Price Paid:  $399.00 from theaudiovideosource

Summary:
I bought this sub to use with my pair of B&W 703's, not because the 703's really have any weakness in the bass, but because my room is rather troublesome below about 80Hz, with the bass becoming very uneven. I would have preferred a B&W ASW700 or ASW750, but I didn't want to spend that much money. Plus, the Infinity's black ash vinyl is a good match for my B&W 703's black ash wood veneer. Anyway, suffice to say the Alpha seemed like a good deal with a close-out ebay price that was just about one-fourth of what a B&W ASW750 goes for. Especially considering the many good reviews it has received for it's musical, clean bass.

Although I have not had the sub too long, I am very pleased with it. I have it placed in the right rear corner of my music room. I've got my Pioneer Elite 55TXi receiver's crossover set at 80Hz, with the B&W's running full-range. The only drawback of placing this sub behind the listening position, is that very rarely, the location of the sub becomes audible. This could be fixed with a lower crossover, but my surrounds are very small, so that is not really an option. Plus, due to the room problems I mentioned, even the nearly full-range B&W's can use the help up to 80Hz. Everything involves compromises!

Summing up, I am satisfied with the build quality of this sub, and the performance is just what I was looking for: strong, smooth bass that really has flattened and extended the bass response in my room. Where the B&W's alone were strong down to about 35Hz or so, the Infinity takes it on down to around 25Hz. But the main improvement is the over-all smoothing of the system response, which now measures +/- 4dB from 31 on up to 200 Hz.




Experimenting with the set-up reveals what a huge difference seemingly small details can make. Cross-over point, phase, level, etc. It all matters!

Strengths:
Strong, smooth bass. Good build quality, reasonable size and price.

Weaknesses:
Not the last word in bass extension or output, but very good for the money. In other words, yes, you can get subs that measure deeper or louder, but you will generally pay considerably more. And the question remains, how loud or deep do you really need to go?

Similar Products Used:
Optimus ProSW-12, (12" passive)
RCA ProSW60P (8" 60W)

Price Paid:  $420.00 from Wettsteins&Online

Summary:
Undoubtedly, this is a well rounded fantastic sub. I have two of them. This sub is EXCELLENT for music. It is a solid movie sub as well, but more impressive in the music department. A friend of mine has the SVS PB2Plus. That crazy sub outperforms both of my subs combined for rump shaking activity. My subs rattle the couch, his SVS jolts you while sitting there. If you get motion sickness, you might want to take some dramamine first!

Anyway, these subs for music perform best at 1/2 - 3/4 volume. For movies, go ahead and turn the sub all the way up, and then adjust the EQ and the SW level on your receiver to compensate. This will give you the most kick.

Be careful however. I was watching Finding Nemo, Chapter 25 with Darla tapping on the tank, and it blew one of my drivers out. I couldn't believe it! I had both subs maxed and the SW level at plus 12. I had the overall receiver (Denon 3803) volume at negative 16(below reference levels) or so, and one of them blew and one of them was fine. The nice thing, is that Wettsteins is going to ship the speaker to Infinity and have it fixed for free. Gotta love the 5 year warranty!

If you are after a musical sub, look no further. This sub is selling for a VERY reasonable price right now, if you can still find it. If you want a solid, tight, deep movie subwoofer, you've found it. If you want a sub that can literally nauseate you, give SVS a call.
Maximus

Strengths:
Amazing sub for music. Very tight, punchy and deep!

Weaknesses:
A great solid movie sub, but not the booty shaking good time that more expensive subs can offer.

Price Paid:  $397.00 from OneCall

Summary:
This is an update to the review below.

OK got the Alpha back from the repair shop (loose wire), let me tell you this thing kicks hard! Quality BASS aplenty, not boomy! Nice and tight, very, very sweet. A noteworthy successor to the IL-20. Nuff Said!

Strengths:
Good looking. Bass is controlled. R.A.B.O.S.

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
see review below!

Price Paid:  $397.00 from OneCall.com

Summary:
I've only had my sub < day but I will be updating it once I get back from the service center! That's right, brand new out of the box, it did not work! Why not return it? Unfortunately, I bought it from OneCall.com, once they have your money customer service goes out the window! Their only solution to my problem was to ship it back(my expense!) and they will refund me my money minus what I paid to ship a defective product to me! I woul've lost $200!

Strengths:
Don't know yet broken out of the box.

Weaknesses:
Defective out of the box, who QC
s this things?

Similar Products Used:
Velo CHT12, Adire Audio Shiva, Polk 12"

Price Paid:  $600.00 from ULTIMATE ELECTRONICS

Summary:
UNBELIEVABLE bass extension. I have listened to tons and tons of subs. This pounder not only shakes my house but also displays finesse and musicality while doing it. Most subs twice this much are not musical. Integrates well with towers. I love how it sounds like the sub isn't separate from the fronts. Throw in the RABOS and you got one heck of a soundstage. Equalization helps more than ya think.

Strengths:
RABOS, musicality, pounds like the San Andreas, looks gorgeous.

Weaknesses:
None unless your wife doesn't like knick knacks falling off the shelves.

Similar Products Used:
Sunfire, Def Tech supercube, Klipsch Reference, KEF Reference