But if they need the crossovers refreshed/updated I would think you are looking at spending about the cost of the speakers for the update.

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