Kappa 9 Rear Port

I own K9's--at one point I had three pair, but sold two pair to make room to diversify my "stable", but still have a pair. I ran all of them in "extended" mode. All "normal" mode does is add a 1 ohm resistor to the woofer circuit and kills the bass response, reducing the performance of the speaker, but slightly lightening the load on the amp(s).

As for amps, I initially used a pair of Aragon 4004's--one for the mid/highs and one for the woofers, and they performed flawlessly (didn't even really get hot), and I drove them hard. Now they are powered with four Krell KMA 160 monoblocks. The Aragons are often referred to as "baby Krells" or "poor man's Krells" because they were primarily designed and spec'd by Dan D'Agostino of Krell fame.

There are two impedance dips below 1 ohm--one at about 33-35Hz and a second at ~7KHz, hence the reputation as "amp killers". They certainly like their "juice". It is not all about total power rating, but rather the ability of the amp to supply enough current to maintain voltage into low impedance loads. My Krells are only rated at 160w each @ 8 ohms, but "double down" to 1280w each @ 1 ohm (as per the factory manual). The Aragons are very similar in this respect.

Hope this helps! ENJOY--they are fantastic speakers.
 
The Aragon looks nice. The 8008 and I see they also have the more pricey Palladium Monoblocks. Apparently they both can power just about anything with no problem and are well regarded. I don’t know how they compare to the Krell in sound quality but they are probably not far apart.
 
The Aragon looks nice. The 8008 and I see they also have the more pricey Palladium Monoblocks. Apparently they both can power just about anything with no problem and are well regarded. I don’t know how they compare to the Krell in sound quality but they are probably not far apart.

It is well-documented that Dan D'Agostino heavily influenced the Aragon 2004 and 4004 designs/builds. The 8008's and Palladium's were built after Klipsch acquired Mondial (the orignial builder of Aragon and Acurus), so I cannot vouch for their quality as I have no experience with them, but they are highly regarded. In terms of sound quality, the Aragon 4004's that I have are very comparable to my Krells.
 
Great information. Do I need to biamp with 2 to run in extended mode? Will one Aragon carry the load sufficiently?

Another question... If using 2 matched units such as 4004’s, is it better to biamp using one for the miss/highs and the other for the lows? Or use them as Monoblocks with one powering each speaker? Or does it matter?

Ultimately I would like one amp to power the system or 2 Monoblocks to keep it simple.

Thanks
 
I would say that one amp should be able to handle both speakers. With two identical standard (i.e. not dual mono) amps, I'd probably biamp vertically (that is, one amp per speaker), since the highs in general require less power than the lows, and that would reduce the load on the power supply. However, since the 4004 is a true dual mono design (everything past the power switch is independent for each channel), it probably doesn't make much difference how you do it. If you're the type that likes to keep his speaker cables as short as possible, then it would make sense to put one amp behind each speaker and use short jumpers to go from the amp to the speaker.

ETA: thinking about it more, I'd still recommend doing the vertical biamping; this way the heat would be distributed through both amps. In fact, horizontal biamping probably makes sense only when you have two dissimilar amps.
 
Great information. Do I need to biamp with 2 to run in extended mode? Will one Aragon carry the load sufficiently?

Another question... If using 2 matched units such as 4004’s, is it better to biamp using one for the miss/highs and the other for the lows? Or use them as Monoblocks with one powering each speaker? Or does it matter?

Ultimately I would like one amp to power the system or 2 Monoblocks to keep it simple.

Thanks

A single stereo amp will work with K9's--it just has to be a "healthy" one. I'd recommend a Krell KSA series amp, but I am admittedly biased to Krell and pure class A amps. The downside is the current consumption and heat (even just idling). My Krell monoblocks draw 8A each at idle, weigh almost 100lbs each, and you can cook eggs on them after they have been idling for an hour.

A single Aragon 4004 can handle them and not be as heavy or hot (class A/B)--been there, done that, but since I had two, I bi-amped them with the pair. I am not a McIntosh fan, but any of their "autoformer" amps should handle them as well.
 
I set up the system yesterday. I’m running the POA-6600 Monoblocks in normal mode. The original owner was running them in extended mode. Found this when I pulled the plugs.

Using very heavy gauge wire with short runs. Crossovers all set to normal/flat.

At first I thought they sounded a little muddy as I am used to Crites modded Klipsch LaScalas. After a short while I started to really like them. Actually I really love them. The lascalas are more “in your face” loud and a little harsh and edgy compared to the K9’s. The 9’s are richer, less fatiguing, just smoother and nice. Deep deep bass. More on the comparison after I get some run time in.

Both are very very good, just very different. I could listen to the 9’s all day. I will keep both but the 9’s will be in my main system.

The Denons are holding up fine but I will most likely upgrade eventually based on comments and recommendations.

What are your thoughts on Aragon Palladium Monoblocks? Looks like they are reasonable in the used market. Also what preamp do you use with your Krells?

The system has low use and is pretty much mint. I am a happy guy right now.

I appreciate all the feedback...

Thanks
 
I’m running the POA-6600 Monoblocks in normal mode. The original owner was running them in extended mode.

If the original owner ran them in extended mode with the Denons, then they apparently can be run like that--maybe not really hard, but at least stable at most volume levels. Those Denon amps are no slouch. As a K9 owner, I suggest you run them in extended mode--the bass response is so much better.

It does not surprise me that they go far deeper and clearer than your LaScalas--just look at the specs. Not knocking LaScalas, but they are basically home PA speakers and they puke out at about 50Hz--the K9's do not. Klipsch is kind of notorious for building large speakers with large drivers that don't do the low end justice. They are extremely efficient and loud, but they don't go deep--they are what they are. I have owned a number of different Klipsch models, and they eventually went away--my favorites were the "three sisters"--Quartet, Chorus and Forte--they actually went deeper than the Cornwalls or LaScalas, and the Heresy is just that--a heresy--no bass and under power those horns just "honk".
 
You could run them in the extended mode as long as you don't play them really loud, I run my k 9's on a small 65wpc adcom and it runs them with no problem but I do not go past the 9 to 10 o'clock position on the volume knob.
 
Day 1 Kappa 9 impressions:

I feel like I should be wearing a tweed hat, smoking a $50 cigar, and sipping some fine bourbon...

Smooth, balanced and sophisticated.

Glad u like them post some pics when u can. How are the denons holding out. I have a friend that has those amps and run them pretty hard.
 
They are holding up well. They seem to be decent units and have a very nice sound to them. I don't know what "normal" operating temps for the amps running at moderate levels are. They are warm but not hot running with the loudness set at 10:00. When I go to 11:00 plus with the loudness the left channel amp gets hot after awhile but nowhere near "I can't touch it" hot. Sorta babying the whole thing until we become better acquainted...

Still running in normal mode right now.
 
They are holding up well. They seem to be decent units and have a very nice sound to them. I don't know what "normal" operating temps for the amps running at moderate levels are. They are warm but not hot running with the loudness set at 10:00. When I go to 11:00 plus with the loudness the left channel amp gets hot after awhile but nowhere near "I can't touch it" hot. Sorta babying the whole thing until we become better acquainted...

Still running in normal mode right now.

Couple things to consider. If you go to extended mode, you will not need to use the loudness. Secondly, if one amp is running hotter than the other, you need to get them to a tech and have them calibrated--the bias may be off--those amps are getting up there in age. They are very solid amps (don't get me wrong), but they may need a little service to bring them back up to spec. We all need a little "servicing" as we get up there in age. But seriously--if one is running significantly warmer than the other, they probably need a little attention.

Good luck and ENJOY!

BTW--if the Polydomes are still in good shape, PM me and I will detail how to clean and preserve them.
 
Love the Kappa 9 and Denon POA-6600 Monoblock combo so far. The Denon's sound real nice and are holding up well. I had my doubts that they had the juice but so far so good. Hope it continues like this.
 

Attachments

  • YsX6VFOIR5aG9ylJBGYIEw.jpg
    YsX6VFOIR5aG9ylJBGYIEw.jpg
    51.2 KB · Views: 13
K9's (or any other big vintage Infinity, for that matter) plus Palladium monos would be an end-game combo for many audiophiles.
 
I’ve been looking at those actually. Very nice. May be my next upgrade when the time comes.
I’ve noticed there a few versions of the Palladium’s including the 1K. Any real difference between them?
Thanks
 
Back
Top Bottom