Kappa 9.2i 2 Posted September 12, 2020 Share Posted September 12, 2020 Any infinity lovers out there? Link to post Share on other sites
Winno 809 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Yes. I used to work at a retailer in NZ which sold Infinity. This was at the time of the Kappa 8 and Kappa 9 amp killers. We also had IRS Betas in stock. If a pair of Kappa 600 ever turned up for sale on the used market, I would be sorely tempted for sure. I've been using Infinity Perfect VQ subwoofer drivers in my cars over the years and am currently building a system in my new car using two Perfect 12VQ drivers. Link to post Share on other sites
rusty48 108 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 34 minutes ago, Winno said: I used to work at a retailer in NZ which sold Infinity. This was at the time of the Kappa 8 and Kappa 9 amp killers. Hi Winno, a mate has a pair of Kappa 8’s and loves them. Could you please expand on your ‘amp killers’ description? PM me if you feel it inappropriate to answer here. Thanks. Rusty Link to post Share on other sites
awayward 2,369 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 I bought Kappa 7s new back in the day, used them up until 3-4 years ago, they were still all original and in perfect condition. But storing them in a cupboard has not been kind to them, polydomes have cracked and woofer foam has disintegrated, I might restore them one day. Link to post Share on other sites
kelossus 1,901 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Never heard a pair of Infinities before but I have two pairs of RS4.5's I am restoring. One pair of cabinets is an absolute write off so I am taking the best of both speakers. One set has Graz's EMIMs so these will end up in the final speaker. I have heaps of spare EMIM's and EMITS and WA120/902-1180's left over. This repair has cost far more than the speakers are worth but curiosity has the better of me. I need to hear them. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
t_mike 8,218 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Yep, I have a pair. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
kelossus 1,901 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 12 minutes ago, t_mike said: Yep, I have a pair. Nice RSII/B's Are they your daily drivers? Link to post Share on other sites
t_mike 8,218 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 30 minutes ago, kelossus said: Nice RSII/B's Are they your daily drivers? Not yet. I need a little more room before I can set them up, so some rearranging to be done. I'm also on the trail of a pair of II/As, but that will take up a lot more room. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Winno 809 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 7 hours ago, rusty48 said: Hi Winno, a mate has a pair of Kappa 8’s and loves them. Could you please expand on your ‘amp killers’ description? PM me if you feel it inappropriate to answer here. Thanks. Rusty The Kappa 8s and especially the Kappa 9 had a particularly nasty impedance swing which many amps readily available and still somewhat affordable at the time really struggled with. Our big NAD Monitor Series Power amps did ok and then Peter Thompson released his first SA Series Plinius amps which also did well on the 9s. I saw more than one pair of big Denon monoblocks needing repair after failing into 9s. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
rusty48 108 Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Ouch. Thanks for that, I’m not sure what he’s using currently (oops, unintended) for amp/s, but will pass on that info. Thanks for the response. 🤙 Link to post Share on other sites
Ando 169 Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 I owed IRS Beta's for a few years. I never managed to get them to sound the way I expected and so moved on a long time ago. I know they can sound great in the right environment and with the right amplification. Cheers Mike 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Willmax 1,111 Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I've had a pair of Kappa 7 they were really great speakers. I wish I still had then 1 Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 Yep. RS6b were the first speakers that impressed me as a young bloke. At the time they were current production. 30 ? Years later I ended up with that exact same pair. Did the refoam. They came with a free set of RSM shed find. Did the refoam & the caps. Bought a set of RS7 because I thought they were a bit smaller than they turned out. Refoam already done. All 3 sets lost with everything else in the bushfires. Bought some Kappa 6.1i on here. Polydomes were faded but complete. After shipping and storage for 6 months unpacking revealed the brittle old polydomes were cracked now. Brand new exact replica polydomes now available in the US but the bloke won't send the parts. It's a rebuild service only and the numbers work out at about $230 each. Have sourced one original complete Polydome and two old busted ones to get rebuilt by someone in Oz. Yet to contact suggested bloke called Attila in Melbourne. If anyone has a second spare available that might be easier? Fair enough to say the old classics usually need something fixed by now. There's also this thing about some ppl blowing out the Emits, which can be alleviated by puting a lower fuse in. Link to post Share on other sites
AR9 44 Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 On 17/09/2020 at 6:16 PM, Ando said: I owed IRS Beta's for a few years. I never managed to get them to sound the way I expected and so moved on a long time ago. I know they can sound great in the right environment and with the right amplification. Cheers Mike Many years ago I was looking everywhere for these. You are correct, they need good amplification and space to give you a unique musical experience. Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 I have Kappa 9’s, RS2.5’s, RSM’s and non-vintage Kappa Centre and Kappa Sub. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 14/09/2020 at 5:52 PM, kelossus said: Never heard a pair of Infinities before but I have two pairs of RS4.5's I am restoring. One pair of cabinets is an absolute write off so I am taking the best of both speakers. One set has Graz's EMIMs so these will end up in the final speaker. I have heaps of spare EMIM's and EMITS and WA120/902-1180's left over. This repair has cost far more than the speakers are worth but curiosity has the better of me. I need to hear them. I. Would love to hear the 4.5’s with the Graz EMIM’s. Do you have he Servo controller? How bad are the other cabs? Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 19/09/2020 at 12:47 AM, eman said: Yep. RS6b were the first speakers that impressed me as a young bloke. At the time they were current production. 30 ? Years later I ended up with that exact same pair. Did the refoam. They came with a free set of RSM shed find. Did the refoam & the caps. Bought a set of RS7 because I thought they were a bit smaller than they turned out. Refoam already done. All 3 sets lost with everything else in the bushfires. Bought some Kappa 6.1i on here. Polydomes were faded but complete. After shipping and storage for 6 months unpacking revealed the brittle old polydomes were cracked now. Brand new exact replica polydomes now available in the US but the bloke won't send the parts. It's a rebuild service only and the numbers work out at about $230 each. Have sourced one original complete Polydome and two old busted ones to get rebuilt by someone in Oz. Yet to contact suggested bloke called Attila in Melbourne. If anyone has a second spare available that might be easier? Fair enough to say the old classics usually need something fixed by now. There's also this thing about some ppl blowing out the Emits, which can be alleviated by puting a lower fuse in. There is a guy in Germany - Bernd Reinhold from hifinity.de - he has the original tooling for original polydomes. I bought a refurbished pair delivered to AUs for about $800. Cheaper if you send yours over to be refurbished. Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 14/09/2020 at 8:14 PM, Winno said: The Kappa 8s and especially the Kappa 9 had a particularly nasty impedance swing which many amps readily available and still somewhat affordable at the time really struggled with. Our big NAD Monitor Series Power amps did ok and then Peter Thompson released his first SA Series Plinius amps which also did well on the 9s. I saw more than one pair of big Denon monoblocks needing repair after failing into 9s. I drive my Kappa 9’s in extended mode with a 4 channel Nord Acoustics amp that uses 500w (into 4 ohm) Hypex Ncore amp modules which handLes the 0.8ohm dip. Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 On 14/09/2020 at 1:41 PM, awayward said: I bought Kappa 7s new back in the day, used them up until 3-4 years ago, they were still all original and in perfect condition. But storing them in a cupboard has not been kind to them, polydomes have cracked and woofer foam has disintegrated, I might restore them one day. See my post above about a fix for the Polydomes. Not cheap, the remains true to original spec. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
kelossus 1,901 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 16 hours ago, Bal said: I. Would love to hear the 4.5’s with the Graz EMIM’s. Do you have he Servo controller? How bad are the other cabs? Welcome to have a listen when they are up and running. The 4.5's aren't servo controlled. They came with an Active Crossover and Passive Crossover. When driven actively most did away with Infinity Active Crossover. I will be running them passively with rebuilt networks following the original schematic. The other cabinet are completely butchered. I have all the drivers though. Link to post Share on other sites
jakestar 162 Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 (edited) I owned a pair of kappa 9's for many years from new. Had the foam surrounds replaced after many years. Was driving them with perreaux 3150b then replaced with krell ksa 100S. That for me was a very good synergy and I haven't found the same SQ since. Even with fhe big current supply of the krell they could struggle when set to extended mode. The normal setting provided the punch, dynamics and musicality I enjoyed. I sold both speakers and amp back in 2016. No seller's remorse as I was determined to downsize both speakers and amp and try other gear after owning these for many, many years. Still miss the scale of the sound though. I was chatting with the new owner of the Kappas the other day and hope to catch up to reacquaint with the music they create. Edited September 26, 2020 by jakestar Typo 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Launder 18 Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 On 14/09/2020 at 7:18 PM, t_mike said: Yep, I have a pair. I had a pair of those back in the late 1980's , fantastic speakers . I loved the monthly ritual of oiling those cabinets with teak oil , I was convinced to trade them in on a used pair of RS1a's , which in someways was a retrograde step and added too much complexity . Wish I still had them .... Link to post Share on other sites
kelossus 1,901 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Got one speaker assembled today. One of the freshly re-foamed and re-spidered woofers has a buzz so I will have to return it for inspection. These were an absolute mess when I picked them up. One of the woofer openings was plugged and they had a single Peerless XLS driver. No crossovers, missing woofers...These have cost me a fortune to restore, far more then they are worth...... 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Bal 9 Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 2 hours ago, kelossus said: Got one speaker assembled today. One of the freshly re-foamed and re-spidered woofers has a buzz so I will have to return it for inspection. These were an absolute mess when I picked them up. One of the woofer openings was plugged and they had a single Peerless XLS driver. No crossovers, missing woofers...These have cost me a fortune to restore, far more then they are worth...... Nice work. I have a pair of 2.5’s and missed out on an eBay auction In the last 3 seconds for some 4.5’s. There were only 400 os so of that model ever made, so kudos for incurring the cost to save them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
matt_o 0 Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Great to see some nice Infinities here. I have had a pair of RS (2 ways) for many years that I love the sound of. Last year I had the chance to get a set of Kappa 8.2i's that are fantastic, however the Polydomes need rebuilding. Does anyone in Australia rebuild the Polydome's? The only options I have found are Europe and USA as mentioned above. Link to post Share on other sites
Kappa 9.2i 2 Posted October 10, 2020 Author Share Posted October 10, 2020 I am currently having my Polydomes rebuilt by a guy in Melbourne. Attila Tanka 0425 776 941. Not original poly material, but apparently imperial sound over standard. Should receive next week, I’ll update! Link to post Share on other sites
matt_o 0 Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 (edited) Great. Looking forward to hearing how they go. I don't really want to have to ship them back and forth to America. Edited October 11, 2020 by matt_o Added photos Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 44 minutes ago, Kappa 9.2i said: I am currently having my Polydomes rebuilt by a guy in Melbourne. Attila Tanka 0425 776 941. Not original poly material, but apparently imperial sound over standard. Should receive next week, I’ll update! Have sent mine to him a couple of weeks ago. Confirmed he has them. No news since. Keep us updated please. Link to post Share on other sites
Kappa 9.2i 2 Posted October 11, 2020 Author Share Posted October 11, 2020 Yes, he sounds quite busy atm. Will update when they arrive 1 Link to post Share on other sites
matt_o 0 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 @Kappa 9.2i @eman have either of you got your Polydomes back from Atilla? Keen to hear how they sound. Link to post Share on other sites
Kappa 9.2i 2 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Polydomes sound fantastic,highly recommended repairer!! They were well packaged and protected on return. I’m now building a listening room to house the kappas, amazing detail 👍 1 Link to post Share on other sites
matt_o 0 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Great to hear. Can you post a photo? Are they similar to original or a bit different? Link to post Share on other sites
Kappa 9.2i 2 Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 Almost a silicone feel to them, not the original look, but match well Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 11 hours ago, matt_o said: @Kappa 9.2i @eman have either of you got your Polydomes back from Atilla? Keen to hear how they sound. Talked to him yesterday. He's had a bit of trouble matching Voice Coils , which means nothing to me. I sent spares which means I haven't even looked inside my cabinets. Am a bit worried about having to solder anything. (My old cracked ones are still working, haha). Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 10 hours ago, Kappa 9.2i said: Almost a silicone feel to them, not the original look, but match well The look seems to match the Driver well. Link to post Share on other sites
bizzibee 46 Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 (edited) I have a pair of Infinity Kapps 7.1i Speakers. You can send your Infinity Kappa Polydomes to the US to be replaced. Bob Douglas has been able create new polydome diaphram for the midrange to the original spec's. See: https://www.ebay.com/itm/133584821531?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true Here is a thread about the development: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kappa-polydome-repair-part-update.839677/page-11 Here are more details on his Web site: https://ava-sales.square.site/infinity-services http://www.americanvintageaudio.com He can also do Infinity EMIT Tweeter Diaphragm repair. Anyway I hope this helps! Edited November 23, 2020 by bizzibee Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 On 23/11/2020 at 2:02 PM, bizzibee said: I have a pair of Infinity Kapps 7.1i Speakers. You can send your Infinity Kappa Polydomes to the US to be replaced. Bob Douglas has been able create new polydome diaphram for the midrange to the original spec's. See: https://www.ebay.com/itm/133584821531?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true Here is a thread about the development: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kappa-polydome-repair-part-update.839677/page-11 Here are more details on his Web site: https://ava-sales.square.site/infinity-services http://www.americanvintageaudio.com He can also do Infinity EMIT Tweeter Diaphragm repair. Anyway I hope this helps! Yeah, thanks for the eBay link. Looked into it and mailed him directly. Still have to add on postage to get them there. It ends up quite expensive. He agreed but still wouldn't send just the parts. Latest on AK is that he's only got a limited number, not going to be repeated. Oh yeah; have a look at any eBay item in the US and it will have an entry ' taxes to be added at checkout'. It's more than GST. I don't know what it's supposed to be. In this case it's another $50 + I'd be happy just to get mine back from Atilla in Melbourne. Link to post Share on other sites
bizzibee 46 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 21 minutes ago, eman said: I'd be happy just to get mine back from Atilla in Melbourne. Fair enough! Can you please let me know how they sound after you get them back. I heard some people have been disappointment with various replacements. I know it can be a blind bet sometimes. Link to post Share on other sites
zenikoy 1,481 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 About 25 years ago I helped a mate (music lover, not an audiophile) buy a $1000 system. Sony amp, Sony 5x CD changer and some Infinity bookshelves. Just last month he was telling me he is still using the same set-up, only with a streaming device added to the amp. He said that at the time he couldn't believe he was spending so much on speakers, now he thinks $20 per year for them was deal of the century 😀 2 Link to post Share on other sites
eman 1,251 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 On 08/11/2020 at 9:32 PM, Kappa 9.2i said: Almost a silicone feel to them, not the original look, but match well Trying to get my Attila polydomes in. Any tips on unsoldering the originals. Can't get the things out by myself so far. Link to post Share on other sites
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