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Have Outlaw 950/770, Want Kappa 8.1 or 9.1's

1st: I'm a audio newb, minus one week of pouring through the net. (i.e., that means I'm only JUST learning that a high end Sony receiver is not the most important component in a system.)

2nd: It's been a lifelong dream to own a set of Infinity Kappa 8.1's or 9.1's since I first saw them at Magnolia HiFi in 1996. A salesperson talked me into some crappy "Celestion" speakers instead, and I've always been disappointed in myself for it. That's why I really, really want the Kapp's in my system, at least for my left/right fronts.

Now, after a week+ of research, a low budget, and high hopes, I've ordered the Outlaw Audio 950 pre/pro and the Outlaw 770 200w X 7 amp. What I have NOT yet determined from my late night forays into the internet is whether or not I can drive my coveted Kappas. Here are the specs for the 770 amp:

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/770_specs.html

The reason I am worried is that I have not yet grasped the whole "ohm" thing. I see that the 770 will output either 4 or 8 ohms, but I saw somewhere else that the Kappa 8.1's accept only 6 ohms? $1,000.00+ is a LOT of money for me to throw away if I blow up my Kappas....

I thank you very much for your help, it is truly needed.

Greg
gregcagle
edesilva
768 posts
 
Don't worry at all.

Very few speakers have a flat impedance. While there are others that can speak to this probably better, the impedance seen by the amp changes depending upon how far the drivers are extended. I used to have Martin Logans, which were nominally rated at 4 ohms, but dipped to 1 ohm at times.

As a rule of thumb (anyone wanna shoot me down here) a good solid state amp should double the output power as you have the output impedance--an amp that does 100W into 8 ohms should be capable of 200W into 4 ohms, 400W into 2 ohms... The same is not true for tube based amps for some reason.

Oh yeah, in the practical realm, I've got a pair of Kappa 8s or 9s (I forget which they are) in my pool room and have, over the years, driven them with everything from a Yamaha integrated, an Adcom, to an ARC D240... They have not yet blown up. Speaking of which, if you are in the DC area, make me an offer. They are a little large for my room... ; )
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emilg1955
16 posts
 
I would be concerned. They are not very efficient and if you are going to crank them, the emits will fry at clipping. I'm speaking from my own experience with Kappa 8s. I had to put cooling fans on my Adcom 555 amp to keep it from overheating during extended play-very loud play. I upgraded the crossovers, wiring, and cabinets on mine and eliminated the 30 hz bandpass filter used to extend the bass. The improvements to the sound was amazing and it eliminated the 1.3 ohm dip in the bass region that would dim the lights on heavy bass. A friend of mine is using them with a $600 Yamaha receiver with no problems. Not sure if the ".1s" have the same problem. If you are not going to push them hard continiuously-I think you'll be OK with the Outlaw as it is a fairly beefy amp. FWIW
edesilva
768 posts
 
Jesus Emil, how loud did you crank those things up? I lived in the top floor of a heavy duty concrete apartment building (built in the 50s when I guess they were worried about atomic bombs or something) and still got complaints--apparently the sound still went through two sets of steel doors between my neighbors and I. Still never had any problems tho'...
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