SleeperSupra

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The more I listen the more I really love these speakers!!! The best bang for the buck out there. The Kappa 8.2i Series II has it all in spades. High end sparkle from the excellent Kappa-R tweeters, coherent and life like mids from the Polydome midrange drivers, fast articulate midbass snap from the 6" Injection Molded Graphite driver, and great deep yet fast sounding lows from the 12" IMG woofer.

Just as good through the midrange as Thiel CS2's yet much better lows and highs. Sounds like Quads or Martin Logans with much better dynamics.

These speakers are VERY power hungry. You really need around 350 watts per channel of good clean high current power for the speakers to open up and sound their best. This is a VERY honest and revealing speaker so the best possible equipment in the signal chain is a must. Bad recording will end up in your car and good ones will sound amazing!!!

With the right equipment this speaker will rival ANY new speaker on the market under $5,000.00

Archie Henderson

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Infinity Dealer

Summary:
Where do I start? I've owned the 8.1's for almost 13 yrs. I have never thought of replacing or upgrading them. These speakers give me everything I want. Soundstage, Depth, Spacing, etc....
You won't find these for sale too often because thay are keepers! If you do find a pair for sale and are in good shape I can highly recommend them.
The music I listen to is a wide variety, pop, rock, blues, easy listening, folk and the Kappa's play them all in spades. You will need to have a amplifier(s) with high current and at least 100 watts to enjoy the low level detail. You can also crank it up with these speakers. I've owned and had the following amps over the years hooked up to the Kappa's. Yamaha MX1, Adcom 555II, Adcom 5800, Adcom 5500, Adcom 5802, Anthem Amp1, Aragon 8008BB, Musical Fidelity M250's and my favorite for over a year is the PS Audio HCA-2 ! I have found my audio nirvana ! Mated with a VTL TL 2.5 tube preamp amp and Audio Alchemy DDE V1.1 DAC. The HCA-2 (150 watts per channel) drives the Kappa's with ease.

Strengths:
Every thing you could ask in a speaker. Bottom end, Mid's, Highs the Kappa's have it all.

Weaknesses:
NONE

Similar Products Used:
All of the above.

muziekfreak

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Belgium

Summary:
Dear audiofriends I have the kappa 8.2i since a few days now. I was stunned of this newer kappa series. A little year back [see review on this site] i had the kappa 9 [the old classic]the flat one..these speakers are truly a piece of art. I'm as you can understand not a stranger with the kappa sound. But the series 2 my god what a bassrepsons! I have the european model [this means basreflex on the back] The american version is closed. THis is a little weakness with the 8.2i i'ts a little to much bass for a smaller room,but easy to solve tho use a bundle of straws,yes those things you drink your coke with. And filled it up. This changes the flow of the reflex and a more better/smoother low region preformance you get. Everything is perfect..the do'nt need as much power as the classic kappa series [the 9 dips @33hz 0,8ohm!] that was a pure ampkiller the 9 this one can be driven with little less expensive amps,i use the vincent sp991 monaural 100w class A amps so power is not a issue in my setup. I bought these in mint condition k8.2i for a real LOW price 500euro!!

Strengths:
Bass,clarity,polydome preformance [like in the k9] Magnificent unit

Weaknesses:
The srong point is the weakpoint at the same time sometimes to much bass [boomy bass]But thats not the speaker but room. So the need alot of spacing. Only for bassreflex models of the kappa

Similar Products Used:
Driade 103 mkII,Infinity reference 11i,Infinity Kappa 9,Visaton DSM Atlas mkII,Synthese 3,and now the Infinity Kappa 8.2i

Price Paid:  $1450.00 from Hifi Store

Summary:
I have bought the speakers in 1996 using all my money as a student for my dream: a pair of Kappas. First using a Kenwood amp I was impressed by the sound, but the bass was without any control. I asked in a hifi store and I was told the amp was bad. I bought a Rotel 980 pre and two 980 power amps! No the Kappas rock. Precise bass immense drive, absolutely clear sound. The more power they get the better they sound.

Strengths:
bass, volume, clear sound with good amps

Weaknesses:
need powerful amps

Similar Products Used:
Kappas run with 2 Rotel 980 amps, a Marantz 67 SE CD Player, Project 1 LP, and MIT 4 Cable.

Price Paid:  $1100.00

Summary:
This is an updated review of the Infinity Kappa 8.1. I was thinking to replace this Kappa for quite a few months. However, after going through several auditions on the Quad 988, Infinity Sigma, and Avalon Eidolon, I decided to keep the Kappa. Instead of spending thousands of dollars to upgrade the speaker, I changed the two sets of interconnect cables from Kimber Hero XLR to Granite Audio #470 XLR. The #470 cables really give a second life to the Kappa. The bass is as solid as from the Sigma - tight and clean. Its mid range is as dynamic as the Quad. Although its soundstage is not as good as the Eidolon, it is not too far behind, especially in considering the Eidolon costs over $20K/pair. I expect the quality of sound will be greatly improved after the burning in of cables. With the right system, the Kappa is as good as any speaker that costs 3 or 4 times its MSRP. If you can get the Kappa under a thousand dollars, it will be a steal.

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