Help power pair of Infinity Kappa 9's please


Hi all!
I have a pair of Infinity Kappa 9's:
Nominal Impedance: 4 to 6 ohm
Power Rating: 60-340 watts RMS
Efficiency: 102 dB SPL @1 watt, 1 meter
Crossover Frequencies: 80Hz, 800Hz, 4500Hz
Frequency Response: 29Hz-45kHz +/-3dB
Physical Attributes:
1x - SEMIT Supertweeter
1x - EMIT Tweeter
1x - 3" Edgewound Voice Coil Polydome Midrange Driver
1x - 5" Polypropylene/graphite Diaphram Polygraph
2x - 12" Cast Frame , L/C Tuned Woofers
Dimensions: 59.5"H x 21.5"W" x 8"D

My room is 12'x12', I have $2500 budget and would like to play music off my computer. I need amp(s), a preamp, and a DAC i guess (is the DAC necessary at my low of a budget range?). I know my budget is low so I will be shopping for very used/old equipment. If anyone has any experience, suggestions, or words of wisdom, they would be very much so appreciated.
Thanks,
JT
jtiesel2
Hello,
i bought some k9’s last year. I am running Phase Linear 400 on top and 700 on bottom.
I drove those speakers past concert levels but my power management system broke down taking my 700 with it. I use Signature AVS 2000 w/ HTPS Signature 7000. The 7000 failed reset itself and came back but I was left with a left channel out in the 700.
I sent the amp out and had it reworked to White Oak inwards. Fired it up and the Kappa’s sounded like they had subs inside of them. I know what subs do cause I got a spot in my house I call subcity and there are 3 subs over there.
I bought a C-19 and had it overhauled and modded by Carver repair west coast. Got another 7000 out of storage but overlooked the fact I didn’t grab a Signature and refired the system. Running about 10:30 I moved the gain up one spot right and turned the bass right channel max. I never made it to the left as the 700 main fuse died the 10amp one. Supply fuses still good. So been reading what you guys are saying and I’m not getting rid of the Kappa 9’s. Why? Where can I find speakers that sound like subs and have the satisfaction that I’m running amp killers. So I gotta order the fuses 10 amp and see how much damage has been done. And I’ve come to this conclusion, maybe I should get Audio Research M300 for bass side and move the 700 on top replacing the bullet proof 400.
I need to point one thing out the HTPS 7000 is rated out to 1440 watts which I exceeded that amount the night I blew it but didn’t know at that time. I never heard you guys talk about Phase Linear amps on this thread but mine had to push past 1440 that night to kill the 7000. Which will find its way back to Monster.
So what say all of you since I’m not selling?
One thing I left out went from 10:30 to 11:30 but the night I blew the 7000 I was out past 2pm.
I said I’d never run that hard but geez the Kappa’s make me do it.
i got gobs of will power but the Kappa’s say turn the knob...
Pick up second-hand 4 Crown XLS 1500 Class D Pro Amp. I can drive my Kappa 8’s with those all day and night without any problems and they sound very tube-like. They work on the 9’s as well. Don’t even get hot.

Pure power is what the Kappas need. And when they get that power all the drivers vanish! It sounds like the air is vibrating itself, like the gentle winds and sudden gusts of Autum. They can sound a lot like electrostatics. And you can get very tuneful, fast, authoritative stereo bass that would put any lone subwoofer to shame! It’s incredible! 

You could probably also use two Carver Signature Sunfires—one for treble and mids and one for bass. I believe that is called vertical bi-amping. I have one Signature Sunfire that I plug in as my back up amp. It is an arch welder. An audio bazooka!

In the last two weeks my Kappa 8’s appear to have trashed two BAT power amps and one Spectron Musician. I am not happy.

I love my 8’s and 7’s. The 9’s (I have too) their physical size and driver height is not suitable for most rooms and most homes do not have the right power runs to power amplifiers that can drive them.

Maybe it’s time to go back to JBL’s?
If you are looking for holographic spatial cues and full frequency extension, what speakers are an easier to drive ‘upgrade’ from the Kappa 8’s?