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Hi Blackbeard,
I admit I had been thinking in terms of headphones, but I had also assumed that for vocal detail, that the best headphones would be better than the best speakers. Thanks for helping me to reflect on, and reconsider, that assumption.
DV
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I know this is a headphones forum and you're probably looking for headphones, but...
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Well, there's definitely a price to be paid - but luckily with the Infinities, they're available used - for a fraction of what they cost new (and they'd be even more insanely expensive today). I paid $600 for my Renaissance 90's, which retailed for around $4000 in 1992 and would be well north of $10,000 today if sold new - maybe even more, considering what passes for a $10,000 speaker at Infinity these days (the Prelude 40, which does not impress me at all having heard it myself).
The reason the mid-to-high-end Infinities are so good (for vocals, brass, guitars, etc.) is because they use planar drivers for the tweeters (any Infinity worth its salt anyway) and midrange drivers (the higher end ones). These are planar like the orthodynamic headphones - but a whole lot more R&D/optimization has gone into them than any ortho headphones, thanks to their application as speaker drivers to be integrated into a multiple-driver speaker. They're optimized for the frequency range they are required to recreate (there's even huge ones for mid-bass drivers in a few of the best models), which gives them a distinct advantage over single driver headphones. I have to admit though, the value proposition for lower budgets still favors headphones (I paid under $300 for my HD 600's and uDAC compared to around $1100 to get the Renaissance 90's powered and sourced - both systems purchased used).
One thing the Infinities have going for them is extremely balanced sound. When properly amped (i.e. enough power, on the big ones perhaps a solid state monster for the always power-hungry woofers and a middle-powered tube or solid state amp for the rest of the speakers), they're among the most neutral speakers out there. Underamping can bring serious problems, like extremely weak bass or blown planar drivers from clipping.
Weaknesses aside, there are few speakers (or headphones) even today that can match the mids and highs of the Infinity EMIM/EMIT drivers, or the lows of the famed Watkins dual-coil woofers. They're really something special.
Probably the cheapest and easiest to power pair would be the Renaissance 80's. They're smaller and less expensive than my 90's, but they have the same tweeter and midrange,
Perhaps the biggest difference I hear between my headphones and speakers is that it's often easier to hear some details with the HD 600's, but all the details are still there with the Infinities - and they sound far more realistic in tone..