Genesis 1.1, Infinity IRS V, 4 chasiss speakers

Hi all,
As a owner of Genesis 200 since 6 years, I know very well the room set up problems with this beautiful towers. I have experimented with many different combinations of distances to the walls and between towers and panels.On all solutions the biggest problem I had, was the control of bass energy and to fit it with mid's and up's.
Now I have a solution which give the best result I had untill yet and I will share it with you: Use the "Golden Ratio" method of Cardas Audio(http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=insights&content_id=27&pagestring=Room+Setup) for the woofer towers! Depending to your room configuration, there are many diagrams you can use (I had the best solution with Diag. E), but again USE IT FOR THE WOOFERS and take the FACE of the REAR WOOFERS to calculete the distances to the rear and side walls (For Genesis 1.1 the front woofers of course). After placement of the woofers you can go on experimenting with the midrange/tweeter panels. If your room width is big enough you can place them inside between the woofers or otherwise also outside (I have them just outside and 4 inches in front of the woofers).
You will be surprised with the result: The control of the bass and it's integration into the higher frequecies are nearly ideal(the best I had). After all the years, I can hear my "The 4 great Toccatas and Fugues of JSB played by Power Biggs" SACD(Sony-SS87983) again at a volume that I feel I'm in that Cathedral of Freiburg. Before new set up the bass was dangerously heavy and that you couldn't equalize with volume or low pass control of the woofer amp. Try it!

Mitch4t,

The answer to your question is not really. The S2150 are definitely not suited to a sub-2ohm load and when I have them driving the sub towers, there is loss of SPL below 30hz. The sub towers drop to 1 ohm at 19hz.

Ideal amp for them is the Crown K2. Massive power and awesome damping factor, plus plenty of power to 2 ohms and below.

I am temporarily back to using the 2150 on the subs because the DAC card, which had been driving the Crown K2, is now being used for a hybrid power amp I am auditioning (Blue Circle BC204) on the main channels. It is a superb amp, and it will probably be hard to go back to the S2150s on the main channels.

Ekovalsky,

Do those Tact Audio S-2150 amps give you enough serious muscle to drive those woofer columns to serious chest thumping bass?

Man, those are some awesome looking speakers!

Take a look at my system with the Alon EGR IIs. My room is fairly small, 14.5' x 17' with speakers on the long wall, and the sub towers are in the front corners. Rather than use the provided DQ-LP1S crossover, a TacT RCS 2.2X splits the signal to the mains and subs with a DSP crossover and time/phase aligns the separate towers. Also it performs room correction below 200hz. It is a perfect device to use with a 2pc per side system, and I agree wholeheartedly that separate subs and mains are the ticket to ultimate musical reproduction in the home. With this setup there is no need to compromise between bass performance and imaging -- you get the best of both worlds.

I have owned(and miss)the Infinity RS-1b's/Infinity IRS-Beta's.I have,also heard the Infinity IRS's on a few occassions,as well as the Genesis 1.1's.I have been to Sea Cliff on one occassion(smuggled in,by a friend,when the owner was away.A lousy friend to the owner,but I wasn't going to pass on that opportunity).All set-ups will require the owner's ability to fine tune based on moving(a pain in the neck,and back)the speakers around.It will be,completely,room dependent,but worth it.In the Sea Cliff set-up,I remember the Infinity's were set-up in a fairly small room.The woofers were inside,and just behind the wings.There was absolutely no sense of soundstage,as we know it today.However,MAN,did it have dynamic range.Only problem,to me,was that it sort of sounded like a really clean disco/bar-mitzva/sweet 16 party system.Really!!Too small a room,regardless of the "HYPE",at the time!!Sorry,but true!

These types(4 tower)of designs,to me,require room to breath.They are IMO the finest type of system to reproduce any kind of "Truly believeable" musical presentation.The room should dictate whether one uses a Genesis1.1/ 201/350 or any of the older(less expensive Infinities).Although I have ventured away from this kind of configuration,I hope to acquire one again,in about 2-4 years.Based on my moving to a different location,at that time.I'm not about to move a big rig before that.Can't bear the thought!Also,Im thinking along the lines of Gen 201,hopefully,with a nice tube amp on top.

I currently have a dear friend(of very high Audio pedegree) who has been adamant about keeping,and refining through multiple mods,his "Classic" RS-1b's!He is a true lover of music,and I have to,and hate to,admit that as of now he has one of the finest systems I have ever heard!And,I've heard ALOT!!I consider the fact that he has refused to be influenced by "industry hype",and stayed loyal to a speaker "configuration" that his ears(and good ears,at that)told him was more truthful to the source,to be the main reason for such a high level of "TRUE MUSICAL" pleasure!Best of luck,and I hope you really DO get the speaker you want!

Array drivers need to be listened at a distance at least 2x the
height of the array. The mid/tweeter panels should be placed at least 3.5' away from side or rear walls, 12 to 15' apart, and 20' away from the listener. The woofer columns need a celiing a minimum of 12' in height. The mid/tweeters should have a 5 to 10 degreee toe-in.

Yes......go to live concerts. Make sure you do not increase the woofers too much. We all seem to love the effect that a great bass system can produce....but in a live concert it is much more cohesive. Keep the woofers under control. A good bass amp and careful listening and adjusting your crossovers will help.

Thanks for the info and pics on you system Rwd.....You are using tubes on top and SS on the bottom in a 4 chassis setup......any problem with the woofers and mid/tweet columns getting in sync using two different types of amps?

My RS 1-B's are in an unusual space (see my system pics). However, I have them spaced approx 5 feet apart (tweeter to tweeter) and my listening seat is 8 feet back. My room is 27 x 16 (living/dining room). The woofer columns are behind the mid-tweeter panels. Not the best place for them but it works for me. When Harry Pearson had the IRS's that's how he had them (the woofers) set up. Sounded pretty good!

believe long wall situation you refer to would definitely work you would also benefit because your first reflection point would be drastically delayed because the speakers are nowhere near the sidewalls

My room is 22 ft x 70 ft with a 20 ft high ceiling....the listening area is 22 ft x 40 ft. I was wondering about the feasibility of putting them against the long wall. Six feet out from the wall would give me another 16 feet back of listening area.

Although I have never heard either of these speakers, I did have some concerns about the separate bass towers blending seamlessly with the ribbons....you have the proprietary servo-amps driving the bass towers and your own amp driving the ribbon towers....it seems a natural that this could pose some problems.

I have heard these IRS V monsters with the bass towers placed about 2 feet behind and 2 feet further apart than the emit emim panels which were placed only about 6-7 feet apart. The woofer boxes were near the corners of the back wall. All I can tell you that we were in a relatively near field listening position given the size of these incredible speakers, maybe as mejames said 10 feet from the forward most panels, in a room with a highly slanted cieling with the lower end holding the speakers. I would add that they were fabulous sounding and perhaps the most impressive speaker system I have ever heard arranged in this manner but I like big sound. I did not hear them however in any other position so I have nothing to compare that position to. The person who owns them however is a professional speaker refurbisher of high repute and very knowledgeable with decades of experience.
He actually owns 2 sets of these and a set of IRS betas- unbelievable. The second set is in a larger room and were weren't placed much further apart maybe 8 feet I did not get to hear them.
I am unfamiliar with the Genesis speakers.
I don't disagree with mejames'formula approach but I always position my own speakers by trial and error until I reach a satisfying result. With these enormous speakers that may well put you in the hospital for a hernia operation.

about 1.5 times the distance which the ribbon arrays are spaced apart example 7 feet apart would equate a listening distance of 10.5 feet. These speakers don't need to be 10 feet apart see their manuals recommendations they seem correct in my experience. would really consider the Genesis line as being better than the infinity models. bass Towers have many placement options which will work mine are about 3 inches outside of the ribbon arrays and about 1 in behind the ribbon array fronts. Ribbon array about 6 feet out from the rear wall. I have concerns regarding the ultimate quickness abilities of the 12 inch woofers of the Genesis 1 or infinity V although I have never heard them I know the Genesis 2 had the 12 inch woofers which were changed to 8 inch woofers for the Genesis 200 and 201 later I believe the reviews had considerable problems getting the 12 inch woofer Towers bass to blend seamlessly to the ribbons the 8 inch woofers blended much easier I believe the quickness of the 8 inch woofers really helped this problem. Unless your room is absolutely huge the 8 inch woofers in the 201 would be the better and more economical choice also over the Genesis 1's the 1's seem just absolutely overkill and not really necessary unless your room is like 35x45