Summary: I fell in love with these babies after my first listening session and purchased a pair brand new.Now 25 years later I own 2 sets.I keep them in pristine condition by using wood preservative once a year and using a special rubber preservative on the polydomes.Ive owned dozens of speakers and nothing quite does it for me like the kappa 9's.They always ran out of gas until I purchased the mcintosh mc1000 monoblocks.Incredibly ,these speakers will bury the meters at 4000 watt peaks on the 2 ohm posts. I have never damaged a driver in 25 years of hard listening and think most people hurt the drivers by clipping the amp.Nothing I've heard raises the hairs on the back of my head like these.You can find a set of used mc1000's on audiogon between 5K and 7K and it is worth every penny.
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Rating Reviewed by: David Sparks(Unregistered User)
(AudioPhile)
Review Date November 9, 2011
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Review 2 of 23
Price Paid:
$0.00
Summary: What can I say. I somehow talked my dad into buying these for me back in 1987. I don't know any other high school freshman that had more than a sony walkman. It was between these and a Polk Audio speaker that looked like a refrigerator box and had 12-16 speakers in it. While they looked impressive, they could not even come close to matching the Kappa 9's in audio performance.
They do need quite a bit of power - the early Carver amp that I had could not keep up. That meant blowing even more money at Magnolia Hi-Fi on the biggest Adcom amp that they had. I have had no issues since, even running at very high power levels.
I have had the woofers replaced and need to do it again, but thanks to a nice subwoofer I have been lax about that.
I don't have anything bad to say about the speakers other than durability. But compared to what I would have to spend on my other favorites, Vienna Accoustics, I can have these fixed numerous times and still save money!
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Summary: As others have said nothing I have heard at anywhere near the realistic price compares to these speakers.
The drawbacks are as was said the eat power, blow fuses and are a headache to drive with amps most people own. Hafler 500s bi-amped handle the job beautifully and even one 500 will get the job done.
The other and bigger problem is the poor support by Infinnity who no longer really exists. Woofers go way too fast. Mid ranges crack and die and no true replacement is available.
If you can put up with these problems it is difficult to find speakers that sound better. Now on my 3 replacement of the drivers and searching for a good poly dome replacement, I remain hopeful that I can continue to listen to the amazing sound they produce.
5 stars plus for sound
4 stars because of reliability and repair issues.
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I just got my Christmas present 2 days ago, and all I can say is WOW! I found these speakers in an obscure pawn shop in Carrollton Texas. They sat there for about a year collecting dust. I knew what they were from a audio shop that I bought my first set of " what I call my first set of good speakers" back in 1978. By the way the shop was called Audio Labs of Des Moines Iowa. The guy's name was Lewis that helped me with my purchase. Looking back now I'm sure he must have been gay. ( The only reason I'm Putting this in this review is if for some reason you read this Lewis, Jim never forgot you. Merry Christmas!) A pair of B n W DM 220's. I thought at the time I made a great choice. ( And I did for the money ) I looked at the Infinity's, But way out of my price range for the day. By the way, BnW's, Never a bad choice, They rocked !
Now that I'm looking at these magnificent speakers setting right next to me, all I can say is, awesome ! I'm not sure if it's just the size of these things, or the amount of driver's, the crossovers, or what, maybe the fact that they are handmade and tested like a fine automobile. But these have to be one of the best pair of speakers made. The sound, even at low levels is beautiful. I was lucky enough to get a pair in mint condition. All I can say is I feel sorry for the guy that had to give these up.
Now. The down side. Better get ready to shell out some $ on an amp, or 2, or 3, because like all the other reviews you have read. In order to make these things sing, you are going to need some juice ! I just hooked them up to "4" Hafler 220 amps. As you can guess, I am now a true AudioPhile.
Time to really kill you. Want to know what I paid for these babies after a year of sitting in a pawnshop ? $1000.00, $600.00, $499.00, $299.00 ? How about $ 90.00 for the pair ! God Loves Me !
Merry Christmas to all, and God Bless !
Having listened to these. I would have paid a $1000.00 at a pawnshop for them !
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Summary: I've had the Kappa 9s for about twenty years now and they still amaze me. I've bi-amped them with Sphinx amps (Project 14 stereo hybrid for the mid/highs and Project 12s for the bass system) after I ruined two heft Yamaha power amps on them. The difference is just mind blowing. Where the Yamaha was just to harsh, the Sphinxes are smooth as silk with a full and powerful bass, a very precise midrange and eerie highs.
I've recently changed from stereo (with Sphinx preamp and CD player) to a theater system with Rotel DVD player and the Rotel 1066 preamp. I've bought 8a's as surround speakers and Infinity's Kappa II centers (times 2) with Sphinx Project 12s and Rotels (bridged) to drive 'em. Though the set-up lost some of its clarity and definition with the introduction of the Rotel pre-am and DVD player, the overall sound/impression is just awsome. I now hardely ever listen to CD's any more - I'm hooked on the thrill of having a picture with the sound. And let's be honest: surround sound does add a jawdropping dimension to live concerts!
In short: I just LOVE my Infinity 9s and wouldn't wanna part with 'em for any other system I've heard. I've recently listened to a costly Martin Logan set-up and yes, they're super. But they lack the dynamic power of the 9s. A friend of mine has a hefty system based on wall-to-wall Klipsch speakers and he's still not talking to me because I said it lacked definition as compared to the Infinities. Well, that's what I think at least.
PROS: clarity, oomph and magnificent definition.
CONS: no good when other components aren't up to the job or at least up to par, really.
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5 of 5
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