muziekfreak
Active Member
Well hello there fellow audio enthusiasts, as i already posted a couple reviews before. After pulling out a old friend of mine yesterday, this warrants a more closer look at these speaker. As per usual, it's how i experience them. And based on my own ears to what's being said here, this does not mean you experienced or will experience same results.
Arnie nudell and his designs....
Let's start there, if you're familiar with his work than you know. That almost, each and every series speakers, he ever designed always had something unique to it. The kappa series, was no different from that rule for example the only series in the entire infinity lineup that used a Polygraph mid-driver. Somethings never change, such as Nudell speakers do require a certain sacrifice of its owner. This should not be taken lightly with owning the kappa 8 and 9 mainly.
What do i need?
I get this question a lot, i have lots of infinity speakers and it always boils down to 2 major things you will NEED. To make speakers like this perform optimally, its amplification and space (aside from a good wife or girlfriend that's willing to accept the size speakers we are talking about) For the K9 to perform by experimentation be al least about 14-15 foot away from the speakers (optimal low end performance) 12 feet was to close to enjoy its capability. Amplifiers do NOT NEED TO BE tons of WATTS, it's about current! I have used tubes before never a problem, and if you go the solid state route? Just make sure it has ample power supply. It's current these speakers will draw (we measured them pulling 11amps) you will not see this even with a ESL.
The kappa conundrum....is it?!
The 8 and especially 9 are speakers not meant for people that do not wish to invest themselves to much in the demand these require to be OPTIMAL. I have had, folks tell me they driven it with ease on a denon best buy amp, until they discover the "extended" switch on the back. My point is, YES you can run them with subpar amplification, you can switch them to normal mode. And like magic, the speakers will perform really well on a more linear impedance curve. No gross dips to 0.8ohm, or amp pulling at all, even on the higher volumes. However, you will sacrifice low end in doing so, so yes! You indeed, can run a k8 or k9 as such but let's face it, you would want to churn every bit of quality out of them. These are not speakers, that can be compared to anything out there, and they are not cheap. Not even on today's market, these speakers really retain their value!
Setting them up... is a breeze
Thanks to its slim design, these are not hard to place at all however i do suggest as i said above. Do try to get a healthy distance from them i have tried a wide variety of distances from the speakers. And in my space at around 14-15 feet away from them. You get effortless low end out of them, you will enjoy the 4x12 inch IMG woofers these speakers have to the fullest. Many confuse these speakers for being, DI POLE, they are most certainly not. Least not on their full range capability, a tweeter on the back is more there for ambiance than anything else. A heavily damped port, serves as a sort of reflex port for the Polydome radiating to the back of these speakers. I had 0 issues setting them up, never have even in the somewhat smaller rooms.
The do like being free from walls like any speaker, but thanks to the shallow cabinets, you can place them some what closer to backwalls if need be.
The speakers also have L pads, you can adjust them as you see fit and make it work in almost any room. That's what i do like about the Nudells, there was very clear thought behind his speakers and the way you could adjust them to fit individual needs of the listener. In short if you cannot make these work for you at all, i have no clue what to tell you. The speakers are surely not the issue, seen the tune abilities it has to cater to ones needs.
Sound impressions
After a plethora of vinyl and cds, it become very clear that the K9 has a neck to be brutally honest to what its been fed. If a recording, is rather quality compromised it will punish you severely. It's not a speaker, meant for the older rock and rollers under us. As there i found, that it tends to sound rather hard on the ears and pretty unforgiving. We all know the old 70ts and 80ts rock name drumkits, that sound extremely dry even on a forgiving speaker (such as my magnepans) with the k9. It will brutally make, your toes curl and the desire to break that particular record becomes rather tempting. This is NOT the speaker, for people that tend to gravitate to a more musical (ergo warm, less confronting) experience. This is a speaker for the purist, someone that loves hearing every single detail on a record being presented to you. .
And trust me folks, these do this is a speaker that specs 27hz-44khz 3db not many out there (in the price class these float in) that embody full range to the extend these do. The Emits and S-emit drivers, are extremely detailed. You can hear every single pop or crackle in a track if it's there, you will even hear back ground noise coming through them. It's spectacular, for sure on recordings that have been mastered to better standards. In short you feed it crap? It will reflect that, just a fair warning.
NOTE: The reason why the drivers go up that high 44khz, Nudell, thought behind it was rather simple, if a driver can perform to those frequency responses, it's not compromised doing it up to 20khz.
To me these speakers shine on the low end, incredibly deep, rich and powerful without any overbearing characteristics. I think, in its current price class, this is low end you will come out of pocket for double what these speakers cost. They are revealing , yet warm and rich on the mid and full ranged deep on the bass they can produce. It's a impressive feat what this speaker can do... considering it's passive crossover (so no controllers and additional hassles needed) and being a floor stander.
Driver integration
This is more of a footnote based on what i hear, it's no secret that Nudell was ahead of his time by mangling cones, domes and planar drivers in one neatly packed box. And made it sound legit good, the Kappa series do show some minute fallacies there. The integration between, the two domes and its upper end sometimes is evident. You can hear it especially when you hear nasally voiced singers sing, that the bottom Emit picks up rather fast on it and really does not involve the polydome enough to compensate for it. The result is, harsh on the syllables and a rather clear separation at times. This is also to blame the recording, i am sure as it is the singer that sounds anything but pleasing in those registers. Nonetheless, it's there, and it should be mentioned.
It's also the drivers, the drivers are two opposites of each other, the upper range is extremely articulate and revealing. As to where the domes are veiled and warm and rich sounding, this is sometimes audible the high tend to leap away from the mid.
NOTE: L pads were all set to FLAT response, so experimenting on that is warranted for improvements.
Overall verdict
What is there more to say about a goliath like this, do they have downsides? Yes, as with any Nudell, you need to be willing to sacrifice space, a good dose of amp and a willing spouse to accept a speaker this size. That aside, they are pieces of history that are in todays world still very relevant. These are not speakers, that i would stamp "mid-fi" by any means. They can fit in most rooms, you can adjust their sound to fit your needs and demands. And these are speakers, that will outdo most speakers in their current price class (and above)
These are not normal floor standers, with the 5ft tall stature, a imposing speaker. But also beautiful, in looks the veneers even after 30 plus years held up so well. The style, too they look by lack of better wording elegant while being massive. The fit and finishes on these speakers, are just incredible no where 90 degree angles, fluted cabinets. That was done by design, to give the cabinets a more pleasant resonance as they knew it will be introduced into the sound these make. To, me personally it's one of the most affordable true taste of what nudell was about speaker on the market today.
You get massive low end drivers (also used in the beta and irs series same woofers) you get the unique polygraph and its more typical polydomes. And offcourse the Emit drivers, all neatly packed in a beautiful, cabinet that's in my opinion timeless. The show off what they are performance speakers, they will not bore you and you can get lots more out of them as you better the gear y
Arnie nudell and his designs....
Let's start there, if you're familiar with his work than you know. That almost, each and every series speakers, he ever designed always had something unique to it. The kappa series, was no different from that rule for example the only series in the entire infinity lineup that used a Polygraph mid-driver. Somethings never change, such as Nudell speakers do require a certain sacrifice of its owner. This should not be taken lightly with owning the kappa 8 and 9 mainly.
What do i need?
I get this question a lot, i have lots of infinity speakers and it always boils down to 2 major things you will NEED. To make speakers like this perform optimally, its amplification and space (aside from a good wife or girlfriend that's willing to accept the size speakers we are talking about) For the K9 to perform by experimentation be al least about 14-15 foot away from the speakers (optimal low end performance) 12 feet was to close to enjoy its capability. Amplifiers do NOT NEED TO BE tons of WATTS, it's about current! I have used tubes before never a problem, and if you go the solid state route? Just make sure it has ample power supply. It's current these speakers will draw (we measured them pulling 11amps) you will not see this even with a ESL.
The kappa conundrum....is it?!
The 8 and especially 9 are speakers not meant for people that do not wish to invest themselves to much in the demand these require to be OPTIMAL. I have had, folks tell me they driven it with ease on a denon best buy amp, until they discover the "extended" switch on the back. My point is, YES you can run them with subpar amplification, you can switch them to normal mode. And like magic, the speakers will perform really well on a more linear impedance curve. No gross dips to 0.8ohm, or amp pulling at all, even on the higher volumes. However, you will sacrifice low end in doing so, so yes! You indeed, can run a k8 or k9 as such but let's face it, you would want to churn every bit of quality out of them. These are not speakers, that can be compared to anything out there, and they are not cheap. Not even on today's market, these speakers really retain their value!
Setting them up... is a breeze
Thanks to its slim design, these are not hard to place at all however i do suggest as i said above. Do try to get a healthy distance from them i have tried a wide variety of distances from the speakers. And in my space at around 14-15 feet away from them. You get effortless low end out of them, you will enjoy the 4x12 inch IMG woofers these speakers have to the fullest. Many confuse these speakers for being, DI POLE, they are most certainly not. Least not on their full range capability, a tweeter on the back is more there for ambiance than anything else. A heavily damped port, serves as a sort of reflex port for the Polydome radiating to the back of these speakers. I had 0 issues setting them up, never have even in the somewhat smaller rooms.
The do like being free from walls like any speaker, but thanks to the shallow cabinets, you can place them some what closer to backwalls if need be.
The speakers also have L pads, you can adjust them as you see fit and make it work in almost any room. That's what i do like about the Nudells, there was very clear thought behind his speakers and the way you could adjust them to fit individual needs of the listener. In short if you cannot make these work for you at all, i have no clue what to tell you. The speakers are surely not the issue, seen the tune abilities it has to cater to ones needs.
Sound impressions
After a plethora of vinyl and cds, it become very clear that the K9 has a neck to be brutally honest to what its been fed. If a recording, is rather quality compromised it will punish you severely. It's not a speaker, meant for the older rock and rollers under us. As there i found, that it tends to sound rather hard on the ears and pretty unforgiving. We all know the old 70ts and 80ts rock name drumkits, that sound extremely dry even on a forgiving speaker (such as my magnepans) with the k9. It will brutally make, your toes curl and the desire to break that particular record becomes rather tempting. This is NOT the speaker, for people that tend to gravitate to a more musical (ergo warm, less confronting) experience. This is a speaker for the purist, someone that loves hearing every single detail on a record being presented to you. .
And trust me folks, these do this is a speaker that specs 27hz-44khz 3db not many out there (in the price class these float in) that embody full range to the extend these do. The Emits and S-emit drivers, are extremely detailed. You can hear every single pop or crackle in a track if it's there, you will even hear back ground noise coming through them. It's spectacular, for sure on recordings that have been mastered to better standards. In short you feed it crap? It will reflect that, just a fair warning.
NOTE: The reason why the drivers go up that high 44khz, Nudell, thought behind it was rather simple, if a driver can perform to those frequency responses, it's not compromised doing it up to 20khz.
To me these speakers shine on the low end, incredibly deep, rich and powerful without any overbearing characteristics. I think, in its current price class, this is low end you will come out of pocket for double what these speakers cost. They are revealing , yet warm and rich on the mid and full ranged deep on the bass they can produce. It's a impressive feat what this speaker can do... considering it's passive crossover (so no controllers and additional hassles needed) and being a floor stander.
Driver integration
This is more of a footnote based on what i hear, it's no secret that Nudell was ahead of his time by mangling cones, domes and planar drivers in one neatly packed box. And made it sound legit good, the Kappa series do show some minute fallacies there. The integration between, the two domes and its upper end sometimes is evident. You can hear it especially when you hear nasally voiced singers sing, that the bottom Emit picks up rather fast on it and really does not involve the polydome enough to compensate for it. The result is, harsh on the syllables and a rather clear separation at times. This is also to blame the recording, i am sure as it is the singer that sounds anything but pleasing in those registers. Nonetheless, it's there, and it should be mentioned.
It's also the drivers, the drivers are two opposites of each other, the upper range is extremely articulate and revealing. As to where the domes are veiled and warm and rich sounding, this is sometimes audible the high tend to leap away from the mid.
NOTE: L pads were all set to FLAT response, so experimenting on that is warranted for improvements.
Overall verdict
What is there more to say about a goliath like this, do they have downsides? Yes, as with any Nudell, you need to be willing to sacrifice space, a good dose of amp and a willing spouse to accept a speaker this size. That aside, they are pieces of history that are in todays world still very relevant. These are not speakers, that i would stamp "mid-fi" by any means. They can fit in most rooms, you can adjust their sound to fit your needs and demands. And these are speakers, that will outdo most speakers in their current price class (and above)
These are not normal floor standers, with the 5ft tall stature, a imposing speaker. But also beautiful, in looks the veneers even after 30 plus years held up so well. The style, too they look by lack of better wording elegant while being massive. The fit and finishes on these speakers, are just incredible no where 90 degree angles, fluted cabinets. That was done by design, to give the cabinets a more pleasant resonance as they knew it will be introduced into the sound these make. To, me personally it's one of the most affordable true taste of what nudell was about speaker on the market today.
You get massive low end drivers (also used in the beta and irs series same woofers) you get the unique polygraph and its more typical polydomes. And offcourse the Emit drivers, all neatly packed in a beautiful, cabinet that's in my opinion timeless. The show off what they are performance speakers, they will not bore you and you can get lots more out of them as you better the gear y
