After having these speakers in my car for just over 3 weeks and having ample time to listen to them....I thought I would post my observations.
During the first week I thought they might have been a little harsh in the high frequency range at higher volumes. But perhaps they needed a little bit of a break in period because they are a lot more smooth at the high frequencies than my initial observation.
They certainly are far more detailed than the stock speakers and much more smooth in the high register. There is some material where they can be a little shrill at high volumes, but not much material. Usually it's an older CD that was recorded a little more bright than most other material you would listen to. Having a vert I have to crank up the volume when cruising on the interstate with the top down....but even at those volume levels these speakers sing on most material.
With the top up and more reasonable listening levels, these speakers are outstanding for the price. Sure there are smoother sounding tweeters, and more accurate mid-range....but you would pay quite a premimum to get that kind of improvement. But if you are looking for a very reasonably priced speaker that is a quick swticheroo for stock....you can't go wrong with these Infinity's.
Of course I know I have caught the bug now....but I am trying to stay away from 4000.00-5000.00 audio systems I have had in previous cars. So my next step will be adding a powered subwoofer in the 500.00 - 700.00 range. Hopefully I can restrain myself....lol.
just installed mine today and not even broken in yet and what a difference from the stock ford speakers and the price was great $160.00 for 4 speakers shipped to canada future shop wanted 149.00 for a pair, very happy
My Infinity Kappa 682.7cf speakers were OK off of radio power but amplifying them caused me to HATE their harshness. Set them to playing 300 Hz and higher and they will rip your head off because they become uber efficient and ultra harsh. I am going to celebrate my Infinity free vehicle SOON!
My Infinity Kappa 682.7cf speakers were OK off of radio power but amplifying them caused me to HATE their harshness. Set them to playing 300 Hz and higher and they will rip your head off because they become uber efficient and ultra harsh. I am going to celebrate my Infinity free vehicle SOON!
Then whatever amp you have chosen is definitely lacking. Giving more power to speakers with a top shelf amplifier (providing you don't overdrive the speakers into distortion) will always make a speaker sound smoother and less harsh.
Example....a few months ago I did an A/B comparison listening to a pair of Boston Acoustic plate speakers switching between the amp from the head unit and a top shelf external amp. The difference was striking and would be noticeable to even the untrained ear. The mid-range was more accurate and more detailed (that in itself would make the speaker sound smoother) and the high end was far more detailed and much more smooth.
All speakers love good, clean power up to their limits. The Infinity's are no exception.
Then whatever amp you have chosen is definitely lacking. Giving more power to speakers with a top shelf amplifier (providing you don't overdrive the speakers into distortion) will always make a speaker sound smoother and less harsh.
I would like to think that my amplifiers were far from "lacking." Thus far I've used: Rockford Fosgate 25 to Life Power 1000, a Soundstream Reference 700s, a Linear Power 1502IQ, a Lunar L2125, and a Lunar L450 to power my Infinity Kappa 682.7 cf speakers.
Sadly, the Kappas sucked with all of those amplifiers because they had no midrange to them and the tweeters were ultra harsh. I blame the inherent design of the driver itself for the lackluster performance. The pole piece that the tweeter sits on kills midrange performance while the MMD tweeter is the harshest tweeter known to man! As a result, I had a speaker with an erratic frequency response that was really harsh and produced a "beaming" effect.
Oddly, a 4" Tang Band full range driver receiving 315 Hz on up via my active crossover was leaps and bounds ahead of those Infinity Kappas!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FuzzyDice
Example....a few months ago I did an A/B comparison listening to a pair of Boston Acoustic plate speakers switching between the amp from the head unit and a top shelf external amp. The difference was striking and would be noticeable to even the untrained ear. The mid-range was more accurate and more detailed (that in itself would make the speaker sound smoother) and the high end was far more detailed and much more smooth.
There is no doubt that you noticed a difference there. The IC amplifier that is built-in to most head units really sucks with regards to producing clean power over its full frequency spectrum. Even a budget Hifonics, Crunch, Profile, Cadence, etc. amplifier is a MAJOR improvement over the power produced by most aftermarket head units!
I would like to think that my amplifiers were far from "lacking." Thus far I've used: Rockford Fosgate 25 to Life Power 1000, a Soundstream Reference 700s, a Linear Power 1502IQ, a Lunar L2125, and a Lunar L450 to power my Infinity Kappa 682.7 cf speakers.
Sadly, the Kappas sucked with all of those amplifiers because they had no midrange to them and the tweeters were ultra harsh. I blame the inherent design of the driver itself for the lackluster performance. The pole piece that the tweeter sits on kills midrange performance while the MMD tweeter is the harshest tweeter known to man! As a result, I had a speaker with an erratic frequency response that was really harsh and produced a "beaming" effect.
Oddly, a 4" Tang Band full range driver receiving 315 Hz on up via my active crossover was leaps and bounds ahead of those Infinity Kappas!
There is no doubt that you noticed a difference there. The IC amplifier that is built-in to most head units really sucks with regards to producing clean power over its full frequency spectrum. Even a budget Hifonics, Crunch, Profile, Cadence, etc. amplifier is a MAJOR improvement over the power produced by most aftermarket head units!
The Infinity Kappa 682.7 are not produced anymore but I believe the 682.9s are the newer version of them. Which would explain why you think those speakers were too harsh sounding. They use an M.M.D (Metal Matrix Diaphragm) tweeter instead of using softer material like a textile dome tweeter. Unless you are someone who's ear likes the sound characteristics on the very bright side, most metallic tweeters will cause your ears to bleed. Most Infinity tweeters land on the more mellow and smoother side, but any metallic tweeter is going to sound overally harsh to a lot of listeners. I don't have the Kappas and thus don't have the metallic tweeter. Metallic tweeters have the advantage of greater power handling but I can't listen to 'em for any length of time.
My guess is that a higher end Infinity Speaker without the metallic material for a tweeter would sound very good to you.
My review of the Infinity Reference 6822cf 6x8's 
