Help power pair of Infinity Kappa 9's please

Pick up second-hand 4 Crown XLS 1500 Class D Pro Amp. I can drive my Kappa 8’s with those all day and night without any problems and they sound very tube-like. They work on the 9’s as well. Don’t even get hot.

Pure power is what the Kappas need. And when they get that power all the drivers vanish! It sounds like the air is vibrating itself, like the gentle winds and sudden gusts of Autum. They can sound a lot like electrostatics. And you can get very tuneful, fast, authoritative stereo bass that would put any lone subwoofer to shame! It’s incredible! 

You could probably also use two Carver Signature Sunfires—one for treble and mids and one for bass. I believe that is called vertical bi-amping. I have one Signature Sunfire that I plug in as my back up amp. It is an arch welder. An audio bazooka!

In the last two weeks my Kappa 8’s appear to have trashed two BAT power amps and one Spectron Musician. I am not happy.

I love my 8’s and 7’s. The 9’s (I have too) their physical size and driver height is not suitable for most rooms and most homes do not have the right power runs to power amplifiers that can drive them.

Maybe it’s time to go back to JBL’s?

If you are looking for holographic spatial cues and full frequency extension, what speakers are an easier to drive ‘upgrade’ from the Kappa 8’s?

Not to be snarky, but a lot.  Vandersteen, Vortex Acoustics by Von Schweikert, Ascend Acoutics, Philharmonicaudio, magnepans with a subwoofer, and Salk Sound are a few that pop to mind immediately. There are dozens if not hundreds of options that will be easier to drive and sound as good, if not better. 

I would appreciate specific models of speakers that are upgrades from the Kappa 8’s.  Killing three expensive amps in two weeks is too much.

What is your budget?  Adjusting for inflation would put them at about $4300 new today.  In that same price range, or lower:

Vandersteen 2CE Signature II- $2,700
Magnepan .7 ($1400) plus Rythmik F12 ($1000)-= $2400
Vortex Acoustics VR-33- $3,750
Revel F36- $2000
Philharmonic 3- $3500
Salk Sound Song 3a- $2995
Ascend Acoustics Sierra Tower- $1998

All the above are new prices.  Used you can get better deals or move up in the range (i.e. Vandersteen 3A Sig, Magnepan 1.7).  The above are just a few of the excellent choices available.  The 8s were IMHO, not anything amazing.  Pretty good sounding, but not fabulous.  You really have to spend some time listening to see what you like.  All of the above are great speakers, and there are dozens more.  The issue is what you like.  Some will like all on the list, some will some and hate others, some will hate them all.  It is very personal.