Infinity Reference 253 Review (speaker)

[TheGreatScatsby]

This is my first post, but I have been lurking for years, so I have a lot to get off my chest. Getting perfect sound is nothing more than psychosis. Even you have an incredible neutral system you can't seem to stop. I am sick. Do you have multiple sets of speakers and amps that you haven't unboxed, yet are buying more? Did you try solid state, then tubes then triodes? stop. That being said, even though I have boxed R152's I haven't opened, I put an order at Harman today for 3 R253's at $149 each with free shipping. I already have the Infinity surrounds, so I will use the three for LCR. I have an infinity Reference sub, but I also have a Focal 11" W-sub, which has internal room correction, and been sitting unused. A few comments.. I read at harman review of these R252s are a close clone of some Revel speakers. They are tad bright, but bright speakers give much better off-axis performance, maybe that's why manufacturers go this way. Also because bright speakers sound better in showroom to tards. But nobody buys in a showroom anymore, right? So I chose the 253 over the 263 because I understand (probably wrong) that previous audiophile lore says 6" speakers don't image as well, nor handle lower bass well, and distorts the higher frequencies and 5" speakers have better directivity, so I plan on crossing over sub at 60 Hz. Also the price was wicked. I do most of my actual listening with my Beyerdynamic 600 ohm headphones and JDS labs Element III. I use Spotify's equalizer to tame the high end. Spotify you say? Yes, after I took the ..wav vs mp3 vs AAC etc, listening test multiple times online, I realized that I cannot tell the difference between 16/44 and higher sampling rates, and not much over 15k, so regular old redbook and its equivalents are all I need. Better gear does seem to allow me to hear cellos and backup instruments/singers in the mix, also much higher intelligibility on lyrics. My litmus test is if I can understand MJ lyrics on PYT. I'm a big fan of this forum, and the defunct Audio Critic of years past.

 

[KaeliKoo]

Longtime reader & follower of this great site - Harman dropped the refurbed Infinity R253 to $99 today.

 

[DACslut]

Just bought a refurbed pair from Harmon's website and used their $10 off coupon for new customers. The total was $200.81 with free s/h. I'm thinking in terms of value you can't do much better than this? I'll be pairing them with a new JBL SUB 550P and will primarily listen to music in addition to occasional HT duty.

 

[tw 2022]

Just bought a refurbed pair from Harmon's website and used their $10 off coupon for new customers. The total was $200.81 with free s/h. I'm thinking in terms of value you can't do much better than this? I'll be pairing them with a new JBL SUB 550P and will primarily listen to music in addition to occasional HT duty.

I would agree.. That's about as good an experience that $400 ( with sub)can buy in speakers...

 

[KaeliKoo]

Just bought a refurbed pair from Harmon's website and used their $10 off coupon for new customers. The total was $200.81 with free s/h. I'm thinking in terms of value you can't do much better than this? I'll be pairing them with a new JBL SUB 550P and will primarily listen to music in addition to occasional HT duty.

I also bought a pair when they dropped that low in price, they came Fri and look perfect and sound great. $200 shipped & no state tax. I have two 550P subs and it sounds great, these are for acoustic music & jazz as I have JBL 570 for HT. Up to this point the 570 is the best speaker I've owned so looking forward to compare. Pretty even so far, depending on source material.

 

[DACslut]

I finally got around to hooking them up tonight. They arrived in good shape and literally look/sound like new. Bass performance is quite impressive and when I turn on my sub it's like alrighty then, this is the way lows are suppose to sound! I needed to tame their highs a little but after that I forgot I was listening to speakers because everything sounded so good. If anyone catches the refurbs on sale again, DON'T hesitate! I should also add that I have them bi-wired (not truly bi-amped) and I believe that option improves their sound quite a bit. My basement "man cave" is definitely much more musically inviting now.

EDIT: I forgot to add that any "ear fatigue" was nearly non-existent and I listened to them for an extended period at hefty volume levels. My amp/preamp consists of an Aiyima A08 Pro (w/upgraded PS) and the Aiyima T8 (stock) Tube Preamplifier. That setup is quite the budget, non-audiophile Chinese Fidelity amplification hardware but damn, it sure sounds real good!

 

[TonyJZX]

i wonder what this is saying about Samsung or Harman's views about the future of the Infinity brand.

They are using the Infinity brand to sell.... power banks.

For $400 us I mean even with some flaws it really doesnt matter.

 

[192kbps]

It would be even better if someone sends R263 for testing.