Tight bass, silk smooth highs

midrange not as smooth as Acoutics Research AR9s

Just finish auditioning the Infinity IL40, NHT SuperTwo, and Acoutics Research AR9. Out of the three, I really liked the IL40s. I tested these speakers with my own created CD which contains almost every class of music and soundtrack. The bass is by far the best of the three speakers. Tight bass, low range. Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life" actually rumbled the store's wall. In Faye Wong's "Xiang Ni Er", you could actually hear the rumble as the song starts off. The highs were not as bright as the NHT SuperTwo, but were smooth as silk. Jill Scott's "He Loves Me" sounded better than I've ever heard it. Hear voice swam gracefully through the store on the IL40s. I was a little disappointed that the mids were not as smooth or clear as the AR9. Just like every speaker out there that I have audition (with the exception of the AR9), the IL40 failed to play the soundtrack "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame properly. The voice of the first make seems muffled. I'm not surprised that it failed because only one speaker has played this song properly. But out of 27 tracks, this was the only song it failed, which surpasses all the other speakers I have audition. For me, these are the best speakers I have audition. I have been listening to all speakers on the $500-1500 range.

I plan on buying these speakers next week. Once I break them in and listen to as much as I can, I will post another review. So expect a full detailed review sometime in January or February.

As for price, I have found the the cheapest place in the states has been World-Exchange.com, but their site is down half the time. Next to them is Sounddistributors.com (excellent service), which sells them at $750 plus $60 min for S&H which comes out to $810. In Japan they usually sell for 100,000Yen (aprx $1000USD). But I have found that you will be able to get them for $700 USD. If you live in Japan, contact me and I'll give you some more information. This will only apply if your bank is in USD, and not Yen.

Extremely clean, crisp sound. Great highs and mid ranges.

Bass is adequate for most music, but you'll need a sub to fill out lows.

These pups are a great value. You can find better but not without jumping a price range or two. I'm using them with an Onkyo 575 receiver (yes, the set was a Circuit City Special), two sets of cables driving each speaker, and am very satisfied with the results. There is a noticable break in period, mentioned by others, but there are lots of other speakers you can say that about. definite two thumbs up

Beautiful cabinet design, fantastic high-end detail, excellent low-end bass response.

None.

Let me say first of all that these speakers have often been given a bad rap by people who have judged them after listening to them right out of the box. Like any good speaker, the IL40's sound pretty weak at first listen, and need upwards of 100 hours of break-in time before you're really hearing what they're capable of. Make sure the display you're hearing has been played for that long, and make sure it's wired properly. (Some places don't bi-wire them, and then remove the gold plates between the sets of binding posts. Stupid idea. This takes away the signal to the low-frequency end of the crossover network; i.e. no bass.) As for the griping about the lack of bass response, I think you guys are crazy. I listen in a moderate size 20' x 40' room and even on my bass-weak receiver the IL40's pound hard and deep. The claim of 38Hz is not exaggerated at all, and the bass ports will probably extend that down to below 30Hz depending upon where you place them in the room. The addition of the 4" mid on the IL40's over the IL30 gives these speakers a more balanced and natural response than their smaller sibling. The 1" tweeter is definitely a cut above anything else in this pricerange. While they have trouble projecting their voice a little when very new, the crystal-clarity and detail will make your backhair stand up during high notes once they begin to break in.

Those who are stepping up to this area of listening from being a casual listener will probably think the response is a bit tinny; but trust me, once your tastes adjust you'll love the clean and natural sound from the IL40's. That's really the mark of a good speaker... when you can get a balanced natural sound without having to crank your bass and treble controls (and if your receiver has an adjustment for midrange, then you need a new one). There is a difference between good sound and what SOUNDS GOOD TO YOU. Once you understand that and find a good balance between the two, you'll enjoy listening more than you ever thought you could.

I purchased the IL40's as mains for my new home theater system, and have not been slightly disappointed. And for music they can't be beat. I listened to a Beethoven violin concerto and was impressed with the accuracy and timbre quality for a sub-$1000 speaker. The only thing that has disappointed me isn't really a flaw of the speaker itself. I own an older pair of Infinity RS3's that I use for rear surrounds, and since the Interlude series is almost a direct replacement for the Reference series I assumed that the IL40's and my RS3's would be well voice-matched. Boy, was I wrong! The RS3's sound very artificially bright compared to the new Interludes. I'm thinking about getting a pair of IL10 bookshelves because the soundfield is so different close the RS3's. If you're considering the IL40's then don't sweat another drop, these are outstanding speakers.

Equipment used in this review:
Denon AVR-2800 receiver
Denon DCM-370 HDCD cd player
Infinity Interlude IL40 front mains
Infinity Interlude IL36c center channel
Infinity Reference RS3 rear surrounds
Z-series Monster cable all around

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Reference series. Lengthily demoed Polk, Definitive, Klipsch, Boston.

Incredible detail, clean highs, crisp midrange. Decent bass

Could use a little more low end punch.

I read reviews from others on this speaker and obviously different people hear different things. I've spent 2 years testing speakers and found none that were as clear and crisp sounding as these speakers are. I went back to Circuit City several times before purchasing these, but I was sold the first time I listened. I my estimation these are the best sounding speakers I've heard anywhere near this price range, and I've listened to speakers costing much more during my 2 year shopping experience.

Similar Products Used:

Tested several speakers in this price range from Energy, JBL, and Polk and others, and in my estimation none compared.

Crystal clear high's and neutral midrange

None yet discovered

Excellent sounding speaker. Listened to Saint Saens Organ symphony and could not overdrive the speaker. The tweeter is a cut above any similar priced speaker with a neautral midrange. The bass sounded tight, and given the price I can't think of anything else going much deeper.

Similar Products Used:

paradigm ref studio 80, psb silver i's, Hales rev. 2 and 3's