Looks---OOOOOOOHH the look of these babies!!! VERY B-I-G, so make some serious room for em'!!! Dominating, very bright, airy highs; VERY clear and transparent, excellent soundstage!!

Requires bribing at least two friends with free beer to help move them. The poly-graph dome mid-bass coupler is a very ingenious design, but it lacks durability!!!! Piss-poor customer support from Infinity (post warranty), they offer replacement parts from the newer Kappa 9.1's for these older Kappa 9a's-----the 9.1's use a ported cabinet and these 9a's use a SEALED cabinet!!! They CRAVE ALOT of power!!

Bought these BIG black babies brand new back in 92, and I must say that all in all, they're the absolute best I've ever heard. I've actually been trying to replace them for about 3 years now, but I can't find anything that sounds better-----BELIEVE ME!!! Many times I'll buy a new pair of speakers, and set them next to the Kappa 9's, put on a blindfold and do an EXTENCIVE listening session comparing between the two----and wind up returning the new speakers!! You see, to me, in order to replace my Kappa 9's, you have to OUTPERFORM them---not just sound "as good as". These Kappa 9a's have just grown on me, and I am very used to thier soundstage. I just love how BIG (taller than most wives)and dominating they are, how adjustable they are, with 4 volume controls for all high and midrange speakers, and how very bright, airy and transparent the soundstage is. The midrange is excellent, when you listen to Fourplay, you can feel the guitar strings being plucked. The bass response is good, obviously more to me is better, but overall I find it very punchy, tight and responsive. The manual suggests that they face straight forward, but I prefer to toe them in slightly. They crave a lot of power too, I'm running them bi-amped with a pair of Yamaha MX-1000's, which are only stable down to 2 ohms. You must make sure that you don't use the bass extension switch (hidden) next to the rear terminals unless you've got an amp that's stable down to 1 ohm, otherwise turning it on will send your amp into a protection frenzy. The hard part now is finding rear surrounds and a center speaker that are voice matched to my Kappa's for home theater use, which is my only reason for even thinking about trying to replace them. My only gripe with my Kappa's is the durability of the mid-bass coupler(poly-graph dome midrange). They were slightly damaged (pushed inward) during a move in 95, and I've had nothing but problems with them every since!! Once that mid-bass coupler dome is pushed in, even a little bit, it can cause a slight "whizzing" in your midrange------and it's aggravating as hell!!! So, the first natural thing to do is to call up Infinity and replace the mid-bass coupler right?? Wrong.....Infinity did'nt even know what speaker I had, the only Kappa's they had records of (and sold parts for) are the newer Kappa 9.1's, I had to speak with a senior engineer in order to FIND the speaker itself----only to learn that they don't make that mid-bass coupler anymore!! So they send me a "replacement model", a 5 1/4 inch all black IMG cone midrange that did'nt match any of the gray speakers in my Kappa's and required cutting the front baffle to make it fit. Needles to say, I sent it back. I am now trying to find a shop that can repair my mid-bass couplers, otherwise I'll have to do a complete retrofitting of both speakers with new midranges and new 12" woofers. I you have any suggestions on repairing my mid-bass coupler, or on any voice matched center or surround speakers, or anything, don't hesitate to email me by clicking on my name at the top. The Kappa 9a is a truly rare and outstanding speaker, if you see one for sale, grab it!

Similar Products Used:

Definitive Tech BP3000tl, Infinity Prelude MTS, Legacy Whisper, Legacy Focus, Legacy Empire, B&W Nautilus 800, Martin Logan Prodigy, Krell LAT-1, Bose 901, KlipshHORN, etc.....

Bass, very nice highs, extremely detailed, very tight bass. I like the look.

Kills amplifiers, all amplifiers. I saw an original review of 3 high end amps, and the same magazine was reviewing the 9 Kappa's. It tore up a Levinson, Krell I think, and a Jeff Rowland. These things kill amps.

I like their sound alot. I have had these for 11 years. I recently replaced all 4 woofers, both midranges, and rewired them. They are totally pristine. They are as immaculate as the day I bought them. If you are an Infinity fan, get a pair if you can find them. Mine have very deep and quick bass, perfect midrange, and very detailed highs. I have had severe trouble getting an amp than can handle them at high volume levels. I am going to biamp them with Adcom GFA-5802's. These amps are affordable, and sound good, but most importantly, have alot of juice. Good speaker.

Still going strong after all of these years. Their topend is killer. I defy you to find a better loudspeaker even made today with a more detailed topend. If you give their lowpass enough current it will also punch with the best of them. Maybe the guy below who said that their bass wasnt up there with the best of them should biamp on the lowpass?

They need lots and lots of power. Were talking serious amplification here. Youll want to avoid SETs and such like the plague. Also, their topend is too much there without proper treatment. The guy below is right, they can be overwhelming in untreated and small rooms. Also, their bases are pretty flimsy (they're like wooden pedestals that dont anchor them down or anything) and these things need to be spiked.

I have these in my "B" system now (my Legacy Whispers are in my "A" system), but I still listen to them a lot. I did a lot to really treat and tweak these speakers, including placing felt over the top and bottom of the front firing EMIT, placing felt over the top of the rear firing EMIT, having custom stands (that weigh 75 lbs. a piece) made to replace their sh*tty wodden stands, and replacing their internal Monster cable with some "softer" Kimber Kable (this was a recommended tweak for most 9 Kappa owners back in the day).

When I first brought them home back in 1989, I admit that they were too much for my room and my ears. But after completing all of the tweaks listed above (I think that the Absolute Sound's Harry Pearson even suggested a few of them), I wouldn't part with them, for nothing. Their topend was "tamed" you could say, and when I gave them plenty of space from the walls, the affect was natural and musical. Also, one of the biggest things that I did, was I got some SERIOUS amplification and paired it with them: I first used two Aragon 4004 amplifiers (after I figured that the Conrad Johnson setup I had was not doing hte job) and used them to bi-amp the high pass and low pass segments on the 9 Kappas. I bought a Krell FPB 600 in 1997 and have used it to drive the 9 Kappas ever since. It whips them into shape let me tell you!

Moral: Do not attempt to drive these speakers with anything less than a high current amplifier that has the ability to effectively double its performance with each halving of the impedance load. I think that the guy below exaggerates when he says that the 9 Kappas have an impedance of less than 1 Ohm at 100 Hz and below, but they do probably dip a lot below 2 Ohms at 200 Hz and below which means that you want to have high current amplifier that can make them deliver the whomping bass. And if you really want to feel the base with these, your going to want lots of power, their cabinet baffle is really small (8" deep) and their crossover compensates for this by literally KILLING the output stages of an amplifier with ridiculously dangerous impedances in the low frequency range. The Aragon 4004s and 4004 mk IIs are very good here (they will deliver 700 WPC into a 2 Ohm load) and the Krell FPB 600 (and especially the new FPB 650M) are ideal here (they have more than 2000 WPC at 2 Ohms!). If you want a less analytic sound than the Krells, try the big Cello 350 with them. Its got enough muscle to master them but it has a kind of warmth that some people prefer.

Finally, if you take the trouble to treat these loudspeakers (and what audiophile doesnt treat his loudspeakers or tweak them?), the 9 Kappas can perform a disappearing act. They still can compete with todays best designs, the question is can you find them (their pretty rare on the used market) and are you willing to invest the time and the effort necessary to tweak them to perform at their best? If you like concert hall type listening levels and realism, I think you might want to try.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity IRS Beta
Legacy Whisper
B&W Nautilus 801

Excellent top-end. EMIT tweeters, Polydome midrange and Polygraph midbass were all several years ahead of their respective times. Solid bass output to 29 Hz. Room-filling presence. With a beefy solid-state power amp and plenty of space, these things can explode.

Big. Too big for most rooms. Top-end reproduction -- while stellar if adequately tweaked -- is simply overwhelming in most listening spaces, and these loudspeakers can sound downright shrill (or even screechy) if auditioned in untreated -- or even moderately treated -- environments. Low-end output, while solid, is not terribly tight. The 9 Kappas require more power than just about any other loudspeaker that I've ever used. 400 WPC is barely adequate, I suspect, for most enthusiasts. Dangerous impedance levels at 100 Hz and below (less than 1 Ohm); impedance drops to less than 2 Ohms across a significant chunk of their frequency range. Nominal impedance of 4 Ohms.

When I was a younger and more impressionable lad, the mere sight of these loudspeakers used nearly to cause me to squirt into my pants. Needless to say, I resolved one day to own a pair.

Fast forward 11 years. I managed to pick up a pair of used 9 Kappas in near excellent condition some time ago, and I've been toying with them ever since. All things considered, they've still got better lines than does Laetitia Casta (and like Laetitia, they're also ported!).

I use an Aragon 4004 mkII to drive them, and it's adequate for most listening levels. As I purchased my 9 Kappas to anchor a tertiary system the purpose of which is to (quite literally) rock the house down, I'll need more power than a single 4004 mkII can provide. Bi-amping them with two 4004 mkIIs might do the trick, however. These speakers crave power much like I suspect Kitty Dukakis once craved hooch.

The low-end response of these puppies -- which was so darned impressive back in 1988 -- is probably their weakest aspect (performance-wise, at least) today. If I get really adventurous, I'll probably replace their polypropylene Kappa woofers with some comparatively up-to-date -- and suitably more punchy -- drivers. Suggestions are particularly welcome in this regard.

I was warned by more than a few former 9 Kappa owners that these things are an [expletive-deleted] beast to tame. Such warnings proved (inevitably) to be true. They'll overwhelm even moderately-sized rooms, and you'll want to keep them as far away from corners (I recommend placing them at least 4 feet away from both back walls and side walls) as is possible. Infinity's instructions recommend placing them facing directly forward, with little if any toe-in, but I prefer to toe them in slightly.

If you do take the time to treat your listening environment, the 9 Kappas can still perform with many of today's better models. In larger, treated rooms, their sound is warm, their imaging well-nigh dead-on, and their spaciousness -- enhanced by virtue of a rear-firing EMIT tweeter -- surprisingly compelling.

If you can find them, I'd recommend picking up a pair of Infinity Renaissance 90s. They're altogether more neutral-sounding than are the 9 Kappas; aren't quite as finicky about room placement; provide near transparent imaging; create a delectable, almost breathtaking sense of spaciousness; and are much more solid in the low-end.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Renaissance 90s, Thiel CS2.2/2.3/3.6, Vandersteen 2CE/3A Signature