Infinity Kappa 120.9W

I wanted to add some low frequencies to my X5 which did not seem to play below 100 hz. After a lot of research, I selected this sub and hooked it up to a JBL GTO3501 mono amplifier. Could not be happier. I wasn't looking for kick *ss bass but rather fill the cabin with low bass that I can feel. This setup rocks. It will kick if you want it too but what I like best is the flexibility it has to sound excellent with all kind of music. It took some time to properly tune the amp and well worth it.

I have this driven by a Pioneer GM-D7500M in a custom built cabinet. 4 Infinity Kappa 63.9i driven by a Pioneer GM-D9500F rounded out my system. The sound quality is truly amazing. I've had several audiophiles and musicians in my car and they want the me to do the same system for them.

I have owned this subwoofer for 4 months and I couldn't have been happier. I can't say anything negative about this subwoofer. There are many great thing about this subwoofer.

1. It works well in a compact box.

I have it in a 1.0cu ft sealed Sonic sub box stuffed with polyfill. Unlike many car subwoofers, this one is actually optimized to work in reasonably small sealed boxes (1 to 1.5 cu ft). WinISD recommends 1.2cu ft when running in 4ohm mode and 1.7 cu ft in 2 ohm mode. I run it in 2ohm mode, in effectively a 1.25cu ft box (due to polyfill), with resulting qtc of about 0.76, which is almost perfect.

2. Good sensitivity and power handling.

Don't worry if you have a modest amplifier. This subwoofer can still get very loud when running off a 250watt RMS power, much louder than is actually necessary IMO. However, should you want to play it a little too loud, I don't see why you could power it with 500w amplifier. Harman Kardon is being obviously modest with subs power rating. The xmax figure alone suggests that this Kappa should take up to around 500watts while still operating in its "SQ" range.

3. The cone looks great.

4. Low Inductance. Most subwoofers have such high inductance that their manufacturers do not even report it. This sub has Le of around 1.18mH which is considered much better than average. Low inductance is generally good for transient response and blending with the front stage.

4. Great sound.

Let's finally get to the core of the review. This subwoofer plays very cleanly and transparently. What I hear is a very clean, robust bass with a good texture. It's good for practically any music genre. Midbass output is higher and cleaner than that of an average car sub, which makes blending with the fronts much easier. Don't be afraid to bump your crossover frequency a little higher. (I have mine at 70Hz, up from 60Hz with previous sub). I could go on to continue building a list of things that this subwoofer does correctly, however, I think it would be much easier to say that it does nothing wrong IMO.

Based on what I have heard so far, most Harman Kardon (owner of JBL and Infinity) subwoofers are very good performers, and this subwoofer is a proof of it. I feel like I have been converted. Should I look for a higher end sub in future, once I become rich and famous, I will probably pick up a JBL WGTI from the same company.

I have 2 of these Kappas, each being driven with a JL Audio 500/1v2 high-damping amplifier. I have the impedance switch set to 4 ohms on each sub for better excursion control. Let me tell you this, these Kappas reproduce every range of bass like a pro... very detailed yet extremely hard hitting. I have them in a sealed, 1 cubic foot per-sub enclosure, and they handle every bit of the amps' power (gains set at two-thirds) using common sense with the volume control/ bass knob. If you want remarkably precise sound that can still rumble the car very well with enough power, these Kappa's will do the job for sure. The impedance switch is very nice. Make sure your enclosure cut-out diameter is large enough... the mounting diameter of these subs are 11 & 1/8 inches across. You can always sand out your box holes with 40-grit sandpaper to make them fit, but it's some work (and vacuuming dust). If you want superb sound, go with these in a sealed box, they would probably work fine in a ported setup also, but the average person with little experience with boxes who likes tight, accurate bass should be very happy with these Kappas in a sealed enclosure.

I have 2 of these remarkable subs in my Camaro. I have them set to 4 ohms, and I'm driving each sub with one JL Audio 500/1v2 amplifier... They handle the power very well, I have each JL amp set two-thirds of the way up. The sound quality is brilliant, and the bass is very deep sounding, even for the 1 cubic foot per side enclosure they are in. These sound just as good (and look way better) as the JL w3v3's- I've owned some before. The switchable impedance makes these subs very flexible... I'll probably own mine till I'm 40 yrs old! The only thing to pay attention to is their relatively large cut-out diameter... They won't fit into the same opening size as the Reference 12"s will (too big across)... So make sure your enclosure can accomodate these big boys. They are solid and weigh almost as much as Alpine Type R's, while being more effecient and clearer sounding. 5 stars on these!

12" SSI Kappa Series 2 Ohm or 4 Ohm Subwoofer • 5-1/4" Kappa Series 2-way Component Speakers System • 5-1/4" Kappa Series 2-way Speakers • XTX Series 5-Channel Full Range Digital Car Amplifier