Infinity 7 Kappa. opinions?

Neighbor has a pair of these with all drivers working and in near new condition.
I'm looking for a pair of speakers to go with 4 ohm class D amps rated 300w.
I'll try a trade with him but his asking is 4 benjamins. (posted for opinions on this in dollars and sense)
Any other opinions welcomed

 

Hi lilwing,

IMHO they are vastly superior in every way to anything you can buy off a shelf new for $200 bucks apiece. The polydomes are the tough part to replace, but there are a couple options today and hopefully the best option(not available yet) will be available soon.

Good luck,

Mark K.

 

I have 7 Kappa’s. I really like them. Not completely neutral but very enjoyable to listen to. Nice detail, good soundstage. Mids and highs are very smooth.

 

That is a good price and I would definitely jump on them. It looks like you are a horn guy based on your signature, I was too until I got my 7s. I traded my Heresies for them and for the first couple of days found the mids very laid back, but once you get used to that you will find them to be much more detailed with a more natural decay. They also handle delicate sounds much better. The upper mid bass of the 7 is its main weakness and that is because the woofer goes up to 800hz, its nothing major but something I noticed after a lot of listening. The polygraph in the 8 and 9 kappa take care of that issue.

 

Bandit88! Thanks for you response and big welcome to AK. And thanks to Try1256 and Mark.
Bottom dollar turned out to be 3 bones thus they are in the back of my car. And I'm working on a place to put them.

 

Great deal! I love my Kappa 7s. I listen primarily to Classic rock and Hard Rock music. Instead of using the polydomes, I am using polycones out of a set of RSb's. I read a thread concerning the cones having more punch with what I listen to. And they do have that punch. Very happy with the setup. The Quantum Series ,RS7"s and RSII use the same mid. If that is not your musical taste. Stick with the polydome s. You can see it in my Avatar. I would have spent the 4 bills for a pair in even half decent shape without flinching. Enjoy!

 

I think that sounds like a good deal too. I have a pair of 7 Kappas that I run with an Onkyo M-508. Not a high current amp, but then I am not sure if these are known as am killers anyway. Mostly listen to vinyl. Classic rock, 80's hard rock, and tons and tons of jazz. I don't have much to compare them to, but in my opinion, we will only part company when I leave the earth! Can you tell I love them?! The only thing I like better are my RS-ii's, but completely different critter.

 

Today I'll get the cases and cables for my Class D monoblocs and soon we'll find out what 300 wpc 4 ohm sounds like.
Hope I don't kill the kappas right away. But if I do they'll get repaired based on the rave reviews you Infinity peeps are giving them.

 

Only way 300 wpc will hurt them is if there is already something wrong with them or if you drive them to clipping. Looking forward to hearing what you think of them. I just moved my 7s to my office a couple days ago, listening to them as we speak. Acoustic guitar sounds absolutely amazing on them. The polydome is a gem.

 

Have always thought the 3" polydome to the 12" woofer on the Kappa 7's was a big jump in size and kind of oddly placed. However, I have never heard the 7's and have always wanted too. Did you ever hear the 7's with the original polydomes or only with the 5" woofer? If both, which do you prefer?

Btw, congrats on the 7's lilwing! Dont worry about over-powering your speakers, it's nearly impossible!

 

Congrats, nice speakers !

 

When I bought mine, the domes were gone. I restored them accept for the polydome s. Most reviews I read from my searches kept coming up with midrange lacking with Rock music. Great for jazz, classical etc. Then I read a few threads on AK that recommended polycones. I had a set of RSbs that didn't have the woofers. So I desided to use the polycones from them. Well there is nothing lagging in the midrange. My first audition was jaw dropping. For my ears and expectations. They were met and exceeded. Anything less would be a disappointment. Some music with heavy bass, I do need to dial it back a bit. Maybe at some point I will spend the 200 dollars to restore the polydome s and do that test comparison. But for now, I'm happy and satisfied.

 

I agree concerning the jump from the Polydome to the 12" woofer. I listened to the differences between the Kappas in a dedicated room at Sound Advice on Fowler in Tampa but I don't remember how the 7 impressed me between the 6 and the 8. In hindsight I can't be sure they had everything set up optimally because I wasn't convinced there was a big enough difference between the 8 and 9 to justify the difference in cost. I expect the bigger speakers were under powered. Although I was suitably impressed with the 8 to know what I wanted. I dropped in there and bugged them almost every time I was in Tampa. Then Arnie left Infinity and the brand started to go to crap and Sound Advice evolved into something more akin to Circuit City before it closed. Meh.

 

One thing that I did need to do when installing the polycones. It needed to add a 1/4 inch spacer. No altering the cabinet. Just the spacer.

 

Dark sounding speakers, unfavorably compared against many pairs of Infinity/JBL/ADS speakers I've owned.

There's a thread here that compares the polydome mid with the EMIM -- and the polydome has a very small mid response that was unpleasant by itself.

Only thing I really liked about the speakers were the EMITs and the IMG woofers and cabinet design. Good tweeter and bass responses and quality construction.

 

We both had the exact same reaction. While I loved the 6s and 8s, the 7s weren't as impressive. Very good bass response, but too thick through male vocals. A bit heavy and congested. Neither the 6s or 8s suffered from this. Vocals were much more accurate and natural. Especially on the Kappa 8s. Very sweet speakers. Sadly, the shop didn't carry the 9s, and I've never had the chance to hear them.

 

I believe the polycone cleared that up. At least with the one I installed. If your familiar with the band Styx for a example. The vocals are crisp, clear, defining. Now , let's go to a band thats a bit deeper in vocals and music that can easily sound congested. ZZ Top. Results in vocals are the same; crisp, clear and defining. Very clear instrument seperation and presentation. They have the punch that pushes you deeper in your seat. Love that feeling!

 

Other than the spacer that you mentioned, any other mods needed to make the polycones work? No crossover changes? And if you know, are the impedances the same between the Kappa polydomes and the polycones?

 

I

I just checked to be sure the ohm readings were in line. They, if I remember correctly were between 4 and 4.2. Installed and auditioned. I'm rather new to the tech side. I'm learning along the way. AK members have been a huge help in many different areas in this past year. I am now curious of what those differences may be, because I'm not relating or experiencing what so many have said concerning the lacking in the midrange.
I know small changes can make a big difference at times. I am curious if the Mid being a 1/4 inch away from the surface may also be making a difference.
I have a set of JBL L1s that have angled face. This offsets the the woofer and tweeter for performance purposes.

 

This is a quick list that used the the polycone like those from the RSbs other than the Kappa 7 themselves. If you or anyone in this thread can understand how the polycone is working so well in the kappa 7s. Please give us your insight. All are using either Emit or Emit K tweeters.
Crossover / Freq Resp
Kappa 7. 800Hz -4500Hz. / 37Hz - 45khz
12 " woofer /polydome
RSb. 600Hz - 4000Hz / 45Hz - 32kHz
10" woofer/polycone
RS-7. 500Hz -5000Hz / 45Hz.- 32kHz
8" woofer/polycone
RSM 500Hz - 5000Hz / 42Hz - 32kHz
12" Woofer/polycone
Rs II. 60,125,1500 &3000Hz. / 36Hz - 32Hz
10"woofers/polycone