Having covered consumer electronics now for the past ten years, it seems I am eating my words each time I state that I don’t think a given category can get any better or any less expensive. While I expect that commodity technologies will get better and cheaper, I am perhaps most astounded by the fact that mechanical technologies, such as transducers, continue to get better and less expensive to produce.
What makes speakers get better and better? The answer is simple; companies, like Infinity, who are committed to continually besting their previous efforts, while investing in research of more exotic composite materials and a design team who not only have a good ear, but common sense.
The new “TSS” or “Total System Solution” series represents the latest offering from Infinity to bring exceptional sound quality into the homes of home theater enthusiasts on a limited budget.
The TSS series offers three systems: the 500, 800 and 1200. We called in the TSS-1200 due to the size of our listening room (approximately 430 square-feet), and also wanting to see what the pinnacle of the series had to offer. Right out of the box, the Infinity TSS-1200 had some noticeable strong points. For starters, the 12-inch subwoofer was “real.” Many systems today take shortcuts by incorporating cheap bandpass subs in their package systems—the Infinity TSS-1200 employs a hefty 44-pound, 12-inch subwoofer with an internal 250-watt amplifier. Additionally, the satellite speakers are compact and come with brackets for wall mounting. This makes the system not only capable, but easy to install over various room applications.
Using our Rotel RX 1056 A/V receiver we were able to get an immediate feel for the capabilities of the new system. We started things off by putting the system through its paces with a compilation of DVD–Audio tracks. True to its kin, the Infinity TSS-1200 mastered delicate passages with female vocalists, while offering subtle details in the high instruments making it a splendid musical offering.
Even with the fixed wall brackets, the compact size of the speakers made them easy to reposition to achieve an on-axis response. While our listening room is not perfect, it does represent the same challenges with many homes today—vaulted ceilings with lots of shape and also large windows. This has been a killer on some speakers, but the Infinity really seems to thrive under such conditions. With the subwoofer loaded in the corner, I eventually found an appropriate home for it closer into the middle of the front wall. This kept the woofer from overlapping the midrange and flattened out the sound substantially.
Moving on to movie auditions is where the Infinity ensemble was most at home. I noted remarkable control and deep bass during passages with explosions and on-screen action. Here again, I hope that some of Infinity’s rivals are taking notes—put a real subwoofer in your systems!
The sound-staging was excellent and quite deliberate in nature with sound moving in tandem with on-screen action. At times, the center-channel seemed a bit overtaxed by the volume. I later changed the center setting to “small” in my receiver and found it to perform much better. Again, the dialogue was excellent and a touch of sibilance on the top-end actually gave a crisp, more detailed presence to the dialogue.
Overall the entire ensemble is well-matched and remarkably efficient. It’s hard to imagine a thirteen hundred dollar sound system with this performance, but the proof is in a personal audition. If your budget allows, I would strongly recommend you give the TSS series from Infinity a chance at your hard-earned dollars.
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And after 3 years, their shit tries to burn down your house. Stay away from Infinity. Also, my car audio infinity amp, did the same thing…burned up without fire.