Infinity IRS V upgrade
 

I have been enjoying Infinity speakers since the early 70's when I got my first set while in the Air Force. I have had many other lines of speakers which were all good but the sound from my Infinity's has always seemed better to me. Infinity was sold to Harmon many years ago. They used the brand name like Black & Decker used the DeWalt brand. The developer, Arnie Nudell went on to found and work with Paul McGowan of PS Audio at Genesis. Many of the concepts of Genesis are good but they didn't sound the same. I have done direct speaker comparisons with many brands but keep coming back to my Infinity's. I currently have three sets. The prototype set, a mid production set and one of the last ones that were produced. After extensive testing, I finally realized that I may not live long enough to find a set of speakers that sounded better to me so I needed to refurbish and or upgrade what I had.

I have worked with many of the original engineers and through the help of Paul McGowan, who even had Arnie Nudell fine tune the upgrades to the point that Arnie says the upgraded systems are the best he has ever heard.

One of the most important upgrades are to refurbish the EMIM's with new magnets and recalibrate the diaphragms. Another vital upgrade is to replace the crossover in the bases of the mid high units. We have tried replacing capacitors which helps but Paul was able to convince Arnie to redesign the crossover with the much improved components available today. It is now an external unit but sounds better than ever. It does require special cables to go from the crossovers to the mid high panels but those can easily be made by WireWorld. Ivan is always available to help with that. The capacitors in the amps also need replacement where needed.

I have spent weeks trying different combinations of units and comparing the sound. The best I have found is from source to tube preamp to Pass Labs XVR crossover and then to the amps. The 80 Hz and below goes directly from the XVR to the amps on the back of the woofer columns. The original Infinity Servo only turns the amps on and off. The 80 Hz and above goes from the XVR to the new outboard crossovers designed by Arnie Nudell, the original system designer. From there to the mid high panels.

Each time I hear a new speaker system that is claimed to be the best, I come back to these. I have owned several systems that are into the 6 figures but these are still better. I would expect that our friend, Gary Protein, may agree with me.

I don't do the work myself but I have developed many sources over the years. As far as I have been able to tell, there are less than 30 of us system owners left. There were only a bit over 50 systems made. If anyone has further questions or wants to know sources for repair services or components, PM me for their contact info.

Interesting post. Thanks for taking the time to bring us up to date.

Can I assume the work on the EMIMs would apply to any infinities with them? RS II a's or Betas?

Yes, The engineer that rebuilds the EMIM's replaces the magnets and recalibrates the diaphragm. When finished, they meet the specs that the original design engineer and Arnie Nudell have specified for a current EMIM. It is available for all EMIM's starting with the ones in the RS 2.5 and 4.5, the RS 1, II's etc. all the way up to the IRS V, Beta, Delta, and Gamma systems. The last EMIM's designed used in the Renaissance to the Epsilon systems used a different frame design. I have owned both of these last two systems and the latter design is not an improvement.

The EMIM's with neodymium magnets are known to peel, this was a design problem allowing the iron in the alloy to expand. So many have said look for the older Samarium Cobalt magnet ones. That is like doing a total knee and putting it back like it was; why recreate the design that caused the problem. The neodymium was a marked improvement. The last version of EMIM's in this series used an alloy called nicorex. The confusion led us to work with the original engineer, including getting the original design drawings and then have Arnie Nudell check the designs and listen to them. The rebuilt EMIM's are better than the originals and what would be used if the speaker systems were designed and built today.

So that is a long winded way of answering your question with a yes.

This is a very valuable post to this forum. Thank you for sharing it!

Sent from my iPad using A.Aficionado

Thanks for this information. It's very interesting! I bought an IRS Beta system new and have been enjoying it ever since. The best designs by Nudell & Co. are still extraordinary! They do require some care and maintenance, and I've sent you a PM for some details on your sources.

Thanks again for the info in your post!

Thx for sharing Larry.

Greetings. I am new here and the proud owner of IRS Beta's. I found this site after searching for repairs/upgrades for the Beta's.
I recently had a buzz from one woofer tower that I've tracked to the Servo Crossover. I attempted to contact Mr. lwschwartz to learn about his resources but was unable to because of my new status(?). Even though this thread is a bit old I'm hoping someone can guide me to someone with expertise to repair 'my babies'. Thanks and wonderful joining you.

Bill LeGall at Miller Sound in Philadelphia 215-412-7700

Larry can probably list others.

I have to agree with Larry. I have heard many top of the line speakers, but I always smile when I come home to my IRS-V.

Thank you Gary. I called Bill LeGall today and his reputation is well deserved… a most gracious and generous man. We talked for almost an hour. He answered all my questions and offered additional information and advice that I had not considered. After our conversation I finally opened the Servo box and discovered a burned area under a resistor. I will take the box to the nearest electronics repair (200+miles) tomorrow and have it checked out. Hopefully it can be a simple replacement of a failed part. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Thanks for your reply. Best regards, Rod

You're welcome!

Hi , I'm Riwin . I live in Indonesia. My best friend own a pair of IRS-V also . He is interest to get some updates & information for his IRS-V .
I already order new outboard x-over from Bob (PS Audio) & have new Graz's EMIM planar also brandnew set replacement magnets .

Some of my questions :
- Are the EMIM works in D'Appolito configuration .
- Do the EMIM need dampings such as 3M magic tape for few of planar ? (i saw some of original EMIM have these dampings).

Thanks..

Hi, I sent you a PM with the information on the engineer who I have worked with in reworking the EMIM's. I can't speak highly enough about him. We are lucky to have gentlemen like Bill, Cory, Greg, and Bob to help us with our IRS V's.
The reason the tape was on the diaphragms is to keep the conductor from vibrating. The diaphragms are made like a printed circuit board. The tape can indicate which version EMIM is being used.

Thanks

Could you please p.m me the information on the gentleman who rebuilds the Emims as I have several I would like restored.

I posted this just a few posts up the list in this thread in post # 9

Hi, You have several options, you can buy another set of EMIM's albeit in the used market, you can have someone rebuild them, or in my opinion, the best option is to have Corydon Johnson cell 1-623-551-2366. He will actually remanufacture the EMIM. He will repair and recalibrate the diaphragm, put the needed batting in the frame, install new magnets that designed not to peel, and take it back to the original design specs. Bill Legall is an immensely valuable resource but enjoys working on the woofers, and other parts more.

Hi Riwin, i am planning to refurbish my IRS v. I am in Jakarta, what is the best way to reach you? as i want to figure out the logistic of sending EMIM.

Regards, Albert

Hi, The guy who did the EMIM's for the system in Music Room One at PS Audio and EMIM's for all three of my systems is:

Corydon Johnson
cmj480@gmail.com

He is the best at it that I know of.

achrista... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Thank you for the warm welcome. Look forward to for the journey with Infinity IRS V

achrista, welcome to AA.

IsntPSAudioWorkingOnANewSpeakerWithArnieNudellThat IsAnEvolutionOfTheOldInfinityDesigns?

A few years ago, I suggested to Paul that he should explore an IRS VI using more modern components. The Genesis replacement for the IRS V's sells for around $300,000 which may tend to dampen the number of potential customers. To reproduce the IRS V's today would be rather expensive. The cabinets were made by a yacht builder and he says that the last set of cabinets he built for Harmon cost them $65,000 so a new set in today's dollars would run about $120,000 without electronics. New EMIM's would cost about $750 apiece, EMIT's $250 apiece, the amps about $10,000 each, the crossover about $3,000, and the woofers $500 each. Then there is the cost of producing them, distribution and finally dealers to carry them or at least set them up. So as you can see, parts would be around $185,000 not counting the rest of the costs at getting them to market. That means a set of IRS VI's would be in the same range as the Genesis or top of the line Wilson Audio. The only way to get the costs down is with volume. I can't imagine there are a lot of buyers out there considering that most of the journals that I have seen indicate that the market for high end audio is softening.

The IRS series was originally produced to explore what it would take to build the best speaker possible with the technology at the time. The ultimate goal was to use what was learned in the project to build a line of speakers. PS Audio may find it worth while to explore and produce some downline products but there are already many great speakers on the market so they would be entering a crowded field. Paul has already spent quite a bit of time flying around the world setting up high end Genesis speakers. He seems like he likes what he is doing now better.

None the less, we never know what is around the bend so anything is possible. One thing for sure is that audio doesn't seem to stand still so there is always something coming along to give us the upgrade fever. That means take an aspirin and call Dr Master Lu in the morning.

Great post Larry!!

Hi all, any recommendation for changes in wiring that connect to EMIM and EMIT? thanks

My RS1b mid/treble towers were recabled with VdH many years ago, I'm perfectly happy with their performance.

VdH rewire to all EMIM & EMIT's.

Thank you for the info