Last Updated on: October 7, 2022
You may have noted Infinity car speakers when upgrading your factory-installed audio setup. Getting a reliable car audio replacement is much harder than most people imagine, as there are many brands to choose from.
As a classic example…
One of these is Infinity, an American company manufacturing car speakers and amplifiers, surround sound home theater systems, and marine speaker units.
Infinity stands out in the car speaker industry for its use of innovative technologies to produce high-performance products at affordable prices.
Infinity by Harman
Infinity Systems is an American brand established in 1968 by Arnie Nudell, John Ulrick, and Cary Christie in Stamford, Connecticut. The company manufactures home and mobile audio products that use innovative materials such as neodymium magnets, polypropylene cones, and Mylar diaphragms.
One of the first designs from this brand includes the Servo-Statik Speaker System. It combines electrostatic main panels and servo-controlled woofers based on some bomb guidance systems Nudell had earlier designed.
Infinity Systems also introduced electromagnetic induction tweeters and midrange drivers in the late 1970s. The drivers used samarium-cobalt magnets that made them resemble flat ribbons.
While it was a revolutionary design that sounded great, at the time, the Infinity ribbon drivers had high failure rates, low power to play loud volume, and were expensive to make.
Consequently, Infinity ceased production of the ribbon drivers after several years. The brand later produced a highly successful ultra-high-end system, the Infinity Reference System (IRS), retailing at &65,000.
Infinity Systems discontinued the IRS and the original Kappa Series after Harman International Industries acquired the company in 1983.
Interestingly, when Arnie Nudell left Infinity in 1991 to form his own company, Genesis Technologies, his flagship product was an updated version of the Infinity Reference System, retailing at $235,000.
Since becoming a part of Harman, Infinity audio equipment is now geared more toward the mass market. It is the primary supplier of stock speakers for cars such as Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Chrysler.
Main Features of Infinity Speakers
Infinity Systems offers a range of mass-market products for homes, cars, and marine applications. We’ll look at their four car speaker product lines for this Infinity speakers review. These are Kappa, Reference X, Primus, and BeTa.
Infinity Kappa Series
The Kappa Series produces the best Infinity car speakers, including 2-way plus 3-way coaxial and component speakers and subwoofers. The coaxial speakers, such as the Kappa 62IX 2-way speakers, are available in all standard sizes with an elegant design in sleek black color.
The silk dome tweeters feature a UniPivot system that allows the tweeters to rotate 270 degrees to elevate the soundstage, especially on low-mounted installations. The midrange drivers have a compact design to fit most vehicles without sacrificing performance.
They also feature glass-fiber cones that make them lighter, with more surface area to deliver increased low-frequency output to 300Hz and higher efficiency. The component systems like the Kappa 60CSX and 90CSX models can accommodate 2-inch or 3-inch woofers.
The Kappa subwoofers claim extreme output with a more accurate and detailed sound than the competition.
The subs feature a Harman-exclusive impedance selector that switches between 2-Ohm and 4-Ohm impedance. They also feature a proprietary cooling system that helps optimize power handling and durability by keeping the voice coil cool.
Design Features
- Standard size design with an attractive, sleek finish
- Glass fiber cones that increase low-frequency output and efficiency
- 3-way upgradability for convenience
- Selectable impedance switch on the subwoofers to reconfigure your system
- Subwoofer proprietary cooling system to maximize power handling
Infinity Reference X Series
The Reference X series boasts as the best choice to replace factory speakers. The series includes coaxial speakers, component systems, and subwoofers designed to integrate seamlessly with factory-installed systems and give you Infinity’s signature sound.
The speakers include 1-inch, edge-driven, audiophile-grade tweeters with a textile dome that articulates smooth sound at high output up to 21000Hz.
They also have an adjustable output level to improve sound linearity depending on the listener’s position. The woofers offer more cone surface area than the competition, which helps in increasing sensitivity and bass output. Plus, it also gives you better and more accurate sound quality.
Reference X component speaker systems like the Reference 6530CX come in all standard sizes and feature a compact design that makes them easy to install in just about any vehicle. Speaker models, such as the Reference 6532EX, feature shallow-mount baskets to fit in most cars with ease.
The series also offers the Harman proprietary Selectable Smart Impedance feature that allows the sub to operate in 2-Ohm or 4-Ohm impedance at the flip of a switch.
However, while the Kappa models feature a glass-fiber cone, the Reference X subs come with a lightweight Polypropylene cone that delivers low-frequency sounds to 27Hz.
Design Features
- Proprietary Plus One technology maximizes cone surface area for increased output
- Compact design and available in all standard sizes to fit most car installations
- Butyl rubber surrounds ensure accurate cone linear movement to minimize distortion at high volume
- Audiophile-grade edge-driven textile dome tweeters provide non-fatiguing sound at a high volume
- UniPivot design directs sound towards the listener for better sound imaging
- Selectable impedance switch on the subwoofers for flexibility in your sound system configuration
- Subwoofer bass frequency response can go to as low as 27Hz
Infinity Primus Series
The Infinity Primus line is the best-selling series from this brand featuring coaxial speakers, component systems, and subwoofers. Primus offers seven 2-way and 3-way coaxial models including Primus PR6512IS and the Primus PR6510CS speakers. They feature the patented Plus One polypropylene cones, edge-driven tweeters, and low impedance voice coils.
The polypropylene cone woofers have more radiating cone area than the competition, giving the woofers higher sensitivity and more bass output for better tonal balance.
The tweeters deliver better high-frequency dispersion, and the 4-Ohm architecture of these speakers provides more headroom for the amplifiers to reach peak power for more sound depth and detail.
The subwoofers use polypropylene cones with automotive-grade rubber surrounds for clean reproduction and high durability.
One of the reasons the Primus speakers sell so well is that you get the true Infinity sound quality at an affordable price. The speakers go through the Harman standard reliability and voice testing to ensure that the specs, materials, and speaker characteristics are quality assured.
Design Features
- Patented Plus One polypropylene woofer cone design for better tonal balance
- Low impedance voice coils give the amps more headroom for peak power
- Automotive-grade rubber surrounds for the speakers and subs for a clean reproduction
- Edge-driven tweeters deliver wide dispersion and superior power handling capability in the mid and high frequencies
- Top-quality materials and engineering at an affordable price
Infinity BeTa Series
BeTa offers a range of premium quality speakers that deliver superior audio performance. The Infinity BeTa Be621 component system is one example of the models in this series.
It features a Carbon Fiber cone that delivers cleaner sound for music with a wide dynamic range than glass fiber and polypropylene. These speakers sound great if you enjoy listening to jazz and classical music.
The Be621 also features a 1-inch edge-driven Beryllium dome tweeter that delivers high-frequency response performance up to 40kHz.
The woofers feature a Nomex spider that ensures linear motion to minimize distortion and a neodymium magnet motor that enables the voice coil to have exceptional power handling capability.
Design Features
- Pure Beryllium dome tweeters with high-frequency response
- Nomex spider suspension to ensure linear motion to reduce distortion
- Carbon fiber cones enable one to play audio with a wide dynamic range
JBL vs Infinity Car speakers
While JBL and Infinity Systems are Harman International Industries subsidiaries, their car audio products are geared toward different market segments.
The best way to compare two brands is to pick a product from each company and review it against a similar product from the rival company. In this case, we look at the JBL GTO629 vs Infinity Kappa 62.11i car speakers.
Both models feature soft dome tweeters with a UniPivot design that allows you to position the tweeters towards the listener’s position. Additionally, both woofer models feature the proprietary Plus One technology that maximizes the cone’s surface area to increase sound output.
However, the Infinity model uses glass fiber, while the JBL woofer uses better quality material, carbon fiber. While both models have a wide frequency response, the JBL speakers have a clearer, full-range sound quality than Infinity.
Therefore, the JBL speakers are more flexible in application, while the Infinity models are ideal for upgrading your factory speakers affordably.
Alpine vs Infinity Car Speakers
The Infinity Kappa and Alpine’s Type-R series are the best-known product lines from these two brands. Alpine is a Japanese electronics brand specializing in vehicular audio and navigation systems.
Alpine is a subdivision of the Japan-based Alps Electric and supplies sound systems to high-end cars such as BMW and Mercedes Benz.
In comparing the Infinity Kappa 60.11cs with the Alpine SPR-60c models, we see that the Infinity has a three-quarter-inch high-def polyamide soft dome tweeter with adjustable 3-level controls.
On the other hand, the Alpine features a set of 1-inch silk dome tweeters with 7-level adjustability.
The woofers are also notably different, with the Type-R featuring a multi-layer fiber cone that delivers a defined low-frequency response. The Kappa model features a glass fiber cone with Plus One technology, giving it a wider surface area to produce a deeper and better bass response.
The Alpine has a higher peak and RMS power rating, and you may need to install an external amplifier to use these speakers. On the other hand, the Infinity model works seamlessly with OEM speakers.
Pro Auto Thought: If you’re undecided still about this choice, then you might want to have a look at this alternative — Hertz Speakers Review.
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Conclusion
Top-quality materials, excellent sound quality, affordability, and reliability are some adjectives one can use to describe Infinity car speakers. The brand offers four product lines to choose from, and the best Infinity car speakers are found in the Kappa series.
Reference X and Primus have the best choices for budget upgrades, while the BeTa series is the premium-grade option. Next time you upgrade your car audio system, I recommend checking out the offers from this brand.