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Powering Kappa 6 speakers

S

sjm560

New Member
I know the Kappa 8 and 9 are known as AMP killers, but have a feeling the smaller Kappa 6 is less so.
I just bought a pair on e-bay that need the surrounds replaced and I also have a chance to pick up a Harman Kardon 3490 2 channel receiver that is rated at 120 watts per channel at 8 ohms.
Anyone have any thoughts on matching these up?
SJM
 
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You are correct, the K6 is MUCH easier to drive than the bigger K8 and K9. However, even though the K6's are more amp-friendly, they are still rated for a nominal 4-6 ohms, and will still benefit from an amp that can push some decent current. The HK receiver should power the K6's, but I'm not sure it will get the best sound from them, especially in the bass. These speakers need an amp with some balls to really take control of the woofers.
 
sjm560 said:
I know the Kappa 8 and 9 are known as AMP killers, but have a feeling the smaller Kappa 6 is less so.
I just bought a pair on e-bay that need the surrounds replaced and I also have a chance to pick up a Harman Kardon 3490 2 channel receiver that is rated at 120 watts per channel at 8 ohms.
Anyone have any thoughts on matching these up?
SJM
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I saw those go on the bay...You got a decent deal...but keep your eyes open for some newer polydomes to replace yours or to keep as spares......and I concour with what tedrick stated about power...
 
Thanks for the advice. I've been an believer in classic infinty speakers for a long time, my first pair was a pair of brand new QA's when I was 18.
I've been thinking of moving to an amp and pre amp setup any suggestions on brands and models I should keep an eye out for.
I'd like to buy used to keep the price down and my wife happy? I've always used Yamaha surround receivers so an amp would be a new direction for me anything I should look out for when matching up an amp with a pre-amp.
I have my eye on a Carver AV-405 amp, it has 5 channels, L,R = 100 watts each , C = 110 watts, surround = 50 watts each, any thoughts on how this would match-up with the kappas? Am I better off looking for a two channel amp with more wattage per channel and build a system on that?
I really appreciate any opinons and help as I woul like to get the most out of these speakers.
Steve
 
I have a set of 6s and the really sing with my B&K st202 (200w/ch ish) I find the B&K sound works really well with the infinities and extra power is always nice to have. I also have a set of kappa 6.1 on a B&K avr202 reciever at 100w/channel and they go plenty loud, but a a little higher impedance and probably easier to drive with the ported design, and have a sub to augment the bottom end
 
Well after doing some research I believe I am going to go after the most watts I can get in 2 channels from a quality amp.
Right now after reading some reviews I'm leaning towards the Adcom GFA555 series.
They are rated at 200 watts @ 8 ohms / 300 watts @ 4 ohms per channel.
I believe one of these will give me the power I am looking for at a decent price.
Anyone have any opinions on this?
 
sjm560 said:
Well after doing some research I believe I am going to go after the most watts I can get in 2 channels from a quality amp.
Right now after reading some reviews I'm leaning towards the Adcom GFA555 series.
They are rated at 200 watts @ 8 ohms / 300 watts @ 4 ohms per channel.
I believe one of these will give me the power I am looking for at a decent price.
Anyone have any opinions on this?
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Congrats on the new/ vintage Infinitys...nothing better IMHO...thers a very lively debate in an active thread about thee 555 going now, I suggest you read it..it definitely provided me with some guidance on the matter..
I recently obtained some vintage Infinitys, not your selection, but Infinitys all the same..they are rated for 150 wpc max..I'm running a healthy 165 wpc to them now..moving up to 225 wpc tomorrow..as Tedrick said..they require an amp with balls to get optimum performance out of them:yes:
 
sjm560 said:
Thanks for the advice. I've been an believer in classic infinty speakers for a long time, my first pair was a pair of brand new QA's when I was 18.
I've been thinking of moving to an amp and pre amp setup any suggestions on brands and models I should keep an eye out for.
I'd like to buy used to keep the price down and my wife happy? I've always used Yamaha surround receivers so an amp would be a new direction for me anything I should look out for when matching up an amp with a pre-amp.
I have my eye on a Carver AV-405 amp, it has 5 channels, L,R = 100 watts each , C = 110 watts, surround = 50 watts each, any thoughts on how this would match-up with the kappas? Am I better off looking for a two channel amp with more wattage per channel and build a system on that?
I really appreciate any opinons and help as I woul like to get the most out of these speakers.
Steve
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Since the Kappa 6's are not as tough to drive as its much bigger brothers, the number of quality amps from which you have to choose is considerably greater. I would suggest an amp in the 100-200 wpc range (into 8 ohms, of course) that is rated to drive a 4 ohm load. Candidates include amps from the likes of Adcom, Threshold, Forte (budget line of Threshold - I have 4 of them and they sound fantastic with vintage Infinity's), Acurus, Parasound, Bryston, B&K, some Yamahas, Aragon, Soundcraftsman, Sunfire, Krell, Levinson, Classe, Counterpoint, Boulder, etc. Your budget will certainly factor into your choices as well. Some of these brands will be quite expensive, even on the used market, whereas others can be real bargains.

My experience with Carver amps (TFM-25, specifically) and RS-IIIb's was it was a pretty mediocre match. Some of the bigger Carver amps in the TFM line and some of the M-series amps may work better. And of course the Silver 7 and Silver 9 would probably sound great. I would personally steer clear of the multi-channel Carver amps. Sunfire, however, is a completely different story.
 
a minor addition to Tedrick's always sound advice...I'm on day one of an old Kenwood Basic M2....225 wpc at 8 ohms...man, this thing sounds amazing pushing my vintage Infinitys.., and I was happy with what I had..:yes:
 
KneeOhFight,
Thanks for the info on the Adcom thread, Can I ask what you are using for a preamp?
Steve
 
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I have a pair of Kappa 6's that I just pulled out of storage. I stopped using them when the foam started to crack on one of them a couple of years ago. I used to power mine with my Mcintosh MAC-4280 receiver rated at 100 watts per channel into 4 ohms. They sounded great and didn't seem to push the receiver at all. I now am going to refoam the speakers and put them into use as fronts in a home theater I am building. I was wondering if you have refoamed your Kappa 6's and if so where you bought the surrounds from? I have seen a couple of sets on ebay but I don't want to buy an inferior project, so I was looking for some feedback. I was wondering what everyone thinks of an NAD 7400 powering these speakers while I build my home theater?
 
The NAD should be fine on your Infinity's. NAD always rated their stuff into 4 ohms or lower. I have a pair of 2140's that pushed my RS6000's quite well.
 
Thanks for the reply! One last question about driving these great speakers, I just bought a Rotel preamp/processor to build the home theater around. As far as five channel amps go, I wonder if a Rotel one would drive the Kappa's well? Or maybe go with Adcom or NAD..... Hope I am not hijacking but we are talking about the same model of speaker so I hope it is ok.
 
Hi Sandoz,
These are actually my second pair of Kappa 6's, I have not received the pair I just recently purchased yet. But I did have my original Kappa 6 woofer surrounds redone but I sent them out to Bill Watkins shop, Bill is the guy that designed the Watkins woofer that is used in a lot of Infinity speakers, I believe he is retired but his son has taken over the speaker repair business. Here is the URL http://www.watkinsstereo.com/
I did not have the confidence to do the job myself.
I have been running my original Kappa 6's with a Yamaha surround receiver but I 've been convinced to go to separates by the info I've picked up in this forum.
I am going to set up this new to me pair in my new Mancave in the basement and no I don't mind you posting here at all.
Steve
 
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Hi All
Ok on my original question I am going to make the move to separates, I am leaning towards Adcom as a good brand and easy on the wallet I have a couple of options
1) Adcom GFA5400 matched with an Adcom GTP 750 preamp I got at a good price. (Cheapest option)
2) Adcom GFA5500, same preamp as above, I know this is probably over kill for the Kappa 6's but for only $100.00 or so more than the 5400 it could be used for future speakers. (Best growth potential)
3) Sell the GTP 750 preamp and get an Adcom GFR-750 surround receiver. (Most expensive and lowest potentail for future growth)
I am leaning towards option 2 and my reasoning is because it offers the best option for future growth, any opinions?
 
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sjm560 said:
Knee OhFight, I see you have Infinity RS4b, how do you like them and can you compare them to the kappa 6's?
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as I have not owned any Kappa's I'm not qualified to comment..I would refer my questions to Tedrick and others with genuine background on Infinity matters...I'm but a crass newbie who is having a blast with my newfound toys.:D
 
kneeOhFight,
Thanks for the response, I was just curious because when I bought my first pair of Kappa 6's it was in the late 80's at the time I was going to buy a pair of Infinity RS's with dual 8" woofers for around $800/$900 and the salesman talked me into listening to the Kappa 6's that cost $1,200 and had a single 10" woofer in each speaker which at the time I thought could not compare to 4 woofers in the RS's, But I was blown away by the Kappa's and bought them. Plus learned a lesson that you cannot judge a speaker by the number of drivers.
I don't remember the RS model number and had a chance to buy a set of RS4b's but I wasn't sure if they where the same model that I originally compared to the kappa's.
Please don't take this as a put down to your speakers because I have never been disappointed by any early infinity speakers I have heard and some of my favorite's where my first pair of 2-way Qa's that cost me $300 new in the late 70's.
Steve
 
I would like to clarify my option 3 above. While I know the Adcom GFR-750 is not a separate amp and preamp I believe it is as close to being a separate amp and preamp as is possible in a surround receiver. I am attracted to the fact that it has surround sound already and HDMI ports and while I am not looking to set up a surround system right now in the basement, I might in the future and would only have to add rear and center speakers.
Of course having said this it would be my most expensive option and I am thinking if I get a GFA5500 it will be cheaper right now and I can add another amp in the future to power any surround set up I may move on to and also be able to keep my eyes open for some Kappa 7's or 8's that I would never try to power with a receiver.
Thanks for any responses, Steve
 
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