Powering my new Kappa 9's

[Ashemo]

I know this has been discussed many times before so apologies in advance. I have been looking forward as to my next purchase for powering my K9's. I have received a lot of great info on this forum and have narrowed down my choices (I think).

I almost grabbed a pair of first gen Aragon Palladiums. Missed out.

I'm currently looking at the following power sources:

1. Aragon Palladium II's or Palladium 1K's
2. McIntosh MC 2500
3. Nelson Pass design (Threshold or equivalent)

Currently running Denon POA-6600 Monoblocks.


Thanks

 

[Ashemo]

Recommendations are welcome.

Thanks

 

[Tedrick]

Any of the 3 you listed would do a fine job. I'm partial to Nelson Pass designs, so Threshold or Pass Labs would be at the top of my list. But there area a couple of members using Palladium's with Kappa 9's as well, so clearly another good choice.

 

[jazzmans]

My brother powers his with a pair of PS Audio monoblocks. They sound mighty fine! 250 wpc? (don't remember the specific model, but they're class A)
Personally I use carver amplification on all my speakers, both Infinity and Magnepan.
I live in the desert, and any additional heat must be removed via phase change a/c, so I keep amps that don't generate a lot of heat.

Any of your choices would probably do just fine. Everyone has their preferences, but the good thing is the Kappa 9 has been around a while, and we mostly know what does and doesn't work with them.

big power, at LEAST 200 wpc and rated down to 2 ohms are necessities imo.

 

[7.62]

XLS 2502

 

[savatage1973]

A single Krell KSA 250 will do just fine--and keep you warm all winter. I use 4 KMA 160's on mine. You don't need to go to the Palladiums with Aragon--a pair of 4004's or 8008's will do just fine.

 

[Ashemo]

Thanks! The K9’s are set up in a smaller living room right now so the Denons can fill the room with plenty of sound without issue. I’m still running in normal mode until I upgrade the amps. Guess I’m sorta paranoid about frying something but the Denons never get too hot. The K9’s will soon be moving into a much larger space when I move.

I don’t push them too hard with this current setup.

I’m looking for tighter bass, more punch, and more than enough current/power with no compromise in sound quality.

The Krell is very nice. Like the Mac it is a heavy chunk of iron at 140 lbs? Someday I’ll be too old to move that around, but not yet. haha.

I just saw a pair of AVM Monoblocks for sale. The specs look right. I know nothing about these and there is very little info on the web about them.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[damacman]

Seems to me @jdwk used an MC2500 with his Kappa 9s for a long time ...

 

[jdwk]

that is correct, and the 2500 sounded a lot better than the pro amps that have enough power for those speakers. if you run them on too little power, they will also sound bad and you won't understand how anyone likes them.

 

[Ashemo]

Is the 2500 as bullet proof as they claim it to be? I would like to put it in it’s resting place and leave it if I go that route.

 

[jdwk]

yeah mine has a bad resistor in it right now, but it worked flawlessly for 35 years before it needed any work.

 

[coman61]

Many years ago I had great success with Aragon Palladium 1K's on my Kappa 9's. Sadly I have neither now.