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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 7 responses by mitch4t

mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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Your budget is waayy too low to power the Kappa 9. They need more power than you are willing to spend. The kappas will play extremely loud, you just need to bi-amp them. I have four pair of Kappa 9. I bi-amp them with Carver Silver 9t monoblocs and they sing their hearts out. If you can't afford to bi-amp them, there's no point in owning them. Kappa 8.1 or Kappa 7.1 will be a better fit and they will sound really good in a room your size and won't be nearly as difficult to power as the Kappa 9. On resale, you won't get the $2k you mentioned, it will be more like $1200.
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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I also said you need to bi-amp the Kappa 9, meaning that you would need TWO pair of the monoblocs, two monoblocs per speaker. That would put you at $3k just for amps. You still need a preamp and a DAC. As I said, way above your budget.

Cajunpepe, yes, a single pair of Carver monoblocs won't get you optimum results, but two pair in a vertical biamp configuration is just the ticket.
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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Jtiesel2, if you can store them until you are ready to power them with sufficient amps,you will be greatly rewarded by their sound. When powered correctly and matched with an excellent preamp and source, they are sublime. I own four pair of them. Hang on to yours, you won't be disappointed.
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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Steakster, I also own two of the Sunfire Signature amplifiers. It will power the Kappa 9 sufficiently, but not optimally. I put two of the Sunfire Signatures on the Kappa 9 in a vertical biamp configuration and it takes the listening experience to a whole 'nother level.

I put a pair of my Pass Labs X-600 monobloc beasts on the Kappa 9 they didn't get it done, I needed two pair of the Pass beasts to get the speakers to wake up and sing.

The bottom line here is that the Kappa 9 need gobs of power for optimum results.

JT, get rid of them and get the Kappa 8.1 or 7.1 and you'll be much happier and save yourself some money in the process. The Kappa 9 are waaay too much for a room your size.
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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All that aside about the Kappa9 being amp killers and being poorly designed, I'm so enamored by them that I own four pair of them. If you put a killer preamp in front of them with a good source and the appropriate bi-amplification, you have yourself an outstanding speaker. They are not a speaker to own if you are not willing to amplify them properly. If you can amplify them properly, they are keepers for life. Big, beautiful and they sound outstanding when done right.

But, you can always ignore the naysayers here and try it for yourself and come to your own conclusion. If you try it and are successful, you should come back to this forum and post your findings. As a matter of fact, if you are not successful, you should post those findings also.
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
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check eBay...they have them all the time
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mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,602 posts
 
You need amps with more testicular fortitude.
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