Extremely sensitive, will reach ear-bleed volume with a modest amp or reciever. EXTREMELY dynamic: when you combine incredible sensitiviy w/ high power handling, put away the good china...

No real deep bass content at all, boomy in the midbass. Screechy, over-etched high end. El-cheapo construction- I mean, SPRING CLIP CONNECTORS on a $1000+speaker system?! The cheaper Infinity References had binding posts, as did the 200 dollar per pair JBL HLS 610'S, which, incidentally, sound a lot more accurate.

I certainly don't denigrate these speakers for what they are: frat house speakers. For semi-professional sound reinforcement type applications and raging house parties, these bad boys rule. And for rap, pop, "hippop" and what not, they'd serve admirably.

But the sound quality is really one dimensional. No depth of soundstage, no subtlety, no real detail, no attempt at accuracy. They are miserable at real musical fidelity at the price they sell for. The list of the SM's betters at $1000 would be too long to list here; virtually every B&W, Klipsch, Monitor Audio, Definitive Technology, Paradigm, PSB, ad infinitum. Size isn't everything.

You needn't dissect the speaker, just take the woofer out and you'll see the very low-tech old-school design of this speaker. It's just a pet coffin, a flimsy resonant particle-board box, no bracing at all (astonish that anyone would use such thin MDF unbraced in a box this huge...) with just a little fibrefill. Rapping the enclosure is like thumping on a really big shoe box. And check out a Radio Shack store or Parts Express Catalog and see how much more they'd have had to charge to get decent binding posts instead of the 65 cent spring clips. Try to attach 12 Ga wire or spade lugs or banana plugs to these crappy terminals.

If introduced fifteen years ago, this would be a helluva speaker. Unfortunately, I DID own the forerunner to this speaker fifteen years ago, and I think it was actually a little better then. Nevertheless, the design is virtually identical to the old SM 150+s of '87. Only major cosmetic changes have occurred since then. Remarkable...

I don't knock the guys who buy this speaker; you know how to rock. But down the road, once you get a taste of something better, you can't help but feel ripped of by this speaker, unless you got em at a deep discount.

C'mon, Infinity. Your new highend speakers prove you know what good sound is. How about letting 21st century technology trickle down a little? After all, it's not like these are cheap...

Just my two cents worth. Enjoy the gear.

Similar Products Used:

As a young guy, Klipsch, JBL, Cerwin Vega, etc.

I bought a pair of these after great deals of research into the most affordable speakers that could give me concert level sound. I auditioned many other types that were in a similar price range, MTX, JBL, etc. but these were by far the best. They have clear-crisp highs and chest-thumping lows. I've tried my 225's on several different amps, from a classic dynaco 15w per chan tube amp to several solid state 100w/c stereo and A/V amps. Couldn't find a better bang for the buck on these, and they're made by Infinity, so you know they'll be good and they'll last.-JP

I purchased a set of these speakers after looking around at the competition, and to tell you the truth the competition is very slim after you have heard how great these speakers sound. From the crisp highs to the booming lows I could not be happier with my decision to buy them, although my neighbors could say otherwise when the dorm get pounding ;)
Either way these are a great pair of speakers and would recommend them to anyone.

I purchased a set of these speakers after looking around at the competition, and to tell you the truth the competition is very slim after you have heard how great these speakers sound. From the crisp highs to the booming lows I could not be happier with my decision to buy them, although my neighbors could say otherwise when the dorm get pounding ;)
Either way these are a great pair of speakers and would recommend them to anyone.

I have had these speakers for 6 months now and I have been very happy with them.They are accurate with any kind of music and when its time to party, these things will rock. The bass on these speakers sounds boomy to me if they are placed to far back in a corner. I keep them out about a foot away from the wall and they sound great. They look good to. I would recommend them to anybody. Great bass and smooth mids and highs.

Had these speakers for about 6 months now and love em. These speakers have alot of bass yet the detail of the midrange and treble can still be heard. Awesome sound, just give em try and you will love em...

I recently revamped my audio system upon getting a dvd player. I have a Yamaha 995 Reciever and us these speakers as my mains. All I can say is for the price they have no competition in my book. The highs and mids are crystal clear and the Bass is actually ruining the structural integrity of my apartment building. The speakers are great! As with others here I have made my life a lot better by purchasing Infinity. (If only my aprtment was bigger.)

The speakers are made verry well. Great upper bass and trebal.

Low bass is verry weak. Highs can get out of hand due to poor amp. Highs don't have much of a sprectrem.

I have had these speakers for 2 1/2 years. I first used them with an old Technics Reciver. The speakers highs sounded poor due to the reciver after buying an Dennon AVR 3300 Reciver. The highs are verry HI but but do not cut short with a good amp or in any way poor. Just they are loudly high, clear and strait (strait meaning, that don't produced a wide range of tones in the tweeter) I think that these speakers are verry good for home video/audio and most kinds of music except classic music(just aren't fast enoughf). They have a GREAT trebble but NO bass unless in a corner. I added a Paridime sub and found that I never had any bass that was worth speaking of. They do not fade under high volume for long periods of time either. They may not be as fast as JM Lab or Legacys fine higs but are great for $200 each. They will work great with most systems because of the efficency. Also having the SM center channel and listing to DTS and DVD a lot, they make a verry super sound stage. So over all they make a great start of a system and will last twice as long as you own them.

Similar Products Used:

Have been to many other peoples home with high-end stuff for un-fair compairsons.

Good bass,nice treble sound (with a nice tweeter control)
VERY NICE DESIGN!!!!!!!
I like that black/silvery design THATS THE WAY INFINITY!!!!!!

NOTHING THEESE SPEAKERS ROCKS THE WORLD!!!!!!

Theese speakers are the best you can get for the money....
so just go for it..............BUY!!!!!

well built, sensitivity, musical accuracy

good home theater speaker, but not great

These speakers are amazing, especially at $300. The mid ranges are very realistic, the highs are crystal clear, and the bass is extremely accurate. These speakers will sound great even with a low powered receiver due to their high sensitivity. I have them on a 70 watt Technics receiver right now and they'll shake the house down if I turn it up past volume 6(about a fourth of the way up on my receiver). I've had these things turned up pretty high, and it sends chills down your spine, you'll go deaf before these things distort. The one weakness if you can call it a weakness is home theater, and for that they still sound very good. The one thing it lacks as a home theater speaker is the high volume mid ranges. By no means is it a bad home theater speaker though. Overall this is an amazing speaker.

Similar Products Used:

sm 215