NAD 208 and Infinity Kappa 9 ?

[Alen]

Hello

I have a NAD 208 amplifier and speakers Infinity SM 152 I want to change the speakers, I thought of Infinity Kappa 9, whether it is good for the NAD 208 and speakers???


Thanks

[Feanor]

Hello

I have a NAD 208 amplifier and speakers Infinity SM 152 I want to change the speakers, I thought of Infinity Kappa 9, whether it is good for the NAD 208 and speakers???


Thanks

By the sound of it the Kappa 9's are a big step up from the SM 152's -- congratulations!

i haven't heard any of these components personally but I see no reason why the NAD 208 and the Kappa 9's shouldn't work well together (assuming they are bot working well separately). At 250 wpc @ 8 ohms the 208 should have adequate power; (as usual for NAD, they don't specify continuous power into 4 ohms). The Kappa 9's are nominal 4-6 ohms so I see no problem. I know that the Kappa 9's have two sets of binding posts, one for the woofer and a second for the mid/highs, so you will need to bi-wire or jump the two sets of posts.

Most older power amplifiers will eventually need to have their electrolytic capacitors replaced. The NAD 208 was made between 1992-96 so it's getting up there in age, but if it's working well at the moment there should be no problem.

[markw]

Good luck. The NAD 208 is a powerhouse and can handle some pretty low impedances but the Kappa 9's are infamous beasts, well known for their ungodly low impedance swings and have had their way with, chewed up, and spit out many, many fine amps. Be careful.

Here's a link to a thread on this very subject.

[Alen]

Thanks
Feanor, markw

[Mr Peabody]

Markw is correct and I couldn't say it any plainer . I wouldn't recommend the Kappa 9's unless some one had an amp capable of producing massive amounts of current I've seen many a good amps go down trying to drive K9's. In addition, your 152's are about 105dB efficient so a speaker at 88dB which I believe is about where the k9's are would give you much less volume. The Kappa 7's are fairly stable and may be an alternative, I had a pair though and the woofers had to be re-coned about 10 or more years ago. If you like the volume level of the 152's look at Klipsch or Zu Audio. For something toward more refinement it really depends on your budget but check out Wharfedale, Focal, entry B&W, Revel or even JBL Studio series.

The 152's & K9's have quite different sounds what is it you are wanting?

[Feanor]

Markw is correct and I couldn't say it any plainer . I wouldn't recommend the Kappa 9's unless some one had an amp capable of producing massive amounts of current I've seen many a good amps go down trying to drive K9's. In addition, your 152's are about 105dB efficient so a speaker at 88dB which I believe is about where the k9's are would give you much less volume. The Kappa 7's are fairly stable and may be an alternative, I had a pair though and the woofers had to be re-coned about 10 or more years ago. If you like the volume level of the 152's look at Klipsch or Zu Audio. For something toward more refinement it really depends on your budget but check out Wharfedale, Focal, entry B&W, Revel or even JBL Studio series.

The 152's & K9's have quite different sounds what is it you are wanting?

I defer to Mr P on the question of Kappa 9's power requirement. If you listen at high volumes and/or in a large room the NAD 208 might be skimpy despite that it is a relatively high current design. The thread that Markw licked explores this issue

As is so often the case, power and power amp advice is contingent on the listen habits of the person being advised. For me I'm sure the NAD 208 would have adequate power but it might not the ticket for Alen.

If your primarly requirement is high volume/big space a quality "pro" amp would offer a lot of value i.e. capability/price. For example the QSC DCA3422 will put 600 wpc into 8 ohms and 1700 wpc into 2 ohms. Spec sheet HERE.

[harley .guy07]

If your primarly requirement is high volume/big space a quality "pro" amp would offer a lot of value i.e. capability/price. For example the QSC DCA3422 will put 600 wpc into 8 ohms and 1700 wpc into 2 ohms. Spec sheet HERE.

As being a person that used to install and tune pro sound systems for clubs and live events I know the qualities that pro sound amps provide and what they are built for. Massive Power and cool running reliability. And QSC are one of my favorite brands out there for that. But using one in a home environment in my opinion would be something to resort to only if the room is really that big or the speakers are that hard to drive and the volume level of playback is very high. I know these amps are built very well and are reliable and sound good in their own right but they are built with a completely different set of thought processes and goals. They are built for the sole purpose of powering big PA speakers in live or club events to loud volumes and sounding good doing it all without heating up or running out of current and shutting down. That's basically it. Where audiophile high end amps are more geared toward taking every ounce of music from the source and preamp and making it as life like and musical as is possible. That's the designers goals.

I know that most of us hear of this site know this all ready, but I was just making sure the op knew that before thinking of making such a move.

[Feanor]

As being a person that used to install and tune pro sound systems for clubs and live events I know the qualities that pro sound amps provide and what they are built for. Massive Power and cool running reliability. And QSC are one of my favorite brands out there for that. But using one in a home environment in my opinion would be something to resort to only if the room is really that big or the speakers are that hard to drive and the volume level of playback is very high. I know these amps are built very well and are reliable and sound good in their own right but they are built with a completely different set of thought processes and goals. They are built for the sole purpose of powering big PA speakers in live or club events to loud volumes and sounding good doing it all without heating up or running out of current and shutting down. That's basically it. Where audiophile high end amps are more geared toward taking every ounce of music from the source and preamp and making it as life like and musical as is possible. That's the designers goals.

I know that most of us here of this site know this all ready, but I was just making sure the op knew that before thinking of making such a move.

Very appropriate comments, Harley.

The problem here is to what extent we need to heed the Kappa 9 specific issues discussed above in this thread and that linked by markw. The basically assert the Kappa 9 is inefficient and hard to drive, suggesting even the Bryston 4BSST² with 500 wpc into 4 ohms might be insufficient.

Frankly this is mind-boggling to me. But if we take it to heart, what's to be done? That Bryston is $5000; a Parasound at 400 wpc @ 4 ohms is a relative bargain at $3000; a pair of Parasound JC-1, 800 wpc @ 4 ohms, is $9000; a pair of Bryston 28BSST² is ... well let's not even go there.

So it really does depend where and how the Kappa 9's will be used. I'm confident in small-medium room at the volumes I listen I'm sure the NAD 208 would be fine, as would my own Class D Audio SDS-258.

On my kind of budget for a new amp, I'd look at the Class D Audio SDS-470C, 600 wps @ 4 ohms for $700. (I think you're familiar with that amp.)

[harley .guy07]

Well I had the 440c Class D Audio amp and I new it had the power or at least it did in my system. After I got the great deal on my Pass Labs amp I have moved on from it but I was impressed with the build quality of the Class D amps for their price. They just did not work in my system but you seem to be real happy with them and others have to since they get a lot of press on audio websites.

[Feanor]

Well I had the 440c Class D Audio amp and I new it had the power or at least it did in my system. After I got the great deal on my Pass Labs amp I have moved on from it but I was impressed with the build quality of the Class D amps for their price. They just did not work in my system but you seem to be real happy with them and others have to since they get a lot of press on audio websites.

Without getting too deeply into the issue of Class D Audio's SDS amps, (or class D amps in general), yes, I like mine pretty well. OTOH, I acknowledge that there is the aspect that the high treble can seem bright or even shrill, depending on the rest of the system, the recording, and personal taste and/or tolerance. Without respect to price, I suspect I'd opt for a Pass Labs, Ayre, or various other high-end amps over the Class D Audio.

[harley .guy07]

Ayre is one company I would love to get the chance to hear. I have been watching them for a long time since it seems every product they make seems to get astounding reviews and people just love their stuff. In fact when I do decide to upgrade Preamps if I don't find a Pass Preamp Ayre is another company that I will be looking into.

[kevinc666]

"The Kappas were introduced in 1987 to be Infinity’s main product line, replacing the RS-series. They were a whole series, from the Kappa 5 to the Kappa 9 (the top of the line).

In keeping with Infinity’s relentless innovation, they introduced new midrange drivers - the Polygraph and Polydome. The Kappa 9 was a five way speaker, with a reputation for killing amplifiers - its impedance curve drops below 1 Ohm at two different places. Not very forgiving of weak amplifiers. Nevertheless, it has a dedicated following of devoted fans, who love the outstanding bass from them. Subsequently, Infinity produced later generation Kappas (the X.1 and X.2) series that were supposed to tame the Kappas appetite for amps. " Taken from this website Infinity
The Kappa 9 are some excellent sounding speakers but as stated they are hard to drive, I almost got a pair but the receiver fried during the audition. There are amps today that are reasonably priced that will power them quite well. Let us know how it turns out.

[blackraven]

Give some thought to an Van Alstine Synergy amp 225wpc at 8 ohms and double at 4 ohms. It can handle 2ohm speakers and probably even lower if you talk to Frank VA.

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