Infinity Beta 40

Introducing the Beta Series

Great loudspeakers are often products of evolution, engineered to improve upon the best of what's come before. The Beta Series from Infinity offers a powerful and stunningly handsome new case in point. A direct technological descendant of the acclaimed Infinity Prelude MTS Series--and sharing a heritage of excellence going back more than 35 years--Beta imparts exceptional fidelity and realism to music and motion picture soundtracks. The three-way, floorstanding Beta 40's dual 6.5" woofers, 5.0" midrange, and 1.0" tweeter all feature the revolutionary Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm (CMMD) technology developed for the premium Prelude Series; and being the first Infinity speaker line to use the new Constant Acoustic Impedance (CAI) technology, Beta showcases Infinity's latest, most innovative thinking and advanced manufacturing techniques. Whether in home theater, bookshelf, or floorstanding applications, Beta delivers clean, resonance-free high and midrange frequencies with forceful, dynamic bass, bringing your favorite home entertainment vividly to life.
Innovative Waveguide

Loudspeaker designs often include acoustical waveguides to improve both on-axis (on-center) and off-axis high-frequency response. Beta Series speakers feature Infinity's patent-pending CAI waveguide technology, which significantly enhances performance over other waveguide designs. CAI high-frequency drivers display increased sensitivity, creating more dynamic headroom and enabling seamless sonic transition between the tweeter and lower frequency transducers in both two-way and three-way systems. All of this helps assure uniform frequency response across the entire listening room, greatly expanding the optimum listening area. With CAI, the full potential of CMMD tweeters is realized, extending the frequency response beyond 40kHz and yielding exceptional fidelity, especially with today's demanding high-resolution, digital sources like SACD and DVD-Audio. CAI waveguides also allow for less complex crossover circuitry, resulting in a distinctly pure, accurate sound unique to Infinity Beta. Don't forget: You heard it here--and only here--first.
Patented CMMD Transducer Material

In their quest for unequaled sound, Infinity's goal is to eliminate resonances, the unwanted colorations, or distortions, of the sound reproduced by a speaker. Every transducer has its own unavoidable set of resonances based on its own physical characteristics. The trick is to build a transducer where the natural resonances are either above or below its audible range. To accomplish this, Infinity engineers invented and patented Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm (CMMD) transducer material, a sandwich made up of layers of ceramic alumina (20% of the total thickness top and bottom) anodized to a metallic aluminum core (the remaining 60% of total thickness). Among the stiffest materials known, alumina and aluminum were chosen because sound moves through them faster than through conventional transducer materials and the CMMD sandwich responds to electrical signals very rapidly without coloring the sound at all. That's why every transducer in Beta Series speakers incorporates CMMD technology.
Hear No Resonances

Taking resonances out of the audible range is done by crossovers, electronic devices that switch the sound from one transducer to another depending on the frequency. CMMD technology allows a transducer's natural resonance to be placed outside its operational range so that the crossover will transfer the sound before the natural resonance can be heard. When drivers are made of conventional materials, engineers attempt to damp out the resonances; but that diminishes the overall performance of the speaker--and the resonances are still there. Remember that Infinity's CMMD technology is patented (nos. 6,327,372 and 6,404,897), so when other manufacturers claim that their transducers are ceramically coated, it's merely a cosmetic surface treatment. Beta Series transducers are made with 20/60/20% alumina-aluminum sandwich material first and foremost for the sound, not just the look.
Science of Reproducing Art

Music and motion pictures are art. Reproducing that art is science, and science is quantifiable. Before ever putting a speaker into production, Infinity's engineers make and analyze a number of critical objective and subjective measurements. Objectively, they measure frequency response, spatial averages, phase response, and nonlinear distortion to analyze technical accuracy, sensitivity, and power handling. Subjectively, they measure sound quality (timbre and bandwidth), spatial quality (how well the speakers spread out the sound), stereo imaging, the multichannel soundstage (how strong is the sound imaging in front, behind, and to the sides), and dynamic capabilities (sound quality for very loud or very quiet inputs) to see if the engineering efforts have been successful. The Infinity Beta Series speaker you bring into your home has been subjected to some of the most rigorous testing in the industry, all to assure you superb performance and superior quality.
Strong But Stylish Cabinets

Even though the stylish Beta 40's enclosure is designed with perforated-metal grillwork for flair and built for strength, Infinity's cabinets must, from the start, be resonance-free. Ideally, the only sound radiating from a loudspeaker system would come from the transducers themselves; but in practice, speaker enclosures resonate the sound as well. Infinity engineers use data from a scanning laser vibrometer to anaylze cabinet resonances and design effective bracing to neutralize them. Beta Series ultrathick, contoured baffles provide a rigid, stable platform for the drivers while at the same time minimizing unwanted baffle-edge diffractions. The only sound you hear from a Beta 40 speaker comes from drivers, not the enclosure.
Window Into the Art

Good sound is something that, when you hear it, suspends belief. Even while fully aware of sitting in your own living room, you believe you're at a live performance or listening to a movie theater's state-of-the-art sound system. Infinity strives for loudspeaker systems that are a window into the art--a clear window. You want to immerse yourself in the sounds created by the artists, exactly the way the artists intended. To experience all of the talent, production, and sound that goes into a great recording, you need to listen through speakers that don't alter the sound, don't editorialize, don't impart their own personality. The Beta Series manifests Infinity's dedication to creating good sound in any room--anywhere in the room. Invisible, uncolored, natural sound, precisely as the artist or director meant for you to hear it--that's Infinity.