Price Paid:  $2200.00 from Stockholm

Summary:
This is just a supplement to my last review, with some corrections.
It is a couple of years ago since I wrote it, and a lot has happened. I have learned a great deal, and tried a lot of equipment.

I now have my third pair of Kappa 9.2i, these ones are in beautiful black finish. (The other two pairs I have had was oak)Since my last review, I have purchased and tested both Infinity Renaissance 90LE, Infinity Kappa 9a,Dali Helicon 800 and the ultra large and expensive Usher Compass Dancer CP 8872.(11.000 USD)
Non of these speakers can can match the Kappa 9.2i. The closest ones were the old 9`s, but in my room the 9.2i was clearly better, deeper bass response, cleaner bass, more neutral and coherent top end. The Dali speakers was also good, but lack real deep bass. But with a good subwoofer or two they should be fine!
All the other speakers are now sold, and my third pair of 9.2i is the only ones left standing after this 2 year long "shootout" The only speaker I have heard that I like more is the Revel Salon Ultima, but I don`t want to spend that much. And I doubt they would make me more happy, only more poor...
In my last review I wrote the following: "It delivers 11 hz - 6 dB, 16 hz - 3 dB and 27 hz - 1 dB"
Now I have discovered the world of good subwoofers, and clearly these informations are wrong. The Kappas deliver 27 hz -2 dB, and in my room they play 25 hz linear. But thats it, they roll off quite steep and do not deliver anything worth mentioning below 25 hz.
But my SVS subwoofers does :-)
I have a PB2+ and a PC2531+, they are amazing and delivers powerful clean bass to down to 16, 20 or 25 hz depending on how you tune them. My choice is 20 hz, incredibly low and with great punch. ( I have heard and owned a lot of subs now, SVS is in a class of their own, highly recomended!)

I have a YBA Passion stereo power amp now(114 pounds net weight), it is a masterpiece and drives the Kappas to their limits effortless. But at the price of 10.000 USD it should :-)
The top-end with this amp is much better than with my previous amps, no fatigue.

Together with my SVS subs the Kappa 9.2i delivers world class performance. I have been at hifi shows the last week, listening to B&W 800 Signature, JBL K2 S 9800 and other expensive speakers driven by ultra expensive Mcintosh and Classe`amps. Non of these setups comes close to my own, not only according to me but also according to friends that have listened to my setup and the other setups mentioned.
I am also a great enemy of expensive cables, I use normal good cables and the result is great. But I guess I will buy some expensive stuff when I get more cash, just for fun :-)
Now I am going home to unpack my new JMLab Micro Utopia Be that will be used in my new room in a second setup :-)

Strengths:
Strengths:
Great soundstage, just sound so right!
See more details in my previous review.

Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:
See my previous review. The Emit R tweeter limits max dB output, but they play loud enough anyway (118 dB basspunch measured at 3 meters)
Bass could be a tad cleaner, but still top notch performance and great fun!
If you use these speakers with good subwoofers I recomend to put the bass switch to the "Normal" setting, the bass then gets tighter and cleaner, and the subs take care of sub bass much better than the Kappas do in extended bass mode. And the amplifier can relax more:-)

Similar Products Used:
Similar Products Used:
Infinity Renaissance 90, Infinity KAppa 9a, Usher CP 8872, Dali Helicon 800, B&W 800 Matrix, Legacy Signature III,

View Comments (1)

Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 from nor radio

Summary:
Bought these beauties in 1996, the salesperson tried to make me buy the 8.2i because they were easier to drive. But I didnt like the sound of the Kappa 8.2i when compared them to the 9.2i, no match at all !The bottom octaves are reproduced so much more natural and effortless by the 9.2i than any other speaker I have heard, and this is what makes the whole soundstage so natural and beautiful. The mids and top is also very natural and much better than any other speaker I have brought home to test. I would gladly buy some better speakers if somebody made them, but so far I have only been disappointed, but of course happy too.Its a true full range speaker. It delivers 11 hz - 6 dB, 16 hz - 3 dB and 27 hz - 1 dB.The B&W Matrix 801 s2 also have a very deep sub bass reproduction, (20 hz - 2 dB)but can not play very loud compared to the Kappa 9.2i. My brother have a pair of 801, but even powered with his Chord 1200 C (10.000 USD/315 watts into 8 ohms)they can not produce the wanted SPL when he have a party.
I am so happy that I bought the 9.2i, it has been so much fun to use them every day and always trying to improve their performance by changing to a better amp. I started with a Kenwood 2X150 watt integrated amp, it was not at all suitable for the task, bass was not tight. Next was a NAD 218, and it worked very well for the price with good woofer control. From this amp on I have enjoyed the speakers 100 %.My first hi end amp was a Nakamichi PA-7 mk2.(225 watt 8 ohms/ 30 kg) This was really beautiful, the speakers were singing like never before, this amp opened up the speakers and both mail and female voices came out in the room with a presence I had never heard before. Only problem was that they could not control the woofers. Their powersupply is only 700 VA, so together with some more powerful amp to drive the woofers its the perfect amp to use in biamp mode. I also tried a ML 333 but it was a huge disappointment compared to the price. I also tried the Meridian 557, but it went into hardclipping when I turned up the volume, so it was really running out of power, very disappointing.
After using the Nakamitchi for a year , I replaced it with Carver X-760 a. It was very strong (380 watts 8 ohms and more than 600 watts in 4 ohms) But it ran hot and shut off every time I had a party. The sound was very good, but the woofer control even much better than the Naka only at appr. 90 %. So I bought a Parasound HCA 3500. Almost as good as the Nakamitchi in the top, and with fantastic woofer control. This amp made the speakers perform very well, and never ran too hot, even if it is always very hot because it is biased into class A up to 15 watts. I would recomend this amp to anyone, its a 36 kg monster with 350 watts into 8 ohms and 500 watts into 4 ohms. Recently I sold it and bought a new one. First I tried Sunfire Signature, it is on paper the best amp for these speakers. 600 / 1200 / 2400 / 4000 watt into 8/4/2/1 ohms. But it did not deliver the slam in the mid bass and bass that I loved so much with the Parasound. It could play even louder, but without delivering the slam it is also a much easier job for the amp. I ended up with Vincent 991 monoamps, 30 kg pr piece,100 watt class A, 365 watts RMS into 8 ohms and 620 watts RMS into 4 ohms measured. Now the speakers perform as never before. After 100s of hours
of break in the sound is to good to be true. Playing Eva Cassidy or Norah Jones its just like they are standing in the middle of my living room, and all nuances of their voices can be heard so clearly its realy scary !! James Taylors new October Road and his two live DVDs are also awesome, really displaying the fantastic soundstage of these speakers. Play Pearl Harbor or Star Wars episode 2 and you can make the whole house shake like crazy !! And with a lot more slam than a subwoofer gives. Its a pity they were never sold in the US. This week I am buing a pair of Renaissance 90. I will get back after comparing.

Strengths:
-Beautiful tight natural crystal clear sound. Compared to the midrange of my neighbors Dahlquist or my brothers B&W Matrix 801 they are still standing tall....
-Big and beautiful 150 cm with Electrocompaniet spikes mounted.
Fantastic design and finish !
-The ability to reproduce everything thrown at them, including heavy bass at high volumes perfectly reproduced without distortion. Perfect for both hifi and home cinema, no need for a subwoofer.
-Possibility to adjust midrange and tweeter to fit room acoustics and other parts of your equipment and cables.
-A switch at the back of the speaker can be placed in "Normal bass responce mode" if you dont have a powerful amp, so they can still be enjoyed to 90 %. You will loose some of the bass response that make them so special though. Efficiency at 89 dB.
So tall that your kids cant see the XXX rated movies lying on top of them....:-)
-Very affordable in the second hand market

Weaknesses:
-Needs a very powerful amp with the ability to handle impedance dips below 1 ohm if you want them to perform to 100 %. But I will say its much better with a real full range speaker with a too small amp than a huge amp with small speakers. The last choice would be like having a beautiful woman with perfect C or D cup breast, but with no body at all from her waist and down.....doesnt sound so good to me...
Low WAF, but dont ask !!

Similar Products Used:
B&W 801 Matrix s2, Kef Ref. 4, Dynabel Euforia, Audio Physics Virgo

Price Paid:  $630.00 from private

Summary:
Ich benutze die Kappa 9.2 als Front-LS in meinem Surround-System. Natürlich bleibt mir da nichts anderes übrig als Bi-Amping zu betreiben. Erstrecht, weil ich als Rear-LS die Kappa 8.1 habe und als Center den Kappa Center B. Ich muss sagen, daß ich noch nie zuvor ein solches tolles und absolut überzeugendes "Surround-Set" gehört habe. Wie sich die Kappa 9.2 im Stereo-Betrieb verhalten brauch ich wohl kaum zu erzählen, einfach waaaaaaahnsinn!

Strengths:
- gewaltiger und trockener Bass
- klare und detailreiche Mittenauflösung
- sehr detaillierte Höhen
- toller räumlicher Klang, sehr dynamische
- 1-A Design, sehr groß!

Weaknesses:
- ziemlich hohes Anspruchsniveau an den Amp

Summary:
I have been an avid audiophile all my life. I have taken the time to research the best components available for the price I could afford and to accomplish the best sound stage I could in my home system. Ten years ago, I was in the military and stationed in Weisbaden, West Germany. The Military Exchange concession in a nearby town called Mainz, was the largest sales outlet in Europe. This sales outlet had a stereo sales department that took up an entire floor of a warehouse. All the brand names were there. I listened to speakers made by Polk, Accoustic Research, Yamaha, Pioneer, Infinity, and many others. I decided to buy the Infinity Kappa 9.2i speakers for my home stereo system. I have never regretted doing so. I got a pair of Kappa 9.2i's for $2695.00! What a steal!
The Kappa 9.21 speakers are a true four-way system. They each have two 12 inch L/C tuned woofers that take bass response down to 16 Hz and have quite a punch. You'll not need a sub-woofer at all with these speakers. The EMIT supertweeter has an impressive octave dipersion with response way past 40kHz. The crossover system used in the Kappa 9.2i speakers helps prevent voice coil heat problems. I have gone through quite a few amplifiers in trying to find the right one to drive these very power hungry speakers. I first used a Yamaha
MX-1000 amplifier. It worked fine but my speakers could handle much more power and would sound much better. I then bought two Cinepro 600X2 amplifiers and bi-amped the Kappa 9.2i's. Well the Cinepro amps put out 528 continuous watts per channel a 4 ohms but they simply did not have the dynamic headroom to power the Kappa 9.2i's and the speakers clipped the Cinepro Amps. These speakers can place a power demand on an amplifier that is as low as 0.9 ohms! So, I turned to a Sunfire Signature Power Amplifier that puts out 1200 continuous watts per channel a 4 ohms, 2400 continuous watts per channel at 2 ohms, and a massive 4000 watts per channel at 1 ohm! The Infinity Kappa 9.2i speakers handled this massive power and really sounded fantastic. These reference standard speakers are not manufactured any longer by Infinity. Some other speaker company bought Infinity out and the line of speakers currently made by Infinity simply does not match performance potential that Infinity had before the buy out. I will say that if you ever have the chance to buy a pair of these Infinity Kappa 9 speakers, don't think twice about it. These speakers are the finest ever made, will give your stereo system a massive improvement, and will lead you to wish they were still available on the market. I give these speakers five stars and more!

Summary:
As I mentioned in my earlier review, the pre-amp I was using was not up to the rest of the system. That was rectified just a short while ago when I replaced the old Denon with a Sonic Frontiers Line 2.
This upgrade has allowed me to hear even better things from the Kappa 9.2's.

I also aquired an Infinity SSW-212 subwoofer in the last while too. It is a great peice too, but it proved how little an improvement a sub could make with the Kappas. It is nice for use with the home theatre stuff, but completely not needed.

Unfortunately these speakers are now discontinued, but if anyone can pick up a deal on a closeout sale or a good used pair, I don't think anyone could go wrong.

Look for my upcoming review on the SFI Line 2 in the next while if it is a pre-amp that may be of interest to you.

Happy Listening!