While Revel and Infinity fall under the Harman International umbrella, they are distinctly different. When it comes to drivers used, there are indeed a few similarities. Both rely on wave-guides for the tweeters, both use ceramic material in the driver diaphragm, and heck –they even look the same. They aren’t however. The drivers used in Revel loudspeakers not only use slightly different material, but they also achieve lower distortion, greater power handling with a supposedly better FR curve.
As you may already know - Polk Audio uses a custom drivers built by Vifa to Polk’s spec. Polk Audio and Infinity can be considered the ‘big boys’ of the industry. Both companies have a team of engineers that work daily on a whole host of products. Consequently, both companies have access to a vast amount of resources – something both companies take full advantage of. It reflects in their work, especially on great products like the RTi4/RTi6 and the BETA 10/BETA 20.
h good.
That said; it is tough for any major company – who has to pass a product through nearly a dozen hands – to compete against a business using the consumer-direct model that just so happens to be ran by the industry giant, Mark Schifter. Throw in the talents of Danny Ritchie, and you mine as well throw in the towel. Thankfully for Polk Audio and Infinity, av123 is not a direct threat to Polk Audio and Infinity’s market – which is entirely separate. In a way, that makes a direct comparison between these three brands almost mute.
However, since there’s time and a few questions have been asked – the XLS, unlike the Infinity’s or Polk’s, were designed from the ground up to accomplish one goal; to be the best speaker ever offered under the $300 price-point. A tremendous amount of effort went into producing this speaker. Without the might and industrial influence of Mark, or the design wizardry of Danny – the XLS would never happen.
So where are the advantages? First there is the stronger, better braced cabinet (which tips the scales at 17lbs a piece with all the goodies inside). There is the M130 woofer, which has a flatter FR curve, can cover a greater amount of range, and can move more air than what’s found in the aforementioned speakers. We also have a crossover that is very solid, resulting in a much better tweeter/woofer transition… not to mention that even the stock parts used – combined with the drivers, results in higher resolution. Because of its very even frequency curve, upgrading the crossover components to more premium parts deliver very noticeable improvements to the sound. The Infinity and Polk speakers were purposely designed with one particular type of sound and FR curve in mind – meaning that swapping parts won’t do you much
At this point, I think I’ve exhausted as much effort as I’m willing to put into the discussion… unless of course av123 is willing to send me a commission check..
Those BETA 20's are great speakers. Perhaps in time, one of the Affordable Audio staff will bring in a pair of Infinity's to review.. until then, enjoy whatcha got and enjoy the tunes!
