Kappa 8 in the house! Sorry no new polks this time.

bored184

I was perusing Craigslist the other day and I came across an add with infinity house speakers with the below photo.

At first I thought they were part of the RS line up until I was able to contact the seller. Upon a few more photos between the seller and myself they turned out to be kappa 8s. I have a buddy in Indy who I was corresponding with and he was quite persistent in having me drop everything I was doing to go get them regardless. I was still holding out on more photos from the seller. With a few more photos between the seller and myself it turned out to be Kappa 8s! I made arrangements to pick them up up at 8 the following morning. Below is a photo of them in my basement audio room.

The woofers need refoam which should be a easy fix. The polydomes will be the real expense in getting them up and running. I carefully hooked up my Adcom to the highs and it has one rear emit tweeter out. Overall not a bad haul for $50.00!

halo71

You will love those once you get them up and running right! You may even, dare I say it, like them better than the 1C's!

EndersShadow

I sent you a PM Jonathan.

And one day I will be over to hear these babies once they get up and running.

I will see what I can find on them as well.

EndersShadow

Some info for you:

Kappa 8 mods: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/207548-infinity-kappa-8-modification.html

Kappa 8 info: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=246411

The K8 is one of Infinity's famous 'amp killers' due to its sealed box design and crossover architecture, which resulted in a very difficult impedance curve that dips down to 2 ohms in some regions. These speakers are very demanding, and require a serious amp that is capable of producing prodigious quantities of current into that 2-ohm load. Amps with these capabilities are usually heavy, hot, and quite expensive.

Also funny story.... Travis (Trav0821) Carver PM2.0 might pair well with them given its got a nice 2 ohm rating (450 wpc).

http://thecarversite.com/manuals/mandir/Carver%20PM-2.0t%20owner%20manual.pdf

Might be an amp to see if you can borrow once they are up and running to seee how it works....

cnh

Very very nice. I've always wanted to try a pair. Remember hearing them back in the day when they were new, and liking them quit a bit!

Enjoy!

cnh

Mystery

They need a lot of power. Hope you have that covered.

EndersShadow

He's working on it. .

He's got a Carver TFM-25 and a decent Adcom, however the issue is neither amp is rated to handle 2 ohms which these may drop to for part of their frequency range.

He's also got a tube amp that might be able to help him there.

bored184

I completely forgot that there is a Carver M1.5T sitting over at my fathers. It was mine but he bought to help fund some Adcoms. I will have to read the manual but I think that can handle 2ohms of less. I am probably going to replace the PolyDomes with these: http://www.simplyspeakers.com/replacement-speaker-dome-midrange-m-330.html

If I spent the money on replacements from Ebay that are still intact it is just a matter of time before the deteriorate as well. The woofers will be getting refoamed.

EndersShadow is right if the Carver M1.5T wont cut the mustard then its amp hunting I will go!

steveinaz

Very nice, I had new RSIIIb's in the 80's and often thought about trying to refurb a used pair.

EndersShadow

bored184 wrote: »

I completely forgot that there is a Carver M1.5T sitting over at my fathers. It was mine but he bought to help fund some Adcoms. I will have to read the manual but I think that can handle 2ohms of less.

EndersShadow is right if the Carver M1.5T wont cut the mustard then its amp hunting I will go!

I also failed to mention the 1.5 would work in theory, but my contact said he wouldnt do it.

bored184 wrote: »

I am probably going to replace the PolyDomes with these: http://www.simplyspeakers.com/replacement-speaker-dome-midrange-m-330.html

If I spent the money on replacements from Ebay that are still intact it is just a matter of time before the deteriorate as well. The woofers will be getting refoamed.

Like I said in my email, you can get true replacement parts, but follow up with my contact to make sure they are from the right guys. I asked him about the part you linked to as well and will let you know what he says.

EndersShadow

bored184 wrote: »

I am probably going to replace the PolyDomes with these: http://www.simplyspeakers.com/replacement-speaker-dome-midrange-m-330.html

EndersShadow wrote: »

I asked him about the part you linked to as well and will let you know what he says.

And here is your answer Jon:

That would be a huge NO on that one. Have seen treads where dudes have used that midrange. The specs on that Mid and the polydome are not even close.

Irrenhaus

Hi

Nice...here some more 7's in the Bay Area...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ele/4168821601.html

Cheers

geoff727

A killer deal on a pair of 8's! Outstanding!

I've heard a few people on the audiokarma Infinity forum say that those midranges end up sounding quite forward when placed in 8's or 9's, even though they're advertised as drop-in replacements. I don't know what the specs are on the original Polydomes [EnderShadow, do you know?], but I wonder if some additional resistance padding would (at least largely) solve the problem.

A number of people who have domes that are intact seem to be having a lot of success with Meguiar's plastic & rubber conditioner in bringing them back to translucent, non-brittle state.

I am envious of your find....G~

scottyboy76

Incredible haul for 50 bucks.

Wish i still had my rs6s, not to listen to, but to part them out, i could have sold you some crystal clear polydomes cheap.

Probably the most dissapointing speaks i ever owned, let them go for 150 dollars.

The kappas and rsIIbs are the way to go.

EndersShadow

scottyboy76 wrote: »

Incredible haul for 50 bucks.

Wish i still had my rs6s, not to listen to, but to part them out, i could have sold you some crystal clear polydomes cheap.

Probably the most dissapointing speaks i ever owned, let them go for 150 dollars.

The kappas and rsIIbs are the way to go.

Hehehe, trust me scotty, I almost had him PM you to check....

EndersShadow

geoff727 wrote: »

A killer deal on a pair of 8's! Outstanding!

I've heard a few people on the audiokarma Infinity forum say that those midranges end up sounding quite forward when placed in 8's or 9's, even though they're advertised as drop-in replacements. I don't know what the specs are on the original Polydomes [EnderShadow, do you know?], but I wonder if some additional resistance padding would (at least largely) solve the problem.

A number of people who have domes that are intact seem to be having a lot of success with Meguiar's plastic & rubber conditioner in bringing them back to translucent, non-brittle state.

I am envious of your find....G~

I dont know the spec's but I put him in touch with a very skilled technical advisor so he's in good hands.

leftwinger57

At the price you got them for any $ you put into them will be well worth it .I never heard anyone saying anything bad about the Kappa line ,mine on the other hand were panned universaly SM112s. Great score ,I don't think it equates w/ my $50 SDA 2Bs but it's a really nice pick up and your friend was right to hurry your tuchas over to get them....

bored184

Below is link to some better photos.
http://s259.photobucket.com/user/bored184/library/Infinity%20Kappa

EndersShadow

I gotta admit, I thought they were deeper speakers than that. Otherwise they look pretty good.

How do you like the Kappa 6's?

bored184

The RS-6bs were my real "audiophile" speakers. I had them hooked up to a Marantz 2226 and I just thought that was the best thing I ever heard. However, I tried the Marantz and Infinity combo awhile back now that I have acquired some nicer stuff and I was surprised how muddy things sounded. I will probably hook them up to one of my Carvers or Adcom amps because I think they could use a little more power to really shine.

bored184

The Kappas LIVE!! Photos and impression will occur sometime this coming weekend!

MAD

Can't wait for the comparison.

I missed out on a pair of infinity RS 1B selling for $600 ish. Missed the posting by 5 minutes and they were gone.

halo71

scottyboy76 wrote: »

Incredible haul for 50 bucks.

Wish i still had my rs6s, not to listen to, but to part them out, i could have sold you some crystal clear polydomes cheap.

The mids in the Kappa's and the RS series are not the same. Just sayin'....

mccarty250

I'm pretty sure he's got the amplification covered at this stage, I'm the 'unknown person' who insisted that the drop everything immediately and pick up the Kappa 8's. I've got a pair of RSII's, less of an amp killer than the 8's but still something that doesn't treat an amp with much respect, I'm looking forward to A/B'ing with the Kappa's. Some different drivers employed between both models but I'm guessing they still employ the same infinity sound. The tweeters on the vintage infinities are a lot more reserved than polk tweeters in general, I think that anyone coming from the polk world will initially find them mild until their ears adjust to the more delicate sound.

nooshinjohn

any updates?

amb426amb1

50 bucks... what a steal! I love my refurbished rs iii b's and recently picked up some polk 2.3 tl's to try out. Have been dumping money into the polks, but so far have really enjoyed them and they have taken over the listening area.... for now