Infinity 1220se - Bass Depot

Still in a jazz mood, I switched to Kirk Whalum's Unconditional album. As with Krall, the 1220se seemed at home with his contemporary styling. The drum set in each track provided nice impact and displayed good structure without a hint of booming. Everything was tight and linear, which was a big surprise for this system's price range. The only time I was discontent with its reproduction was when the bass overlapped the drums, creating a slight "oneness" of the instruments. To see if this was just an anomaly, I played "Gone Away" from Ziggy Marley. Here, a kick drum competes with a thick bass guitar on the low end. At lesser volumes, I noted similarities to that of my previous findings, but moderate to high volumes yielded better separation and a musicality I found pleasing overall.

Again, in Marley's "Keep My Faith" the midbass and sub blended well, as was noted with the small wood drums in the first portion of the song. The kick drum, which enters a third of the way through the track, should have had good attack, but instead it sounded soft and underdeveloped. Likewise, the pounding of the large wood drum that follows just didn't have the gusto and the resonant notes it should. Tonally the 1220se seemed particularly linear with no outstanding notes.

I waited to the end to kick in the bass. BYOB was first up. The low extending, big electronic bass lines in these tracks strike hard yet decay gradually. Here the Infinity improved with volume, but slight mechanical noises were noted as I reached the sub's peak output - with over 700 watts on tap, you can understand why.

Master P's Ghetto D, circa 1997, gave the system a real workout. Virtually all bass lines were served up strong regardless of where they fell on the frequency scale. In "Let's Get 'Em," the quick thrashing beats were felt in the seatback before they drone into a deeper, standing note. The lowest hitting notes of "I Miss My Homies" were reasonably solid and didn't stress the sub to distorted levels even with the volume knob dumped - very impressive for a 12" sub system under $300!

ConclusionThe Infinity Reference 1220se surprised with its combination of sound, looks and $279.95 price. It's among the most tonally balanced sub systems I've reviewed, which pays high dividends if your taste spreads over different genres. There's no doubt the Slipstream port works as intended and its integration into this system certainly helps dispel the misconception that ported enclosures can't sound good. The 1220se's price/performance ratio ranks among the best, earning it this reviewer's highest praise.