So I just bought some Kappa 9's....

[Speedbump71]

I probably paid too much, but I have never seen a local pair. I have $400 in these, and they look to need all of the woofers refoamed, and the Polydomes repaired. Hopefully the tweeters are in good shape. It was a gamble not being able to listen to them, but since they are a "holy grail" type speaker I rolled the dice.

Looks like Millersound is the place to get the mids redone.....anything special about the woofers I need to know before refoaming? Watkins Stereo (made the woofers) is just up the road about an hour, but they want $75 a pop to refoam those woofers. I'm not sure they can do it THAT much better than I can.

Im just suffering post purchase anxiety

Speed

 

[jazzmans]

the Kappa 9 aren't watkins, unless I'm mistaken. those domes... ewww! definitely keep us posted on how the repair at millersound goes, I've got a pair that they'll have to see sooner or later.
They aren't 'generic' foams, there's something special about the IMG cone foam, so definitely get the 'right' foam if you can.


I'd pay 400$ for them, hope all the Emit's and the existing polydome works!

Congrats! I'm trying to figure out how to get my brothers pair away from him, as If I didn't have enough Infinity speakers already, (Never Enough!)

 

[Infinity!]

No need to suffer with anxiety! Once you get everything fixed and restored, they will blow you away! For $400, you stole them. The only thing that might be a huge drawback is if the S-EMIT's are blown. They're hard to come by and are extremely expesive to replace. Keep us posted with pictures on the progress you make. Btw, what amps will you be using with them?

 

[Speedbump71]

I was going to try driving them with my Parasound 2250. It is good for 400wpc into 2Ω. Specs say capable of 45A per channel. I am pretty sure it wont die......

Since the drivers are not Watkins, is there one place over another that you would buy the foam for these?

 

[BrianLW]

Congrats.! You got a good deal. When I got my 9s, I used the foam kit from simplyspeakers.com

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/infinity-speaker-foam-edge-repair-kit-fsk-12ji-4.html

 

[slimpikkins]

Great speakers! That's the way I like to buy my Infinitys, extra crispy. You get the best deals that way plus the satisfaction of turning them back into something really special. There's a thread or two on fixing the poly dome diy. I repaired a couple pair but for the money Millersound would be better. Email them for an estimate. The pairs I fixed worked great but it took a few tries and unless you are really tight with cash or a crazy person it's just not really worth the time. They are cheap to repair yourself, like $30.00 or so a pair. If you want to go that route and can't find the threads pm me and I can give you some pics and info on the materials I used.
Keep us posted on the progress.
Jim

 

[Kev_rat]

A Question that has intrigued me
Is the Semit really a different device aside from the cover?

 

[swechsler]

For DIY woofer surrounds, Rick Cobb is your man (and his prices are reasonable too) - search the forum for his contact info. He will have an exact match. While these are not Watkins dual-voicecoil woofers, I believe Bill Watkins mentioned (possibly on the Yahoo Infinity group) that he or his company had a hand in the design (possibly they manufactured them as well). Yes, $300 is a lot to pay for the refoam.

 

[swechsler]

A Question that has intrigued me
Is the Semit really a different device aside from the cover?

It's a smaller version of the EMIT; interestingly it's the same driver (with a different faceplate) used on some RS4000 models (others had the standard EMIT).

Since the standard EMIT is flat to above 30khz, I don't see any real reason for it. I doubt you'd hear a difference if you replaced a SEMIT with an EMIT.

 

[Rex81]

Looks like a great project, and you did fine on the price if the EMITs are working. Just refoam the woofers yourself. They're not hard at all. Simply Speakers has the correct foam and provides some nice black glue that works especially well with IMG woofers. Don't use the white stuff. The clear cement stuff is ok too.

 

[Bahamayellow]

Congrats on your Kappa 9 and welcome to the club. If your domes are not repairable you can always find a used pair on eekbay. There is a really nice pair on there now but the guy wants a mint. He may do a bundle deal for both if u wanted originals. I have seen them for 125 here and there. The S emits I thought were at a higher frequency range. Would u b able to tell I'm not sure for sound. Mine are working so it sounds great to me. Let us know your progress.

 

[chef free]

Nice speakers and for a good price! Kappa 9 are on my "maybe someday" list for sure. The Parasound is good match for these hard to drive speakers.

 

[Speedbump71]

HOLY SMOKES! The crossovers on these things are ridiculous. Any hints on getting them out for a recap, or should I just leave them alone for now?

 

[savatage1973]

HOLY SMOKES! The crossovers on these things are ridiculous. Any hints on getting them out for a recap, or should I just leave them alone for now?

Leave them alone for now and get everything else in order first. I have rebuilt those crossovers before and it is not for the faint of heart--besides, Infinity used pretty good quality caps in there to start with.

 

[Rex81]

I'll second that. I haven't seen huge improvements in the recaps I've done. Always seems to be more cost and work than it's worth. Just my opinion.

 

[slimpikkins]

Don't own them but know the little thermal fuse switches go bad from threads here from time to time. So if you ever notice your emits giving out or stop working that is a good place to start. Otherwise personally I'd just fix the woofers and the mids and if everything works after that sit back and enjoy...
Jim

 

[rvito]

Bill at millersound can reform the woofers and he does great work.

 

[Brad Muller]

Watch a youtube video on how to refoam woofers. Shimming the voice coil is important.

 

[Rex81]

Watch a youtube video on how to refoam woofers. Shimming the voice coil is important.

Shimming the voice coil is always an option, but out of the maybe 50 refoams I've done, only one required it. The other 49 did just fine by playing a 30hz test tone to center it. And probably 15 of those were IMG drivers. The test tone way is easier.

 

[Speedbump71]

I have done a few refoams, but am trading a couple sets of non essential speakers that need foam replaced to a local guy in return for his labor on the woofers. I always used the tone gen to center them when I did them though.