The difference between two monster loudspeakers 

I heard Bloody well right on the Original IRS in San Mateo HiFi around 1979. That changed my life. Thanks for all the great chats

I’m watching the older episodes that I missed . I really love listening to stories like this. Thanks

That is an amazing recap of history Mr. McGowan ( Paul).

I LOVED listening to your IRSVs on the 14th of March. I learned how poorly some of my favourite tracks were mastered, and loved listening to violins on it. Especially that one un released track.

Thank you Paul, this seems to be one of my favorite pieces to date. It's much appreciated.

just started my audiophile stage again being out for 20 years so much has changed appreciate all your time you babe for ten me up to date

I experienced a pair of Carver amazing loud speakers driven by Silver Sevens back in the late 80s, it left quite the impression.

I too absolutely love the RS 5,If I remember right the first I heard of these speakers was in a hi-fi magazine that featured "Fabio" home stereo and he had a pair in his home in So Cal.

I was so inspired by the videos that you upload paul, i'd really love to own those high end music sytem that your company produces but i don't have the purchasing power to do so... so from watching youtube videos i just follow the designs and DIY the speakers in my garage..😬 Hope you inspire more people.😊

Just to say, it's always a joy to see you explain stuff about obviously a great passion of yours, and the people around it, and always with such a graceful attitude.

Met Bob Carver a few years ago and had the chance to hear so many cool stories about hid journey in audio.

Hi Paul, another great video, thanks! I have IRS Vs and have owned the Genesis IIs and 350SEs. The Gen IIs had carver ribbons and the 350SEs had the BG ribbons. I have also lived with Beta’s, RS-1s and 4.5s. I’ve always thought the EMIMs are just hard to beat. The IRS with 12 a side are indescribable in their authority and palpable sense of realism (as you know). I never thought the Carver and BGs could keep up with them in the multiple Genesis systems I’ve owned and heard. That along with Bob and Arnie’s new crossovers; I’d be very surprised if the Gen 1s bettered the IRS. I'm not surprised the woofers system is better as you say. I also agree with you about owning the IRS Vs which I’ve always lusted over. I’d love to hear the genesis 1s someday. Any idea on how many sets of Gen 1 that were made? Thanks again for the story!!

I've owned several Carver amps. The ones made in the mid 90's ( 760x, 753x, 500x) are really super amps. S/N 117db or 120db. They sound smooth and neutral. Lots of power, bridgeable for twice the power and they don't get hot! I love my Carver amps.

incredible history of audio you laid out Paul, an honor for me to absorb this fantastic slice of audio history!

You look so innocent... but the 12 channel amp to 12 bass drivers in the Genesis is pure kick ass evil. Kudos!

I remember once sitting on Santa's lap (I think I might have been too big as I think I was a teenager) and I asked him for a pair of Infinity IRS speakers. Well Santa never got me those speakers. But I did get to hear them twice.

Hey Paul, too funny I just came across you videos. I worked on a Stereo shop in Baltimore Md (Soundscape) our shop sold PS Audio we also sold the IRS speakers I believe we sold 3 pairs and we also sold Carver ALS both sizes. I remember those days both fondly and with some trepidation. How do you remember both the IRS beta and the Carver ALS amazing loudspeaker were very fragile and were very difficult to ship. I remember many a time going to a clients house to replace either email tweeters or the mid range because of the magnets and also the Carver because it was made with that piano finish the tweeter was very heavy and if you didn’t pack it the correct way and transport it vertically the tweeter section would snap off from the rest of the speaker. I remember running those on Conrad Johnson amplifiers for the mids and highs and we would use Aragon for the bass stacks. I remember one day you came into the shop mid80s to early 90s and also Bob Carver when he started his other company which was called Sunfire Ani flopped his 10 inch subwoofer on the counter. We set t in a system then proceeded to shake the entire building with it just amazing

Paul - my favorite part of this, and I do think it's one of my favorite of this series, is when you explain in the end why you have a pair of Infinity's and not a pair of your own, better Genesis speakers - they're cool! It takes confidence to admit that!

They both seem quite fantastic. If I ever get near your facility, I definitely will come and take up your generous offer to hear the IRS-V.

Back in '97ish I was at the only entry level audio shop in the town I was in at the time. 2 employees; manager/salesman, and salesman. I mentioned to the manager (An Apogee Diva/Krell/AR/VPI owner) that the speakers in my last stereo were Genesis. He incredulously asked me, "You owned Genesis!?' And by his reaction, I said to him that I didn't think we were talking about the same company. We weren't. At the time, I hadn't heard of your company, and the speakers that I had had were Genesis Physics. A bit of a difference.

Paul I do hope you'll release an audio book version of Confessions of an Audiophile, narrated by your good self. You're a great story teller.

Contrary to what people think size DOES matter.No replacement for displacement

Great stuff,could you possible show those Round Speakers in a future Video?Maybe a deeper revisit and description of their mojo?Keep up the good work.

I just found this channel today and have been binge watching as well. Great content 👍

Thanks. I have always wondered how the IRS V stood up to contemporary speaker designs. I would love to see more videos like this. Another classic speaker that has be gone for some time is the Apogee ribbon speakers. I would be interested in hearing about your impressions of these and how they compare to contemporary speakers.

Very cool story. I have been a fan of yours for years. I sold the PS Audio line in my Florida store way back.

I own a pair infinity IL-40 speakers for about 18 years, they are great !

I was a big fan of hi-fi audio back in the late 80s early 90s and have listened to all of these products that you mention. I actually own a PS Audio 200CX from the late 80s and it is a real workhorse of an amp that delivers solid bass. The Mirage speakers of my era were a true bipole radiator and once again delivered a great performance in that bass region and overall spaciousness, a real bargain. I shopped everything including the Infiniti IRS products even though I could not really afford that level but it at least set a bar and here are some products that rivaled that bar, on a budget that is. Apogee, Scintillas what an amazing speaker, once the transformers are pulled out. I listened to the Scintillas being driven only by 4 Adcom 300-watt monos and it still was competitive with the IRS series. I won't say that Apogee was better just that it was competitive. Another big winner was the Martin Logan CLS driven by an SP11 into a couple of AR monos and that produced an amazingly lifelike vocal presentation. The final honorable mention goes to an amplifier the Threshold, stasis amps of that era was an underappreciated piece of technology that was the one thing I could find that would deliver grab you by the balls rock-solid bass. The whole audiophile scene seems to have died and I would not even know where to go for high-end equipment today. Meanwhile, the old record collection sets in the basement waiting for a renaissance.

Thanks for sharing with us that it's OK to be emotional about choosing speakers - LOL!

Bob Carver used those neo magnets for designing and producing ribbons for his open baffle Carver Amazing speaker. Priced at about $ 2000 at that time those speakers are most innovative and natural sounding speakers ever. Carver used the ribbon first and you guys use them later on your own speakers

Outstanding video.... I love it.... Awesome Paul just awesome

Great talk about the monster speakers, thank you! BTW, I would love to have or experience round speakers or spherical speakers!

And I still can’t afford them today ! Great info thanks for telling the story.

I am currently reading 99 Percent true and I must say it's very good!! The rock salt story about the eggs is CLASSIC!!! Thanks for a great read!!

Dammit Paul. I love you. Great stories always.

amazing videos! I'm about to buy a pear of omegas, thats how I ended up here. I'm so happy I did :) Well done Paul :)

No chance I WASN'T going to check out a video titled "comparing 2 monster speakers"! 👍

I really enjoyed this video Paul. Thank you.

I have the Genesis 8300 and i love that speakers ❤️

Thank you for great video, as usual, with historical insight.. !!

Hi, why you don't make longer videos? I believe that people who are interested in the topics you are debating, will be willing to listen for longer ... in this way you will be able to better explain some concepts/stories

I refer IRS 5s to the Gen 1s too because of the looks!

Paul, A pet peeve of mine is to attempt to stop the proliferation of the term "ribbon" when incorrectly applied to a planar. A ribbon is categorized as an foil element loosely suspended by its ends with magnets on either side. A planar design is a conductor of foil, wire or otherwise attached to a stretched diaphragm driven by magnets from behind or as in a push pull, from the front as well. They really are different animals and each have advantages in their particular application. Apogee's are known as ribbons, and the tweeter is a ribbon, but the woofer is most definitely a planar, as are EMIT's and EMIMS. Dont get me started on Maggies term Quasi Ribbon !! Regardless of what you may call them, the IRS's were and still are great speakers.

I have the Carver ALS speakers with those amazing ribbons! with dual 375W magnetic field amp TFM-35 ...

I would love to see some photos of those spherical speakers you mentioned...A quick search I just did didn't reap any rewards. Also, I really enjoy your videos. Please keep them coming! :)

I thought they were called them the IRS speakers.. Because? Amps would always find them very taxing? No? ;)

Hello I am a fan of Arnold and Paul all the way back to the 80's and AFN radio in Germany. I could only get 2B'S and 3B'S both were in a flood. I still have the 3B'S trying to hold them together with scotch tape, don't laugh that's the best I can do now. People like them, but I know what they were.

I love it!! Awesome story!! Great info!

If you have a speaker with multiple drivers; isnt it a significant challenge to ensure the phase response is constant?, I have always thought fewer drivers of higher quality would exceed a multiple driver setup for that reason. Also is the future using stiff materials like Aluminium for the cones combined with Neodymium magnets and large excursion surrounds and voice coils for bass?

Original Genesis was Genesis Physics with George Samuels. Good speakers too.

Did you ever have a chance to hear Ian Paisleys Mirage M1 or M3 speakers Paul

Funny. I had just asked someone why rare earth magnets are not used in speakers, rather than ceramic magnets. It just seemed to me that a speaker using rare earth magnets would require less input from an amp to achieve the same output as a speaker using ceramic magnets. Am I right ?

Can anyone point me to the original "round" speaker that Paul is referring to close to the beginning of this video?

Why do people give a thumbs down for?

Paul said when get's tired of his infinity's he is going to give them to me!! Mine all mine😉

Paul, what's the book you mentioned?

I am ready to buy the book !!!

You got some systems there in in your company I would love to buy some ps equipment but don't wanna pay the extended rate over in canada

I always notice those pretty rosewood speakers that are behind you in some of the videos (same location as the reel to reel deck). Those kind of have a rounded box. What are they, exactly?

Hey Paul I got a chance to see a pair of IRS Vs back in the early 80s most intimidating speakers I had ever seen and ended up buying a pair of the IRS 3s

Thank you Paul.

That's cool Paul.

Nicely said and done ...,,awesome paul

Wow. That's really cool man.

What about the "Genesis Prime" speakers that they sell nowadays with the IRS V/Genesis I design? Are they just as good?

Speaking of speakers, still no update on the Manhattan Project for building your own.

Will you tell the story behind who owns Genesis speakers now and how that came about? Are they living up to the standard that was originally set?

Gary Koh owns genesis now, I dare to state the current models of genesis would bury the IRS v. Especially his top model the genesis dragon..

Please let us know when your book is out...

Vail Colorado is absolutely beautiful.

Paul your so interested loudspeakers you should try working for electro-voice MFG chances are you'd learn a lot its only a thought

Who else came here hoping to see the actual speakers?

I heard three audio research amps per channel would work good with this system.

NOT THINKING OUT OF THE BOX. Just build a dedicated room on your house big enough to accommodate both systems! Bob Carver built great straight line preamps, but nothing ever comes close to the MATTES 200 SSA AMPLIFIER!

Why doesn't Harmon carry on the tradition of the Superior speaker design of the Infinity brand?

I never particularly liked the Carver ribbon drivers, but the concept was certainly sound.

Ofcource I havent lissent to the great infinitys but I see one problem. Mamy tweeters and midranges. Why not one tweeter and one midrange. Answare they had them in their lower end models. Thats not right ?

hmmm are all the infinity not just plain planars ? called different but they are actually the same ?, no true ribbons there i believe , does the same go for the genesis ? By the way why would the owner want to beat his own company with a new company ?

What a nice guy !

Who is Gary Koh? There are Videos out there where he stating he designed Genesis speakers.

Thank Bob Caver...

I owned a pair of Genesis V speakers. Probably the best set of speakers I have ever owned. When Genesis shut down in 2003, I sold them and have regretted it ever since.

And you’re sticking to it?

I binge on ps audio videos too.

Salesmen and their naming products XD Super, SE, SX, 2000, 1500 etc. I got a 200'. Oh only a 200? Yeah but it cost 1500,- Since it is a 200 SE

Bet Arnie was a cool dude!

Hm... I don`t think it is so complicated to sell round speakers to an audience... Just put the round speakers in a square box, and this is it! They will be heavy, and as I know, high-end stuff is also sold by the weight ;-) OK, I know, 20 years later it is easy to be smart lol.....

Scared to ask how much....😞

great story

Turn that music up

I heard the IRS system back in the early 80s. I was impressed by the size and the wood finish. But not so much with the sound. They were loud. Very loud. But also extremely bright. It sounds like a teenager's car stereo from the 00s. Too much bass and too much treble. The JBL D44000 Paragon sounds a LOT better than the Infinity IRS system. Plus the Paragon also has an attractive wood finish. If I were wealthy I would much rather have a Paragon in my listening room than the IRS. Although I would probably end up hiring a professional to install a hidden sound system instead. Maybe even two rooms. One with a loveseat and a super high-end stereo system in it. (Like the top of the line components from Technics, Clearaudio, or Rega.) And one with a dance floor, lighting effects, and a DJ booth. Although having two different rooms would make it hard to decide which room to keep your vinyl records in.

you didn't even show the speakers.

Man the IRS speakers as shown in the room is basically what you find in Studios + Some snake oil (quite a bit of it actually), for example somehow 10 Ribbon tweeters , is better then 1 or 2 , i doubt that , the rest of it is is a huge board covering the front end of the room , another way to do that is to build speakers in the front wall , just like in studios , thats it , im sure you can do even better with common 3 way system , with speakers built in the front wall, there is your snake oil i guess , not that i wouldn't like to hear those sure . I would jsut bet on simple stuff . As far as Active 3 way , not much further , since we cant forget that best soruce of sound is 1 speaker , when we make it 6 we are already pushing it

Great engineers typically make poor businessmen.

Crank some floyd

it's all talk no sound! where is the comparison!

This is like reminiscing over Jay Leno's Lambo vs Ferrari. IOW, no one else actually owns these overpriced antiques anymore and most the legend is gone with modern day performance far eclipsing the old Ferrari 308 & these audio relics.

Ahh confessions of an audiophile like too many speakers too much sound for room lol

Please get a wider room with more length, put your monsters on an angle forming equal lateral triangle with you at the end point. Tesla helped and worked for RCA and would have his stereo speakers on an angle to form true stereo. Look at how the two images converge to meet your ears. Those monsters are too close together, and not enough convergence angle. Change it and you will not believe the difference. Location and angle.

infinity owned by harman which is owned by Samsung