December 18, 2007 6:33 AM PST

In time for Xmas, Wisdom's $700,000 Infinite Grande speakers!

by Steve Guttenberg
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Yes, bigger is better!

(Credit: Wisdom Audio)

How grand is it? The entire system weighs 3,800 pounds, stands thirteen feet tall, and was designed to fill even the most lavish homes, and yes, palaces with sound! The system employs three stacked planar-magnetic arrays and eight-foot tall subwoofers. I've heard Wisdom's statuesque speakers at high-end shows and they really do produce a sense of scale that conventionally sized speakers can't muster. For those lucky enough to afford the very best, the Infinite Grande closes the gap between mere hi-fi and the sound of the real thing. The better the speaker the less you hear it sounding like a speaker. So if you're passionate about music, and yearn to have the sound of Jimi Hendrix or Duke Ellington or Bob Marley materialize in your abode, high-end audio will provide the means. Wisdom Audio is based in Carson City, Nevada.

The manufacturer claims the Infinite Wisdom Grande is capable of producing sound pressure levels in excess of 120 dB, which is really, really loud. But being a high-end speaker, it can play loud without generating ear shattering distortion, so you can listen at realistic volume levels without strain. The large subwoofer towers house a total of twenty-four 12-inch woofers!

The Sage, Wisdom's new affordable speaker line.

(Credit: Wisdom Audio)

Wisdom offers a range of speaker types and is just about to introduce a new model, the Sage; prices start at a more approachable $10K per pair.

Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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by theaudioanalyst January 21, 2009 12:32 PM PST
Though attributed to Wisdom Audio, I am the original photographer. This photo of Robert Smith, dwarfed when standing beside the Grand Infinite Wisdoms while on display at the Clark County Library in January of 2002, was taken from Row G of the Auditorium in the library and was actually unaccredited on the Wisdom Audio site for some length of time. You may see the original photo in my CES/T.H.E. Show 2002 Report at (http://www.theaudioanalyst.com/odd_pages/ces_2002.htm).

By the way, in January of 2002, they were going for a cool Million Dollars a pair?not the paultry $700K listed here. ;-D I hope that someone will FINALLY credit this image to its true taker! Thanks everyone.

Greg Weaver - the audio analystŠ
greg@theaudioanalyst.com

Senior Editor ? Positive Feedback Online
...a Creative Forum for the Audio Arts
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About The Audiophiliac

Ex movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has more or less successfully hitched his future to home theater, but he still pines for the clickity-clack of 35 MM projectors and all the stale popcorn he could eat. Between projectionist gigs he worked as a high-end audio salesman for sixteen years, and produced records for an audiophile label. Oh, and one more thing, nothing annoys Steve more than being confused with the other Steve Guttenberg, the washed-up Police Academy actor. The wordsmith Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to a number of magazines and websites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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