I'm the happy owner of two pairs of Kappa 9.2 and one pair of 8.2. I wish that more audiophiles will have the opportunity to listen these speakers, driven by a compatible, capable amplifier. One with high damping factor (over 1000 - 4000 being ideal), and able to support also to play in 2 Ohm without entering in protection. The listener will be amazed by the level of bass detail and precision - fluid, natural and 'meaty' midrange, clean and detailed highs. Will cover all music genre with brio. Guaranteed, no need for extra active subwoofer.
I love my Kappa 7.1 Series 2's. Had my Polydome's rebuilt be Paul LeGall, the Infinity speaker Guru @ at Miller Sound. They sound amazing! Driving them with a Fantasia Audio Upgraded Hafler DH-500 (QC-600). Perfect pairing.
That's awesome. I took a similar path, got some 8.1's super cheap, got the polydomes recovered and came across a DH-500 for $200. It seems perfect for the kappas, but i'd bet they'd be happier with just a bit more power.
I have a set of Kappa 9's the original ones and a set of IRS Beta's, run them every day, listening to them now, you really need to bi-amp them a 280 wrms Perreaux won't even drive the 9's. I suggest not even to be tempted to drive them hard, your amp WILL die. The switch on the back just puts a different resistance on the input, current limiting the speakers. Great speakers, rare in my country, I think these are the only pair in the island where I live. None of my polydomes have survived, would love to try some original or rebuilt ones, they seem to have disappeared as an option... I have spare emit k's... Thanks for the review, sad to see Arnie's legacy reduced to a joke.
Have had several pairs of these for years and i drive them with Adcom 300 watt per channel power amps and i have ran them hard for over 25 years and never had one problem.
The changes with a tube amp are quite high. Remember, more than 90% of vacuum tube amplifiers have an output transformer to block DC-in-flush current and avoid clipping. They should be used first with Infinity's rather than solid-state amps. I am going into development work the next years and I got the best results with tube amps. Even high-current solid state don't do it rather in base as well as on the mids and highs.
If you recommend to replace with a Scanspeak you should mention the drivers DO NOT MATCH in level, so you need a resistor network in addition........in the crossover, Otherwise a nice video with most of the info borrowed from the original commercial video by Infinity....But times have evolved and yes at the time they were clearly innovation drivers, but the others have copied and evolved the principles, so by the time you can get decent speakers with better technology for a comparable price.....to keep it fair. As for the low impedance the reach one could recommend amplifiers which do not burst at the first sight of them ;-) As for instance a Restek Mint, an amplifier without capacitors in the signal way and an overall feedback so frequency response is flat over the whole range and which keeps the internal resistance of the amplifier about 4Milli!Ohms and the damping factor very high. solong.
@@KITR-UK The 9.2i I am actually currently buying one in San Diego... It's the bigger brother of the 8.1 I got there is a significant weight difference too. it's why we have logistics issues we try to tackle. The 8.1i I got weights 85lbs each speaker The 9.2 weights a 165lbs each .. If you don't have the space stick with the 8 it won't disappoint at all. The 9.2 definitely buried the older kappa 9 I had. Hands down , it made me miss them so that's why I am looking for a pair again 😂 I sold the old 9 not once but 3 times I don't get those again . The series II is just the better kappa series IMHO
Some Infinity loudspeakers are great 9.2 is scrap! The older one 9a are much better. 8a great super... Renaissance 90 super and the Reference Standard and🎉🎉❤❤ Beta.
Totally don't agree I have both series complete the .2 series easily outdoes the older ones. The emit R is far superior over the older nudell ones. They are still being used by genesis today and implemented in their flagship (260k set priced prime) Then the mid-bass coupler is the same coupler (used in the 9.2 and 8.1/.2 ) used tin the Renaissance , Sigma,and flagship the 12k costing msrp epsilons. You call that scrap? You have absolutely no idea wtf you're taking about. I'll take that discussion all day. Both were build under the Harman kardon flag. Infinity was already taken over in 84 ish. Nudell kept operational control😢. In case of the series 2 Cary Christie designed those (co founder of infinity and was involved in every model they ever made) As nudell went on to full-time run genesis. The series 2 had the latest infinity drivers. And specd exactly the same.. I have the kappa 8 and 8.2 they spec identical on paper. The 8.2.buries the older 8 hands down The same we witnessed with the 6, 8,and the 9 . And that's all because there is a age gap and it was build with their last release driver revisions. You call that scrap?! Again to repeat myself here, you have no idea wtf you're talking about
The 9.2 arenot neutral. Disco loudspeaker... The workmanship is cheap. The 9s and 9a are worlds more neutral. They are demanding in terms of amplification, but tonally great... I like them better than Reference Standard... Almost 35 years ago I sold them to Hifi-Studio and loved them... Newer series are cheap junk....
Y@@normansteinbach2007 Lol again you have no clue wtf you're talking about my man. The old 9 weights 95 lbs the series II weights 165lbs each . Disco speaker roflmao! You never listened to them a/b I can already tell. They have better drivers than the older ones ! NVM dude you're clueless Cary Christie definitely designed a better kappa than the particle boarded old series I .. You're a dumbass trying to sound knowledgeable lol. Even the crossovers are superior to the older ones let alone build wise. The 9 is the worst kappa they ever made hands down, the k8 polygraph get snowed under easily buy the img cone mid bass coupler in the 8.1 and 9.2 they used the same driver in the Renaissance 90 (you love so much ) sigma and epsilons.c The emit R has a way better dispersion vs the older emit k fact. Better crossover design fact Better drivers (latest IMG drivers and emits) fact Same polydomes those are all "so so" ..you want to sell the idea Cary Christie designed worse kappas. Whenever you're in ga common over I'll let you listen to them both on an 200lbs class a/b amp and see if you're really that deaf haha. You sold them uh? No wonder you were a salesmen not a listener I can already tell my dude Yuck ....and the "newer series " would be the k500 and such not the series II that were both designed by INFINITY NOT HARMAN although they were both build under the Harman kardon umbrella company wise the series I and II . As I said you know very little about the brand . That much is obvious ..
@@normansteinbach2007 The k9.2i weights 164lbs each The series 1 k9 weights 100lbs each Older emits do NOT have the better horizontal and vertical dispersion vs the emit round leaf tweeters. It's why they were phased out because the emit R was the better tweeter. And still today is USED BY GENESIS! that's ran by Gary Koh, who bought genesis as they were filing for bankruptcy under nudells ownership. You know embarrassing little about the two speakers that much is clear. Or the brand in general haha... I won't even discuss your generic dumbassery up here my dude.
Probably someone who owned neither. I own the 9.1 Series II (9.2 in European markets), owned the Ren 90s, and of course the 9 Kappa. The 9.1 Series II are still the only ones with me today, of those speakers. The IRS Beta should not even be compared to any of the above. Just a much larger speaker in a totally different price point.
I'm the happy owner of two pairs of Kappa 9.2 and one pair of 8.2. I wish that more audiophiles will have the opportunity to listen these speakers, driven by a compatible, capable amplifier. One with high damping factor (over 1000 - 4000 being ideal), and able to support also to play in 2 Ohm without entering in protection. The listener will be amazed by the level of bass detail and precision - fluid, natural and 'meaty' midrange, clean and detailed highs. Will cover all music genre with brio. Guaranteed, no need for extra active subwoofer.
Great video!
It's such a shame what happened to Infinity.
I love my Kappa 7.1 Series 2's. Had my Polydome's rebuilt be Paul LeGall, the Infinity speaker Guru @ at Miller Sound. They sound amazing! Driving them with a Fantasia Audio Upgraded Hafler DH-500 (QC-600). Perfect pairing.
That's awesome. I took a similar path, got some 8.1's super cheap, got the polydomes recovered and came across a DH-500 for $200. It seems perfect for the kappas, but i'd bet they'd be happier with just a bit more power.
😊😊😊😊😊😊
Great looking speakers, kind of rare and hard to find
Another speakers I'd love to own for me only!
I have a set of Kappa 9's the original ones and a set of IRS Beta's, run them every day, listening to them now, you really need to bi-amp them a 280 wrms Perreaux won't even drive the 9's. I suggest not even to be tempted to drive them hard, your amp WILL die. The switch on the back just puts a different resistance on the input, current limiting the speakers. Great speakers, rare in my country, I think these are the only pair in the island where I live. None of my polydomes have survived, would love to try some original or rebuilt ones, they seem to have disappeared as an option... I have spare emit k's... Thanks for the review, sad to see Arnie's legacy reduced to a joke.
Scanspeak makes the polydome replacement, not sure about the quality though.
Have had several pairs of these for years and i drive them with Adcom 300 watt per channel power amps and i have ran them hard for over 25 years and never had one problem.
The changes with a tube amp are quite high. Remember, more than 90% of vacuum tube amplifiers have an output transformer to block DC-in-flush current and avoid clipping. They should be used first with Infinity's rather than solid-state amps.
I am going into development work the next years and I got the best results with tube amps. Even high-current solid state don't do it rather in base as well as on the mids and highs.
I have the same scales and i use them undet psb floor speakers
If you recommend to replace with a Scanspeak you should mention the drivers DO NOT MATCH in level, so you need a resistor network in addition........in the crossover, Otherwise a nice video with most of the info borrowed from the original commercial video by Infinity....But times have evolved and yes at the time they were clearly innovation drivers, but the others have copied and evolved the principles, so by the time you can get decent speakers with better technology for a comparable price.....to keep it fair. As for the low impedance the reach one could recommend amplifiers which do not burst at the first sight of them ;-) As for instance a Restek Mint, an amplifier without capacitors in the signal way and an overall feedback so frequency response is flat over the whole range and which keeps the internal resistance of the amplifier about 4Milli!Ohms and the damping factor very high. solong.
I prefer the Cary Christie 9.2 over the nudell 9 ..
I had them all, still have two kappa 8 and 8.1 (which also outdoes the old 8 easily in my ears)
What about 8.1 vs 9.2?
@@KITR-UK The 9.2i I am actually currently buying one in San Diego...
It's the bigger brother of the 8.1 I got there is a significant weight difference too. it's why we have logistics issues we try to tackle.
The 8.1i I got weights 85lbs each speaker
The 9.2 weights a 165lbs each ..
If you don't have the space stick with the 8 it won't disappoint at all. The 9.2 definitely buried the older kappa 9 I had. Hands down , it made me miss them so that's why I am looking for a pair again 😂
I sold the old 9 not once but 3 times I don't get those again . The series II is just the better kappa series IMHO
Damn, your English is tripping over your own accent(s).
Yeah, I know :)
Some Infinity loudspeakers are great 9.2 is scrap!
The older one 9a are much better. 8a great super... Renaissance 90 super and the Reference Standard and🎉🎉❤❤ Beta.
Totally don't agree I have both series complete the .2 series easily outdoes the older ones. The emit R is far superior over the older nudell ones.
They are still being used by genesis today and implemented in their flagship (260k set priced prime)
Then the mid-bass coupler is the same coupler (used in the 9.2 and 8.1/.2 ) used tin the Renaissance , Sigma,and flagship the 12k costing msrp epsilons.
You call that scrap?
You have absolutely no idea wtf you're taking about. I'll take that discussion all day.
Both were build under the Harman kardon flag. Infinity was already taken over in 84 ish. Nudell kept operational control😢. In case of the series 2 Cary Christie designed those (co founder of infinity and was involved in every model they ever made)
As nudell went on to full-time run genesis. The series 2 had the latest infinity drivers. And specd exactly the same..
I have the kappa 8 and 8.2 they spec identical on paper.
The 8.2.buries the older 8 hands down
The same we witnessed with the 6, 8,and the 9 .
And that's all because there is a age gap and it was build with their last release driver revisions.
You call that scrap?!
Again to repeat myself here, you have no idea wtf you're talking about
The 9.2 arenot neutral. Disco loudspeaker...
The workmanship is cheap.
The 9s and 9a are worlds more neutral.
They are demanding in terms of amplification, but tonally great...
I like them better than Reference Standard...
Almost 35 years ago I sold them to Hifi-Studio and loved them...
Newer series are cheap junk....
Y@@normansteinbach2007
Lol again you have no clue wtf you're talking about my man.
The old 9 weights 95 lbs the series II weights 165lbs each
.
Disco speaker roflmao! You never listened to them a/b I can already tell.
They have better drivers than the older ones !
NVM dude you're clueless Cary Christie definitely designed a better kappa than the particle boarded old series I ..
You're a dumbass trying to sound knowledgeable lol. Even the crossovers are superior to the older ones let alone build wise.
The 9 is the worst kappa they ever made hands down, the k8 polygraph get snowed under easily buy the img cone mid bass coupler in the 8.1 and 9.2 they used the same driver in the Renaissance 90 (you love so much ) sigma and epsilons.c
The emit R has a way better dispersion vs the older emit k fact.
Better crossover design fact
Better drivers (latest IMG drivers and emits) fact
Same polydomes those are all "so so" ..you want to sell the idea Cary Christie designed worse kappas.
Whenever you're in ga common over I'll let you listen to them both on an 200lbs class a/b amp and see if you're really that deaf haha.
You sold them uh? No wonder you were a salesmen not a listener I can already tell my dude
Yuck ....and the "newer series " would be the k500 and such not the series II that were both designed by INFINITY NOT HARMAN although they were both build under the Harman kardon umbrella company wise the series I and II .
As I said you know very little about the brand . That much is obvious ..
@@normansteinbach2007
The k9.2i weights 164lbs each
The series 1 k9 weights 100lbs each
Older emits do NOT have the better horizontal and vertical dispersion vs the emit round leaf tweeters. It's why they were phased out because the emit R was the better tweeter. And still today is USED BY GENESIS! that's ran by Gary Koh, who bought genesis as they were filing for bankruptcy under nudells ownership.
You know embarrassing little about the two speakers that much is clear. Or the brand in general haha...
I won't even discuss your generic dumbassery up here my dude.
Probably someone who owned neither. I own the 9.1 Series II (9.2 in European markets), owned the Ren 90s, and of course the 9 Kappa. The 9.1 Series II are still the only ones with me today, of those speakers. The IRS Beta should not even be compared to any of the above. Just a much larger speaker in a totally different price point.