Still great speakers,if well preserved.Sid Marks of TAS fame(he wrote the Mercury and RCA LP column for years)still has this speaker as his main set up.I've heard them at his place,like a zillion times.
I had them years ago,and wonder why I got rid of them.
SUPERB....and don't doubt that for a minute!Actually,in today's market,and poor economy, these designs would sell for a small fortune.
My RS1-B's are about 28 yrs old. I originally bought the first pair of RS-1's from Lyric. Then I had them moded to the 1A's. The Arnie Nudel visited me and convinced me to upgrade to the B's. I dit that but also did some extra mods (somewhat similar to Sid's but not that extensive).
When I would visit shows or visit a friends home to hear their system I always felt that, as aged my system is) it still represented a great illusion of thew sound I appreciated.
My EMIMS have all been replace but my EMITS and woofers are all original.
I'm out of the hobby,after 40 years of it all.I'm currently back to my first love.Seriously studying music theory and playing acoustic guitar again.
Very rewarding
The crossover box for the RS-1's is needed,but the design can be significantly bettered by "updating/modifying" the crossover box.A good outsourced modify guy can most likely do this.
KEEP the RS1b's - you can make them into world-beaters with some modifications, if you are up to it.
Here is a thread from AudioKarma where I ("Maxamillion" over there) go step by step through the modifications I did to my RSIIb's which have turned them into the best speakers I have ever heard. I'm sure you can get some ideas for your RS1B's from there.
In short, I built new outboard crossovers for them, upgraded the equalizer components, braced the cabinets, and MOST IMPORTANTLY installed the new EMIM diaphragms from Apogee. Those new diaphragms are head and shoulders better then the stock ones, here are links to the Apogee EMIM page, followed by reviews of the new EMIM diaphragms from folks who have installed them:
I also heard Sid Marks RS1-a's and liked them so much....I bought them from him! Sold them to someone in Canada in 1995..and missed them so much I bought two sets of RS1b's this year!
Sir speedy- how is Sid doing??I lost his number.. I bought them from him in 1985 his Mom was living with him- his album collection is amazing- He sold his Goldmund Studio with t3f arm for a VPI ...but i preferred the Goldmund.
I have just renovated my home. We re-painted the entire inside of the house and in my living/dining room did wall-to-wall carpeting. We also eliminated some unnecessary furniture. Since I am not a technical person and the Infinities are a bit unusual to install, my dealer is heading over to set them up. I am quite interested in hearing how the new carpet etc. will affect the sound. Fingers crossed. P.S. I am happy the infinities have so many options to customize the sound!
RWD (Rick) I want to recommend something, I have said it on Audiogon several times and people think I'm crazy, but what I am telling you I have done COUNTLESS times. If your surrounds are starting to dry rot, they can be fairly well restored for several more years easily and inexpensively as long as they are caught before it is too late. Back in My SpeakerCraft/Marcof Electronics days, we used to buy different types of liquid latex to dampen speaker cones. We found that foam surrounds that were drying out would absorb latex like a sponge and that the latex firmed up and acted almost as a regenerator for the foam.... I understand that you can't go just anywhere and buy latex, but I have at least on a dozen occasions taken OLD latex paint, very carefully take the can without any shaking and open it, you will find all paint pigment seperated from the latex. Carefully just lift the latex without pigment with a brush and apply it to your surrounds. If these were my speakers, I would do this and YES it works beautifully. Just apply as many coats as your surrounds absorb. They do let you know when they are saturated. Let them dry 48 hours and you are back in business without anyone ever knowing that you did this, other than your surrounds having just a bit of wet appearance like a treated speaker cone, there is zero to be seen and you keep your speakers in tact with their original performance. This works! I understand you being aprehensive and if you don't do it, I understand, but I have to offer the advice when pratical. I have seen this save hundreds of speakers inexpensively and with excellent results. Good Luck, Tim
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