Price Paid:  $350.00

Summary:
This sub is great! I read all the reviews and was worried about compatibility issues with my Denon AVR-4800, but I did not find any issues that couldn't be solved with some minor adjustments. When I first hooked it up, it did seem a little quiet. I went into the on screen speaker level controls and adjusted the gain on the sub to +5 on the Denon. The difference was very noticeable. I then pushed the input button on the sub from LFE to Normal/Speaker level. A difference of night and day. Suddenly the base was loud and with the gain control on the sub only a little passed half way. Of course turning the bass knob up on the Denon would increase the sub, but would also increase the bass in all the speakers, so I leave it flat. A high quality RCA cable like those from AudioQuest helps too. In all, an excellent sub for the money.

Strengths:
Smooth, not boomy, extremely low lows, great price

Weaknesses:
Controls feel cheap

Price Paid:  $308.00 from ubid

Summary:
This subwoofer is really great. But: Many people (especially those who seemed to purchase them on ubid) have trouble. The only get a little sound from the woofer, and then come on here and post that it is a peice of junk. Well the problem is that some receivers aparantly have a different impediance than the subwoofer is expecting. After talking with Infinity, they sent me a copy of the service bulletin, so I could make the modifications necessary.

Here is an excert of what to do if you are experiencing this problem. This probably will void your waranty so do it at your own risk, and only do this if you know what you are doing. I've been in electronics for 4 years.

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Infinity Service Bulletin INF2001-01 Rev 1 March 2001


(Change provides a net gain increase of 9.8db)

1. Lay the subwoofer on its side on a padded surface, amplifier facing upwards.

2. Locate and remove the (2) Allen head crews at the bottom of the plastic cover with a 3/32" wrench.

3. Slide the amplifier straight down until it clears the slotted brackets; pull away from the cabinet and expose for servicing without further disconnection. Wires threading through the cabinet, glued in place, should be left intact.

4. Remove the Linear/Feature PCB (with external controls) by removing (4) phillips screws and all relevant molex and faston connectors.

5. Locate R100; change this 1/4W resistor from 2K or 2.67Kohms to 6.19K ohms (Infinity Part# 271-6.19K)

6. Locate C100; change this capacitor from .068 uf to .022 uf (Infinity Part# DF15223350)

7. Replace the PCB and all connectors; replace the amplifier assembly.

8. Test unit by connecting to a music source, and confirm the output is accectable.
============================================================

If you take it to the service center to have them do it make sure you tell them about this service bulletin.

I think once everyone here has had it fixed, you will all agree this is a great sub.

--William
Current System:
Main Speakers: Infinity CS-3007
Center Speaker: Infinity Delta Center
Surroung Speakers: Infinity CS-3006
Subwoofer: Infinity HPS-500
Receiver: JVC RX-8010
DVD: Pioneer DV414

Strengths:
Strong, Tight, Acurate Bass.

Weaknesses:
For some receivers, modification will be required. See Below for a Fix!

Similar Products Used:
Infinity SSW Servo, Pioneer, Mission

Summary:
Just wanted to give everyone an update regarding the issues with little to no output from the LFE. After speaking with Infinity as well as other owners....it turns out that the HPS-500 has some sort of impedence mismatch problem with many receivers out there, including Denon, Kenon, and Pioneer.

Infinity has released a service bulletin regarding this problem, so notify your service center of this when dropping off the sub....or you'll get the "if it works with CD level input, then there's nothing wrong with your sub" line.

Summary:
I do not own this sub, but had the opportunity to audition this unit along side a Definitive 2200, Polk PSW 650, A/R ASW 500, Klipsch KSW-15, B&W 1000, and M&K MX125. I am also suprised that I did not buy this sub, as it was priced at $489 at the shop I was auditioning these subs at.

As a side note, my equipment consists of:

Denon AVR 3200 Receiver
Sony ES CD Player
Sony 41" Videoscope TV
Sony DVD Player
Sony Hifi VCR
Infinity Crescendo 3009 4 way Mains
Infinity Center Channel
Infinity Reference One Surrounds
Etc.

I have been installing mobile and home audio products for a number of years and have always been impressed with the sound quality and value of Infinity products (Kappa Perfect car subwoofers are some of the best I've owned). I tell you this because it pains me deeply to admit that Infinity's recent subwoofer attempts for home applications have been less than impressive since the SW series went away some 7 years ago.

Before testing these subs, I was sure I would walk away with a $1,000 Infinity sub for a steal at $500 out the door. Having all older Infinity speakers, it would be a logical progression. After the audition, I could hardly believe that an Infinity speaker could be embarassed so badly.

We set all these subs up in the same manner (crossovers, gain, placement, etc). My findings were as follows:

The HPS 500 was the muddiest of the bunch (with the Klipsch KSW-15 not far behind). It sounded sloppy on music selections and did not have the tight impact that many of these other subs exhibited.

The tightest bass of the group came from the M&K (go figure, it also costs a lot more). The Polk 650 and the B&W 1000 were right behind in tightness, with the Definitive and A/R just below. Tight, controlled bass was important to me as I spend more than half my time with music.

For pure impact, depth, and volume, the leaders in my opinion were the B&W, A/R and Definitive. The Polk was very good, but was more musical than powerful.

If music is important to you, but you still want to feel the deep impact of movies, I would recommend the B&W, M&K, A/R or Definitive. If your tastes are more toward music, then the M&K and Polk would be my recommendations.

Take my opinions with a grain of salt as what sounds good to me may not be what others are looking for. Good luck.

Strengths:
Distinctive Look, Relatively Lightweight (not necessarily a good thing when considering subs)

Weaknesses:
Very sloppy bass output, Cannot compete in clarity, depth, or output with similarly priced subs.

Similar Products Used:
B&W, Velodyne, Klipsch, Acoustic Research, Polk, Definitive Tech, M&K, Sunfire

Price Paid:  $430.00 from UBid

Summary:
I bought it from UBid, and like everybody else, had the same problem -- almost no sound.
I hooked it up directly to audio out, and almost blew the windows out :) Next, I played with the receiver settings (Harman Kardon AVR 75) and found that there were two menus to adjust output levels of the speakers. One screen, accessible from regular menu adjusts all speakers, another screen, accessible only from remote allows to adjust all speakers and subwoofer. After adjusting it to the max of +10, I was able to hear the sub even when plugged in to LFE. But... it is a 500W, 15 inch sub, one would expect it to work with regular settings. The bass is OK, but not as nice as I heard from other subs (Klipsch for example). Now, if I plug it directly into the CD player, it rocks.
So, here is my question. Is this sub defective, and should I get it fixed, while it is still on the warranty. Or that's the way it is supposed to be? Please e-mail me with your comments.

Strengths:
Nice bass if hooked up properly

Weaknesses:
Still not sure if it is defective

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch