Infinity Kappa 9 speaker repair questions

[marklanderson]

Hi all, I stumbled into this forum when researching a huge pair of Infinity Kappa 9 loudspeakers that I just picked up.

From what I have gathered about these speakers, they are waayyy too much for me. They have major power requirements and I don't have an amp big enough to power them, and I'm afraid to hook up my little RCA home system and burn my house down. I have no idea about all this ohms stuff... plus my fiance says they're too big for our living room. And she reminded me that I don't have a lot of time for another new project..

Anyways, I'd like your advice on the best way to sell them, but I have no idea how to even test them.

The cabinets are in good shape but the foam around the subs is almost completely gone and the middle cones in all four subs are all indented, so I'm sure repairs are needed.

Do you think I would be better off taking these to a local speaker repair shop to get them restored, or maybe should I just try to sell them as is / for parts? I see these selling anywhere from $500 to $1000 or more depending on condition and modifications, and I currently have less than $300 into them.

What would you do if you were me? Any ideas / expert opinions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Mark Anderson, Rochester MN

 

[marklanderson]

replacing foam

Almost forgot, I see that you can get the foam for all four subs for around $40 on ebay... is that a project that a newbie can do or would you recommend leaving that to an expert? Thanks again! - M

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum, Mark!

Others here are much smarter about speaker repair than I am, so I'll let them handle that. I wanted to ask what you meant by:

...the middle cones in all four subs are all indented...

Are you talking about the very middle portion of the bottom two cones in each speaker (I believe yours are like the ones shown below)? If so, those are dust caps and the indentations shouldn't affect the sound at all. There are ways to try and get the dents out, too. I know that people have talked about it on this forum, but I'd need to find it.

 

[marklanderson]

yes

Thanks Adam - yes, these look exactly like my speakers. The two or three inch circles in the middle of the subs are all pushed in but they're not poked through or anything so maybe those can just be fixed... I read somewhere on here that a guy just used a vaccuum cleaner to suction them out. The foam around all four subs is gone but the rest of the speakers appear to be in good shape. Do you think I should risk hooking these up to my little RCA receiver to see what happens? Maybe if I moved it outside - so many people here have talked about amps burning up so I'm a little nervous about that!

 

[Adam]

I recall seeing someone post about using tape to remove those dents, too. The surrounds can definitely be replaced - I just don't know how much skill it takes.

I don't think that you're at risk of smoking your amp by hooking it up to those speakers, as long as you don't try to play them very loud. From what I've read (which is only a little), those speakers can dip very low in impedance. That means that they'll draw more current from your amp then more typical speakers, and if you have a cheap amp that (a) can't handle that draw and (b) doesn't have a protection circuit, then it will get hot. If you play it at a low volume, though, it shouldn't be a problem because you wouldn't be trying to supply much current to begin with.

 

[marklanderson]

Thanks!

That makes sense - I think I will hook them up tonight and see what happens. I'll have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case

Tape is probably easier to control than vaccuum suction so that makes sense too.

Since the foam around the subs is nearly completely gone, will it it do any damage to them if I keep the volume low? And basically I'll just be listening to each speaker to see if it's producing the appropriate sound without crackling ect? Anything else that I should test for specifically? Thanks much!

 

[Adam]

After a quick search, I found this video that might help.

I don't know if playing them with damaged surrounds will cause any harm - that's a good question. You might want to wait until someone with more knowledge posts a reply.

 

[Alex2507]

What would you do if you were me? Any ideas / expert opinions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Mark Anderson, Rochester MN

If you don't have the room for them I think you should ditch them asap. A friend of mine had similar speakers that needed the surrounds replaced. Now he needs an amp to drive them and for home theater it's impossible to get a matching center. It's more trouble than it's worth even if you do have the space IMO and there are no guarantees that all those other drivers aren't shot.

... but I'm not an expert either.

 

[Adam]

If you don't have the room for them I think you should ditch them asap.

You laying the ground work to get a new cheap pair of speakers?

 

[Alex2507]

You laying the ground work to get a new cheap pair of speakers?

... and then sell them to Jerry Love.

God bless him ...

 

[Stella C]

After a quick search, I found this video that might help.



I don't know if playing them with damaged surrounds will cause any harm - that's a good question. You might want to wait until someone with more knowledge posts a reply.

I saw another youtube video where someone used a vacuum cleaner to suck the cap back out =P

 

[Adam]

I saw another youtube video where someone used a vacuum cleaner to suck the cap back out =P

Yep, that's another way. As mentioned above, that seems a bit more risky (at least to me).