The best ever? No cost consideration?
1 Beveridge Model 2, one needs to add bass columns
2 Apogee Full Range
3 Infinity IRS (stock) improved, it would be #2
3 Infinity Phase 3 (my design)
4 Apogee Scintilla
4 Genesis 1
5 Apogee Diva
6 Avantgarde Uno
7 Magnaplanar MG-1
8 Snell Type AIIIi
9 Original Quad ESL
9 Infinity RS 1b with IRS Beta bass
10 Infinity RS 1b
I have reworked the big Infinity IRS, but the Beveridge is, in my opnion, still the best if you add an IRS like bass column!
Best ever is my way for saying these were a wonder and it is too bad the production costs are so high today. The IRS can find improvements, for example the wiring, the internal passive crossover parts. The biggest problem, as I see it, was the external crossover bass enhancement system. I rebuilt the electronic crossover and used much improved balanced connectors, redesigned the bass management system, this made such a big difference, I went out and built the same bass column as the Genesis 1 and could not really improve on the unit built for myself. The other problem was the internal bass amplifiers they really cause a rift in the acoustic low cross point sound wave. This, for me was their greatest fault. A. N. told me he did not expect to have a marketable speaker with the IRS, but sell the smaller RS 1, I thought the one was lacking and told A.N. so. The telescoping above 800HZ was the big mistake; Infinity should have used 9 EMIMs and 16 EMITs, four on the back. Again, Infinity said it would be cost prohibitive; I did design several of these and they sold well thought the 1980s and even the early 90s. The bass column was like the IRS Beta, rather than the little 8” cones used in the RS1. I can’t say the EMIM is at its highest point of development, yet it is a better driver than the L-EMIM by a long shot! Genesis made a big mistake not using the EMIT, the single round magnet made for a fair at best high frequency transducer. I would like to add whoever said the EMIM and EMIT were single ended and had magnets only in the back, should take time to take one of these drivers apart, so they will learn the foolishness of their comment! Keep single ended were it belongs, for amps with single output devices, or those RCA plugs that are truly outdated.
