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Kappa 9. Parasound HCA-3500 WILL NOT power them

I purchased a pair of Infinity Kappa 9's a few weeks ago. I had the Infinity RS3A's and decided to sell them and upgrade to the Kappa's. I first hooked them to one of my Denon POA-2400 200wpc amps. Not enough power. So posted this problem on here and after some research I decided on the Parasound HCA-3500 350wpc dual mono amp. So I bought one from a real nice guy here on audiogon. I hooked it up last night and this thing won't power them! The amp gets real hot fast. It clips when turned up and the speakers sound like crap. We hooked up a pair of Infinity SM-152's to a Denon POA-1500 150wpc amp next to all this and it sounds better! Also, I think I blew one of the soft poly mid-ranges. The yellowish white rubber on the mids turned clear around the outter edges after listening to moderatly loud music. I'm really frusterated. Three thousand dollars later my stereo sounds way worse and I can't turn it up as loud as I used to. Does anyone have any advise? Could there be a short in the speakers? Why did my midrange blow? What amp should I buy now?
400bill

Showing 1 response by heyjay

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heyjay
16 posts
 
Hi, I would check your midrange controls as they might have burned.
Try this URL for a PDF of the schematic: http://www.infinity-classics.de/infinity/technik/manuals/Kappa_9_technical_sheet.pdf
I believe that removing the huge series cap and shunt coil they have coming into the woofer curcuit would cure this speaker's famous bad reputation. I've removed them from several Infinity models (Delta/Gammas, RS II's, RS 4.5's) and it really helps the amp and to me, makes the bass a bit more quick and clean. Typically, amps hate capacitance. JAY
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