Speaker suggestions for the KA-9100

Almonds

Almonds

Active Member
Hello everyone,
I just joined a couple days ago. I've scored what I think is a great amp, the Ka-9100, but I'm not sure what speakers to pair it up with. I've been reading a ton about how some of these newer speakers need tons of power to really shine. I'm wondering whether I should seek out some vintage speakers, or find something newer? Does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for to get started? I like lots of bass, and I like it loud!
You can read my intro post from a few days ago to get some more info on my equipment.
Thanks!
 
First the 9100 has a ton of power.
Second the speakers are the most important part of the system that determine what the rig sounds like.

Lots of bass, maybe slap a powered sub or two into the rig
Loud, go with a speaker with a high sensitivity, anything over 92dB-1Watt-1meter will play pretty loud. You want painfully loud, you need over 98dB and the ability to handle the power from the amp. Klipsch do this, Cerwin Vega do this and Infinity SM series do this (mostly vintage) but I would not want any of them in my system without some mods they have a sound to them that I don't care for, but others love them.

If you can listen to new speakers do that and get an idea of what is offered. If you just have used choices, get ones that are fully functional and in good shape. This will allow you to enjoy them and flip them when you find the ones you ultimately want. Try a couple pair of Advents (stacked, two per channel) or ADS which are well built and have higher efficiency than many. Or JBL which also have a following.
 
Blue Shadow said:
First the 9100 has a ton of power.
Second the speakers are the most important part of the system that determine what the rig sounds like.

Lots of bass, maybe slap a powered sub or two into the rig
Loud, go with a speaker with a high sensitivity, anything over 92dB-1Watt-1meter will play pretty loud. You want painfully loud, you need over 98dB and the ability to handle the power from the amp. Klipsch do this, Cerwin Vega do this and Infinity SM series do this (mostly vintage) but I would not want any of them in my system without some mods they have a sound to them that I don't care for, but others love them.

If you can listen to new speakers do that and get an idea of what is offered. If you just have used choices, get ones that are fully functional and in good shape. This will allow you to enjoy them and flip them when you find the ones you ultimately want. Try a couple pair of Advents (stacked, two per channel) or ADS which are well built and have higher efficiency than many. Or JBL which also have a following.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I like loud, but not painfully loud :)
The info about the sensitivity is helpful, I didn't know anything about that before.
I found a pair of infinity Kappa 8.1 on Craigslist for $700. Does anyone think these would be a good pair with the amp, and is that a reasonable price?
 
Those would work but the big Infinities like power. You would need to find out how loud they play without the amp clipping and stay at that level or lower or you will be looking for tweeters. That level will be loud but not so loud that you will have a rock concert in the soundroom.
 
Blue Shadow said:
Those would work but the big Infinities like power. You would need to find out how loud they play without the amp clipping and stay a that level or lower or you will be looking for tweeters. That level will be loud but not so loud that you will have a rock concert in the soundroom.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks for the info. you say the 9100 amp has a ton of power, so I'm willing to give the infinity's a shot if they're a good price..I guess I'll have to do some research to see what they're worth.
I know myself, and I know that I never can tell if I like speakers until I've had them for weeks, so I'm willing to go out and try some as long as I can sell them on for the same price if I decide I don't like them.
 
Also, does anyone know if the Kenwood Ka-9100 qualifies as a high current amp? A lot of speakers I'm looking at say they require that, and I don't know the answer.
 
I wouldn't call the Ka-9100 a high current amp, but it is a good amp with lots of power and 90 real watts per channel. From what I've read about Kappas, you may be pushing its limits. That being said, some people would like that combination and be perfectly happy with it, and others won't be. If you got the Kenwood for a good price, and you like the kappas, you could always sell the Kenwood and upgrade to a big separates combination with lots of instant power.

Sorry I can't say better than that. It is what makes this hobby so fun too, because everyone has different ears. I'm in the school where I like oodles of power for my power hungry speakers and that is the direction I went.
 
BilboBaggins said:
I wouldn't call the Ka-9100 a high current amp, but it is a good amp with lots of power and 90 real watts per channel. From what I've read about Kappas, you may be pushing its limits. That being said, some people would like that combination and be perfectly happy with it, and others won't be. If you got the Kenwood for a good price, and you like the kappas, you could always sell the Kenwood and upgrade to a big separates combination with lots of instant power.

Sorry I can't say better than that. It is what makes this hobby so fun too, because everyone has different ears. I'm in the school where I like oodles of power for my power hungry speakers and that is the direction I went.
Click to expand...
Thanks Bilbo for the info, I definitely appreciate it.
Another pair of speakers I saw on CL today were the polk RTi10. They're going for $450.

I've noticed a lot of the speakers I've been looking at allow for Bi-amping. I have 2 amps here (kenwood Ka-9100 and KA-3500and I have a pre out and a power in on the back of the Kenwood 9100, I was wondering If I could use these two amps to power some of these speakers?
And I'm curious, if I do that, how does it work? Will the volume knob on the 9100 control the volume of both amps? Would I end up leaving the volume knob on the KA-3500 in the same position all the time? Sorry for the noob questions!

To make it clear, I was thinking I could use the 9100 to power the low end and the 3500 to power the highs.
 
That split big power on the bottom and less power, half as much or less would work but that isn't what you want to do. You just need some nice speakers for the 9100 and you can put the LS and 3500 in another room. Not worth getting into crossovers, passive biamping, preamp power amp ins and outs just to get the 9100 doing nice work in a stereo system.
 
The .1 Infinity Kappas aren't the amp killers the previous generation were. You should have no real problem with the 8.1, with the bonus of them being really good speakers for $700. Ask about the foam surround on the woofer, it should be done for the asking price. Haggle if they haven't been done, you can do the job. Many here will help you every step of the way.
 
Ds2000 said:
The .1 Infinity Kappas aren't the amp killers the previous generation were. You should have no real problem with the 8.1, with the bonus of them being really good speakers for $700. Ask about the foam surround on the woofer, it should be done for the asking price. Haggle if they haven't been done, you can do the job. Many here will help you every step of the way.
Click to expand...
That's great to hear about the 8.1s!!
 
FWIW I used My KA-9100 with some Infinity RSIIIb speakers. In a large room playing very loud the Kenwood never seemed to strain and its heatsinks would be slightly warm. I think it will push the Kappa 8.1 just fine.
 
Well Kenwood lied about their rated power outputs, most of the time.
A KA-9100 has 120 WRMS per channel really so :deal: they lied!!!.
What type of music do you listen too?. Cerwin Vegas and Kenwood
are a great match for Mega Bass.
 
turboyam said:
Well Kenwood lied about their rated power outputs, most of the time.
A KA-9100 has 120 WRMS per channel really so :deal: they lied!!!.
What type of music do you listen too?. Cerwin Vegas and Kenwood
are a great match for Mega Bass.
Click to expand...
Well, I ended up not buying the Kappas. I took my amp to the guy's house and the amp drove them fine, in fact he was blown away because my 70's 90 watt amp made his much newer denon 115 watt amp sound like crap. He was stunned, he really couldn't believe how good his speakers sounded with my amp, he had never heard them like that.

But the deal for me was, there still wasn't enough bass. I'm going to have to try something like the cerwin vegas with 12" or 15" woofers. Or try a powered subwoofer. I know a lot of people think subwoofers suck, but every once in a while I play some NWA or John Digweed or some Makyo, and I really really like the deep LOUD bass.

Another factor was, the Kappas were too much speaker for me. I live in a very small house (900 square feet) and the room that the speakers will be in is like 12 feet by 12 feet. Those kappas were way too much, they would never shine in that room, and to get the bass I wanted out of them, I would have had to play them so loud that the rest of the music would be unenjoyable.

I'm open to any other suggestions for speakers that might pair with that amp! Thanks for everyone's input.
 
Almonds said:
Well, I ended up not buying the Kappas. I took my amp to the guy's house and the amp drove them fine, in fact he was blown away because my 70's 90 watt amp made his much newer denon 115 watt amp sound like crap. He was stunned, he really couldn't believe how good his speakers sounded with my amp, he had never heard them like that.
Click to expand...
:thumbsup:
 
Almonds said:
Hello everyone,
I just joined a couple days ago. I've scored what I think is a great amp, the Ka-9100, but I'm not sure what speakers to pair it up with. I've been reading a ton about how some of these newer speakers need tons of power to really shine. I'm wondering whether I should seek out some vintage speakers, or find something newer? Does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for to get started? I like lots of bass, and I like it loud!
You can read my intro post from a few days ago to get some more info on my equipment.
Thanks![/Q
Click to expand...
 
Just purchased one of these amps off Craigslist from a very nice gentleman that worked in hifi equipment for 40+ years. I was originally using an Onkyo 50 wpc receiver to listen to records. The Kenwood is a big time improvement. I currently use the BIC America Eviction Series 3 way speakers with the 15 inch woofers. Rated at 225 watts RMS. According to the tech that sold me the amp, the 90 wpc is considered conservative. It really puts out about 130 watts per channel.
 
chivas197542 said:
Just purchased one of these amps off Craigslist from a very nice gentleman that worked in hifi equipment for 40+ years. I was originally using an Onkyo 50 wpc receiver to listen to records. The Kenwood is a big time improvement. I currently use the BIC America Eviction Series 3 way speakers with the 15 inch woofers. Rated at 225 watts RMS. According to the tech that sold me the amp, the 90 wpc is considered conservative. It really puts out about 130 watts per channel.
Click to expand...

Well, if it is this model RtR-EV15 with a 95db efficiency at 8 ohms, then my guess is the Kenwood will drive them loud enough to run you out of the room. I have used my KA-9100 to drive my Infinity RSIIIb speakers that aren't nearly as easy to drive as yours. The Kenwood gave all I needed in a very large room with respect to clean and loud sound. THe heatsinks on the Kenwood were just warm to the touch after several hours of playing time. Hook it up and you be the judge, I think you will be pleased with the combo :rockon:
 
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