Hi this Wadia9 , I have owned my Renasiance 90's for thirteen years. I will never sell them, because I enjoy them very much. They through a huge soundstage and they perform well on all types of music provided you have end electronics driving them. They have some the best bottom end I have ever heard because is tight articulate and punchy. Another thing I like about these loudspeakers is that they dissappear.Also the build quality is very good. Finally I would NOT tweak these loudspeakers in any way, just leave them alone and let them sing.

These speakers are amazing. They image better then anything I've heard including over $15,000 Dynaudio,Dali etc. Yes they are power hungry, but the issue comes down to what type of power you are feeding them. I was biamping with 2 Musical Fidelity A308cr amps which push 450 watts per side at 4 ohms each and the bass felt a little lite. I used an old classic Luxman M-6000 dual mono with a 1KVA Transformer on each side rated conservatively at 300 watts per channel into 8 ohms ( who knows what the 4 ohm number is) and the bass was a quite a bit better. Now when I attached these beauties to a Luxman M-05 Pure Class A amp rated at 105 watts per channel into 8 ohms (about 400 watts per channel if AB configuration), I was floored by the bass coming out of these speakers. The bass had authority. You felt it hit you in the stomach. One thing that must be noted is that the bass output also depends on the source palyer and the source material. Try Class A amps with these speakers and you will not regret it!

All of the other reviewers are pretty much dead-on about these speakers.
They are revealing, but that is good thing. You’ll find out about some recordings that you previously may have thought were good, aren’t really that well recorded...and vice versa.
When it comes to Power… I’m on the side that says these things respond well to a lot of it. I have vertically bi-amped my 90’s with two modified Carver M-500t’s (AKA M-500t MkII). When I listen at a loud level, these speaks will eat up most of the available 400+ rms wattage I’m feeding them with ease…and mind you, that there’s 400 + watts solely for each mid/high sections and 400+ for the lower sections :-0 Note: when bi-amping this 4-way speaker, the top three drivers are feed by the top post on the back of the speaker and the bottom 10” driver is driven by the bottom post, crossing-over at 200 Hz.
I found that the Bass in these fine speakers are tight and can play very low, but as stated by others, these speakers do lack a little punch. Again, they play low (27 Hz) and are accurate as hell, but there’s just not enough oomph in some music genres. Hence me adding the Rane 3-way crossover and the SSW-212 (thanks Larry) to help out the “punch” more so, than to add bottom end. The SSW-212 has a built-in 300 rms watt amp w/servo control and two 12” woofers in a sealed enclosure , that play down to 25 Hz. Note: I had the Rane crossed-over to the SSW-212’s at 70 Hz, but after many listening sessions I found that the best adjustment was at 100 Hz. Now I fought myself against the 100 Hz crossover point mainly because that left the 10” Watkins/woofer on the Ren.’s covering only one octave 200 Hz – 100 Hz. That seemed like a waste, but after repeated listening that’s what sounded best in my listening room. My room is approx. 20x15, not that large of a room.
If you don’t mind a little lack of punch in the lower register (again they do play low), these are one the best speakers I’ve heard. If you are looking for a party speaker you will be disappointed. For imaging and accuracy they are extremely hard to beat.

Rich unbelievably detailed sound
Staging recreation is 3 demensional
Deep powerfull bass that is very very fast and detailed.
Can reveal everything on a recording.

As these speakers are reasonably inexpensive today it is tempting to hook them up to your home theater reciever. bad plan.
These speakers need alot of really clean power and big fat cables to make them sing. Plan on spending twice what the spaekers cost on an amplifier to bring out their best.

I drove 26 hours round trip to pick up these speakers. All the way home in the rain excited to hook them up and listen to them. And wow, I was not disappointed. They are a tremendous improvement from my Infinity RS Kappa 7's.

The sound is unbelievable. Open detailed highs, great staging. The clarity of the sound is remarkable. Bass is tight and detailed and goes very deep. As some have mentioned though while the bass is outstanding for its quality I was a little disappointed in the quantity of bass initially. I listen to a wide range of music and noted this on all types of recordings. Overall these were the best speakers I have heard under $25k.

My quest to make them better sounding began with bigger speaker cables. I figured the Audioquest wires I had been using were likely to small a guage to fully exploit the cuurent capability my Threshold Amp was capable of providing, and that these speakers need. This helped some with the bass. So then I thought more power. I swapped the 100w/ch class A Threshold for a 150w/ch class A/AB Threshold but the staging receeded, not what I wanted. Bi-Amp with the class A running the Emims and Emits and the class A/AB the woofers. Better but still room for Improvemnt. Swapped these 2 for a Threshold S/500 II that has tremendous continuous current capability. Ok now we were getting somewhere as the bass gained some strength. The staging moved forward and grew, and the imiging was unreal. Next I put a set of PS Audio Extreme Statement Bi-Wire cables between amp and speakers.

All of a sudden the speakers seemed to come to life. (not like they were poor prior) Bass is as good as I've ever heard. Fast detailed and exactly the correct amount in all types of music. The midrange is smooth detailed rich. And the highs are simply unbelievable. Lightning fast detailed open and unfatigueing.

But the creation of the stage is what now is so pleasing. Not only being able to place instruments and vocals front to back and side to side. But knowing how high the mic is set, and how far from the mic is the vocalist. What is the size of the room where the recording took place. Nuance and background details I've never heard from my recordings before, on any system. These speakers can reproduce everything that was going on when the recording was made. WOW

If you can find these speakers and are willing to drive them with appropriate equipment, buy them. If they are not the gretest speaker value ever I'll buy them from you as I need another pair or 2 for my Home Theater.

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Infinity RS Kappa 7's
Kef 107's and 103.2's
B&W 801's
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I've had these speakers for 10 years now and still love them. The reason for this posting is to alert other owners of a potential and dramatic improvent in performance that's possible by upgrading the tweeter crossover elements. In my case it was more accidental than intentional. I wanted to biamp the tweeter individually rather than tweeter + mids which is the way the crossover inputs are configured. To achieve what I wanted, I opened the speaker up and re wired the input terminals so that the mids + woofer were connected on the lower terminals and the tweeter was connected directly to the top terminals without going through the crossover's high pass filter. I hence constructed my own high pass filter, and to do the EMITs justice I used copper foil inductors and ICW polypropylene caps (all same values as original). These are really state of the art components and are used in the worlds most expensive speakers. The caps however were not too expensive and the entire crossover cost about $100. Due to the size of the inductors, the crossover is built into a box that sits just behind the speaker. I was very surprised when the first sounds eminated from the new configuration. The tweeter was considerably higher in level than previous and I had to insert a 2dB L pad betwen the crossover and the tweeter to match the sensitivity. After this mod I sat down and enjoyed the finest audition ever. The most notable improvement was in the transient response which was now quite unbelievable and the benefits extend down through the mids and even to the upper bass, which is always the case when the treble is improved. As well as the transient response improvements, the response also seems a little flatter than before and the mid to treble transition even more seamless. The really high treble does sparkle far more than before and it's very obvious that the bandwidth has increased, which is obviously related to the transient performance. The speaker's fine characters are now displayed in even finer glory than before and I'm now hearing air and space around instruments in an even vaster soundstage. If I had to be critical of these speakers before the mods, I would say that they lacked the space and air of the best 'domed' speakers but were always able to out resolve them. Post mods, now they can at least match them for air and the resolving powers are beyond anything a dome can give you. My next step will be to cross the tweeter over with an active design, and I should have something knocked up for testing in the next few weeks. If you read this and are interested in doing similar and require aditional information then feel free to contact me with questions. I'm ultimately going to design and build a class A tweeter amp + active crossover (without op-amps), and I'm sure the results will be spectacular. I now also have my sights on the EMIM crossover componenents, which I will eventually upgrade on the internal crossover board.

sound (accuracy, soundstage, imaging, quality bass) build looks

none

The more I listen to these speakers the more I can't believe how good they sound. They are truly the best I've ever heard. They excell in their openness, 3D soundstaging and pinpoint imaging. These speakers incorporate not only the famous(and improved)emit tweeter but the emim mid range that significantly contributes to the incredible sound. The emim is what seperates this speaker from other speakers not using planar midrange drivers. The bass reaches very low frequencies, very tight and musical, but is not very loud, booming or overpowering. The bass demonstrates quality not quantity. They are very well built not allowing unwanted resonance from flexing. The speakers have that audiophile look and sound at a relatively affordable used price.

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Infinity rs 8 kappa, Interludes, B&W nautilus, martin logans

The sound with the right kind of music. Super clean deep bass, very open mids and highs. The design, beautiful and easy to find space in small rooms. The low price second hand (I payed too much)

Not so good with rock music. (It can be better with a good subwoofer, but you can`t get rid of the very open mid that really is too much with most rock recordings.) Bass performance is limited in quantity. Almost impossible to get parts and drivers if the EMIMs or EMITs break, and they do sometimes break.

Not very good if you are a rock/pop music fan, but perfect if you are into jazz and more laid back kind of music.Fantastic details and depth with both mail and femail voices. With good recordings some vocals really give me goosebumps! Strings (violins etc)are also superb with the EMIM and EMIT drivers. Bass is fantastic clean and deep, but lacks the punch when playing rock music. I guess the real deep bass is one of the best I have heard. But the level they can produce in low frequensies are not enough to satisfy you if you enjoy playing loud, this because of the small volume of the cabinet and also because its a closed cabinet. Its also only one 10" woofer. The mid bass punch is what I missed most, and after six months of testing I bought back a pair of my favourite speakers, Infinity Kappa 9.2i. They dont give me the goosebumps like the Renaissance 90s gave me on some recordings, but on 95% of the music I play they make me a happier person. Read my review if you want. The design of the Ren 90 are fantastic, I had a pair of the LE version, with black piano laquer finish. The build quality is also superb! I choose to rate them a 5 even if they have their weaknesses. What they do good is just awesome, I think about buying a pair again for a second stereo set up mainly for jazz and James Taylor :-)

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Infinity Kappa 9A Infinity Kappa 8A Infinity Kappa 9.2i B&W 801 Matrix series 2 Legacy Signature Kef Reference Four

huge sondstage,musical,deep solid bass,non fatiquness even after many ours of listening,naturalness of the opera sceen,3-d this time i really sow it,the drama of the musical expression,sweetnes and emotional,more forgiving than B&w with the no-perfect recordings which is another surprice,at least they are listenable,beautifull look in there own way,I will not judje the sharpness of the focus,the detail,the deepnes and the aqurassy,untill i dont make some more moves,possitioning,bi-amp them,and some other tveakings,but for now i think these aspects are good too,it is only a question what degree of exellance the upgrades will bring,i have no doubt abaut that

hmm,power,space,more than most of us have,but not too criticall,they look much bigger in my room than in the audio-store,on some recordings can be too warm and muddy,on some the singers have two meters mouth(dead can dance,but it was recorded that way i think.very possibly that some of the weaknes are coused from my not so perfect sistem,so dont consider them too seriosly

well,despite my poor englesh I'll put some coments about these wonderfull speakers.I took them for demo(used)put them to run in for few ours(they didnt play for years)and when I playd the firs cd(kari)I was supriced by the bass extension and the huge space these speakers are capable for.I was impressed by the caracter of the sound which was full,deep and quiet.I thought that was my first impression,because after 6 mounths with My Nautilus-804 I was dreaming for the speaker wich will be more relaxed,with deeper effortless bass and non fatiquing sound.after reading the reviews here(thank' all of you folks)for many times,i think I finally found the speakers.I was thinking to buy them two years ago,but somehow I decided for the nautilus mainly because of their look,new tehnology,and great rewiews.i must tell you that I missed the great Matrix 801 which were sold for 2500$ from an audiophile here in Skopje.they were brand new,and since I didnt have the cash at the moment(unfourtunatly i didn,t ask the bank the very moment)they were sold just two days after.Man I was so depressed,after the impressions of the 801,i newer had the sound with the804.dont take me wrong the 804 are fabulos speakers,I discovered their qualities after long 6 mounths of intebsive plaing.They just dont have that kind of bass of the renaissance 90,that kind of enormos space,that non fatiquing,nice colored tone.yes the b&w is more neutral,pore precise,more analitical,they get you in to the instruments holles and bodies,you can here everithing in the recording process,after all they are studio monitors.But is that what you need,I think I need injoing the music more than making microscopic analysis of the recording process.After all when you listen to the life concertyou dont normally hear the scraching of the bowes(at least not that much)Still I think is too soon to make final conclusion,it is my 3,th day with the renaissance90 and there will be more tveakings and upgrades with them in the future,but if I could possibly miss something that i use to have with the Nautilus it would be the sharp defined placement and number of the musicians in the big filharmonic orcestras.But maybe I wont,after some time with these speakers ,and after some upgrades(bi amping first)I think I will soon forget these aspects of the music listening.I must tell you that me (and my girlfriend) will remember the nautilus for long long time.I stillhave them in the corner of my room and the more I listen to the marveles Infinity the more I fill sorry that i will be pressed to get them back.with the extra bonus of 1000$(in goods)from tha sailer I think it,s a completly win situation.It is only one thik that I concider that could be a problem -the classical music-at least with my sistem,some of the records which I concidered listenable with these speakers are a bit too warm(tube like in a wrong way)there is no clear distinction betveen the musicians,the picture is not clear as with the 804 or with Apogee-minor,instrument are often over-dimensioned,i even start thinking abou some quality super-tveeter in the future to help with thw recordings which are less than perfect.But as I said this speakers are a good fundament for building a great sistem aroun them and possibly with better electronics and more -cleaner power the miracles are yet to come,and maybe some of the critics will dissapear.Despite this litle critics they are allready a miraccle,and i still dont know how did I found them for this price after two years when I sow them for the first time.I hope there is nothing wrong with them,since there is litle demage on the one of the tweeters,the reabon surface is not perfect,there is no holes or some serios demage, but still i would change it for psihical reasons.if anybady knows something about this please write to me,my adress is( saskojarcevski03@yahoo.com )another question : some good maching subwoofer for the future?I really dont see a need of this at the moment,but you know there is allways better,and we always wont it.That was my firs impression,i'll inform about my upgrades,and possible bennefits . sistem components: -Renaissance-90 exelent -amp. korato kta 100 (serbian)2x400 2ohm dual mono 2x500va transformators,motorola transistors,vdh wiring-exelent bargain for 1000$ here in macedonia(double in Europ) -pre-amp korato kvp-10-dual mono ,separate pover suply,2 valves power,2 valves line stage,audionote cooper capacitors,vdh-wiring-exelent -cd Denon s-10 II exelent -cables MIT mh-750 bi-wire,vdh-revelation-hibrid -int.kimber KCAG,Mit-2,audioquest -ruby,unfortunatly sold my vdh -silver by mistake,it turnd out that they were not terminated well by the dealer-catastrofic situation(one of the best) -pro-ject perspective+phono box-se+pro-ject6 cartrige(not burned in yet,but soon will upgrade to tube -box and kontrapunkt-a(possibly b)to satisfy the sistem needs.(and me of course)

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They disappear. Put them in a big enough room and you will forget they are there. I have experienced this with electrostatics and planars, to be sure, but the Renaissances also have a substantive bass component. Midrange clarity and ethereality. Palpable but not overpowering low bass. Best yet: Pinpoint imaging.

You cannot drive them with tube gear. At least, you cannot drive them with SE Triode or other low output tube gear. Please give them at least 10 feet in between one another, and more than adequate (I recommend four feet) spacing from walls. This is difficult for many potential owners.

I debated about whether or not I should add my 2 cents here. People have exhaustively described the attributes of this speaker. Almost everything that has been said is true. More or less. I listen mostly to vinyl, though, so I approach this speaker from a vinyl lover's perspective. Over the years, I have listened to other speakers in place of the Renaissance 90s. I have always gone back. As a matter of fact, the only way that I have improved my sound is by upgrading my phono stage. I went from an Adcom GFP-565 (DON'T LAUGH. IT HAS A HELLA QUIET PHONO STAGE!) to a Transcendent Sound Grounded Grid Pre to my new standard, the Lehman Black Cube. Also, like another Renaissance 90 owner below, I also have and LOVE the Michell Orbe/SME/Koetsu Rosewood combination. I have at last found vinyl heaven using this setup. The Renaissances have journeyed with me through every incremental advance in my gear. Thrice, I replaced them with dealer loaners on new speakers that I considered buying. (Usually because everybody was raving about them) I figured that if the additions to my phono setup had made that much difference, new speakers could do so, too. In short order, the loaner B&W, Thiels and Dynaaudios were sent packing back to my dealers. I got to listen to a pair of Infinity IRS Sigmas (the bigger successor to the Renaissances) at a dealers, and decided after a few listenings that it wasn’t for me, either. Infinity does not make speakers like this anymore. Main System Infinity Renaissance 90 Loudspeakers (honey oak finish) Lehman Black Box phono pre-amplifier Michell Orbe turntable with SME (V) tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood cartridge McIntosh MC500 Power Amplifier NO CD!

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B&W Nautilus 801, Martin Logan CLS, Dynaaudio Contour 3.3, Thiel CS 3.2, Vandersteen Model 5

Perfectly reproduced clean sound, beautiful looks, take up small amount of floorspace, build quality and "The Mrs. Appeal" The highs, mids & bass all will either soothe the wild beast or rock your night away. Very versatile

If there is any, it probably would be the lack of booming bass. If your into china shattering bass you might be dissapointed. If you are in to "real" quality sound forget this part of the review...

After reading the reviews on this site I purchased these speakers used form a dealer in San Deigo, CA (Thanks Van!) Very pleased indeed. These things are some of the best I've heard, if not the best.(B&W are awsome but you need to build a new room just for them) Super clear reproduction. Junk sound, gone! Distortion, not even in their vocabulary! Ear fatigue, history! From the highest highs to the lowest lows they will make your heart & soul grin from ear to ear. I've never heard any vocals so perfect. I can hear the singers lips part before they sing and close again befor the next line. Guitars, flutes, drums, bass are all seperated somehow as if they were comming out of completely different speakers. Awsome seperation yet they all blend together perfectly. Too bad they are not made any more. With so many companies going to surround sound with subwoofers and such, the truely good two channel will be missed. I originally had these powered with a Yamaha MX-1 amp (very good) but upgraded to a Krell KSA200S. Went from 260 watts to 400 watts RMS with much more drive behind it. Connected with Monster Z1 speaker cable and I am in 2 channel blis. Put these in a good size room away from any walls (back or sides) and you will become one with the music. Placement is semi-critical if you have the room. The beautifull oak wood cabinets (mine have the medium oak cabinets along with the medium oak behind the speaker grill, not the black like above) are stunning pieces of furniture and have a small footprint so they don't take up half your house. Grab them if you can, hook them up to some good clean power with good cable in a nice size enviornment & you will be as one with the music. Even the wife loves them for their sound, size and "eye candy" looks.

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