Kappa 9 crossover

Leximarley

New Member
I have just purchased 2 pairs of kappa 9's.I am looking for people who have replaced, rebuilt and or modified these crossovers and the results that you achieved.i am new here and new to true hifi so please keep it some what simple for me.thank you
 
Hello and welcome. Wow 2 pairs of Kappa 9s your brave and lucky. Have you tested the speakers yet to see if the crossovers need rebuilding. The crossovers in mine where great from the original owner and just needed the refoam. From what I understand the crossovers are very difficult and take time to rebuild. I'm sure you know that you need decent amplifiers to drive them also. Receivers and integrated amps need not apply. Also if you comb through the other posts there is a lot of information on the crossovers and power requirements. Pictures also please.
 
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Hello and welcome. Wow 2 pairs of Kappa 9s your brave and lucky. Have you tested the speakers yet to see if the crossovers need rebuilding. The crossovers in mine where great from the original owner and just needed the refoam. From what I understand the crossovers are very difficult and take time to rebuild. I'm sure you know that you need decent amplifiers to drive them also. Receivers and integrated amps need not apply. Also if you comb through the other posts there is a lot of information on the crossovers and power requirements. Pictures also please.
There seems to be some issues with the xover's circuit for the semit tweets. the person I bought them former bypassed it in one of them and one of the others cuts out at moderate levels.this make me wonder what else isn't working as it should and I don't like the fact that it is bypassed.all of the driver's are in great condition and the cabinets are pretty dang nice to.as of now I have some decent amps aragon 4004mkii one for each pair but I would like to improve on this at some point.as of right now I want to focus on getting them as close to 100%as I can.I am not sure how to put pics on here this is my first time on here
 
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Like Chef free said most problems with the Kappa series is those poly switches. The other components of the xo should be fine. Congrats on the purchase. Did you get the Aragons with the 9's. Great amps, they should keep you happy for a while...
Welcome to the forum!
Jim
 
Like Chef free said most problems with the Kappa series is those poly switches. The other components of the xo should be fine. Congrats on the purchase. Did you get the Aragons with the 9's. Great amps, they should keep you happy for a while...
Welcome to the forum!
Jim
Thanks and yes I bought both pair and both amps all together it's my first leap into true hifi and I have much to learn.these repairs would most likely be above my skill level and knowledge.I am pretty darn handy but I would hate to do any damage to my new babies.is this an expensive fix and where could I get it done.i guess that if I had someone that could coach me through it cold probably do it.would it be advised to just have them all done and be done with it
 
Poly switches, bypass them and the emits will sound much better.
I have read elsewhere that this is dangerous and I would have a never ending battle of replacing semit'so and emit's.is this not true ?I do like my music very loud if that makes any difference
 
If you play your k9 loud then I would replace the poly switches with new ones, I had mine bypassed for over 10 years and never had a problem but I don't play mine loud.
 
The Kappa 9 schematic calls for a 0.85A rated polyswitch, to protect the Semit. Parts Express has a 0.75A replacement. It's the closest they have, without going over the recommended amp rating.

http://www.parts-express.com/te-connectivity-raychem-rxef075-075a-polyswitch--071-258

The Emit uses a 1.0A polyswitch, if needed. Again, this is the closest stocked at Parts Express.

http://www.parts-express.com/te-connectivity-raychem-rxef110-110a-polyswitch--071-262

Otherwise, you picked up some nice gear, with those speakers and amps. Treat them nice, as they're worthy of care and respect.

Good luck.
 
The Kappa 9 schematic calls for a 0.85A rated polyswitch, to protect the Semit. Parts Express has a 0.75A replacement. It's the closest they have, without going over the recommended amp rating.

http://www.parts-express.com/te-connectivity-raychem-rxef075-075a-polyswitch--071-258

The Emit uses a 1.0A polyswitch, if needed. Again, this is the closest stocked at Parts Express.

http://www.parts-express.com/te-connectivity-raychem-rxef110-110a-polyswitch--071-262

Otherwise, you picked up some nice gear, with those speakers and amps. Treat them nice, as they're worthy of care and respect.

Good luck.
Is this something that someone with very little experience could do?could your average electronic repair shop fix this properly?I'd love to do it myself but I would need someone to walk me through the process.thank you for your input.
 
Is this something that someone with very little experience could do?could your average electronic repair shop fix this properly?I'd love to do it myself but I would need someone to walk me through the process.thank you for your input.

The Kappa crossover boards are populated on both sides, and then mounted to the trim panel that mounts to the back of the cabinet. So, the toughest part is more likely taking the crossover apart to get to the side with the polyswitch. Once exposed, if you can solder, you could probably do the work.

Here's an earlier AK thread, discussing this very issue. Illustrated with pictures too! If the pictures don't scare you, changing the polyswitches should be straight-forward.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kappa-9-poly-switch-crossover.567796/
 
The Kappa crossover boards are populated on both sides, and then mounted to the trim panel that mounts to the back of the cabinet. So, the toughest part is more likely taking the crossover apart to get to the side with the polyswitch.

Yes... It is such a pain in the butt!!! Actually, getting the two halves back together is the worst part!
 
I wonder if you could de-solder those poly switches from the exposed back of the board, then install the new ones one the back. that way you wouldn't have to take the boards apart.
 
Does anyone know of someone I could send my xover's to to have all of the polyswitch's replaced?or of anyone that would be willing to give me some detailed instructions on how to do this
 
Does anyone know of someone I could send my xover's to to have all of the polyswitch's replaced?or of anyone that would be willing to give me some detailed instructions on how to do this
Lexi, every so often someone such as yourself comes on this forum and with almost your exact situation asks the kind of questions you are asking about the Kappa 9's. Folks here could fill chapters on what you need to know on the K9's depending on your specific problems but you need to first do a full analysis of each speaker and driver to determine what may not be functioning properly so that folks here can give you guidance on what your next steps should be.

I will tell you that IMO even if you could find someone to do all the repairs for you, it is not financially feasible to do that.

Here is a pic of the xover of one of my Kappa 9's when I was working on my pair. Some capacitors are missing because I was in the process of replacing them. I rewired the crossovers so I could open them whenever I needed like a clam shell. (The small black box in the upper left above the number 10 is the Polyswitch breaker switch for the Semit.)
1-P1040534-001.JPG
 
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I've installed jumpers over the polyswitches in reference series infinities. It was much easier than solder sucking and fitting the PCB with the correct length. Just attach a lead between the two legs and cut it to length after soldered :)

Maybe this is the dissenting voice here... but my experience has been that any crossover with complexity will benefit from fresh capacitors. Rebuilding KEF crossovers (infamously complex) was a real eye opener for me, now I'm a stickler for new caps.

If this is your introduction to hifi... geez I think you'll enjoy yourself :) the Kappa series are great speakers. They respond strongly to the amplification you send their way. The electronics I ran into my infinities determined if the soundstage was 1ft or 50ft deep. The tweeters are very capable of a satisfying soundstage when the electronics behind them are up to snuff
 
Lexi, every so often someone such as yourself comes on this forum and with almost your exact situation asks the kind of questions you are asking about the Kappa 9's. Folks here could fill chapters on what you need to know on the K9's depending on your specific problems but you need to first do a full analysis of each speaker and driver to determine what may not be functioning properly so that folks here can give you guidance on what your next steps should be.

I will tell you that IMO even if you could find someone to do all the repairs for you, it is not financially feasible to do that.

Here is a pic of the xover of one of my Kappa 9's when I was working on my pair. Some capacitors are missing because I was in the process of replacing them. I rewired the crossovers so I could open them whenever I needed like a clam shell. (The small black box in the upper left above the number 10 is the Polyswitch breaker switch for the Semit.)
View attachment 826210
Thank I have tested all of the driver's that are in question and they are in great working condition one semit cuts out at moderate levels.
 
Thank I have tested all of the driver's that are in question and they are in great working condition one semit cuts out at moderate levels.one emit has a jumped across the polyswitch and another is not functioning from what I'm reading most likely the Polyswitch again. so I will most likely replace all of the polyswitch's or have someone do it for me thank you for your help
 
I, took a few k8 and k9 crossovers apart in the past, they are not that hard if you know what you are doing, you have to know how to solder and de-solder, I remove the woofer to work on them, you will have to de-solder the two boards apart to get at the switches.
 
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