Help power pair of Infinity Kappa 9's please


Hi all!
I have a pair of Infinity Kappa 9's:
Nominal Impedance: 4 to 6 ohm
Power Rating: 60-340 watts RMS
Efficiency: 102 dB SPL @1 watt, 1 meter
Crossover Frequencies: 80Hz, 800Hz, 4500Hz
Frequency Response: 29Hz-45kHz +/-3dB
Physical Attributes:
1x - SEMIT Supertweeter
1x - EMIT Tweeter
1x - 3" Edgewound Voice Coil Polydome Midrange Driver
1x - 5" Polypropylene/graphite Diaphram Polygraph
2x - 12" Cast Frame , L/C Tuned Woofers
Dimensions: 59.5"H x 21.5"W" x 8"D

My room is 12'x12', I have $2500 budget and would like to play music off my computer. I need amp(s), a preamp, and a DAC i guess (is the DAC necessary at my low of a budget range?). I know my budget is low so I will be shopping for very used/old equipment. If anyone has any experience, suggestions, or words of wisdom, they would be very much so appreciated.
Thanks,
JT
jtiesel2

Showing 4 responses by driver

Agree w/the above responses, however, a pair of Adcom 565 mono-blocks might work. I had the Kappa 8's paired w/the 565's & chose the 8's over the 9's based on my dealer's rec. (who is still in business!) so many yrs. ago. What, early to mid 80's? He said the same thing-the 9's were amp killers.

Being that the 565's are older models, they would prob. need a recap but you could fit all that in under budget. Since you're after loud, another solution might be to buy some pro audio amps, paying attention to how low they can go before clipping. There's a lot of crap on the market today, so go with a proven brand name that holds up.

A speaker change that might work for you is the VR4, which show up from time to time in your price range. They can play at sustained high SPL's & but they also need plenty of power to sound their best. I have horizontally bi-amped VR4 GenIII's and at the 12' mark could easily play them at 107 dB, which is loud enough to carry through the house. I want to add the caveat I was using Ayre's top two amps at the time & wouldn't attempt those levels with lesser electronics.

Something I just thought of. You could prob. buy a used PA system from somebody going out of the band or DJ biz & get your loud levels at $2500. Just search Craigslist under "DJ" and a whole page should pop up. I just checked & for $1k you can get something that will play loud.
Although some folks do get on here & brag about their gear, that's not what it's really all about. If that's your goal, I think you're going to be disappointed when you ask for advice, especially when you retort with, "thanks for your discouragement" and "Lets turn this into a naysayer-free zone plz".

Am I reading you correctly?
Hi Timlub-my previous comment was directed towards OP. IMO, he did not appreciate the "experience, suggestions, or words of wisdom", even though they were solicited.

Kind of surprising for a first time poster.
Hi Jtiesel2,

I was serious about using a pro audio amp. I don't know all the specs of all the units out there but I do know of 2k+ watt units that will easily play @ 2 ohms that sell new well under $2k.

I've used QSC amps for over 30 yrs, so they must be doing something right. That's but one suggestion.

Seriously, good luck with your search.