Who actually heard the Infinity IRS?

I heard ’em several times at a passel of L.A. high end stores and at a hi-fi show or two..Impressive & as big-sounding as their size imply,  They sound-staged like champs, but I only heard them once when they didn’t feel a bit hard, analytical and overbearing...I was actually relieved that I didn’t like them enough to feel frustrated by my lack of lucre & floor space to possess then.

I spent an evening listening to them in a private lounge, driven by what I recall was a huge pair of VTL mono blocks, along with a Rockport turntable. I thought they threw a big image but I didn't like the midrange- I was at the time a long time Quad electrostat/tube guy. The same party had a pretty crazy studio and had a pair in the studio to monitor (among others, including little Wilsons). That pair of IRS sounded better. But we are talking about nearly 30 years ago. 

There is a guy - "al rainbow" who posts at Myle's Astor's site. He has a pair, maybe modified, I dunno. It's been a long time! If you track down Myles, who is a pretty well known reviewer, you will eventually find "Al". Good luck. 

Audioquest in El Paso Tx. had a pair of IRS5's back in the latter eighties. I helped set them up and the owner and I listened and tweeked them till midnight or so. He had a customer coming in the next day to listen to them. I thought the sound was superb. They need a VERY large room. Most homes don't have the kind of space they need. They sounded best out a good ten feet from the back and side walls. I went in there in 1999 and he had them back for re-sale. I was tempted as the price was right, $3000 bucks.   

You can contact PS Audio since they use a set for voicing and have them set up in a listening room for demo’s.  They (Paul), should have a ton of info about them. 

When I worked in a really nice shop here in NE Ohio, we had a customer who owned them. I recall he blew out the mid size ribbon drivers frequently. Knowing him and the levels he enjoyed, he would have been better served with some EV pro gear. He traded them in to us and we had them on display briefly. I do remember how big the soundstage was, and when driven by good power sounded big and powerful. They were not really my thing. I was smitten with a pair of Mission 767's and/or the TDL reference monitors at the time. 

Thanks @paradisecom - I don't want " a lot of information"  just wanted to know from people who've actually heard them.  😀

To clarify:  I'm not actually looking to buy a set.  I was just being nostalgic. 

I've heard the Infinity IRS system in two different setups, but I can't recall what series either one was.

The first was a demo by Mike Kay at Lyric in Manhattan, probably around 1980. He was using all ARC electronics and the big Goldmund Studio turntable as a source. It sounded fantastic. That experience got me hooked on Infinitys, and it didn't end  until I bought the IRS Beta system that I'm still using after all these years.

I've also heard the big IRS system in a private home. He used a mix of ARC and Levinson gear, with a SOTA Sapphire turntable and SME V. He also had a big Ampex ATR 2-track with special electronics that I can't recall. That was back in the '90s.

There are no ribbon drivers in the IRS system. They’re planars.

They are aluminum mounted on a substrate. Not true ribbons but I believe Infinity called them ribbons, IIRC. Or EMIT and EMIMS, Electromagnetic Induction Tweeter/Midrange. 

i worked at Infinity dealer in Ohio, displayed everything but IRS. I had a few occasions to hear and tweak setup, mostly with CJ Premier electronics and SOTA / Souther / Dynavector Diamond front ends. the towers were maddening to properly integrate…perfect on one recording, abysmal on another….

One customer with a massive LP collection said “ i gave up listening to my collection, now i just listen to whatever LP HP recommend ( the late Harry Pearson of Absolute Sound fame, who i believe took his IRS to the grave…. )

I have. The bottom end reminded me of the Earthquake theater experience. THEY sounded great with everything, just needed proper setup.

Erik hasn’t.

I also heard them at Lyric a few times, and at a customers home of Mike Kay. Large presentation and quite enjoyable. I believe Paul McGowan just retired his set, stating that his new flagship speaker is better in every way.  His YT videos allow you to see his transition and room changes. 

My bad, we were not an Infinity dealer. I didn't have much info or lit on them. I guess at the time I called every EMIT type driver a ribbon. 

I have heard the IRS Vs at PS audio. The sound was effortless regardless of spls. I found nothing objectionable about the mid range. Quite the opposite actually. In the room I heard them, they have since moved them to a different room/location, I recall incredible detail with a soundstage bigger than the actual room in which they sat. It’s hard to imagine anything that could compare to the scale these towers produced. The only thing that even came close to this was a room at RMAF in which they were running the top model of Focal speakers driven by giant and I  do mean giant kilowatt mono-block amps (maybe mbl). And they running four massive speakers into a giant room. I believe the cost of that system was north of $2 million. 
 

If you’re ever near Boulder Colorado give PS Audio a call and ask for a listen. They are very friendly and eager to give folks a listen to their demo rooms. AND  yes they still have the IRS system in house.

Best regards

Birdfan

The term "ribbon" is commonly misused. The Infinity EMIM and EMIT drivers are not ribbon drivers; as noted above "EMI" denotes Electro Magnetic Induction, the "M" and "T" midrange and tweeter respectively.

Magnepan’s are often referred to as ribbon loudspeakers, which except for their fantastic ribbon tweeter (found in the 3.7, 20.7, and 30 series models, and in the old Tympani T-IV and T-IVa, the latter of which I own) they are not. Magnepan themselves don’t help by naming their entry-level model the "LRS", for Little Ribbon Speaker. The LRS contains no ribbon drivers, but rather all planar-magnetic’s.

The Servo-Static 1 and 2 does not contain ribbons, but rather are electrostatics with a dynamic woofer. The "Static" in the name is used for that reason, the "Servo" for the servo-controlled woofer.

I heard the IRS at an early Stereophile Show, demoed by Mike Kay of New York’s Lyric Hi-Fi. Unfortunately, he used all corny Audiophile recordings, which imo have little relevance to how a speaker reproduces real music.

I heard them back in the late 80's. They could not cast an image worth a toot and we played with them for hours. Anybody can build a huge speaker that goes loud. Getting it to image is another matter entirely. The big Magnepans and Apogee Divas were much better speakers not that they didn't have problems. They certainly were not as powerful. We 911 nuts have a saying. It is not how fast you go but how you go fast. 

bdp24

 

I had pair 02 in my home for 20 months way back when 

Wonderful Loudspeaker 

Thanks - Mark 

Mark, very impressive that you owned them. 👂👍

And, the 2nd pair in production.......

I was out in Denver about a week early for RMAF 2019 hanging out with my son.

Drove over to PS Audio specifically to listen to the IRS V.  They were very busy getting ready for the show and I had no appointment, but Paul was gracious and let me in to hear the IRS.  One of the sales people demo'd the system for me and then handed me the iPad and left the room.  Quite a bit of fun...playing what they called reference recordings of all types streaming from a hard drive.  Probably there about two hours, I suspect they forgot about me. 

They throw an enormous sound stage and even in that large room could have used more space.  Seemed like they never broke a sweat.  

One of the best I have ever heard, top tier.  But, oh kind reader, please be aware that every driver in the system had been upgraded by their chief speaker designer, Chris Brunhaven (sic?).  Along with custom x-overs and amps for the bass towers, so they were no where near "stock". 

I'm actually sort of surprised that so many people have heard them considering there were only 78 systems produced.

Regards,

barts

@barts 

The late Corydon Johnson rebuilt the EMITS and EMIM’s.

Chris spec’d new Woofers from Parts Express and I believe did some Mods to eliminate the “Servo” (accelerometer) part of the system. Paul did a Video on them about a year or so ago.

Ive listened to both Paul’s system at the factory and Corydon’s before he sold them after 40 years of ownership. Both were amazing and did all the Audiophile terms extremely well.   

Before he passed away, Corydon on his IRS V’s (purchased at Lyric HiFi also with ML-2’s on each channel) modified the EMIM’s so that they were a true fullrange driver thus eliminating the EMITS which he said were a pain in the Ass to rebuild. The Gentleman who bought the IRS V’s is currently extremely satisfied with the work Corydon did. The Woofer stacks were rebuilt (woofer surrounds reformed) but the “servo” stuff including BHK’s Amp to drive the stacks were untouched and 100% operational. 

@rajugsw 

I certainly didn't intend to mislead anyone, so I apologize for that.  I understand that Chris did not actually "build or repair" the drivers.  My term "upgraded" could have been clearer.  Thanks for adding more info to the story.

Would you agree that the PSA pair could have used a bigger room to their advantage?

Regards,

barts

I was lucky enough to work in a High-End shop, Excalibur, in Olde Towne Alexandria VA and we had IRS Vs in the front room. Many manufacturers used to drop in with their latest creations and see what the microscope of the IRS' told them about their prototypes, Bill and Lew from c-j, Dan from Krell, and John Bicht of Versa Dynamics were among those who used our front room as a testing ground. I loved the IRS sound and spent many late nights after work just playing records and enjoying the experience. Give me a Koetsu Rosewood, SME V arm, SOTA Star in Koa, c-j Premier III and a pair of Premier 5s and I'd be in paradise.

Hey @klh007 

Great experience!! Can you describe the room a little more?  Huge?  Well treated? 

@klh007 , I had that same system, including one of a number of MC step up devices, until you mentioning the Premier 5s ( did not like tube amp bass then, nor now ); of course I did not have the IRSV. I know someone here made it very clear that Paul still has the Vs, as I indicated he retired them. What I meant to say, Paul is putting all of his efforts into the new speaker, as he has indicated on his channel. I own some product, that I consider " retired ". Hell, I am retired, lol.....I do prefer point source speakers, and panels and line source, do not do what I want. However, I was captivated by the IRS Vs, especially at the guy's home, vs the store.......they did / do some things, exceptionally well, that I deem important with a system . Enjoy ! Always, MrD.

@erik_squires, The room was large but the IRS fired into a glass bay window 10' wide, the townhome was an 1800s structure, when deep bass notes hit the floor rippled from the woofer towers, a fun ride!

I have seriously considered getting Arion speakers.

There is a YouTube video of a pair at a recent show that is incredibly impressive.

Considering the sound of a MP4, the way the Arian’s reproduced drums was nothing short of amazing. Of the many videos of that show, the Arian’s were the best. They were pushed by top line AR mono blocks.

The Arion technology using their own design AMT drivers in a line array is innovative and unique.

I wouldn’t think twice. Among the benefits, they are over 100db efficient. Get the Arions!

I have seriously considered getting Arion speakers.

@mglik 

I’ve not heard one but

1. I like AMT’s in general
2. I love line sources and
3. The Arion speakers are incredibly underpriced for the way they are built.

Of course, listening is EVERYTHING, but it’s one of the few speakers in the price range I could take seriously.

I think it is worth a trip to North Carolina!

I like the model that has the subwoofer built in.

Good price and no outboard sub amp.

I still own the little brother to them. Made with the same drivers and meant to be 

an item for people that wanted the same sound, at lower volume and with a much smaller footprint. That is the Infinity Modulus 90 sub/sat system with the servo controlled 12” sub. They came with the optional factory filled ear height stands, though there were tabletop and wall mount versions available. $3,300 back in the day and the combo was recommended by Stereophile. That was just icing on the cake for me. I had to have them based on looks alone. With my Krell KSA 100S on top of my Standesign 4 place rack, the look was pretty alright for the early 90s. I believe anyone that purchased the system, really enjoyed knowing that the pedigree for these speakers was pure blue blooded royalty. If you end up sitting on the throne, you’ll certainly enjoy your reign. The holographic imaging I still get is a full 180° from dead left to dead right. And the silky smoothness from top to bottom is something to behold. And the midrange is so good, I just never take it for granted. It’s always noticeable and provokes the sensation of wanting to somehow feel the beat in a tactile way. You just want to put your hands on it. Yes, go have a listen if you can!