Infinity Kappa 8's, who has them?

[Augy]

The diaphram is attached to a frame that can be swapped out, see the attached picture. It's swapped out with voice coils and all.

The picture above is the vifa replacement. Look at the back of a polydome, it's the same.

I have a infinity polydome in front of me they do not appear to be the same ....In the infinity dome the leads pos & neg are on each side of the back of the polydome left and right say. where the vifa has both leads right next to each other if you swap out the dome and keep the infinity magnet dont you have to get around these connections somehow?

 

[Augy]

I have a infinity polydome in front of me they do not appear to be the same ....In the infinity dome the leads pos & neg are on each side of the back of the polydome left and right say. where the vifa has both leads right next to each other if you swap out the dome and keep the infinity magnet dont you have to get around these connections somehow?

Does this fit under the polydome faceplate somehow? If so I see that there are several mounting holes the original infinity has four do they still line up? In this infinity polydome I am looking at the faceplate seems to have the dome attached or molded into it somehow I don't see how it could be removed or swapped out?? Or do you not keep the original faceplate at all???

 

[Iagent]

I'm just buying the $76 ones and dropping them in. My speakers aren't perfect anyway, so these will be fine for me.

 

[KingRT]

I have Kappa 7.2 and they sound better then my Mcintosh LS320's.

Is it obvious when a speaker goes bad? I bought mine new in the 90's so I guess I should check...

 

[CAK1]

My Kappa 7.1 had the contacts next to each other and were identical to the Vifa. Looks like possibly the early Polydomes may have a different diaphram design, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to make it work. Here is a picture of a 7.1 with the Vifa diaphram.

 

[Augy]

I'm just buying the $76 ones and dropping them in. My speakers aren't perfect anyway, so these will be fine for me.

Are you sure ??? Check into it is all I'm saying!!! I looked at the specs for the ones you are thinking of dropping in... 8 ohm impedence ..where your originals are 3.4-4 ohm this will definatly have a different sound than the original. It may not match your crossover specs either and adjusting the pots on the crossover may not be enough to compensate for the different level of sound that comes out of the vifa replacement. Who knows....you just may like the difference better. Myself I like to keep things the way they were designed so I would prefer to buy a used one and swap them out. The color does not bother me as I keep the grilles on my speakers. Everybodys different

 

[Iagent]

I have Kappa 7.2 and they sound better then my Mcintosh LS360's.

Is it obvious when a speaker goes bad? I bought mine new in the 90's so I guess I should check...

Mine actually sound okay, but the way the dome is so contorted, I would guess they could sound sooo much better. I have only nhad mine for a couple days, so I have no reference to compare. Mine are Kappa 8.

 

[Iagent]

Are you sure ??? Check into it is all I'm saying!!! I looked at the specs for the ones you are thinking of dropping in... 8 ohm impedence ..where your originals are 3.4-4 ohm this will definatly have a different sound than the original. It may not match your crossover specs either and adjusting the pots on the crossover may not be enough to compensate for the different level of sound that comes out of the vifa replacement. Who knows....you just may like the difference better. Myself I like to keep things the way they were designed so I would prefer to buy a used one and swap them out. The color does not bother me as I keep the grilles on my speakers. Everybodys different

It's not the color that bothers me, but the rather the way the dome is now shaped. I know what you are saying Augy, as I had the same concerns while looking at the specs, but I think the ones that appear on Ebay might be soon to be like the ones I already have (except for the ones with the internal mesh to hold the shape, which must have been an afterthought). Maybe I will just think about it for a while.

 

[Augy]

It's not the color that bothers me, but the rather the way the dome is now shaped. I know what you are saying Augy, as I had the same concerns while looking at the specs, but I think the ones that appear on Ebay might be soon to be like the ones I already have (except for the ones with the internal mesh to hold the shape, which must have been an afterthought). Maybe I will just think about it for a while.

I have bought many off of e-bay as they show up often enough. I bought a few pair for spares in the event of a failure as I have two pair of kappa 9 speakers but that has not happened yet. I have had good luck as these are still soft and pliable although the color has shifted. Once I bought a pair of kappa 6 speakers for the domes and emits. It was cheaper than buying the drivers seperate. The domes usually go for 75-80 dollars each if in good condition, the emits about $70 per pair so its the same price essentially for the domes. But they are original. There is someone selling the ones with the mesh under the dome now as well as a guy selling one without the mesh. Both are a sonic match so it will not matter which type you buy as far as sound quality goes. Just as long as the dome is still soft.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I bought a pair of Kappa 8's new back when there were still high end stereo stores. I listened to most everything from top to bottom and they are what I liked.

 

[Iagent]

Augy, have you ever had Emit-k trouble that was not the speaker? One of my fronts failed, but was not the speakers fault, so I borrowed the wiring from the back bu pulling them through to the front, and putting the front to the back. I would like to restore the inop position though.

 

[Augy]

Augy, have you ever had Emit-k trouble that was not the speaker? One of my fronts failed, but was not the speakers fault, so I borrowed the wiring from the back bu pulling them through to the front, and putting the front to the back. I would like to restore the inop position though.

This is most likely the result of a crossover problem....If you go the the german infinity classics website you can download a schematic of the circuit. Then a local audio guy should be able to trace your problem. I have a similar problem with one of my kappa 9's in the polydome.

 

[Iagent]

This is most likely the result of a crossover problem....If you go the the german infinity classics website you can download a schematic of the circuit. Then a local audio guy should be able to trace your problem. I have a similar problem with one of my kappa 9's in the polydome.

Thanks, I will get the schematic.

 

[markolino72]

kappa 8 & sansui au-9500

Recently i've bought a nice pair of Kappa 8A (Rosewood edition) that i power with a nad 3020 series 20 !!! (yes it works and not bad, for appartement use)
they sounded wonderfull even with the polydome little fissured near the coil
i've bought a scanpeak replacement ( 8 ohm) and they sounded very well but the mids where too pronunciated in a crazy day i've decided to replace the domes of scanpeak in my old infinity original coils (4 ohm) !!! the restoration was tricky but succesfull
and now im enjoying them with a new aquisition a legendary sansui au-9500 ( fully recaped except the big four in the center, )
This setup its for me a must! im not an audiophile but i like music so much and this setup is very clean and musical and i am very happy , i feel that this will give a lot and huge emotions (i hate analitical sound of new equipments )

 

[PK Vintage]

I have the Kappa 8. My speaker Genius in Victoria bc has worked on the Kappa 8's before. He changes several things that eliminates the need to run them hard all the time. They are not power mungers anymore. They now sound great at low volume and are easily as sensitive as my wharfedale Mach 9's at 94db. Bass is even better as well. We'll worth the cash I Paid. I run them bi amped with Bryston 3b's

 

[PK Vintage]

Does anyone know if the carpet has any significant sonic value. I want to replace it with some very wild looking wood veneer. There are really a neat speaker that I feel deserve a visual upgrade.

 

[dlucy]

I am eagerly anticipating my next move as I'll only accept a place with a large listening room. My Kappa 8's are in storage next to a pair of Boston Acoutics A400's and Magnepan MG-IIIc's. I can't _wait_ to A/B those puppies!

 

[Bahamayellow]

Does anyone know if the carpet has any significant sonic value. I want to replace it with some very wild looking wood veneer. There are really a neat speaker that I feel deserve a visual upgrade.

Does anyone know if the carpet has any significant sonic value. I want to replace it with some very wild looking wood veneer. There are really a neat speaker that I feel deserve a visual upgrade.

I believe the carpet did but not 100% sure. Looking at one of the brochures it said the carpet had some sound absorbing properties.