CarnahanBB
Super Member
Anyone out there heard both in a manner which acquits itself to a fair comparison? If I'm not mistaken I've heard some prefer the 8s? Any and all input will be greatly appreciated! :thmbsp:
Well, a guy who was interested in a pair of JBL L36s and a Kenwood receiver I had for sale had a pair of Kappa 8s he had purchased brand new in 1990. Long story short, I brought home a mint pair of Kappa 8s and $350 and he took home my gear. Really couldn't be happier! They're really no match for the QLS-1s but I have to say they really have the Infinity sound. More listening to come but I'm very pleased overall. Woofer refoam to follow as well. Are these trickier to refoam than a poly or paper cone woofer? Advice?
Sounds like a good deal, those Kappa 8's are great sounding speakers, and they don't require such a large room. I find them really good for rock and pop music. As far as placement I doubt that is the OP's final resting spot for them, more probable just checking them out, I think they are a bit far from the wall to get much of the dipole effects from them.
So now that you have the new speakers are you going to send me those QLS1's with new mids in them ? Lets see Neb. to CT .. shipping ... LOL !!!! just kidding..
John M
Congrats on those Kappas CarnahanBB, are those IMG woofers (injection molded graphite) ? If so they are similar to the crescendo's I just refoamed and were a bit more tedious than my QLS1s were to refoam due to the angled foam and also the number of drivers I had to refoam in the crescendo's (6) but with a bit of patience they turned out great and do really well in my medium sized room, something I never accomplished with the bigger Infinity's. I have heard that the Crescendo's and Kappas share some of the driver models. I hope you enjoy those as much as I am my latest Infinity's.
I am sorry that I can't really answer that truthfully. I simply don't have a pair of great amps to drive the 9's in a manner that I found them to what their potiential could be. I can say from the amps that I used, which were the same as what I used for the 8's they have quite a bit of extended highs over the 8's, and where I found the problem the most was trying to good clean tight bass. I would think a good pair of mono blocks for the bass, and for the top end because of the extended range on the SEMIT you better get a very clean amp that is what others might refer to as musical.
If you plan on buying a pair of Kappa 9's you better plan on spending a lot more for the amps than you will have to spend on the Kappa 9's. But if you shop smart those same amps should also be a good set up for your QLS-1's.
I'm in the middle of this discussion, so to speak, having two pairs of Kappa 9's and a pair of Kappa 7's. The 7's are a great speaker and much more amp-friendly than the 9's, but the 9's are absolutely amazing when driven properly--but that clearly limits your amp selection. I use four Krell class A monoblocs for my one pair of 9's with great results, and am still experimenting with amps for the other pair, but they are demanding mistresses...
Even though they may not be the world's best sounding amps I'd like to think that two 565s and a 555 II would be enough for the 9s. I'm using the 565s on the Kappa 8s and they drive them with total authority and frankly they've never even got warm. I think they were having a tougher time with the Watkins in the QLS.