they never had deep ,deep bass, i know now that i have a subwoofer. but i am very happy with the sound.

no deep bass

I HAVE HAD THESE KAPPA 9S SINCE 1988 AND I LOVE THEM. BUT THE WOOFERS foam surround dissintegrated. i had someone local replace the foam surrounds and he did , and i lost my bass, but gained a new sound, but bass free. so i bought a sub and wow, i have a new system. its like i have great satelite speakers with a subwoofer. but what happened to my bass. did the repairman replace the foam too tight or did he louse up the polarity? well sinc i am using thje sub i dont mind ,but where is my bass from the kappas.?anyone know. i spoke to people at infinity and they didnt help.also i cant beleive that they are better than irs epsilons that are bi-wired. thanks,allan

Customer Service

where did the bass go after foam surrounds were replaced

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threshold stasis 500, and fet-9 pre-amp, monstern cable m-1 speaker cable.

They can handle ant amp, crisp clear highs and deep low bass. They make the music sound like if there right in front of you.

The only thing is that there big. My wife calls them the coffins, she said were going to be buried in them when we die. And yes if your amp isnt at least 350 plus watts per then you really wont be driving them to there FULL potential.

These speakers just sound great ! Purchased them reconed, needed 1 poly speaker but purchased 2 from a company in california. Was easy to install. The sound stage is like nothing i heard before.

Customer Service

I have found parts easy to come by on ebay

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None

Clarity,staging,bass-respons...just everything is good at this speakers sound unbelievable...but there are some points

0,8 ohm dropping...yes this is a very hard to drive speaker...better yet THE most difficult speaker to drive. Back in the day the were called "AMPKILLERS" Beware of that! You will need a very stable [BI]amp to drive them. The foam-surroundings of the woofers are eaten away afer a 10 a 15 years. Iff you can buy one now the will be eaten away..You can let them be fixed at audiolab or a other speakerrepair store The are heavy about 90kg per speakers [mine are 115kg with mods :-] atleast bargain 2 friends and yourself to carry them.

Well first of all i want to say that i`m a real Infinity Classic Freak :-] These speakers are the works. The staging is very good of these k9`s, not so suprising because the are [half] di-pole speakers, more than 50% of the frequentierange comes out the back of the speaker. The Polydome and Polygraph are very fast! This was a feature that i never had heard with other speakers when i first heard these k9`s. Iff you putt on some music with a Gitar or Harp like: Andreas volleweider or Mike oldfield. You can hear every snare been touched, very nice The Emit-Semit Well these high-units are the best! I think that only a other ribbon-tweeter can be compared to these units. A normal dome [metal/vinyl/ectra] tweeter can not even come close to the preformance of the Emit en S-emit units! Clarity beyond believe when i heard them for the first time. The IMG woofers The 2x12"woofers are very good in giving a punch you will be shocked of the air these babys move in your room! I listen in "Normal-mode" I can drive them in "Extended" with no problems...but its just to much bass for my room :-] Plus in normalmode the woofers are more tight. Even with the lowest frequentie the room will shake and the woofers barely move[!!!] Great bass respons...and very tight. The looks are just as impressive, as the preformance the give. The speakers are large....very large [Meters] 1m 50cm high! Not a small boy at all. I like big speakers so for me it`s not a problem...but i can imagine that your wife don`t want them in her house. Here`s a tip to convince her: Let them put a 2mtr high speaker in the store and beside this speaker the kappa 9. Then let her choose between these two speakers ;-] Following issue the are heavy...approx: 90kg so please invited some friends to help you placing them...give them beer that does the trick ;-] Well what can i say more...every speaker has it badsides and upsides. Even the most expensive speakers that we have on this planet called earth. I can telle you one thing the kappa 9 deserves the title as a True Reference Speaker. No question about that. I have them about a year now Mine are modified to the extreme :-] I can`t bare the thought ever losing them....iff i buy a other speaker i will never sell these speakers to the highest bidder or anything like that. No i will create a second set with it. These k9`s are allready collectors-items...and very wanted by other Audio-freaks. Iff you can buy them just BUY them! PS: READ THE WEAKNESS TEXT UNDER THIS REVIEW...before you buy

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Voorversterker:Sphinx Project 2 MKII Eindversterkers:Sphinx Project 12 [Monoblokken] Cd Speler:Sphinx Project Nine [GEMODIFICEERD MODEL] Interlinks van Voorversterker naar Eindversterkers:MI-330 series 2 [MIT] Interlinks van Voorversterker naar Cd speler:SiltechFTM4 Gold Speakerkabel:AudioQuest Sterling2 Hyperlitz [Twisted Bi-wire] Speakers Infinity Kappa 9 RS [GEMODIFICEERD MODEL]

Truly smooth wideband response with seamless integration - coherent, transparent, realistic muscial presentation with real power, weight and dynamics. Excellent imaging and soundstaging in the planer speaker class. Very well built and finished and look great. Produce great music and can be listened to for long periods without inducing fatigue - remind me of full ramge Apogees in many ways (and that is a compliment) but with more "oomph"

Not much and in common with many other hi-end speakers of their era - require a bit of time to adjust to system/room - wide range of adjustment controls could become a distraction - find what works and forget/leave alone and just concentrate on the music! Require excellent and hugely capable partnering equipment - bi-amping probably a must to get the best out of them. Will reveal weaknessss in the audio chain. Need space to breath. I guess driver deterioration and replacement may be an issue of concern.

The price I paid is in GBP as I'm in the UK. This a quick and initial review of a pair of Infinity Kappa 9 speakers that I have just got hold of. I've had Infinity speakers in past - RSIIIam Kappa 5, Modulus. I've also had a wide range of other speakers, with particular faves being Apogees full range ribbon speakers - Stages and Duetta Sigs. I currently also have pairs of Perigee FK1, Yamaha NS1000M and ProAc Response 1SC speakers. This is just to provide some context. I have to say that I am mightily impressed by the Kappa 9s (these have had the foam surrounds on the woofers replaced btw). They take a bit of adjustment and playing around with to get the right in-room and equipment related balance, and those adjustment knobs I fear could become an awful distrction from just sitting down and enjying the music, but they do sound very very good indeed. Here is a classic hi-enf refernce speaker - a true wide-bandwidth design that offers superb resolution with exceptional smoothness in response indicating, as previously stated, excellent and seamless driver integration - the bass is deep and tight in my set-up (bi-amping with a pair of C-J EV2000 amps which deliver oodles of current) and besides I don't really listen at especially high SPLs. No subwoofer required. The mids and highs are natural, exquisitely detailed and truly extended. I was surprised to read the comments about these speakers being "bright" without tweaking - I don't find this the case myself and in fact love the transparency and sparkle that the speakers offer via its front and rear firing EMITs and single SEMIT, coupled to the midrange domes. I find them to be beautifully balanced once adjusted correctly. I'd also agree with previous reviewers about the staging - they offer a very broad stage in terms of width, height and depth and this compares well to Apogees (which are renowned for this). They really do remind me of panel speakers in terms of presentation but with more weight/punch and extension at the frequency extremes. I'd suggest these really can compare well against modern day references and are a brilliant used buy if you can partner them with the necessary top-drawer and adequately powerful eqipment and accomodate them space-wise - mind you they actually have a pretty small footprint. They do also look gorgeous (mine are in oak). These really are superb speakers and at the prices they sell for now must be viewed as something of an audiophile bargain given how well they compare against contemporary designs.

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Infinity RSIIIa; Apogee Stages; Magneplaner 2.5R; Apogee Duetta Sigs; Yamaha NS1000M; Perigee FK1

smooth, great presense, great looking, still competent with today's best.

woofer surrounds eventually need replacing; need powerful amp that will handle low impedances; I have used the Sunfire Signature for a year with no problems. My Adcom 565s were inadequate.

As the other reviewers attest, hard to beat these speakers in performance or appearance; I have the rosewood Santos version. Use Kappa 6 for surround and center channels. Great sound, both for home theater or serious listening. Turned tweeter control down, used felt.

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Polk

Bass, Image, Power output, seamlessly integrated sound

Needs really expensive power amp to realize its potential due to extremely low impeadance in the low bass range.

My review below is based on the assumption that you have the correct equipment, placement, etc. to obtain the best sound out of these speakers. The original Infinity Kappa 9's were produced, I believe in 1988 / 89. They are one of the finest speakers I have ever heard. Their frequency response is totally peak free. The integration of the drivers is seamless. In fact, the sound that eminates from these reminds me of a truly great planar speaker such as the Magnepan 3.6 QR. Seamless with no hints of narrow spectrum peaks. They also present a very wide, deep, high soundstage that in many cases extends significantly beyond the placement locations of the left and right speakers. This sound stage presentation combined with their very wide frequency response and power handling capabilities yields an amazingly powerful sound image. In fact, this is one of the few speakers that can credibly reproduce the size and power of an orchestra in your room. At the same time, though, these speakers can produce the definition and specificity of placement such that small ensembles feel almost in the room with you. The seamless midrange makes both male and female voices sound amazing. Like you could reach out and touch them. The bass response of these speaker is something to be reckoned with if you have the right amp. There is a certain point in the bass range where these speakers present a 0.8 ohm impeadance to the amp. Most amps will just shut off, lesser amps may go up in smoke, literally. I originally tried a Counterpoint SA-220 power amp with these but no dice. At any realistic listening level, any bass note below 35 Hz caused the Counterpoint to go into protection mode and shut off. You have to have an amp that can handle 2 ohm loads almost continuously and can handle occasional drops to that below 1 ohm range in order for these speakers to sound really great. This is one of the few speakers that I have heard that challenge the Magnepan 3.6 QR's and given their bass response and easier placement, may actually be better than the Maggies.

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Magnepan Tympani IV's' Acoustic Research AR-9's

Fantastic speakers, open mids and tight punchy bass. Looks great. Very low second hand prices.

To much treble, but easy to tweak with felt. Needs monster amplifier, the impedance dips to 0.8 ohm at 33 hz and 0.9 ohms at 7000 hz, I have the curve if anyone wants to see.

The other posts says the most, fantastic speakers but neads tweaking to dampen the treble, the felt over the EMITs is a good tweak. Tight punchy bass and midbass, very open mids and voices comes through beautiful and clear. Big soundstage that very few speakers can produce.These speakers are good with all types of music, and very good for movies too. They can play at least 130 dB, maybe even 140+! Bought these speakers after having Kappa 9.2i and Renaissance 90 for many years. Then after testing a while I bouht a pair of Kappa 9.2i again and tested them head to head with the Kappa 9 for three full weeks. The result was that I sold the old Kappa 9 and kept the newer Kappa 9.2i. They are actually very very similar in sound, but the 9.2i has got the treble right, needs no tweak, and the bass goes clearly deaper and is slightly cleaner. Probably because of more volume in the cabinet and also because the cabinet is ported. I heard the difference very good when playing movie soundtracks, the 9.2i does not need a subwoofer (of course it never hurts with a good subwoofer) while the old Kappa 9 can not deliver the same insane sub bass pressure and does not reach as deep as the 9.2i.(The 9s are rated 29hz - 3dB, the 9.2i is rated 27 hz -2dB) I did use several different monster amps during testing, and both speakers were tested in extended bass mode. Some of the amps gave up, and the old speakers were clearly more difficult for the amps than the new ones, even if they also posed a problem some times. The mids in the old 9s are slightly more forward than in the 9.2i, but overall the new model is more dynamic and has a better overall presentation in total. The design of the old model is beautiful and the build quality is fantastic. Spectacular speakers that you should try if you can afford the amps.

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Infinity Kappa 9.2i Infinity Renaissance 90 B&W 801 Matrix series 2 Legacy Signature Kef Reference Four

Great base response is unbelievable. I actually do not need a sub woofer for movies. When listening to classical music or vocals it sounds as if I were in the room.

You had better have a high end amplifier with lots of amps and watts.

If you have enough amps/power these are as good as it gets unless you want to spend $75,000 for the Wilson Grand Slams. I used to drive with a McIntosh 7270 and with the best cd's at extreme volumn they needed more amps. I now use a McIntosh 352 that has way more amps and you can blow the windows out of your room literally. At low volumn they sound very musical and can hold up with the most demanding soundtrack in a music or movie soundtrack. I love to look and listen to new high end speakers but do not feel there is any improvement unless you go twenty times the price.

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Infinity Kappa 7's for my rear for my surround sound system. Can I say unbelievable together.

Great Speakers, Great Amplifier Quad 606 Biamp

great to look at sounds great too

Need alot of power

If you have read the other reviews I can't say anything more than go out a buy a pair . I am running these Kappa 9 with four amps.Two amps per speaker ( McIntosh 7100 ) One for the highs and lows . By this method alot less strain on the amps because these guys need power.