The Audiophile Page

As an avid classical music lover, I have always insisted on having the best audio system I could afford at any given time in my adolescent and adult life. I recently discovered that the rubber woofer mounting diaphragms on my 25 year old Infinity Monitor Jr. main speakers had deteriorated rather badly. To their credit, the sound quality was essentially the same as when the units were new. Only upon very close listening could I detect that something was not quite right, a slight distortion of some tones. Well, even though Infinity is no longer the independent company it was 30 years ago (they were acquired by Harman Kardon at some point) I found out that I still have the option of replacing the woofers through Harman, if I should be so inclined. After a lot of debate and research, I decided that having recently installed both a new Sony home theater receiver and a Sony SACD player, I should also upgrade to the latest speaker technology. I found it difficult to consider any speaker manufacturer other than Infinity (I am nothing, if not brand loyal...). Having had such outstanding experience with and first hand (ear?) knowledge of their products, it was an easy decision. I purchased the following Interlude series of speakers which is designed around Infinity's unique Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm technology.

Infinity Interlude IL 40 - 8" C.M.M.D. 3-way tower mains

Infinity Interlude IL 10 - 6" C.M.M.D. 2-way bookshelf rears w/ 21" Wood Technology stands

Infinity Interlude IL 25c - 5 1/4" C.M.M.D. 3-way center channel

Infinity Interlude IL 100s - 10" C.M.M.D. 250 watt R.A.B.O.S. subwoofer (f) (r)

Infinity R.A.B.O.S. Accessory Kit (Room Adaptive Bass Optimization System)

This system lets you fine tune the bass frequency, level and bandwidth of the subwoofer in combination with the mains to achieve the ideal bass response of the acoustics of the listening area. It utilizes a sound meter, tone CD, scale and chart to determine the final adjustment to the subwoofer's f, l and b settings. The results are impressive. Pure, tight, crisply integrated bass without boominess, flatness or unwanted resonance. This is an outstanding way to compensate for the less than ideal acoustic design of most home listening areas. Hats off to the Infinity engineers.

I once thought Compact Disc was the best thing to happen to audio in years and it was. Until I experienced SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc)! This media was developed by Sony and Philips and is simply light-years ahead of CD in sound reproduction! Whether in 2-channel stereo or 5.1 multi-channel, the sound definition, warmth and clarity is absolutely amazing. I can best describe SACD as having unlimited headroom. If you listen to CD, the compression becomes more noticeable as the music becomes louder and the signal more complex. The resulting sound is focused but indistinct; in a word it is harsh. SACD simply opens up and floods the listener with sounds and instruments not heard distinctly in CD recordings. The secret of SACD lies Direct Stream Digital recording and its sampling rate (2.82 million samples per second), frequency response (up to 100,000 Hz) and dynamic range (120 dB across the entire audible range). These numbers far exceed anything of which the ordinary CD is capable. There is no "side-by-side" comparison necessary to hear the difference. Simply sit down, close your eyes and concentrate on really listening to an SACD playback and you will understand. SACD is not for the casual listener. If you LOVE your music, you will LOVE SACD.

Drawbacks to SACD? Admittedly, there are a few. Only Hybrid SACDs will play on ordinary CD players and then, obviously, only the CD recording layer. So, Stereo SACDs won't play on anything other than an SACD player, not (for now anyway) in your car. SACD recordings are still relatively limited and are more expensive than CDs. The average price for an SACD recording is about $25 but the sound quality is worth every cent. SACD players are not inexpensive either but prices are coming down. I purchased the Sony DVP-NC650V SACD/CD/DVD/DVD Video five-disc changer to connect to my 100 watts/channel Sony STR-DE875 receiver via analog 5.1 multi-channel and digital optical (for DVD) input and S-video output to television.

Here's a brief list of a few of the SACDs I've collected and can recommend:

Telarc: Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Erich Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops (contains a great Capriccio Italien!)

Telarc: The Film Music of Gerry Goldsmith, Gerry Goldsmith/London Symphony (themes from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "Rudy", "Barnaby Jones" and "Star Trek TNG" are standouts)

Sony: Strauss Waltzes, George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra

Sony: Rossini Overtures, George Szell/Cleveland Orchestra

Sony: Handel: Water Music & Music For The Royal Fireworks, Pierre Boulez/New York Philharmonic

Sony: Verdi: Requiem, Eugene Ormandy/The Philadelphia Orchestra w/ Amara, Forrester, Tucker and London

Telarc: Orff: Carmina Burana, Donald Runnicles/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

Telarc: Holst: The Planets, Yoel Levi/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (not an SACD but recorded in 20-bit digital DTS surround)

Direct Stream Digital (DSD) is a trademark of Sony Corporation. The SACD logo is a trademark of Sony Corporation and Philips Electronics N.V..

Infinity, C.M.M.D. and Bass Optimization System are trademarks of Infinity Systems, Inc..


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