i like my 9's never heard anything bad about the 7's the price may be a little high but compared to what you spend these days prolly a steal
How would I rate them? Pretty darned highly! :yes: :thmbsp:
Definitely make sure we are talking about the ones with the big woofers below and those polydome mids and EMIT tweeters. They should look like the ones pictured here: http://www.infinity-classics.de/infinity/models/Kappa-series-1987/index-Kappa.htm
and should read "7 Kappa" on the backs, not actually "Kappa 7". THOSE are the GOOD Kappas.
Check that the domes aren't shattered... they get very brittle with age, esp. when exposed to ultraviolet light/sunshine. As long as they are intact, they should be fine, even if somewhat yellowed and hardened, but if they're broken/shattered, you'll need to get them redone. Original domes are no longer available, but pretty good replacements are. There is a guy here in Hong Kong who rebuilds/repairs them; perhaps there is someone in your area, too?
Those woofers DO drop to low impedances, and the speakers need a lot of power to sound good; while not the worst Infinities, I would still lump them in with the "amp-killer" group. You'll want a fairly beefy and high-current-capable amp for these.
The price may be a bit steep, but not much; I actually sold the next-lowest model (6 Kappas) for MORE than $400 here, a couple of years ago... and missed them enough that I grabbed a pair of 7 Kappas not too long afterward. You won't find anything made today that sounds half as nice for anywhere near that price, so unless you are going to hold out for an even better bargain in something vintage (and MOST vintage speakers will NOT sound better), I'd say go ahead and get them. Power them well, and you're in for a treat, sonically!
Is 100 watts RMS @ 8 ohms going to be enough power?
Careful. These are 4 ohm speakers. If you hook them up to an 8 ohm amp, don't play them loud at all.
My amp is a new integrated hybrid. It is a high current job, Class A for the first 10 watts and has double the power at 4 ohms (200 w RMS).
Is this going to be an issue?
It doesn't look like I will them anyway. The guy is firm at $400.00 and even though both woofers have been recently refoamed, a speaker of this age would need to have caps and resistors replaced. I offered $300 cash which I thought was fair. I will just be patient. There are lots of speakers out there.
few as remarkable as these, though. my 6 kappas are from the same era, and haven't required recapping as of yet. $300 is a more than fair price, and will probably do the trick, as hes asking top dollar. if he has flipper fever and won't budge, let him stare at them and find some similarly equipped Infinity speakers, preferably with 10" or larger woofers. they are truly amazing speakers. good luck
I got mine for 299 so I believe that you are spot on with your offer. Hope he meets it for you!
Also, I have had my Sansui G9000 volume beyond 12:00/1:00 positions for not inconsequential periods, and the big guy is still working. The fins get hot, but not unusually so. The others are right... the higher you go in the K-series, the more of a problem it becomes and the steep problem cliff is at the 8's.
Anyway, good hunting.
I found a mint pair of the 8 Kappas for $500 close to home. Very tempted.
How much would I have to spend for a new set of speakers to get comparable performance to the Kappa 7's?
New or used?