lots of bass not much else

quality problems

I was in the market for speakers about a year ago. I must have listened to 5 or 6 different brands of speakers. I ended up getting these Infinity IL50's because they had the powered subwoofers. I thought that since they would have a lot of bass, that I wouldn't need to worry about the quality of sound that came from the tweeter and midrange. Although I like these speakers just because they can boom, they don't seem to play music or HT like they should. They are really bass heavy and annoying. Unfortunately I ended up blowing one of my midwoofers, so my speakers are down at the moment. I have issues with the quality of these things in the long run. I have heard some horror stories about these amplifiers and speakers. I think if Infinity is going to build quality speakers, they don't need to make the speakers prone to breaking. Just my $.02. I think these are an average deal for an average speaker. No big accolades for these speakers. They are just mediocre at best.

none-unless you like crappy sounding speakers

the whole Infinity speaker

I just purchased these sorry speakers off the internet about a month ago. I am very disappointed with the quality of these speakers. I figured since they retailed for $1700 a pair, that I paid $450 a pair was a bargain. I guess I am sorely mistaken. I have had problems from day one with these speakers. The sound is horrible and the build quality is also lacking. The previous owner says he didn't abuse them or anything. He owned them for a year, and I thought that he may have abused them, but after reading the rest of these reviews and seeing how disappointed everyone else has been, I guess it is just the norm. I have learned my lesson, which is you get what you pay for. I just feel sorry for the fools that paid retail on these dogs. As for the review on these speakers. They are very bass heavy and have no audiophile qualities at all. The highs are bright and harsh and the mids are muddy. I have these speakers hooked up to my Carver amp, so I know it isn't the source. They plastic feet and speaker surrounds are horrible too. They are very cheap and flimsy.

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Carver, NHT, BOSE, JBL, Thiel, Jamo, and a whole list of others. I have found that these Infinity's are the worst.

Deep bass sound to fill a large room and adequate midrange sound.

Boomy when in certain spaces within a room which might be fixed by using the RABOS system.

I have read the other reviews of these speakers and I'm somewhat shocked. Maybe it's just my lack of experience at picking out speakers or the fact that I just replaced 15 year old Kenwoods, but these sound great. I think it's also a function of the size and shape of my listening space too. The room I use in my house has a 20 foot ceiling and the room itself is about 20' - 30'. The IL50 fills this room perfectly, although in some spots, the bass is overwhelming (like room corners) but who sits in a corner and listens to music? It suits my needs which are two channel music and 5 channel surround sound. Plus they were a screaming deal brand new...I'm the typical price conscious shopper that can't even imagine spending $500+ for speakers...thats' insane. If there is a downside, you do have to play with the bass adjustments when swiching back and forth between surround sound and 2 channel music listening. Overall...good speakers for the money and more than enough to fill a large room in your house. If you have a small room, these may just be too much. I have not use the RABOS system yet, but am going to try it to see if I can get more consistent bass sound throughout the room.

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None

NOTHING

Quality All the above mentioned

A couple of words come to mind when talking about these speakers: JOKE, CHEAP, CRAP, and BROKE. Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know about my experiences with these speakers. The subwoofer amps have gone out on me. The plastic bass knob on the front has broken. Overall, the sound quality is ok, but I have not been satisfied with these speakers at all. They are very bass heavy and have no audiophile qualities at all. No wonder Infinity has discontnued these lines of speakers. Never again will I buy anything from Infinity. I have gotten these things fixed and now I just want to get rid of them. I also noticed a lot of other complaints about these speakers in these reviews. At least I am not the only one who is having problems. Wake up Infinity and build a better quality and sounding speaker.(Not that I would buy it) When I first bought these speakers, I wanted to be able to play music loud and with a lot of authority. Now that I have really sat down and listened to these things, the sound quality just isn't there. My friends have told me that these speakers belong in a night club. I was satisfied with these speakers until they went out on me. I have had these speakers in and out of the shop for the past 2 months. I am ready to give up and get some different speakers.

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I have used several high quality lines of speakers. NHT, Polk, Paradigm, and Mission.

Lot's of bass Nothing more

Soundstage Clarity Cheap quality

I am an avid audiophile for 20+ years and own a high end home audio store in Michigan. I still have these Infinity Interlude IL50's on display next to a pair of Polk LSi25's, Energy Veritas 2.3's, Klipsch RF-7's, and a pair of Paradigm Legends. I rank these Infinity's at the bottom of the pack in terms of overall performance, which is based on musicality, clarity, soundstage, imaging, and accuracy. Most of my customers are in their 30's and 40's. The clientel for these Infinity's are in their early to mid 20's. These are the customers that don't appreciate any type of clarity and don't care if there is any disportion. They are only the people who want to play loud music. These speakers have very good bass response with the powered 10 in woofers, but they have no musical merit at all when playing 2 channel. I would only recommend these speakers If their budget cannot afford any of the other speakers. I know these are discontinued, but I still have a couple of pairs left, b/c they don't sell that fast. I have them marked down to $300/speaker, when they listed at $1700 a pair. I think I only sold 1 pair at the retail price. They are not worth $1700 a pair. I think they are a average value at $600 a pair, but nothing more. I just can't sell these things for any less. One day, I might just have to give these things away. These things get beat up when compared to the other speakers in the same listening room. Rankings on all these spekaers by myself and customers would be as follows: 1. Polk LSi25's 2. Energy Veritas 2.3's 3. Paradigm Legends 4. Klipsch RF-7's 5. Infinity IL50's Overall, I rate these at 2/5 stars, but in value, a 1/5 b/c of the retail price. Most true audiophiles don't even consider Infinity speakers, mainly because they are a low budget, loud speaker. They sound good when played hard and loud with lots of bass response, but that is it. No musical detail or soundstage. They do fair when called to home theater duty, but still can't compare to others listed. Also, I have a lot of complaints that these speakers are very cheap looking, especially the light maple color. The platinum grey plastic pieces are very poorly placed as well. They are thin and rattle. If I were you, I wouldn't waste my money. I'd go with either the Energy Veritas line or the Polk LSi's.

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Polk, Energy, Klipsch, Paradigm, BOSE, B&W, Infinity, JBL, and many more.

Low, loud bass, very realistic sound field, outstanding music performance (stereo), just real fun to listen to.

They weigh a metric ton, you wouldn't want to go sell your first born for the mid/high sound they produce but they do sound very live.

Somehow I was one of those lucky bums who was able to get these off of uBid back in June when they were insanely cheap ($280 + shipping). I've been listening to them for a good 5 months now and am very pleased with their performance. It must be said though that the IL50s are best used in a stereo music environment. Throw in any disc that has a wide range of frequencies and you can just sit amazed for hours at the soundfield. However, as many have mentioned, they are fairly picky when it comes to acoustics. You need to take time to move them around for the best sound. Now while they perform best with music, that doesn't mean they are shabby at all when it comes down to DVDs. There have been times when certain sound effects have sounded genuinely real. Things such as clinking chains or squeaking doors. Wow. Bass response takes some work. If you can get a hold of the RABOS kit I would say try and use it. I could not but I did attempt to do the bass optimization without the kit. Let's just say it really stunk so I turned it off, flipped the low pass filters on and have had ZERO bass regrets since. I don't know another person who has more bass than I do and it isn't just loud, it's real deep. For 10s, these subs impress like no other. I have a friend who is a total audiophile snob and he adores the subs in the IL50s. I can't say a whole lot about the high end because frankly I'm just not that qualified. I haven't heard really really good speakers before. What I do know is that for high end, my friend's Klipsch synergy speakers do sound a little better. But not considerably better. My overall thoughts on my IL50s are that I love them. They get louder than nearly anyone needs, have an incredible bass frequency range (and power), and get the job done quite well on the mids/highs. And about the power supply issue? No probs here, but they were refurbs so I assume that is the problem that was fixed.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch synergy system 6, Polk, Energy, Pioneer, KLH, Kenwood.

Sound, looks, and performance.

None

I bought these at Ultimate Electronics for $800 for the pair. I was a little hesitant in buying these because of people saying the power supply commonly goes bad. But I got them anyways and I am glad I did. They sound awesome. Nice deep bass, good highs, all around great quality. I've now had them for about 6 months and have had no problems with them. I would highly recommend them.

Plays very loud and boomy

Looks Cheapness Sound

Well, I must say that these speakers are not all they are cracked up to be. I for one feel that I got rooked, even at $500 per pair. If I were to pay $1700 retail, then I would have shot myself. They are not the best looking speakers in the world. Especially the Maple. I thought the looks would grow on me, but they didn't. The original owner said that these were great speakers and sounded awesome. When I received them from the guy off ebay, I hooked these puppies up and they sounded like crap. Nothing was blown. It was loud and clear, just not precise and detailed. I have decided to resell these speakers via ebay. Maybe I will get the $500 a pair that I paid for them. I have decided to get a pair of Polk LSi25's. I tested them locally and they sound impressive.

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I really like the Polks (LSi25's)

Tight bass, very clear mid. Good imaging and good for both music and movies once properly set up.

metallic coloration of the highs

These are decent speakers for the money. Those who complain about imaging and base need to invest some time setting up these speakers. They are very dependant on room acoustics. A few inches here and there can make all the difference. I'll give all you out there who hate these speakers that their not the best in the world, but they are decent for the money. I have had no technical problems with mine. Even for the full price they are decent speakers. I would feel like a sucker if I had paid $1700 for these a year ago thoguh, now that they are available for under $500. They image nicely once they are set up correctly and have good tight bass. The only weekness is a little tinny coloration in the highs at first. After proper break in and a cable upgrade the problem all but went away. With proper equipment and time these speakers are well worth the money.

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PSB Image, Klipsch Reference, Infinity Reference

Quality of sound and construction, mids and highs are excellent. look gorgeous while not being overly obtrusive. Price for performance is AMAZING

boomy bass, but RABOS should handle that

I purchased these speakers via eBay directly from Harman Audio. Overall they seem to be well made, and physically sturdy. I think the only weak point is the odd design for the "foot" of the speaker which looks like it was made to be broken. Regardless, I think they look fantastic. I haven't had them long, so I assume they still need to be broken in (I've read the Interlude line takes some time to begin sounding their best), but they still sound amazing. I've been listening to everything from Chopin to Clapton and have been impressed on all counts. I don't yet have the RABOS tuning kit, so my bass is somewhat echo-laden, but even so the sound and feel of it is stunning. I think the imaging is excellent, and the mids and highs are clear and sharp. At no time have these speakers sounded sharp to harsh and all music seems to have a nice warmth to it. I haven't watched much HT on it, but I'm fairly certain that they will perform just as admirably.

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hooked to a Yamaha HTR 5560 A/V Receiver, and a Panasonic RP56 DVD Player