Infinity INTERLUDE IL60 - Manual (Page 3)

ability to play loud without strain, and its
spatial presentation. Flanking my Philips
55PP9701 55-inch HDTV, the IL60s pro-
duced a tall, wide, weighty soundstage, its
size commensurate with the picture. Pans
across the front stage were seamless, while
music mixed for the front three channels
was full-bodied and dynamic. There was
nothing polite about this system.
Film vs. Music
The downside of placing a large powered
woofer in a full-range speaker built to a
moderate price point is that the cabinet—
the place where most costs are cut—is prone
to resonances that can cloud the sound, cre-
ating congestion and a mechanical quality.
The IL60 had traces of these characteristics,
though they were by no means pronounced.
I have no reservations whatsoever about
recommending this high-performance
system for movie-soundtrack play-
back—for the money, its performance
was hard to beat—but if you plan on
using a single system for movies and
serious music listening, I caution you to give
the Interludes a good listen first. You might
be better off spending the same amount on
speakers that offer greater timbral delicacy,
macrodynamic expression, and low-level
resolution of detail, and that give up some
bass extension—especially if you listen
mostly to classical or other kinds of acoustic
music. You can always add a subwoofer later.
On the other hand, if your musical tastes
lean toward rock, this system does. Rock.
Conclusions
I came across a classified ad on the Internet
that claimed that the $2000/pair Infinity
Interlude IL60 offers 90% of the perfor-
mance of the $10,000/pair Infinity Prelude
MTS. I wish that were true. While the
C.M.M.D. drivers are probably equal or
close to equal in quality to the Preludes’, the
driver configuration, cabinets,
and (probably) the crossover
design are not in the same
league, and shouldn’t be expect-
ed to be. That aside, the IL60 is a
smooth-performing, bargain-
priced, low-coloration, nearly
full-range speaker that does
include the unique R.A.B.O.S.
bass-optimization system—not
available in other brands, regard-
less of price.
In designing such a high-per-
formance speaker system to this
price point, Infinity chose its com-
promises carefully. The IL60 is a
dynamic, nearly full-range speak-
er that can play extremely loud
without strain, in the process los-
ing only a bit of transparency, del-
icacy, low-level resolution, and
timbral richness. These are rea-
sonable concessions, especially in
the context of home theater
(though some may find the speak-
er’s styling clunky and less than
living-room-friendly).
For the home-theater enthusi-
ast with a problematic room and
few placement options, the R.A.B.O.S.-
equipped IL60 might be the only solution.
For others with space limitations, this rela-
tively slim tower with a sophisticated 3-way
system atop a powered subwoofer offers
almost full-range performance without the
need for a room-cluttering subwoofer.
Add the Interlude IL36c—among the most
impressive center-channel speakers at any
price—and a pair of the small but rugged
Interlude 10 surround speakers, and for less
than $43000 you can have one of the best val-
ues in a high-performance home-theater
speaker system.
Stereophile Guide to Home Theater • January 2002 91
I N F I N I T Y I N T E R L U D E I L 6 0
Interlude 10 2-way surround speaker
don’t think you’re getting the $10,000 Infin-
ity Prelude MTS system, or even 90% of it
(see “Conclusions”), for less than one-third
the price. What might have been a cabinet
resonance created a mild congestion in the
midbass/lower midrange that reduced clar-
ity somewhat, and the IL60’s wide front baf-
fle (compared with the Prelude’s tall, slim
midbass/HF tower) prevented it from
imaging and “disappearing” as effectively
as the Prelude.
The IL60’s overall balance was somewhat
forward in the upper midrange. There was
also a lack of ultimate transparency and
delicacy in the mid to treble region, along
with less than stellar rendering of low-level
detail and microdynamic expression. Add
less extension and power at the very bot-
tom and, good as the IL60 was, it was no
Prelude. Hardly surprising. When I took
Guitar Standards downstairs and played it
on my pricey 2-channel system (Audio
Physic Avanti III loudspeakers, Hovland
HP-100 preamp, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista
300 amp), it was another experience entire-
ly. Also not surprising.
In 5.1 Mode
Adding the IL36c center-channel and the
IL10 surrounds made the already fine-
sounding 2-channel system explode,
thanks mostly to the IL36c’s first-class per-
formance. It was the most impressive
speaker in the system, and a genuine bar-
gain at $500. I can’t tell you how it might
mate with any other brand of L/R speaker,
but it sure made a strong case for Infinity’s
entire IL60-based, 5.1-channel Interlude
system! The efficient (91dB) IL36c sounded
powerful compared to the wimpy center-
channel “afterthoughts” supplied with
many midpriced systems, and its handling
of the human voice made dialogue easy to
understand. Here, it shared the IL60’s
slightly forward timbral balance (which
could be due to a peak or a dip in the fre-
quency response of reproduced voices), but
that only enhanced and clarified dialogue
without making it sound edgy or bright.
The IL36c was notably free of chestiness or
boxiness, and, thanks to the tweeter’s sub-
jectively flat, smooth response, sibilants
were rendered with great naturalness. Hori-
zontal off-axis performance was exemplary,
with no audible dips across a wide window,
thanks to the three-way driver configura-
tion with its vertically configured 4-inch
midrange and tweeter—something you sel-
dom see in a $500 center-channel speaker.
Because it uses the same bass driver and
tweeter as the IL36c, the IL10, used for the
surrounds, proved a decent low-cost com-
plement to the front-channel array, its sim-
ilar timbral balance and overall perfor-
mance helping to create the proverbial
“acoustic bubble.” The C.M.M.D. tweeter’s
smooth, non-peaky performance on- and
off-axis allowed it to fire directly at my ears
without calling attention to itself. The larg-
er, more expensive IL30 ($598/pair) uses
the same drivers in a much taller (36 vs. 15
5 ⁄ 8
inches) and heavier (34 vs. 18 lbs) cabinet. It
goes lower (48Hz vs. 56Hz), but because
bass management sends 80Hz and below to
the subwoofer, I’m not sure anything would
be gained—unless you were planning to
play DVD-Audio discs, which bypass your
receiver’s bass-management system.
It was hard to fault the 5.1-channel IL60
system’s portrayal of macrodynamics, its
90 Stereophile Guide to Home Theater • January 2002
I N F I N I T Y I N T E R L U D E I L 6 0
Interlude IL60 4-way floorstand-
ing tower speaker
I have
no reservations
whatsoever about
recommending
this high-
performance
system
for movie-soundtrack playback.
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