Audio Video News

On August 4, 2005, Infinity invited a number of journalists to their home at the Harman International corporate campus in Northridge, California, for a tour of the facilities and a sneak peek at their latest speaker line, dubbed Cascade. Why are you only hearing about it now? Because Infinity embargoed the information until August 25.

What makes this line really interesting is the new driver technology developed for it—and, presumably, for other models in the future. Infinity's engineers were given a mandate to develop a new driver that would accommodate low-profile cabinets to accompany flat-panel displays without sacrificing sound quality. The resulting driver is called the MRS (Maximum Radiating Surface) flat-panel transducer.

MRS combines the best attributes of traditional cone and planar-magnetic drivers in a flat, rectangular diaphragm measuring about 7x3.5 inches, which provides about the same radiating surface area as a 6-inch cone. The MRS diaphragm is mounted in a low-profile, self-contained rectangular module with a carefully designed surround. This yields a shallow mounting depth like planar drivers, good mid- and low-frequency response like cone drivers, and a peak excursion over 25% of the overall driver depth (compared with 10% for planar and 12% for cone). In addition, the modules are designed to be mounted either horizontally or vertically very close together to form a line array.

The MRS module is thin, which, as everyone knows, is very in.

The MRS transducer is made of Infinity's CMMD (Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm) material with beveled edges, several raised ribs, and notches (called gussets) around the perimeter. The beveled edges add rigidity, and the ribs and gussets are spaced to minimize breakup modes; in fact, the first major breakup mode is around 10kHz, far above the crossover to the tweeter (2kHz). The motor structure uses three high-energy neodymium magnets and two elliptical voice coils that apply force uniformly over the entire surface. As a result, all parts of the surface move in phase with very little breakup.

The MRS transducers are mated with 1-inch CMMD dome tweeters mounted in a constant-acoustic impedance (CAI) waveguide (both also found in the Beta series), which imparts the same directionality characteristics as the MRS diaphragm as well as providing some gain, improved dynamic range, and lower compression and distortion. The Cascade enclosure is extruded aluminum with a nominal thickness of 3mm. The cavity is rounded with angled top and bottom caps to minimize parallel surfaces, and there are lots of internal bracing ribs along with Fiberglas damping material throughout. Interestingly, the drivers are affixed to the aluminum enclosure, not the MDF baffle, which is more cosmetic than functional (though it does provide added strength and damping to the front of the speaker).

Five models comprise the initial Cascade offerings: the Model 5 (one MRS) and Model 3 (two MRS) "bookshelf" designs, Model 3C center-channel (two MRS), and Model 7 (one MRS) and Model 9 (two MRS) floorstanders. Also available will be a new subwoofer, the Model 15, which includes four 6x6-inch square drivers with conventional motors (allowing it to occupy a surprisingly small footprint), an 800W amp, and Infinity's RABOS (Room Adaptive Bass Optimization System). Depending on the selected finish, system prices range from roughly $5000 for a 5.1 Model 5-based system to $10,500 for a 7.1 Model 9-based system with dual subs.

We heard several different configurations in three different rooms, and I must say that I was impressed, especially with the Model 9s (which happened to be in a brand new listening room). Of course, a real review will be forthcoming as soon as we can get our hands on a system, so stay tuned.