# Infinity SM152's any good?



## FLHTDude

Been cruising craigs list lately for putting together a nice 2ch stereo setup. I currently have some Pioneer CS-G303 12" speakers I got from a friend. I found a Pioneer SX-255R receiver for cheap on craigslist to power it which has 100w per channel. Well today I found some Infinity SM152's which are huge. What's the scoop on these things? I searched the net and there seems to be some negative reviews on them saying the cabinets are not heavy enough, and they don't have enough bass b/c they're so sensative 102db @ 1w. etc. Opinions on the Sm152's and my current Pioneer CS-G303's? I'd like to get my hands on some really nice, big, 15" speakers if possible. Seems like that stuff is really dying out.... I already have my home theater setup, so I need a nice jam/party stereo system.


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## Ricci

Those are large rocking speakers. They are a little light on the bass balance wise. Watch out for foam rot on the woofers and mids. I had a pair of SM112's years ago and they both died from foam rot plus a blown capacitor in one crossover. I gave them away. If buying thoroughly listen to them and make sure all drivers are operating plus check the surrounds on all of the cones.


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## FLHTDude

I wonder if they have more BASS than the 12" Pioneers I currently have? What do you think would be an upgrade from the ones I currently have? In terms of quality and kick. Just found some Pioneer 15" cs-c9900's. How do they compare to the SM152's?


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## Guest

If they are in good shape, go for it. I had all Infinity SM stuff in HT version 1. Wife 1.0 got all that stuff, but the 115s had a sensitivity of 100db 1w/1m. The larger ones were a tad more sensitive. I never had dry rot problems, or crossover problems. A friend of mine has the larger 15" ones and he doesn't have dry rot or crossover problems. Not to say it can't happen, but I beat the snot out of mine and they even spent some time in storage. Either way, always check the condition of used speakers.

I actually found a set of 115s on craigslist for $40 and I might just go check them out this weekend. I don't need them, but if they are in really good shape (seller claims very low usage), I'll give them to my brother for his b-day or something...

They were a little bass shy, but I didn't think the ones with 15" woofers were. I lined mine with carpet padding and I thought they sounded a bit better.


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## jackfish

Infinity SM152
Frequency Response	44Hz - 25kHz (+/-3dB)
Crossover Frequencies	500Hz, 5.5kHz
Sensitivity	102dB (1 watt/1 meter)
Power Rating	10 - 300 watts
Nominal Impedance	8 ohms
Woofer	15" (381mm) polypropylene coated
Midrange Driver	TWO - 4.5" (114mm)polypropylene coated
Tweeter	1" (25mm) high-output polycell

From the pair I remember (15 years ago) the woofer was an underachiever but could be made to produce with some heavy equalization on the bottom end with an SAE E102 equalizer. They didn't take much power to drive them to very loud levels as was evidenced by the VU meters on the 200 wpc SAE Mark A502 power amp.

The real champs for vintage party speakers are the BIC Venturi Formula line from the early 1970s. I had a pair of Formula 4s and had the police come to a party we were having on the farm I lived on when neighbors complained that there was a rock concert going on at our place. And that was with them being driven with a 28 wpc Sansui receiver!


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## FLHTDude

hhhmm sounds like I'm going to stick with pioneers. I found some 15" versions of what I currently have. Might look at them.


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## Guest

I bet the Infinites will sound a bit better. The pioneers will probably have more of a bass kick, but everything I've heard from them are kind of dull in the mid-range.

The Infinity SM line are much brighter sounding. I guess it depends on what you like. You can also actually adjust the mid and tweets on those.


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## FLHTDude

Found me some Cerwin Vega VS-150's. 15" 3-ways. good shape, $200 obo local. What do you guys think of them?? Everything I found says great things.


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## jackfish

Sounds like you got what you needed.

Cerwin Vega VS-150
DESCRIPTION: 15” 3-Way Floor Standing Loudspeaker 
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 28Hz – 22 kHz 
POWER HANDLING: 5/400 Watts RMS (Min/Max) 
SENSITIVITY: 102dB (1 Watt @ 1 Meter) 
IMPEDANCE: 4 Ohms 
PROTECTION: Self-resetting PTC (high frequency) 
DIMENSIONS: 35.5” x 18” x 18.6” (H X W X D) 
WEIGHT: 90 Lbs. 
CIRCA: 1997 
MSRP: $540


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## Spuddy

jackfish said:


> Sounds like you got what you needed.
> 
> Cerwin Vega VS-150
> DESCRIPTION: 15” 3-Way Floor Standing Loudspeaker
> FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 28Hz – 22 kHz
> POWER HANDLING: 5/400 Watts RMS (Min/Max)
> SENSITIVITY: 102dB (1 Watt @ 1 Meter)
> IMPEDANCE: 4 Ohms
> PROTECTION: Self-resetting PTC (high frequency)
> DIMENSIONS: 35.5” x 18” x 18.6” (H X W X D)
> WEIGHT: 90 Lbs.
> CIRCA: 1997
> MSRP: $540


...and this is why you'll never hear anyone say that CV speakers can't handle abuse! 102db 1w/1m with a 400w RMS rating in a 90 pound cabinet.. you could survive a gunfight behind those things haha :hsd:


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## lsiberian

Spuddy said:


> ...and this is why you'll never hear anyone say that CV speakers can't handle abuse! 102db 1w/1m with a 400w RMS rating in a 90 pound cabinet.. you could survive a gunfight behind those things haha :hsd:


Or get a lot stronger from using them as weights. :R


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## FLHTDude

Well I got my 2 ch stereo setup and running. I am very very very impressed with the Pioneer 255 receiver from 1997! Very powerful. I'm going to hang on it for as long as I can. I'm running the hand me down 12" Pioneer CS-404's?? They're made in the USA which is a plus, probly from the late 80's or early 90's. I'm pretty dissapointed with them though... especially for their size. The cabinet is very thin, and light weight. The sound is "ok". Not very dimensionFULL. Very flat sound. I think the woofer magnets are small too, b/c the whole thing is light weight. They strike me as the early 90's speaker of choice when most 30 or 40yr old somin guys went to Service Merchandise and got some big cool loud speakers. Not exactly a designer/home theater hardcore item. And 20yrs later they're not going to sound any better. But for what I'm doing with them they're perfect. But when I bring the system home, i'll sell them and get some decent ones. Till then I'll keep hunting for speakers. The guy selling the CV's only came down to $150. $50 over my budget. So I'll give him time and see if he comes down or keep looking. But i'm going to steer clear of the $50 Pioneer cheepo speakers.


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