Infinity Prelude MTS


Does anybody here have anything good to say about these speakers which, for what it's worth, are in class A of Stereophile's Recommended Components, have been well reviewed by Michael Fremer in the same publication and by Anthony Cordesman, but seem to be given short shrift by the subjective audiophile set, mainly because Dr. Toole does not suffer posers too well it seems. I have auditioned a pair and was astounded by the bass reproduction, felt the midrange and treble were clear and accurate and liked the fact that the stereo image seems high enough off the floor, unlike some speakers I heard that despite being at the correct height seem to have the performers only a foot and half or so above floor level. My one concern is that the bass seemed a bit detached from the rest of the range; then again, I have not heard very many music systems with subs. The rest of the system was composed of a Krell CD player and Krell integrated amp. The room was square and dreadful. I think the bass could be made to sound much better in a well proportioned room. Many thanks.
pbb
Pbb,

I think you are right... They are much better than
most people think. I think some of the dismisal
in the audiophile community has been due to some of the Infinity lines in the past werent very good but thats not true anymore. It just goes to show that once you lose respect you have to "earn" it back.

I have the Intermezzo series and they are excellent all around speakers they do everything very well. The MTS is just more of a very good thing. Your right about the bass its like a Mike Tyson (the old Mike Tyson)punch in the stomach... Very tight, fast and deep. Part of the beauty of the MTS is the Parametric EQ's built into the sub's which i would go as far as saying "just about" everyone needs.. Whether they know it or not is another story. The other nice thing is the ability to detach the subs and place them anywhere you want.. That can be a real plus in certain situations.

I think clear and accurate pretty much sums it up (i would
add Dynamic) the only knock on them i have heard is they are too accurate... too neutral and dont have a soul... I say if you want soul go buy a James Brown CD and if you want true hi-end speakers they have to be accurate and
neutral.

To each his own... but personally i think the they are exactly what a hi-end speaker should be. Floyd knows
exactly whats goin on.

And i dont sell Infinty or any other audio equipment just
a happy customer.
I love the MTS Preludes, I audition the Revel Salon, Wilson Sophia, the B&W 802 and when I heard the Preludes I was SOLD.
Coming from the Dunlavy familly it was great to get rid of the monster speaker.
If you have the right Amp you can listen to JAZZ, Classical, and Rock.
I have had mine for 1 year and I have been to 4 stereophile shows nothing for the money comes close.
Infinity will come to your house and set up the subs, and off you go. The subs are self powered 800 watts each that is a whole horsepower per Sub. they can tighten the base, they can lighten up the highs whatever. I think perfect for tube lovers as you can run the towers with your tube amp and let the subs run off there own built in amp. I think 27 Hz.is the lows.*** Class AA ,up with the Big Boys $80,000 +++.

They are very under rated, they do not go to Stereo Shows, they hardly advertised. Used $5500 on audiogon a steal deal.

Even my brother bought his NEW in Vegas, he whent to the CES 2003 show looking for them and he said he found them but not hooked up.
He went to the Vegas dealer listen to them for an hour and bought them on the spot, he loves rock and Roll.
Try them, you may love them!!!
I do think the Infinity Preludes make Excellent speakers in the right application. They are excellent dynamic speakers with plenty of slamm and pace for HT and dynamic music! They are refined and clear enough, with negligable coloration on their own. They sound a bit more foreward in the pressence reigion however, and don't have the deep soundstage that other audiphile music speakers have. They tend to sound more "up-front" and 2 dimmensional than other audiophile designs. The Tweeter is about as good as B&W Nautilus and Proac, but not quite as good as the world class Dynaudio Esotar 330 or Wison Watt's tweeter however! Still, very good overall, and balance is excellent.
I do like the MTS's as I said, and would recommend without reservation to anyone doing HT/music systems! They are MUCH MORE DYNAMIC than most any home audio passive design largely, due to the powered subs and multiple drivers in helping. This is a plus with HT for sure.
So, in summing, they have the clarity of a Thiel speaker largely, they are articulate, uncolored, fast,dynamic and authoritative! They make matching with the likes of tube amps possible, and even to consider. I would much prefer using these over MOST ANY standard passive lower sensitivity/efficiency passive audiphile design for HT and rock dubties for sure! They are involving and have lots of pressence, are focused, and hard hitting...what you want from a HT speak, indeed.
If you are into light delicate music with a deep soundstage, that sounds more traditionally laid back, like a lot of intentionally designed audiophile speakers out there, they may not be ideal....liveable, enjoyable perhaps...but not ideal.
If you do on the other hand want neutrality, great deatail, dynamics apleanty, focus, and a good involving refined sounding dynamic HT/music speaker, they have great potential! Overall I think these speakers sound an awefull lot like the excellent Thiel 2.3 with better dynamics and authority! Altough the Thiels have a deaper soundstage...otherwise the sound is very similar musically.
If someone is having problems with them sounding "detached" from the bass, I would say check the set up! There's no reason they should sound "detached" in the bass for any reason! Get the Phase, location, and level matching and EQing right and you'll have pheonominal results!
Overall, these would be on my short list of speakers for HT/music dubties at their price range for certain...one of the best, if not the best Infinity has ever made. Nice speakers